U.S. patent application number 10/697238 was filed with the patent office on 2004-11-11 for gaming machine.
Invention is credited to Fujimoto, Jun, Okada, Kazuo.
Application Number | 20040224758 10/697238 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32985592 |
Filed Date | 2004-11-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040224758 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Okada, Kazuo ; et
al. |
November 11, 2004 |
Gaming machine
Abstract
During playing a slot machine, high brightness LEDs 39m2
constituting an illumination device 39m are lighted and a liquid
crystal display panel 39d is illuminated by the light emitted from
the high brightness LEDs 39m2. Since the high brightness LEDs 39m2
are lighted merely through application of DC current, no inverter
circuit is necessary, and the image displayed on the liquid crystal
display panel 39d can be prevented from being disturbed by
noise.
Inventors: |
Okada, Kazuo; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Fujimoto, Jun; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
RADER FISHMAN & GRAUER PLLC
LION BUILDING
1233 20TH STREET N.W., SUITE 501
WASHINGTON
DC
20036
US
|
Family ID: |
32985592 |
Appl. No.: |
10/697238 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/31 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/32 20130101;
G07F 17/3202 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/031 |
International
Class: |
A63F 009/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 30, 2003 |
JP |
2003-125822 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A gaming machine comprising: variable display means for variably
displaying symbols; and an electric display device disposed in
front of the variable display means, and having a light transparent
area which shows symbols displayed on the variable display means,
from outside of the gaming machine, wherein said electric display
device includes; an electric display panel displaying an image and
illumination means having a light emitting diode, the illumination
means illuminating the electric display panel from therebehind.
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the electric
display device comprises a light guiding plate that guides light
entered from a side face thereof, to a back face of the electric
display device, so as to irradiate the light; and wherein the
illumination means comprises a plurality of the light emitting
diodes, each of which is continuously aligned along a side face of
the light guiding plate.
3. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the
illumination means comprises a plurality of the light emitting
diode provided in matrix on an entire surface of the electric
display device excluding the light transmitting area, the light
emitting diodes opposing a back face of the electric display
device.
Description
FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0001] This invention relates to a gaming machine comprising an
electric image display device.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
[0002] Conventionally, this type of gaming machine includes a slot
machine. When playing a slot machine, three reels embedded behind
the front panel thereof rotates so that the symbols drawn on the
outer periphery of each reel are variably displayed one after
another through the three reel windows formed in the front panel.
When the reels stops rotating and the symbols displayed on the
respective windows correspond to a predetermined combination, then
the game is won, and medals won are paid out.
[0003] There exists a conventional slot machine comprising a liquid
crystal display device provided on the front panel at the lower
side of the reel windows, serving as an electric display device for
displaying effect images and information images relating to an
ongoing game (refer to Patent Document 1). There also exists a
conventional slot machine comprising a liquid crystal display
device with a large display area provided on the front panel,
serving as an electric display device. Such display devices
comprise a light guiding plate disposed at the rear side of the
liquid crystal display panel, and illumination devices constituted
by a cold-cathode tube are disposed at the sides of the upper and
lower ends of the light guiding plate. The illumination light
emitted from the cold-cathode tube enters the light guiding plate
from the upper and lower side faces of the light guiding plate to
subsequently emit toward the rear side of the liquid crystal panel
via a lens cut formed within the light guiding plate. The liquid
crystal display panel is illuminated with the emitted light.
[0004] Refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No.
2002-78856, for example.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] However, the conventional slot machine using a cold-cathode
tube as an illumination device for illuminating a liquid crystal
display panel shows variations in voltage applied to the
cold-cathode tube among respective gaming machines due to the coil
loss of the transformer used to allow the cold-cathode tube to be
on, resulting in variations in brightness for illuminating the
liquid crystal display panel among respective gaming machines.
Further, the conventional slot machines described above require an
inverter circuit to avoid flickers in the illumination. However, an
image displayed on a liquid crystal panel could be disturbed by the
noise generated from the inverter circuit.
[0006] In a conventional slot machine using a cold-cathode tube as
illumination means, the increase of the size of its liquid crystal
panel necessitates the corresponding increase of an amount of
illumination light by the illumination means. However, when the
number of cold-cathode tubes is increased to increase an amount of
the illumination light, the space for disposing the cold-cathode
tubes must be extended in the direction of the thickness of the
light guiding plate. Therefore, the thickness of the light guiding
plate also must accordingly be increased, resulting in growing in
size of an electric display device. In addition, the increase of
the thickness of the light guiding plate entails the corresponding
increase of the distance between the reel and the liquid crystal
panel. Accordingly, in a conventional slot machine equipped with a
large size liquid crystal panel, when effect such as overlaying a
liquid crystal image on a symbol on the reel is performed,
significant displacement may occur between the symbol drawn on an
outer periphery of the reel and an image displayed on the liquid
crystal panel depending on a player's viewing angle, thereby
impairing the effect.
[0007] To solve these problems, this invention provides a slot
machine comprising: variable display means for variably displaying
symbols; and an electric display device disposed in front of the
variable display means, and having a light transparent area which
shows symbols displayed on the variable display means, from outside
of the gaming machine, herein said electric display device
includes; n electric display panel displaying an image and
illumination means having a light emitting diode, the illumination
means illuminating the electric display panel from therebehind.
