AU2012211355A1 - A method and gaming device for controlling use of one or more peripheral devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract A method of controlling use of one or more peripheral devices with an electronic gaming device, the method 5 comprising: determining whether at least one peripheral device is authorised for operation with the electronic gaming device by determining whether there is a dongle fitted to the electronic gaming device containing an authorisation of the at least one peripheral device; and 10 at least partially disabling the operation of any peripheral device for which it is determined that there is not a dongle fitted to the electronic gaming device containing an authorisation of the peripheral device. 3577355_1 (GNMattem) P78363.AU.2 224 2651 - 275 MPub1 2652 Smartcard 2 Processor Program 210 235 240 250 Peripheral 1 Peripheral 2 Peripheral 3 251 Function A Function B Figure 2

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Standard Patent Applicant: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited Invention Title: A METHOD AND GAMING DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING USE OF ONE OR MORE PERIPHERAL DEVICES The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method for performing it known to me/us: 2 Title A METHOD AND GAMING DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING USE OF ONE OR MORE PERIPHERAL DEVICES 5 Related Application This application is a divisional application of Australian application no. 2009230767, the disclosure of which is 10 incorporated herein by reference. Field This invention related to a method and gaming device for 15 controlling use of one or more peripheral devices. Background to the Invention In the gaming industry, where possible, modular design is 20 used such that gaming machines are deployed by manufacturers on a small number of modular gaming platforms - i.e. the physical apparatus on which game program code will run. 25 Accordingly, a significant amount of money is invested in the development of the gaming platform. Such a gaming platform needs to be compatible with a number of peripherals including bill validators, ticket printers and the like. Problems can arise when unauthorized peripherals 30 are attached to gaming machines. Accordingly, we have determined that there is a need to .control the attachment of peripherals to the gaming platform. 35 3577355_1 (GHMattes) P78383 AU.2 3 Summary of the Invention In a first aspect, the invention provides a method of controlling use of one or more peripheral devices with an 5 electronic gaming device, the method comprising: determining whether at least one peripheral device is authorised for operation with the electronic gaming device by determining whether there is a dongle fitted to the electronic gaming device containing an authorisation 10 of the at least one peripheral device; and at least partially disabling the operation of any peripheral device for which it is determined that there is not a dongle fitted to the electronic gaming device containing an authorisation of the peripheral device, 15 wherein at least one peripheral device performs a plurality of functions and partially disabling operation of the at least one peripheral device involves preventing at least one function from being implemented while allowing another function to be implemented. 20 In an embodiment, the method as comprises at least partially disabling operation by preventing or disrupting communication of the peripheral device with at least one other gaming device component. 25 In an embodiment, the method as comprises determining whether the dongle is valid. In an embodiment, determining whether the dongle is valid 30 comprises: obtaining from the dongle a dongle public key and a dongle signature of the dongle public key encrypted with a master private key; decrypting the dongle signature with a master 35 public key; and determining based on a comparison of the decrypted dongle signature with the dongle public key whether the 3577355_1 (GHMatters) P7363AU.2 4 dongle is valid. In an embodiment, determining whether the authorisation is valid. 5 In an embodiment, determining whether an authorisation exists for a peripheral device comprises determining whether an authorisation exists for the type or class of peripheral. 10 In an embodiment, the dongle is a smart card. In an embodiment, the method comprises determining whether a plurality of peripheral devices are valid. 15 In an embodiment, the method comprises checking a plurality of dongles. In a second aspect, the invention provides an electronic 20 gaming device comprising: a main circuit in data communication with one or more peripheral devices, the main circuit arranged to: determine whether at least one peripheral device is authorised for operation with the electronic gaming 25 device by determining whether there is a dongle in data communication with the main circuit containing an authorisation of the at least one peripheral device; and at least partially disable the operation of any peripheral device for which it is determined that there is 30 not a dongle fitted to the electronic gaming device containing an authorisation of the peripheral device, wherein at least one peripheral device performs a plurality of functions and partially disabling operation of the at least one peripheral device involves the main 35 circuit preventing at least one function from being implemented while allowing another function to be implemented. 3577355_1 (GHMatters) P7833.AU-2 5 In an embodiment, the main circuit is adapted to have a plurality of dongles connected thereto whereby peripheral devices can be authorised independently. 5 In an embodiment, the main circuit at least partially disables operation by preventing or disrupting communication of the peripheral device with at least one other gaming device component. 10 In an embodiment, the main circuit is arranged to determine whether the dongle is valid. In an embodiment, in order to determine whether the dongle 15 is valid, the main circuit: obtains from the dongle a dongle public key and a dongle signature of the dongle public key encrypted with a master private key; decrypts the dongle signature with a master public 20 key; and determines based on a comparison of the decrypted dongle signature with the dongle public key whether the dongle is valid. 25 In an embodiment, the main circuit determines whether the authorisation is valid. In an embodiment, the main circuit determines whether an authorisation exists for a peripheral device by 30 determining whether an authorisation exists for the type or class of peripheral. In an embodiment, the dongle is a smart card. 35 In a third aspect, the invention provides computer program code which when executed implements the method of the first aspect. 