Granted Patent B2

US 12,394,275 · App. 18/734,108 · Granted Aug 19, 2025

Inventors: Bernadine Attard (Castlereagh, AU); David Little (Woollahra, AU)

Assignee: LNW Gaming, Inc.

G07F17/3213G07F17/3258G07F17/3267

Abstract

Claims (40)

1. A method of operating a gaming machine, the method comprising the operations of:

presenting, by a presentation assembly, a plurality of reels, an array and a collection area, the plurality of reels bearing a plurality of symbols, the plurality of symbols including value-bearing symbols; and

conducting, by game-logic circuitry, a series of spins of the plurality of reels, each spin including:

randomly selecting an active subset of the array;

spinning and stopping the plurality of reels to land symbols from the plurality of symbols in the array;

with respect to any value-bearing symbols among the landed symbols, collecting any value-bearing symbols that landed in the active subset of the array in the collection area, but not collecting any value-bearing symbols that landed outside of the active subset of the array;

evaluating whether special conditions have been met; and

if the special conditions have been met, collecting any value-bearing symbols that landed outside of the active subset of the array in the collection area; and

at a conclusion of the series of spins, awarding a payout based on the values of the value-bearing symbols in the collection area.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each value-bearing symbol is associated with a credit or currency value indicated on the symbol itself.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein each a value-bearing symbol may be associated with a value determined separately from an indication on the value-bearing symbol itself.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the separately determined value is a progressive award.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

detecting, via a value input device, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance; and

receiving, via at least one of one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input that initiates a payout from the credit balance.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, via at least one of one or more electronic input devices, a wager input that initiates the series of spins.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the special conditions comprise the appearance of a special symbol in the array.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the special symbol is a collect all symbol.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the special conditions comprise the collection of a predetermined number of value-bearing symbols.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the special conditions comprise the occurrence of a randomly triggered event.

11. A gaming system comprising:

a gaming machine including a presentation assembly configured to present a plurality of reels, an array and a collection area, the plurality of reels bearing a plurality of symbols, the plurality of symbols including value-bearing symbols; and

game-logic circuitry configured to perform the operations of:

presenting a series of spins of the plurality of reels, each spin including:

randomly selecting an active subset of the array;

spinning and stopping the plurality of reels to land symbols from the plurality of symbols in the array;

with respect to any value-bearing symbols among the landed symbols, collecting any value-bearing symbols that landed in the active subset of the array in a collection area, but not collecting any value-bearing symbols that landed outside of the active subset of the array unless special conditions have been met; and

at a conclusion of the series of spins, awarding a payout based on the values of the collected value-bearing symbols.

12. The gaming system of claim 11 , wherein each value-bearing symbol is associated with a credit or currency value indicated on the symbol itself.

13. The gaming system of claim 11 , wherein each a value-bearing symbol may be associated with a value determined separately from an indication on the value-bearing symbol itself.

14. The gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the separately determined value is a progressive award.

15. The gaming system of claim 11 , further comprising:

detecting, via a value input device, a physical item associated with a monetary value that establishes a credit balance; and

receiving, via at least one of one or more electronic input devices, a cashout input that initiates a payout from the credit balance.

16. The gaming system of claim 11 , further comprising receiving, via at least one of one or more electronic input devices, a wager input that initiates the series of spins.

17. The gaming system of claim 11 , wherein the special conditions comprise the appearance of a special symbol in the array.

18. The gaming system of claim 17 , wherein the special symbol is a collect all symbol.

19. The gaming system of claim 11 , wherein the special conditions comprise the collection of a predetermined number of value-bearing symbols.

20. The gaming system of claim 11 , wherein the special conditions comprise the occurrence of a randomly triggered event.

Assignments (4)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (355)