[0008] According to this configuration, the electric display panel
is illuminated by LEDs so that the image displayed on the electric
display panel will be visible. Since LEDs are lighted merely
through application of DC current, an inverter circuit is not
necessary. Further, since no transformer is required to light LEDs,
variations in voltage applied to an illumination means among
respective gaming machines due to the coil loss can be avoided.
Moreover, the brightness of the illumination can be easily adjusted
merely by adjusting the amount of current supplied to the LED with
variable resistance or the like.
[0009] Furthermore, in this invention, an electric display means
may be arranged such that the electric display device may comprise
a light guiding plate that guides light entered from a side face
thereof, to a back face of the electric display device, so as to
irradiate the light; and the illumination means may comprises a
plurality of the light emitting diodes, each of which is
continuously aligned along a side face of the light guiding
plate.
[0010] According to this configuration, it is possible to adjust
the amount of illumination light emitted from the illumination
means by adjusting the amount of current to be supplied to each of
the arrayed LEDs or by increasing/decreasing the number of LEDs to
be supplied with current.
[0011] Further, in this invention, the illumination means may be
configured such that the illumination means comprises a plurality
of the light emitting diode provided in matrix on an entire surface
of the electric display device excluding the light transmitting
area, the light emitting diodes opposing a back face of the
electric display device.
[0012] According to this configuration, since the light emitted
from the LEDs illuminates directly the electric display panel, it
is possible to illuminate the electric display panel without using
a light guiding plate. Further, it is possible to adjust the amount
of light emitted from the illumination means over a wide range by
increasing/decreasing the amount of current supplied to each of the
plural LEDs arranged over one surface of a plate-shaped member.
Therefore, it is possible to significantly increase the amount of
light emission while maintaining the thickness of the illumination
means constant so that even when the size of the electric display
panel is large, the distance between the variable display means and
the electric display panel can be maintained constant. Further, it
is possible to selectively illuminate a specified area in the
electric display panel or adjust the brightness of a specified area
by selecting the area of the LEDs to be on from those arrayed in a
matrix or by adjusting the amount of current supplied to the LEDs
within a specified area, respectively.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] [FIG. 1]
[0014] This is a front view of an appearance of a slot machine in
accordance with a first embodiment of this invention;
[0015] [FIG. 2]
[0016] This is a view of a state in which pay lines indicated on a
display window of the slot machine in accordance with the first
embodiment of this invention are sequentially activated;
[0017] [FIG. 3]
[0018] This is a vertical cross-sectional view of a reel display
window unit of the slot machine in accordance with the first
embodiment of this invention;
[0019] [FIG. 4]
[0020] This is an exploded perspective view of the reel display
window unit shown in FIG. 3;
[0021] [FIG. 5]
[0022] This is an enlarged perspective view schematically showing a
structure of the illumination device shown in FIG. 4;
[0023] [FIG. 6]
[0024] This is a view of symbols drawn on the outer periphery of
the reels of the slot machine in accordance with the first
embodiment of this invention;
[0025] [FIG. 7]
[0026] This is a perspective view of a rotational reel unit of the
slot machine in accordance with the first embodiment of this
invention;
[0027] [FIG. 8]
[0028] This is a perspective view of structure of the rotational
reel constituting the rotational reel unit shown in FIG. 7;
[0029] [FIG. 9]
[0030] This is a view of symbol combinations drawn on a dividend
display unit of the slot machine in accordance with the first
embodiment of this invention;
[0031] [FIG. 10]
[0032] This is a block diagram of a circuit configuration arranged
on a main control board of the slot machine in accordance with the
first embodiment of this invention;
[0033] [FIG. 11]
[0034] This is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration
arranged on a sub-control board of the slot machine in accordance
with the first embodiment of this invention;
[0035] [FIG. 12]
[0036] This is a vertical cross-sectional view of a reel display
window unit of the slot machine in accordance with a second
embodiment of this invention;
[0037] [FIG. 13]
[0038] This is an exploded perspective view of the reel display
window unit shown in FIG. 12; and
[0039] [FIG. 14]
[0040] This is an enlarged perspective view schematically showing a
structure of the illumination device shown in FIG. 13.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0041] The description will now be given about a first embodiment
in which a gaming machine according to this invention is applied to
a slot machine.
[0042] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of a slot
machine 1 according to the embodiment.
[0043] Inside a cabinet at the center of the main body of a slot
machine 1, three reels 2, 3 and 4 are rotatably provided. These
reels 2, 3 and 4 constitute a variable display means for variably
displaying various symbols used for a game. On the outer periphery
of each of reels 2, 3 and 4, a line of symbols consisting of a
plurality of kinds of symbols (hereinafter referred to as symbols)
are drawn. A reel display window unit 39 is provided in front of
the respective reels 2-4. Through respective display windows 5, 6
and 7 defined in the reel display window unit 39, respective three
symbols among those drawn on the outer periphery of the
corresponding reels 2, 3 and 4 can be seen. On the reel display
window unit 39, a total of five pay lines are provided, three of
which are horizontal and the remaining two diagonal. Below the
display windows 5-7, on the right side, an insertion slot 8 is
provided through which a player inserts one or more medals, the
medal serving as a gaming medium.
[0044] When a player inserts a medal into the medal insertion slot
8 prior to start a game, one horizontal center pay line L1 is
activated as shown in FIG. 2(a) When two medals are inserted, two
upper and lower horizontal pay lines L2A and L2B are added to
enable a total of three horizontal pay lines L1, L2A and L2B as
shown in FIG. 2(b). When three medals are inserted, all the five
pay lines L1, L2A, L2B, L3A and L4B are activated as shown in FIG.