3577355_1 (GHMatter) P78363.AU.2 6 In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a tangible computer readable medium comprising the computer program code. 5 Brief Description of the Drawings An embodiment of the invention will be described, by way of example, in relation to the accompanying drawings, in 10 which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of a gaming machine; Figure 2 is a block diagram of a gaming machine; 15 Figure 3 is a flow diagram; and Figure 4 is a block diagram of a Smartcard. 20 Detailed Description Referring to the drawings, there is shown a gaming device which provides a gaming platform which is configured to support a number of peripherals such as displays, input 25 devices (e.g. buttons or a touch screen), bill valuators, ticket printers etc. Some of these peripherals form part of base funcitionality whereas others are provided to provide extended functionality. The embodiment employs authorisation of one or more peripherals based on tokens 30 stored on a dongle (that is, an electronic device that must be in data communication with part of the gaming device (e.g. the main circuit board) if the relevant peripheral device is to operate or operate with full functionality). In the embodiment, the dongle takes the 35 form of a Smartcard. In an embodiment, the main circuit board of the electronic gaming device is adapted to receive a plurality of dongles and only one token for an 3577355_1 (GHMetter) P7833 AU2 7 individual peripheral device is supplied on each dongle so that a dongle for each peripheral device must be attached. The embodiment, can be employed for a number of different 5 reasons. One reason for employing dongles is so that only compatible and/or authorised peripherals can be used with the gaming device. In particular, because of the nature of the commercial and regulatory environment, it is important that gaming machines do not fail- for example, in a manner 10 which affects the return to a player or enables undesired access to the gaming machine or gaming network. Accordingly, in one embodiment, a dongle may contain a token (and hence authorisation) for one or more compatible 15 and/or authorised gaming peripheral devices. Another reason for using dongles is so that the supplier of the gaming device can the control the use of functionality provided by the gaming device. For example, the main circuit board may provide ticket-in ticket-out (TITO) 20 functionality if a ticket printer and a ticket reader are connected, and the gaming device supplier may which to ensure that third party or after market TITO devices are not fitted to the gaming machine unless supplied or authorised by the supplier. For example, so that any third 25 party suppliers are required to obtain a dongle containing a relevant token, thus allowing the supplier to require them to meet appropriate quality standards and/or levy a fee on the enablement of the functionality they have developed (or indeed to provide the functionality for free 30 if this serves their commercial needs). An electronic gaming device in the form of gaming machine 10 is illustrated in Figure 1. The gaming machine 10 has a number of components which enable a player to interact 35 with the gaming machine (e.g. to input game instructions, input/output credits, and watch the game), these are referred to collectively as a "player interface" and the 3577355.1 (GHM.ter) P78383 AU.2 8 components will become apparent from the following description. The gaming machine 10 includes a console 12 having a display 14 on which is displayed representations of a game 16 that can be played by a player. A mid-trim 5 20 of the gaming machine 10 houses a bank of buttons 22 for enabling a player to interact with the gaming machine, in particular during game play. The mid-trim 20 also houses a credit input mechanism 24 which in this example includes a coin input chute 24A and a bill collector 24B. 10 Other credit input mechanisms may also be employed, for example, a card reader for reading a smart card, debit card or credit card. A reading device may also be provided for the purpose of reading a player tracking device, for example as part of a loyalty program. The 15 player tracking device may be in the form of a card, flash drive or any other portable storage medium capable of being read by the reading device. A top box 26 may carry artwork 28, including for example 20 pay tables and details of bonus awards and other information or images relating to the game. Further artwork and/or information may be provided on a front panel 29 of the console 12. A coin tray 30 is mounted beneath the front panel 29 for dispensing cash payouts 25 from the gaming machine 10. The display 14 shown in Figure 1 is in the form of a video display unit, particularly a cathode ray tube screen device. Alternatively, the display 14 may be a liquid 30 crystal display, plasma screen, any other suitable video display unit, or the visible portion of an electromechanical device. The top box 26 may also include a display, for example a video display unit, which may be of the same type as the display 14, or of a different 35 type. Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of a 3577355_1 (GHMatters) P78363 AU 2 9 gaming device in the form of a gaming machine 200 relevant to the embodiment. Other components known to persons skilled in the art such as hardware meters are not illustrated for clarity of exposition. The gaming machine 5 200 has a main circuit in the form of a main circuit board 210'having a main processor 220 and a main memory 230. Herein the term "processor" is used to refer generically to any device that can process instructions and may include: a microprocessor, microcontroller, programmable 10 logic device or other computational device. The gaming machine has a plurality of peripheral connected to the main board 210, some of which will only operate or operate fully provided a dongle 275 having a valid token 15 corresponding to the game is connected to the main board 220 by one of slots 265. The main circuit board 210 contains a plurality of sockets 2651 to 265n (for example 24 sockets) each adapted to have 20 a Smartcard 275 inserted therein to provide a dongle. The processor 220 communicates with a control program on the Smartcard. In order execute any one of the game programs 235, to 235, an appropriate relevant Smartcard 25 must be attached to one of the ports 265. The main circuit includes it's own control program 22, typically stored in a BIOS as part of the operating system of the gaming device and executed during a boot process. 