Patents by Inventor Sean M. Gilliland

Sean M. Gilliland has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9682311
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the gaming system and method disclosed herein provides a primary game in which the gaming system provides monetary awards to a player and a secondary game in which the gaming system provides non-monetary skill units to the player. In one such embodiment, the gaming system initiates the play of the skill-based secondary game in response to a triggering even associated with a primary game of the gaming system, and forms a score for the player based on zero, one or more inputs made by the player during the play of the skill-based secondary game. The gaming system determines an amount of non-monetary skill units to provide the player based on the score, and provides the player with the non-monetary skill units. The player redeems any amount of non-monetary skill units for one or more virtual goods offered via a virtual marketplace.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2017
    Assignee: IGT
    Inventors: Sean M. Gilliland, Thomas Billings, Jeremy Bryan, Salvador A. Castellon, Shavon Gardner, Thomas J. Humphrey, Christian Lopez, James T. McGlone, Maria J. Nepomuceno, Kyu Shin, Jun Yi
  • Patent number: 9092934
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques and equipment for saving game history data and package identification information for software packages used to provide a game cycle on a wager gaming machine. The game cycle may later be re-created using the game history data and software packages. For scenarios where some or all of the software packages used are no longer present on the gaming machine at the time of re-creation, the package identification information may be referenced to determine which software packages are missing and need to be provided to enable full game cycle re-creation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: IGT
    Inventors: Jacob T. Graham, Paul W. Bolton, Dwayne R. Nelson, Rex Y. Lam, Steven G. LeMay, Warner R. Cockerille, IV, William R. Brosnan, Xuedong Chen, Sean M. Gilliland
  • Publication number: 20140342828
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides gaming systems, gaming devices, and methods providing an estimated emotional state of a player based on the occurrence of one or more designated events. When a player initiates a gaming session, the gaming system estimates the player's emotional state and generates estimated emotional state data that represents that estimation of the player's emotional state. For each of one or more designated events that occurs, the gaming system updates the player's estimated emotional state using an expected emotional response to that designated event. More specifically, the gaming system updates the player's estimated emotional state data using expected emotional response data representing the expected emotional response to that designated event. If one or more triggering conditions associated with the player's estimated emotional state is satisfied during the gaming session, the gaming system modifies one or more functions, aspects, or features of the gaming system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2014
    Publication date: November 20, 2014
    Inventor: Sean M. Gilliland
  • Publication number: 20140087844
    Abstract: In various embodiments, the gaming system and method disclosed herein provides a primary game in which the gaming system provides monetary awards to a player and a secondary game in which the gaming system provides non-monetary skill units to the player. In one such embodiment, the gaming system initiates the play of the skill-based secondary game in response to a triggering even associated with a primary game of the gaming system, and forms a score for the player based on zero, one or more inputs made by the player during the play of the skill-based secondary game. The gaming system determines an amount of non-monetary skill units to provide the player based on the score, and provides the player with the non-monetary skill units. The player redeems any amount of non-monetary skill units for one or more virtual goods offered via a virtual marketplace.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Publication date: March 27, 2014
    Applicant: IGT
    Inventors: Sean M. Gilliland, Thomas Billings, Jeremy Bryan, Salvador A. Castellon, Shavon Gardner, Thomas J. Humphrey, Christian Lopez, James T. McGlone, Maria J. Nepomuceno, Kyu Shin, Jun Yi
  • Publication number: 20130252734
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides gaming systems, gaming devices, and methods providing an estimated emotional state of a player based on the occurrence of one or more designated events. When a player initiates a gaming session, the gaming system estimates the player's emotional state and generates estimated emotional state data that represents that estimation of the player's emotional state. For each of one or more designated events that occurs, the gaming system updates the player's estimated emotional state using an expected emotional response to that designated event. More specifically, the gaming system updates the player's estimated emotional state data using expected emotional response data representing the expected emotional response to that designated event. If one or more triggering conditions associated with the player's estimated emotional state is satisfied during the gaming session, the gaming system modifies one or more functions, aspects, or features of the gaming system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2013
    Publication date: September 26, 2013
    Applicant: IGT
    Inventor: Sean M. Gilliland
  • Publication number: 20130165211
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques and equipment for saving game history data and package identification information for software packages used to provide a game cycle on a wager gaming machine. The game cycle may later be re-created using the game history data and software packages. For scenarios where some or all of the software packages used are no longer present on the gaming machine at the time of re-creation, the package identification information may be referenced to determine which software packages are missing and need to be provided to enable full game cycle re-creation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2011
    Publication date: June 27, 2013
    Applicant: IGT
    Inventors: Jacob T. Graham, Paul W. Bolton, Dwayne R. Nelson, Rex Y. Lam, Steven G. LeMay, Warner R. Cockerille, IV, William R. Brosnan, Xuedong Chen, Sean M. Gilliland
  • Patent number: 8460090
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides gaming systems, gaming devices, and methods providing an estimated emotional state of a player based on the occurrence of one or more designated events. When a player initiates a gaming session, the gaming system estimates the player's emotional state and generates estimated emotional state data that represents that estimation of the player's emotional state. For each of one or more designated events that occurs, the gaming system updates the player's estimated emotional state using an expected emotional response to that designated event. More specifically, the gaming system updates the player's estimated emotional state data using expected emotional response data representing the expected emotional response to that designated event. If one or more triggering conditions associated with the player's estimated emotional state is satisfied during the gaming session, the gaming system modifies one or more functions, aspects, or features of the gaming system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: IGT
    Inventor: Sean M. Gilliland
  • Publication number: 20130023339
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques for communicating between an electronic gaming machine and a mobile computing device. In some implementations, a login code may be transmitted from an electronic gaming machine to a mobile computing device via wireless communication. An account authentication message transmitted from the mobile computing via wireless communication may be received at the electronic gaming machine. The account authentication message may include (a) the login code, (b) an account identification portion that identifies a user account, and (c) an account authentication portion capable of being used to authenticate the user account. Based on the account authentication message, the user account may be authenticated at the electronic gaming machine.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2011
    Publication date: January 24, 2013
    Applicant: IGT
    Inventors: Dwayne A. Davis, Joe Chavez, Sean M. Gilliland