2(c). Each circle sign shown in these figures represents a symbol
drawn on the reels 2-4.
[0045] On an machine front panel 38 to the left of the display
windows 5-7, there are provided a symbol combination continuous
actuation enhancer indicator 9, a symbol combination continuous
actuation enhancer indicator 10, a replay indicator 11, a game stop
indicator 12, three gaming medal insertion number indicator lamps
13-15, a deposition amount display unit 16, and a start lamp 17.
Each of the indicators 9-12 and the gaming medal insertion number
indicator lamps is controlled to be on in accordance with the state
of the ongoing game, thereby informing a player of the state of the
ongoing game and the number of inserted medals. The deposition
amount display unit 16 is composed of three digits of 7-segment
LEDs (light emitting diodes) and displays the number of medals
currently credited within the machine. The start lamp 17 blinks
when the reels 2-4 can be started.
[0046] On the machine front panel 38 to the right of the display
windows 5-7, there are provided a bonus count display unit 18, a
WIN lamp 19, a payoff amount display unit 20 and an insertion lamp
21, positioned from the top in this order. The bonus count display
unit 18 is composed of three digits of 7-segment LEDs and digitally
displays, when a player wins a bonus game, the remaining number of
times for possibly winning at an RB and JAC games. The WIN lamp 19
is lighted when symbols of a winning combination appear on an
activated pay line. The payoff amount display unit 20 is composed
of three digits of 7-segment LEDs and displays the number of medals
to be paid out when a game is won. The insertion lamp 21 is lighted
when the medal insertion slot 8 can receive a medal.
[0047] The reel display window unit 39 comprises a liquid crystal
display panel 39d (described later) laminated thereon as an
electric display panel. The liquid crystal panel 39d can display
various game information and game effect images. At the left-hand
lower portion of the machine front panel 38, there are provided a
cross key 23, an A-button 24, a B-button 25, a one deposited medal
insertion switch 26, two deposited medals insertion switch 27, and
three deposited medals insertion switch 28. The cross key 23 can be
switch-operated in either of the four directions, namely, upward,
downward, leftward and rightward directions, and is utilized upon
selecting information to be displayed on the liquid crystal display
panel 39d through concurrent operation with A- and B-buttons. The
deposited medal insertion switches 26-28 are used when one to three
medals are bet on one game instead of medal insertion into the
medal insertion slot 8 when the deposition amount display unit 16
displays the number of credited medals.
[0048] Below the reel display window unit 39, there are provided a
deposited medal adjustment switch 29, a start lever 30 and stop
buttons 31, 32 and 33, in this order from the left side in the
figure. The deposited medal adjustment switch 29 is used for
adjusting the medals credited within the machine. When the start
lever 30 is operated, the reels 2-4 start rotating simultaneously.
The stop buttons 31-33 are disposed corresponding to the respective
reels 2-4. Each of buttons 31-33 is operatively activated when each
of the reels 2-4 reaches a predetermined rotational peed, and stops
rotation of the respective reels 2-4 in response to the player's
operation.
[0049] A medal receiving tray 34 is provided at the front bottom of
the slot machine 1. The medal receiving tray 34 serves to stock the
medals paid out from a medal payout opening 35. At the front top of
the slot machine 1, a dividend display unit 36 is provided for
displaying the number of medals to be paid out when a game is
won.
[0050] FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the reel
display window unit 39. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of
the reel display window unit 39. As shown in FIG. 3, the reel
display window unit 39 is provided in front of the respective reels
2, 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the reel display window unit 39
comprises a transparent acrylic plate 39a, a reel glass base 39b, a
bezel metal frame 39c, a liquid crystal display panel 39d, a liquid
crystal holder 39e, a diffusion sheet 39f, a light guiding plate
39g, a reflection sheet 39h, a backlight frame 39i and an
antistatic sheet 39j, in this order from the near side of the
machine.
[0051] As shown in FIG. 3, the reel display window unit 39 is
fitted to the machine front panel 38 in such a manner that
respective brackets 39ba provided to the reel glass base while
protruding upward and downward thereof are screwed onto the rear of
the machine front panel 38 via respective screws 39k. In this
connection, the respective brackets 39ba provided to the reel glass
base 39b are not shown in FIG. 4.
[0052] The liquid crystal display panel 39d is a transparent
electric display panel made of ITO or the like, which is disposed
in front of the respective reels 2-4 to allow the same to be seen
through the panel 39d. The rear side of the periphery of the
display unit is held by a liquid crystal holder 39e. The light
guiding plate 39g is made of a substantially light transparent
resin panel and has a lens cut formed therein for guiding the light
having entered the plate 39g from the upper and lower side faces
thereof to the rear side of the liquid crystal panel 39d. Above and
below the light guiding plate 39g, a pair of illumination devices
39m is provided for illuminating the liquid crystal display panel
39d along the upper and lower side faces of the light guiding plate
39g, respectively. The diffusion sheet 39f is made of a
substantially light transparent resin sheet and serves to diffuse
the light guided by the light guiding plate 39g to uniformize the
light illuminated to the liquid crystal display panel 39d. The
reflection sheet 39h is a sheet for reflecting the light, which has
emitted from the illumination device 39m to the light guiding plate
39g, toward the liquid crystal display panel 39d side.