30 Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the process may determine what peripherals are attached in a number of different ways such as polling ports to which peripherals may be attached. Referring to Figure 3, once the connected peripherals have been determined, the method 35 300 involves determining 310 whether any peripherals require authorisation. If no peripherals require authorisation, the process ends 320. If one or more 3577355_1 (GHMatters) P78363.AU.2 10 peripherals (or peripheral functions as described below) require authorisation, the method involves, for each peripheral, determining 330 whether a dongle is attached which contains a valid token. If there is not a valid 5 token, the method involves taking an action to prevent the peripheral (or a function of the peripheral) from working to effectively disable the peripheral or part of its functionality. If the there is a valid token, the peripheral is enabled 350. 10 As indicated above, part of the functionality of a peripheral may be partially enabled, for example, the peripheral may be able to communicate sufficiently with the processor 220 to enable the processor to issue an 15 error message if the peripheral is used. In another example, a peripheral may be capable of performing multiple functions but only one function may be enabled. Referring again to Figure 2, three peripherals 235,240,250 20 are shown. In one example, a first peripheral 235 may form part of the base functionality (e.g. a display) but is checked for compatibility. During the control process, processor checks the first smart card 275, and finds an authorisation token so the first peripheral is enabled. In 25 contrast, second peripheral relates to extended functionality (e.g. a player tracking module) but neither smart card 2751,2752 contains an authorisation token so it not enabled. Finally, third peripheral 250 capable of two functions 251,252 (e.g. a bill validator which is capable 30 of reading currency bills and tickets for TITO). Function B 252 is not intended to be enabled and accordingly second smart card 2752 only contains an authorisation token for function A. 35 It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that this provides advantages in configuring gaming machines. However, Smartcards 275 can be configured to carry tokens 3577355.1 (GHMatts) P78363.AU.2 11 for a plurality of different peripherals. For example, a first dongle can be used for base funcitionality and additional dongles can be required for extended functionality. 5 Referring to Figure 4, each Smartcard 275 comprises a CPU 410, a cryptographic accelerator 420, a Smartcard operating system control program 430, a custom application 440, a table of tokens 450 and a key and signature store 10 460 which stores a unique private and public key pair (e.g. RSA) hereafter referred to as "SCPubX, and SCPrivX" and a signature of SCPubX, (Signature 1) that has been generated at a previous time by encrypting an encoded SHA 1 hash of SCPubX with a private RSA master key (MPrivl) in 15 a secure environment. The table 450 can contain one or a plurality of tokens (authorisations) depending on the embodiment. The electronic gaming device 200 has a control program 222 20 and a copy of the public master key MPub1 224. This enables the gaming device to authenticate each token. An authentication process 310 involves the Smartcard 275 being authenticated as a valid Smartcard. Each time the 25 electronic gaming machine 200 is powered on or reset, the control program of the electronic gaming machine 222 begins execution. At some time before the electronic gaming device allows the peripherals to operate, it begins communication with the Smartcard 275. At step 312, the 30 control program 222 requests a key from the Smartcard. The Smartcard reader interface of the electronic gaming machine is configured to establish connection with the Smartcard according to IS07816. 35 The electronic gaming device 200 communicates with the Smartcard and selects the custom application 440. The electronic gaming machine 200 authenticates the Smartcard 3577355.l (GHMatters) P78383.AU 2 12 as a genuine Smartcard by retrieving SCPubX from the Smartcard 275 and Signature 1 from the Smartcard and then decrypts Signature 1 with MPubl using the relevant algorithm. The gaming device then determines whether the 5 decrypted signature matches RSA-1 hash of SCPubX. If it does, the Smartcard is accepted as authentic if not, an invalid signed key output is generated and then the Smartcard is powered off. 10 The next stage in the process is a verification stage 320. In this stage, the gaming device attempts to retrieve software protection tokens for specific peripherals. The control program makes a licence request by requesting a token with a particular peripheral ID. This message is 15 sent encrypted with the public key SCPubX of the Smartcard. The licence request is verified by decrypting the message and checking the ID against a stored value to determine if that ID is in the token. A response is which sends data from the software protection token together 20 with a signature of the ID by signing the exchanged data with SCPrivX. The EGM 200 then verifies the signed data which then allows the peripheral (or function) to operate. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that this 25 checking process can also be done periodically during operation of the gaming device to prevent one smart card being used to boot plural gaming devices. Suitable methods of public key encryption/authentication 30 are described in United States patent numbers 5,643,086 (Alcorn) and 6,722,986 (Lyons et al.), which are incorporated herein by reference. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that in some 35 embodiments, the smart card need not be connected directly to the gaming device for example, gaming device might be connected to a server through a network and the server 357735_1 (GHMatters) P78363.AU.2 13 include provision for attaching smart card tied to specific gaming devices. Further aspects of the method will be apparent from the 5 above description of the gaming system. Persons skilled in the art will also appreciate that parts of the method could be embodied in program code. The program code could be supplied in a number of ways, for example on a tangible computer readable medium, such as a disc or a memory (for 10 example, that could replace part of memory 103) or as a data signal (for example, by downloading it from a server). It will be understood to persons skilled in the art of the 15 invention that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, in particular it will be apparent that certain features of embodiments of the invention can be employed to form further embodiments. 20 It is to be understood that, if any prior art is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the prior art forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art in any country. 25 In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as 30 "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. 35 3577355_1 (GHMatters) P78383.AU.2

