Touch screen controller system and method for a gaming machine

1 . A gaming machine touch screen system comprising:

touch screen device hardware; and

a touch screen controller configured for data communication with a game controller of a gaming machine, the touch screen controller being configured to:

receive video data signals from the game controller;

drive the touch screen device hardware to render and display the received video data;

detect and interpret touch inputs received via the touch screen device hardware during display of the video data to generate touch data for each touch input, wherein the touch data indicates, for each touch input, that the touch input is valid when the touch input is determined to be intentional and that the touch input is invalid when the touch input is determined to be unintentional;

output touch data to the game controller, wherein the touch data output to the game controller for each touch input includes: (i) data indicative of an interpretation of the touch screen input including an indication that the touch input is valid or invalid; and (ii) data representative of one or more attributes of the detected touch input;

store a mapping of locations of touch inputs indicated as being invalid over a period of time;

identify (i) at least one persistent invalid touch input location based on the mapping, and (ii) at least one instruction for remediation associated with the at least one persistent invalid touch input location; and

cause the touch screen device hardware to display the at least one instruction.

2 . The gaming machine touch screen system of claim 1 , wherein interpreting the touch screen input includes assessing whether a touch input is a valid or invalid touch input based on one or more of dimensions of the touch input, edge data of the touch input, intensity of the touch input, timing of the touch input, duration of the touch input, or persistence of the touch input.

3 . The gaming machine touch screen system of claim 2 , wherein the touch screen controller is configured to output touch data to the game controller for all valid and invalid touch inputs.

4 . The gaming machine touch screen system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more attributes of the detected touch input include any one or more of: touch area, touch shape, touch dimensions, touch edge coordinates, touch intensity, timing, and touch persistence.

5 . A gaming machine comprising:

a game controller; and

a touch screen system comprising:

touch screen device hardware; and

a touch screen controller in data communication with the game controller of the gaming machine, the touch screen controller being configured to:

receive video data signals from the game controller;

drive the touch screen device hardware to render and display the received video data;

detect and interpret touch inputs received via the touch screen device hardware during display of the video data to generate touch data for each touch input, wherein the touch data indicates, for each touch input, that the touch input is valid when the touch input is determined to be intentional and that the touch input is invalid when the touch input is determined to be unintentional; and

output touch data to the game controller, wherein the touch data output to the controller for each touch input includes: (i) data indicative of an interpretation of the touch screen input including an indication that the touch input is valid or invalid; and (ii) data representative of one or more attributes of the detected touch input;

store a mapping of locations of touch inputs indicated as being invalid over a period of time;

identify (i) at least one persistent invalid touch input location based on the mapping, and (ii) at least one instruction for remediation associated with the at least one persistent invalid touch input location; and

cause the touch screen device hardware to display the at least one instruction,

wherein

where the data indicative of an interpretation of the touch screen input is indicative of a player input, the game controller controls game play responsive to the player input,

where the data indicative of an interpretation of the touch screen input is indicative of an input other than a player input, the game controller determines a response action based on the data indicative of the interpretation of the touch screen input and data representative of one or more attributes of the detected touch input.

6 . The gaming machine of claim 5 , wherein interpreting the touch screen input includes assessing whether a touch input is a valid or invalid touch input based on one or more of dimensions of the touch input, edge data of the touch input, intensity of the touch input, timing of the touch input, duration of the touch input, or persistence of the touch input.

7 . The gaming machine of claim 5 , wherein the gaming controller is configured to assess the touch input as valid or invalid in a context of the game play.

8 . The gaming machine of claim 5 , wherein the gaming machine is configured to perform one or more remediation actions in response to an invalid touch input based on the mapping of locations of touch inputs indicated as being invalid over the period of time.

9 . The gaming machine of claim 8 , wherein the one or more attributes of the detected touch input include any one or more of: touch area, touch shape, touch dimensions, touch edge coordinates, touch intensity, timing, and touch persistence.

10 . The gaming machine of claim 9 , wherein the game controller is configured to log touch data.

11 . The gaming machine as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the game controller is configured to assess severity metrics of a touch input error and perform one or more controlled remediation actions based on the severity metrics.

12 . The gaming machine as claimed in claim 8 wherein the game controller is programmed to convert touch data for invalid touch inputs to a visual representation to visually displaying location of touch errors.

13 . A computer-implemented method of operating a gaming machine, the gaming machine comprising:

a game controller; and

a touch screen system comprising:

touch screen device hardware; and

a touch screen controller in data communication with the game controller of the gaming machine,

the method comprising:

the touch screen controller:

receiving video data signals from the game controller;

driving the touch screen device hardware to render and display the received video data;

detecting and interpreting touch inputs received via the touch screen device hardware during display of the video data to generate touch data for each touch input, wherein the touch data indicates, for each touch input, that the touch input is valid when the touch input is determined to be intentional and that the touch input is invalid when the touch input is determined to be unintentional; and

outputting touch data to the game controller, wherein the touch data output to the game controller for each touch input includes: (i) data indicative of an interpretation of the touch screen input including an indication that the touch input is valid or invalid; and (ii) data representative of one or more attributes of the detected touch input;

storing a mapping of locations of touch inputs indicated as being invalid over a period of time;

identifying (i) at least one persistent invalid touch input location based on the mapping, and (ii) at least one instruction for remediation associated with the at least one persistent invalid touch input location; and

causing the touch screen device hardware to display the at least one instruction.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein detecting and interpreting touch inputs further comprises outputting touch data to the game controller, where the game controller is configured to (i) receive the touch data from the touch screen controller, and (ii) where the data indicative of an interpretation of the touch screen input is indicative of a player input, control game play responsive to the player input.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the data indicative of an interpretation of the touch screen input is indicative of an input other than a player input, determining a response action based on the data indicative of the interpretation of the touch screen input and data representative of one or more attributes of the detected touch input.

16 . The method of claim 13 further comprising determining whether the touch input is valid or invalid in a context of the game play based on one or more of dimensions of the touch input, edge data of the touch input, intensity of the touch input, timing of the touch input, duration of the touch input, or persistence of the touch input.

17 . The method of claim 13 further comprising performing one or more remediation actions in response to an invalid touch input.