[0053] In the diffusion sheet 39f, the light guiding plate 39g, the
reflection sheet 39h and the backlight frame 39i, there are
provided openings 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d constituting a display window
5, openings 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d constituting a display window 6, and
openings 7a, 7b, 7c and 7d constituting a display window 7. The
openings 5a-5d, the openings 6a-6d and the openings 7a-7d are
superposed to constitute a substantially light transparent area.
The symbols drawn on reels 2, 3 and 4 can be seen through the
substantially light transparent area from the outside.
[0054] The reel glass base 39b, the bezel metal frame 39c, the
liquid crystal panel 39d, the liquid crystal holder 39e, the
diffusion sheet 39f, the light guiding plate 39g, the reflection
sheet 39h, the backlight frame 39i, the antistatic sheet 39j and
the illumination device 39m constitute an electric display device,
which is disposed in front of the reels 2-4 and allows the symbols
drawn on reels 2-4 to be seen through the substantially light
transparent area thereof.
[0055] The liquid crystal display panel 39d is held by the liquid
crystal holder 39e to be integrated with the diffusion sheet 39f,
the light guiding plate 39g and the reflection sheet 39h, the
periphery of which is inserted into the bezel metal frame 39c.
Through this insertion, the front side of the periphery of display
unit of the liquid crystal display panel 39d is held by the bezel
metal frame 39c.
[0056] The liquid crystal display panel 39d, the liquid crystal
holder 39e, the diffusion sheet 39f, the light guiding plate 39g
and the reflection sheet 39h integrated by being fitted into the
bezel metal frame 39c are further inserted in the reel glass base
39b at the circumference thereof to be supported by the reel glass
base 39b in such a state that the front face of the display unit of
the liquid crystal display panel 39 is opened. The transparent
acrylic plate 39a is pressed to the front face of the reel glass
base 39b by fitting the reel glass base 39b with a screw 39k to the
front panel 38 of the machine to cover the opening of the front
face of the display unit of the liquid crystal display panel
39.
[0057] The backlight frame 39i is made of a white resin plate and
holds the bezel metal frame 39c, the liquid crystal display panel
39d, the liquid display holder 39e, the diffusion sheet 39f, the
light guiding plate 39g and the reflection sheet 39h, which are
supported by the reel glass base 39b, to the reel glass base 39b
from behind of them. The antistatic sheet 39j is transparent and
adhered to the back face of the backlight frame 39i with a
double-sick tape, and covers the back face of the respective
apertures 5d, 6d and 7d formed in the backlight frame 39i.
[0058] FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of an illumination
device 39m disposed along the lower side face of the light guiding
plate 39g. The illumination device 39m being disposed along the
upper side face of the light guiding plate 39g has the same
configuration as the above illumination device.
[0059] As shown in this figure, each illumination device 39m
comprises a plurality of high brightness LEDs 39m2 disposed on the
upper end face of a board 39m1. The board 39m1 is shaped as an
elongated plate, and a connector 39m3 is provided at one lengthwise
end thereof to be used to connect a wiring for power supply. The
respective high brightness LEDs 39m2 emit white light and are
arrayed in a line along the lengthwise direction of the board 39m1
on the upper end face of the board 39m1. Respective illumination
devices 39m are disposed along the upper and lower faces of the
light guiding plate 39g while keeping the upper end face of the
board 39m1 toward the light guiding plate 39g side to illuminate
the light emitted from the high brightness LEDs 39m2 to the light
guiding plate 39g. The emitted light is reflected from the
reflection sheet 39h to the diffusion sheet 39f to be diffused, and
then illuminates the liquid crystal display panel 39d from the rear
side.
[0060] FIG. 6 shows symbol sequences drawn on the outer periphery
of the reels 2, 3 and 4. Each symbol sequence comprises an array of
21 symbols including a plurality of kinds. The symbol sequences
correspond to the first, second and third reels 2, 3 and 4 from the
left to the right in the figure in this order, respectively. Each
of the symbols is assigned a code number out of "1" to "21". Each
reel 2, 3 and 4 is rotationally driven to move the corresponding
symbol sequence downward in the figure.
[0061] There are seven kinds of symbols, i.e. "Red 7" represented
by a digit with oblique lines in a net; "Blue 7" represented by a
digit with oblique lines from upper right to lower left; "BAR"
represented by a pair of alphabetic letters BAR in two columns;
"Watermelon" represented by a picture of a watermelon; "Bell"
represented by of a picture of a bell; "Plum" represented by a
picture of a plum; and "Cherry" represented by a picture of
cherries.
[0062] Each of reels 2-4 is configured as a rotation reel unit
shown in FIG. 7 and attached to a frame 41 via a bracket 42. Each
of reels 2-4 comprises a reel drum having a reel band 44 affixed on
its outer periphery. The symbol sequence described above is drawn
on the outer periphery of the reel band 44. Each bracket 42 is
provided with a stepping motor 45 adapted to rotationally drive the
corresponding reel 2, 3 or 4.
[0063] The structure of respective reels 2-4 is shown in FIG. 8. In
this figure, similar parts as in FIG. 7 are designated with the
same reference signs and are not described herein. A lamp case 46
is provided inside the reel drum 43 behind the reel band 44. In the
respective three compartments of the lamp case 46, back lamps 47a,
47b and 47c are installed. These back lamps 47a-47c are constituted
of a white LED and attached to the back face of the lamp case 46. A
photosensor 49 is also attached to the bracket 42. The photosensor
49 detects a shield 50 provided on the reel drum 43 passing over
the photosensor 49 when the reel drum 43 rotates.