Claims (19)

1. A method of controlling use of one or more peripheral devices with an electronic gaming device, the 5 method comprising: determining whether at least one peripheral device is authorised for operation with the electronic gaming device by determining whether there is a dongle fitted to the electronic gaming device containing an authorisation 10 of the at least one peripheral device; and at least partially disabling the operation of any peripheral device for which it is determined that there is not a dongle fitted to the electronic gaming device containing an authorisation of the peripheral device, 15 wherein at least one peripheral device performs a plurality of functions and partially disabling operation of the at least one peripheral device involves preventing at least one function from being implemented while allowing another function to be implemented. 20

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising at least partially disabling operation by preventing or disrupting communication of the peripheral device with at least one other gaming device component. 25

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 further comprising determining whether the dongle is valid.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein determining 30 whether the dongle is valid comprises: obtaining from the dongle a dongle public key and a dongle signature of the dongle public key encrypted with a master private key; decrypting the dongle signature with a master 35 public key; and determining based on a comparison of the decrypted dongle signature with the dongle public key whether the 3577355_1 (GHMatters) P78383.AU.2 15 dongle is valid.

5. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising determining whether the authorisation is valid. 5

6. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein determining whether an authorisation exists for a peripheral device comprises determining whether an authorisation exists for the type or class of peripheral. 10

7. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the dongle is a smart card.

8. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 15 comprising determining whether a plurality of peripheral devices are valid.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 comprising checking a plurality of dongles. 20

10. An electronic gaming device comprising: a main circuit in data communication with one or more peripheral devices, the main circuit arranged to: determine whether at least one peripheral device 25 is authorised for operation with the electronic gaming device by determining whether there is a dongle in data communication with the main circuit containing an authorisation of the at least one peripheral device; and at least partially disable the operation of any 30 peripheral device for which it is determined that there is not a dongle fitted to the electronic gaming device containing an authorisation of the peripheral device, wherein at least one peripheral device performs a plurality of functions and partially disabling operation 35 of the at least one peripheral device involves the main circuit preventing at least one function from being implemented while allowing another function to be 3$7735$_1 (GHMatterS) P7a3G3.AU.2 16 implemented.

11. An electronic gaming device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the main circuit is adapted to have a plurality of 5 dangles connected thereto whereby peripheral devices can be authorised independently.

12. An electronic gaming device as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the main circuit at least partially 10 disables operation by preventing or disrupting communication of the peripheral device with at least one other gaming device component.

13. An electronic gaming device as claimed in any one 15 of claims 10 to 12, wherein the main circuit is arranged to determine whether the dangle is valid.

14. An electronic gaming device as claimed in claim 13, wherein, in order to determine whether the dongle is 20 valid, the main circuit: obtains from the dongle a dongle public key and a dongle signature of the dangle public key encrypted with a master private key; decrypts the dangle signature with a master public 25 key; and determines based on a comparison of the decrypted dongle signature with the dangle public key whether the dongle is valid. 30

15. An electronic gaming device as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the main circuit determines whether the authorisation is valid.

16. An electronic gaming device as claimed in any one 35 of claims 10 to 15, wherein the main circuit determines whether an authorisation exists for a peripheral device by determining whether an authorisation exists for the type 3577355_1 (GHMatters) P78363.AU.2 17 or class of peripheral.

17. An electronic gaming device as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 16 wherein the dongle is a smart card. 5

18. Computer program code which when executed implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

19. A tangible computer readable medium comprising the 10 computer program code of claim 18. 3577355_1 (GHMalters) P78363.AU.2