Automatic electronic display alignment

Abstract

An electronic device includes an electronic display, a touch screen overlay disposed over a display surface of the electronic display and a photosensor disposed adjacent to the touch screen overlay and the display surface. The device further includes a memory and a controller coupled to the electronic display, the touch screen overlay, the photosensor and the memory. The controller is programmed to display an alignment object having a plurality of electronically distinguishable regions on the display surface of the electronic display and to use the photosensor to detect a characteristic of one of the regions of the alignment object. Additionally, the controller is programmed to move the alignment object based on the detected characteristic along a search path toward an aligned condition with respect to the photosensor.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of automatically aligning a visually perceptible display field of an electronic display device having a display surface, the method comprising: 
 displaying an alignment object within the visually perceptible display field of the electronic display device, wherein the alignment object includes a plurality of electronically distinguishable regions;    electronically detecting a characteristic of one of the plurality of electronically distinguishable regions within the alignment object; and    automatically adjusting a position of the visually perceptible display field based on the electronically detected characteristic to move the alignment object toward an aligned condition with respect to the display surface of the electronic display device.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising displaying the alignment object using an image having two regions with different characteristics.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , comprising displaying each of the two regions using one of a light intensity, a color, a hue, and a pattern.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising electronically detecting the characteristic of the one of the plurality of electronically distinguishable regions within the alignment object using a photosensor to detect one of a light intensity, a color, a hue and a pattern.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising using a search rule to adjust the position of the display field.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , comprising using the search rule to adjust the position of the display field by following one of a plurality of predetermined paths within the alignment object.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , comprising using a plurality of linked tables to define the plurality of predetermined paths within the alignment object.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , comprising using the search rule to adjust the position of the display by following a dynamically determined path within the alignment object.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising using a dynamically adjusted table to define the dynamically determined path within the alignment object.  
     
     
         10 . An electronic device, comprising: 
 an electronic display device that displays images on a display surface thereof;    a photosensor adjacent to the display surface; and    a controller coupled to the photosensor and the electronic display device, the controller comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the controller is programmed to display an alignment object having a plurality of electronically distinguishable regions therein on the display surface of the electronic display device and to use the photosensor to detect a characteristic of one of the electronically distinguishable regions within the alignment object, and wherein the controller is further programmed to move the alignment object based on the detected characteristic toward an aligned condition with respect to the photosensor.    
     
     
         11 . The electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein the controller is further programmed to perform electronic gaming activities.  
     
     
         12 . The electronic device of  claim 11 , wherein the electronic gaming activities are one of poker, keno, blackjack, bingo and slots.  
     
     
         13 . The electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein the photosensor includes a charge coupled device.  
     
     
         14 . The electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein the displayed alignment object includes two regions having different characteristics.  
     
     
         15 . The electronic device of  claim 14 , wherein each of the different characteristics are one of a light intensity, a color, a hue and a pattern.  
     
     
         16 . The electronic device of  claim 10 , wherein the controller is further programmed to use a search rule to move the alignment object based on the detected characteristic toward an aligned condition with respect to a field of view of the photosensor.  
     
     
         17 . The electronic device of  claim 16 , wherein the search rule is adaptive.  
     
     
         18 . A method of aligning an electronic display for use within an electronic gaming device, the method comprising: 
 displaying an alignment object having a plurality of electronically distinguishable regions via the electronic display; and    electronically detecting a characteristic associated with one of the plurality of regions via a photosensor and moving the alignment object within a field of view of the photosensor based on the detected characteristic and a search rule to cause the field of view of the photosensor to coincide with a predetermined one of the plurality of regions.    
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , comprising moving the alignment object within the field of view of the sensor using a plurality of predetermined alignment paths.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , comprising moving the alignment object within the field of view of the sensor using a dynamically determined alignment path.  
     
     
         21 . A method of aligning electronically displayed images with a plurality of touch screen touch fields for use within an electronic transaction device, the method comprising: 
 displaying an alignment object having a plurality of electronically distinguishable regions; and    electronically detecting a characteristic of the alignment object via a photosensor and moving the alignment object within a field of view of the sensor based on the detected characteristic and a search rule to cause the field of view of the sensor to coincide with a predetermined one of the plurality of regions of the alignment object.    
     
     
         22 . An electronic gaming device, comprising: 
 an electronic display having a display surface;    a touch screen overlay disposed over the display surface of the electronic display;    a photosensor disposed adjacent to the touch screen overlay and the display surface; and    a controller coupled to the electronic display, the touch screen overlay and the photosensor, the controller comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the controller is programmed display an alignment object having a plurality of electronically distinguishable regions on the display surface of the electronic display and to use the photosensor to detect a characteristic of one of the regions of the alignment object, and wherein the controller is further programmed to move the alignment object based on the detected characteristic along a search path toward an aligned condition with respect to the photosensor.    
     
     
         23 . A casino gaming unit, comprising: 
 a display unit that is capable of generating video images, said display unit having a display surface and a visually perceptible display field;    a photosensor associated with the display surface of the display unit; and    a controller operatively coupled to the display unit, the controller comprising a processor and a memory operatively coupled to the processor, 
 the controller being programmed to allow a person to make a wager,  
 the controller being programmed to cause a video image to be generated on the display unit, the video image representing a video gambling game selected from the group of video gambling games consisting of video poker, video blackjack, video slots, video keno and video bingo,  
 the video image comprising an image of at least five playing cards if the video gambling game comprises video poker,  
 the video image comprising an image of a plurality of simulated slot machine reels if the video gambling game comprises video slots,  
 the video image comprising an image of a plurality of playing cards if the video gambling game comprises video blackjack,  
 the video image comprising an image of a plurality of keno numbers if the video gambling game comprises video keno,  
 the video image comprising an image of a bingo grid if the video gambling game comprises video bingo,  
 the controller being programmed to determine an outcome of the video gambling game represented by the video image and a value payout associated with the outcome of the video gambling game,  
 the controller being programmed to cause an alignment object to be displayed on the display unit, and  
 the controller being programmed to automatically align the visually perceptible display field of the display unit relative to the display surface of the display unit based on detection of the alignment object by the photosensor.  
   
     
     
         24 . The casino gaming unit of  claim 23 , wherein the controller is programmed to cause the display unit to generate an alignment object having a first electronically detectable region and a second electronically detectable region, the first electronically detectable region being electronically distinguishable from the second electronically detectable region.  
     
     
         25 . The casino gaming unit of  claim 23 , wherein the controller is programmed to cause the display unit to generate an alignment object having a first electronically detectable region and a second electronically detectable region, the first electronically detectable region being electronically distinguishable from the second electronically detectable region, one of the electronically detectable regions comprising a ring-shaped region.