[0064] Each of back lamps 47a-47c is controllably lighted by a lamp
drive circuit described later. Each of the lighted back lamps
47a-47c separately illuminates three symbols positioned in front of
it out of the symbols drawn on the reel band 44 to project the
respective three symbols onto the respective display windows
5-7.
[0065] FIG. 9 shows a table of winning symbol combinations
predetermined in the slot machine 1 in accordance with the
embodiment, which is shown on the payoff display unit 36 at the
front top of the slot machine 1. In a ordinary game, when a
combination of symbols "Red 7"-"Red 7"-"Red 7", a combination of
symbols "Blue 7"-"Blue 7"-"Blue 7", or a combination of symbols
"BAR"-"BAR"-"BAR" is laid beneath an activated pay line, 15 medals
are paid out, and then an R.cndot.B (Ordinary-Bonus) game is
executed.
[0066] Further, in a ordinary game, when three identical symbols
"Watermelon" or "Bell" are laid beneath an activated pay line, a
small prize is won and 15 medals are paid out. Similarly, in a
ordinary game, when a combination of symbols "Bell"-"Bell"-"Red 7",
a combination of symbols "Bell"-"Bell"-"Blue 7", or a combination
of symbols "Bell"-"Bell"-"BAR" is laid, a small prize is also won
and 10 medals are paid out.
[0067] Furthermore, in a ordinary game, when three "Plum" symbols
are laid beneath an activated pay line, then a player is entitled
to a replay, i.e., the player can play an additional game without
inserting a medal, although no medal is paid out. This combination
of three "Plum" symbols is also a combination for occurring a JAC
game winning in the JAC game being played in the course of a RB
game. The JAC game refers to a game to obtain a combination of
"Plum"-"Plum"-"Plum" just beneath the center pay line L1 in the
course of an R.cndot.B game.
[0068] Moreover, in a ordinary game, when one "Cherry" symbol stops
beneath one activated pay line in the first reel 3, a small prize
is won and two medals are paid out, which is referred to as
"two-medal cherry". During betting three medals, when one "Cherry"
symbol stops beneath two activated pay lines, four medals are paid
out, which is referred to as "four-medal cherry".
[0069] FIGS. 10 and 11 show circuit configurations arranged on a
main control bard 61 and a sub-control board 62, respectively, for
controlling the game executing operations of the slot machine 1
described above.
[0070] The control unit of the main control board 61 shown in FIG.
9 comprises a microcomputer 63 as its major component and
additionally a circuit for a random number sampling. The
microcomputer 63 comprises a main CPU (central processing unit) 64
for performing control operations according to a preset program, a
program ROM (read only memory) 65 serving as program storage means,
and a backup-capable control RAM (random access memory) 66. To the
main CPU 64, a clock pulse generation circuit 67 and a frequency
divider 68 for generating reference clock pulses, a random number
generator 69 for generating a certain range of random numbers, and
a random number sampling circuit 70 for specifying one of the
generated random numbers. In addition, an I/O port 71 is connected
for communicating signals with peripheral devices (actuators)
described later. The ROM 65 has a storage unit sectioned so as to
separately store a winning probability table, a symbol table, a
winning symbol combination table and a sequence program.
[0071] Examples of principal actuators whose operation is
controlled by a control signal from the microcomputer 63 include
the stepping motors 45 for rotationally driving the respective
reels 2, 3 and 4, various lamps (game medal insertion amount
indicator lamps 13-15, a start lamp 17, a WIN lamp 19 and a
insertion lamp 21), various display units (a deposition amount
display unit 16, various indicators 9-12, a bonus count display
unit 18 and a payoff amount display unit 20) and a hopper 72 for
containing medals. These are driven by a motor drive circuit 73, an
individual lamp drive circuit 74, an individual display unit drive
circuit 75 and a hopper drive circuit 76, respectively. These drive
circuits 73-76 are connected to the CPU 64 via the I/O port 71 of
the microcomputer 63.
[0072] Examples of major input signal generation means for
generating input signals required for the microcomputer 63 to
produce control signals include an inserted medal sensor 8S for
detecting a medal inserted through the medal insertion slot 8, a
start switch 30S for detecting an operation of the start lever 30,
the above-described deposited medal insertion switches 26-28 and
the deposited medal adjustment switch 29. In addition, there is a
reel position detection circuit 77 for detecting the rotational
position of respective reels 2, 3 and 4 upon receipt of an output
pulse signal from the photosensor 49. The photosensor 49 is
included in the driving mechanism of each of reels 2-4 and not
shown in this figure.
[0073] The reel position detection circuit 77 counts the number of
driving pulses supplied to each of stepping motors 45 after the
reels 2-4 have started rotating, and writes these count values to a
predetermined area in the RAM 66. Accordingly, the RAM 66 stores
the count value corresponding to the rotational position within a
range of one rotation for respective reels 2-4. The photosensor 49
detects the shield plate 50 for each rotation of the reels 2-4 to
generate a reset pulse. This reset pulse is applied to the CPU 64
via the reel position detection circuit 77 and causes the count
value of driving pulses counted in the RAM 66 to be cleared to "0".
This clearing procedure eliminates the misalignment occurring
between the moving display of each symbol and the rotation of each
stepping motor 45 every rotation.
[0074] Examples of the input signal generation means described
above also include a reel stop signal circuit 78 for stopping a
corresponding reel when a stop button 31, 32 or 33 is pushed, a
medal detection unit 72S for counting the number of medals to be
paid out from the hopper 72, and a payout completion signal
generation circuit not shown. The payout completion signal
generation circuit generates a signal indicating the completion of
medal payout when the count value of medals actually paid out
inputted from the medal detection unit 72S reaches the payoff
amount data represented by the count signal inputted from the
display unit drive circuit 75. Each circuit constituting these
input signal generation means is also connected to the main CPU 64
via the I/O port 71.
[0075] To the I/O port 71, a sub-control unit communication port 79
is connected. The microcomputer 63 delivers a signal to the
sub-control board 62 via the sub-control unit communication port
79. The sub-control board 62 shown in FIG. 11 is provided with a
main control unit communication port 80 for receiving this signal.
Communication between the sub-control unit communication port 79
and the main control unit communication port 80 is preformed only
in one direction, namely, from the sub-control unit communication
port 79 to the main control unit communication port 80. In the
embodiment, the signal delivered from the sub-control unit
communication port 79 to the main control unit communication port
80 is composed of a set including a command type representing its
control type in 7-bit length and a parameter representing the
content of the command in 8-bit or 24-bit length.
[0076] The control unit in the sub-control board 62 comprises a
microcomputer 81 as its major component and additionally a circuit
for sampling random numbers. The microcomputer 81 comprises, as
with the microcomputer 63 in the main control board 61, a sub-CPU
82 for performing control operations according to a preset program,
a program ROM 83 serving as program storage means, and a
backup-capable control RAM 84. To the sub-CPU 82, a clock pulse
generation circuit 85 and a frequency divider 86 for generating
reference clock pulses are also connected. In addition, an I/O port
87 is connected for communicating signals with the main control
unit communication port 80 and the actuators described below. The
sub-CPU 82 calculates data required to display gaming machine data
on the liquid crystal panel 39d on the basis of the command
transmitted from the main control board 61 for each game and
updates data stored in the control RAM 84 to the data calculated
for each game.
[0077] Examples of actuators whose operation is controlled by a
control signal from the microcomputer 81 include the high
brightness LEDs 39m2 constituting the above-described illumination
device 39m and the reel back lamps 47a, 47b and 47c housed in the
reels 2-4. The lighting of the LEDs 39m2 is controlled by a driving
signal from a LED drive circuit 98 connected to the I/O port 87.
The lighting of the back lamps 47a-47c is controlled by a driving
signal from a lamp drive circuit 89 connected to the I/O port 87.
As input signal generation means for generating input signals
required for the microcomputer 81 to produce control signals, there
are the cross key 23, A-button 24 and B-button 25. Further, a game
status monitoring timer 97 is connected to the I/O port 87. This
timer 97 is set by the sub-CPU 82 at the time when a game is
started, and measures the period elapsed since the start of the
game.
[0078] An image control IC (integrated circuit) 90 and a sound
source IC 91 are also connected to the I/O 87. To the image control
IC 90, a character ROM 92 for storing character data and a video
RAM 93 serving as a memory for color display representation are
connected. The image control IC 90 displays an image on the liquid
crystal display panel 39d of the reel display window unit 39 under
the control of the microcomputer 81. The microcomputer 81 fetches
information such as the current game status and the type of winning
flag from the main control board 61 via the main control unit
communication port 80 and selects an image effect pattern to be
displayed on the basis of the fetched game status and winning flag.
Then it controls the image control IC 90 to make the liquid crystal
panel 39d display the selected pattern. It is also possible to
allow the liquid crystal panel 39d to display information desired
by a player through the operation of the cross key 23, A-button 24
and B-button 25.
[0079] To the sound source IC 91, a sound ROM 94, in which sound
data has been stored, is connected. The sound source IC 91 makes a
speaker 96 emit a sound via a power amplifier 95 under the control
of the microcomputer 81. The microcomputer 81 controls the sound
source IC 91 and the power amplifier 95 to make the speaker 96 emit
such sound effects as a medal insertion sound, a start lever
operation sound, a stop button operation sound and a game sound
during a bonus game, in accordance with the instructions inputted
from the main control board 61 via the main control unit
communication port 80.
[0080] In the slot machine 1 in accordance with the embodiment
having the configuration described above, when a player operates
the start lever 30, the start switch 30S is turned on. This ON
signal is detected by the main CPU 64 via the I/O port 71. The main
CPU 64 then controls the motor drive circuit 73 to drive the
stepping motors 45, causing rotation of respective reels 2-4. In
conjunction with the rotation, the main CPU 64 performs the
probability lottery procedure. By referring to a probability
lottery table stored in the program ROM 65, a lottery for an
internal winning mode is performed. The type of the internal
winning mode thus drawn and the game status at the time are
transmitted to the sub-control board 62 via the sub-control unit
communication port 79.
[0081] When respective reels 2-4 rotate, a line of moving symbols
is variably displayed in each of window 5-7. The player seeks a
good timing for operating each of stop buttons 31-33 while
observing this variable display at the respective display windows
5-7 and performs push operation for each of stop buttons 31-33 at a
suitable timing. This operation for respective stop buttons 31-33
is detected by the main CPU 64 via the reel stop signal circuit 78.
When detected, the supply of driving pulses to respective stepping
motors 45 is stopped by the control of the main CPU 64. When the
driving pulses to respective stepping motors 45 is stopped, the
respective reels 2-4 stop rotating, and the symbols corresponding
to the above-described operation timing for each of stop buttons
31-33 are stationarily displayed inside the respective windows 5-7.
On this occasion, when the combination of symbols stationarily
displayed inside the respective windows 5-7 coincides with a
predetermined combination of symbols shown in the payoff table,
winning occurs. When the winning occurs, the main CPU 64 controls
the hopper drive circuit 76 to drive the hopper 72 and a
predetermined number of medals are paid out from the payout opening
35 into the receiving tray 34.
[0082] The type of an internal winning mode and the game status
transmitted from the sub-control unit communication port 79 to the
sub-control board 62 is received by the sub-CPU 82 via the main
control unit communication port 80 of the sub-control board 62.
During the slot machine game described above, effects of the slot
machine game are performed under the control of the sub-CPU 82
which has detected the type of internal winning mode and the game
status, such as blinking reel back lamps 47a, 47b and 47c housed in
the reels 2-4.
[0083] Further, in the embodiment, effects in accordance with the
type of the internal winning mode and the game status are also
displayed under the control of the sub-CPU 82 on the liquid crystal
display 39d provided at the reel display window unit 39 in front of
the respective reels 2-4. During the slot machine game described
above, the sub-CPU 82 controls the LED drive circuit 98 to light
the high brightness LEDs 39m2. The light emitted from the high
brightness LEDs 39m2 enters the light guiding plate 39g through the
upper and lower side faces of the plate 39g and then exits the
light guiding panel 39g from its one end face on the side of liquid
crystal panel 39d. The emitted light illuminates the liquid crystal
panel 39d from back face side to make the image displayed on the
liquid crystal display panel 39d visible.
[0084] In the slot machine 1 in accordance with the embodiment,
since the high brightness LEDs 39m2 constituting the illumination
device 39m is lighted merely through application of DC current, an
inverter circuit is not necessary as opposed to a conventional
cold-cathode tube. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an image
displayed on the liquid crystal panel 39d from being disturbed by
the noise generated from an inverter circuit and reduce the
manufacture cost of the slot machine 1. In addition, since the
lighting of the high brightness LEDs 39m2 can be achieved without
using a transformer as opposed to a conventional cold-cathode tube,
no variation occurs in voltage applied to the high brightness LEDs
39ms among respective members of the slot machine 1 due to the coil
loss of the transformer. Therefore, variation in the brilliance
among the illuminated liquid crystal panels 39d of respective
members of the slot machine 1 can be avoided. Furthermore, the
lightness adjustment of the illumination due to the high brightness
LEDs 39m2 can be easily achieved by merely adjusting the amount of
current supplied to the high brightness LEDs 39m2 via variable
resistance or the like.
[0085] In the slot machine 1 in accordance with the embodiment, the
amount of light emitted from the illumination device 39m can be
adjusted by adjusting the amount of current supplied to each of the
LEDs 39m2 arranged in a series on the board 39m1 and
increasing/decreasing the number of the LEDs 39m2 to be supplied
with power. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the overall light
and shade of the liquid crystal panel 39d constituting the electric
display device.
[0086] With regard to the above embodiment, the case where the
illumination devices 39m are provided along the upper and lower
side faces of the light guiding plate 39g, respectively, is
described. However, it is also possible to provide the illumination
devices 39m along the left and right side faces of the light
guiding plate 39g, respectively, and guide the illumination light
emitted from the illumination device 39m and entered the light
guiding plate 39g through the left and right side faces thereof to
the back face side of the liquid crystal display panel 39d.
[0087] A second embodiment will now be described wherein the gaming
machine in accordance with this invention is applied to a slot
machine.
[0088] The configuration of the slot machine in accordance with the
embodiment is the same as the slot machine according to the first
embodiment except the structure of the reel display window unit 39.
FIG. 12 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the reel display
window unit 39 in the slot machine in accordance with the second
embodiment. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the reel
display window unit 39. In FIGS. 12 and 13, the parts same as those
in FIGS. 3 and 4 will be given with the same reference characters
and the descriptions thereof will be omitted.
[0089] As shown in FIG. 13, the reel display window unit 39
comprises a protective frame 39p instead of, and disposed at the
same location as, the light guiding plate 39g and illumination
device 39m in the reel display window unit 39 in accordance with
the first embodiment and an illumination device 39q instead of, and
at the same location as, the reflection sheet h, and is attached to
the machine front panel 38 as shown in FIG. 12. The protective
frame 39p serves to maintain distance between the illumination
device 39q and the diffusion sheet f in such a manner that the red,
green and blue lights emitted from the high brightness LEDs 39q2,
respectively, of the illumination device described later are mixed
to illuminate the diffusion sheet 39f as a white light.
[0090] In the embodiment, the electric display device comprises a
reel glass base 39b, a bezel metal frame 39c, a liquid crystal
display panel 39d, a liquid crystal holder 39e, a diffusion sheet
39f, a backlight frame 39i, an antistatic sheet 39j, a protective
frame 39p and an illumination device 39q.
[0091] FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the illumination
device 39q.
[0092] The illumination device 39q comprises the high brightness
LEDs 39q2 arranged in a matrix on one face of a plate-shaped board
39q1, excluding the substantially light transparent area, having a
substantially same appearance as the light guiding plate 39g of the
above first embodiment. In the board 39q1, an aperture 5e
constituting a display window 5, an aperture 6e constituting a
display window 6, and an aperture 7e constituting a display window
7 are formed to constitute substantially light transparent areas
together with the apertures 5a and 5d, the apertures 6a and 6d, and
the apertures 7a and 7d, respectively. The illumination device 39q
is disposed such that the high brightness LEDs 39q2 are arranged on
its one surface oriented toward the back face side of the liquid
crystal display panel 39d.
[0093] According to this configuration, the light emitted from the
high brightness LEDs 39q2 of the illumination device 39q irradiates
the diffusion sheet 39f as white light resulted from the mixture of
the red, green and blue light, and illuminates the back face of the
liquid crystal display panel 39d after being diffused at the
diffusion sheet 39f.
[0094] Therefore, according to the slot machine of the embodiment,
since the light emitted from the high brightness LEDs 39q2
illuminates directly the liquid crystal display panel 39d, the
illumination of the liquid crystal display panel 39d can be
achieved without using the light guiding plate 39g. Therefore, the
structure of the electric display device can be simplified.
Further, through increasing/decreasing the amount of current to be
supplied to each of a number of high brightness LEDs 39q2 arranged
on one surface of the board 39q1, the amount of the illumination
light emitted from the illumination device 39q can be adjusted over
a wide range. Therefore, as opposed to a conventional slot machine
requiring a plurality of cold-cathode tubes arranged in thickness
direction, it is possible to increase significantly the amount of
the illumination light while keeping the thickness of the
illumination device 39q constant. Accordingly, even when the liquid
crystal display panel 39d is of a large size, distance between the
reels 2-4 and the liquid crystal display panel 39d can be
maintained constant. As a result, even when a large-size liquid
crystal display panel is used, the misalignment between the symbols
drawn on the outer periphery of reels 2-4 and the image displayed
on the liquid crystal display panel 39d occurring depending on the
player's viewing angle can be suppressed to be small, and effects
can be prevented from being impaired. Further, by selecting the
lighting area of the respective high brightness LEDs 39q2 arranged
on the board 39q1 in a matrix or by adjusting the amount of current
supplied to the high brightness LEDs 39q2 in a specified area, it
is possible to selectively illuminate a specified area within the
liquid crystal display panel 39d or adjust the lightness of the
specified area. As a result, display mode for effect display as
well as information display by the electric display device can be
diversified. Further, the amount of power consumption of the
illumination device 39q can be reduced.
[0095] In the embodiment described above, an illumination means is
constituted by disposing the high brightness LEDs 39q2 on the board
39q1. However, this invention is not limited thereto. For example,
an illumination means may be constituted by using the backlight
frame 39i as the board 39q1, and arranging the high brightness LEDs
39q2 in a matrix on the front face of the backlight frame 39i.
[0096] In each of the above embodiments, the number of high
brightness LEDs 39m2 and 39q2 arranged on the boards 39m1 and 39q1
can be appropriately altered in accordance with the amount of light
emitted from the respective high brightness LEDs 39m2 and 39q2 or
the size of the liquid crystal display panel 39d. As the boards
39m1 and 39q1 constituting the illumination devices 39m and 39q,
respectively, not only the merely plate-shaped boards but also, for
example, FPC (flexible printed circuit board) may be used. Further,
in the above respective embodiments, the LED drive circuit 98 is
arranged on the sub-control board 62. However, a constitution in
which the LED drive circuit 98 is arranged on the main control
board 61 is also allowed. Moreover, a constitution is also possible
in which only the LED drive circuit 98 is unitized and power is
supplied to the LED drive circuit 98 directly from a power source
circuit.
[0097] In each of the above described embodiments, this invention
is applied to the liquid crystal display device provided in a slot
machine. However, this invention is not limited to the case but may
also be applied to the liquid crystal display device provided in
another type of gaming machines such as, for example, a pachinko
gaming machine.
[0098] As described above, according to this invention, the
electric display panel is illuminated by LEDs to make the image
displayed on the electric display panel visible. Since LEDs are
lighted merely through application of DC current, no inverter
circuit is necessary. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the
image displayed on the electric display panel from being disturbed
by noise, enhance the quality of the image displayed on the
electric display device and reduce the manufacture cost of a gaming
machine. Further, since the lighting of LEDs requires no
transformer, variations in voltage applied to an illumination means
due to coil loss can be avoided among respective members of a
gaming machine. Accordingly, variations in lightness of the
illumination of the liquid crystal display panel can be prevented.
Moreover, the lightness of the illumination can be easily adjusted
by merely adjusting the amount of current supplied to LEDs by using
variable resistance or the like.
[0099] Although only some exemplary embodiments of this invention
have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will
readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the
exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel
teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such
modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this
invention.
[0100] This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent
applications entitled "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney
Docket No. SHO-0019, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney
Docket No. SHO-0020, "GAMING MACINE" referred to as Attorney Docket
No. SHO-0021, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0022, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0023, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0024, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0025, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0026, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0027, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SH0-0028, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0029, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0030, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0031, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0032, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0033, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SH0-0034, "GAMING MACIHNE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0035, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0036, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0037, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0038, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0039, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0040, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0041, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0042, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0043, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0044, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0045, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0046, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0047, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0048, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0049, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0050, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0051, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney Docket No.
SHO-0052, "MOTOR STOP CONTROL DEVICE" referred to as Attorney
Docket No. SHO-0053, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney
Docket No. SHO-0054, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney
Docket No. SHO-0055, "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney
Docket No. SHO-0056, and "GAMING MACHINE" referred to as Attorney
Docket No. SHO-0057, respectively, all the applications being filed
on Oct. 31, 2003 herewith. The co-pending applications including
specifications, drawings and claims are expressly incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety.
* * * * *