JP2005143652A - Illumination device and game machine loaded with it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an illumination device in which electric energy to be consumed by a lamp for performances or the like is reduced while maintaining a conventional performance effect, and a game machine loaded with it. <P>SOLUTION: The illumination device is provided with a light emitting source composed of a light emitting diode and a plurality of optical fibers connected to the light emitting source, and a spherical light emitting part formed on the other end face of the optical fiber illuminates the lamp for the performances of the game machine. Thus, the number of the light emitting diodes provided in the game machine is made less than before and the power consumption of the entire game machine is saved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a pachinko machine, a slot machine, and other gaming machines, and more particularly to a gaming machine in which power consumption is reduced.

  In recent years, in gaming machines such as slot machines, it has become an important factor to emphasize differentiation from competitors' machines by making various designs on the front panel and making presentations appealing to the visual sense of the player. .

  For example, on the front panel of a slot machine, in addition to a rotating device that rotates and displays a picture drawn on a reel, there are various kinds of devices such as an electrical device made up of many lamps, an acoustic device such as a speaker, and a liquid crystal display device. A staging device is provided. In particular, the lighting device is arranged on the front panel in combination with a plurality of effect lamps that are designed in a complicated shape so as to stand out for the players. Many light emitting elements such as light emitting diodes having luminance are arranged.

  However, conventional gaming machines such as slot machines are provided with a large number of effect lamps on the front panel in order to obtain as many players as possible by performing effects that appeal to the visual perception of the players as described above. The power consumed by these production lamps is also a considerable amount.

  The present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems, and an illumination device for a gaming machine, such as reducing the amount of power consumed by a rendering lamp while maintaining a conventional rendering effect, and a game equipped with the same The purpose is to provide a machine.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a gaming machine in which an electric decoration device including a lamp is provided on a front panel unit, and at least one light source and a plurality of light sources are connected to the light source. And an optical fiber that introduces light supplied from a source from one end and transmits the light to the lamp provided on the other end side for illumination.

  According to the gaming machine of the first aspect, the light supplied from the light source is dispersed by the optical fibers provided for the light source, and the lamp is illuminated. Thereby, the light quantity which each lamp requires can be distributed efficiently, and the number of light emission sources can be reduced compared with the past. Therefore, the power consumed by the lamp can be reduced.

  A second aspect of the present invention is the gaming machine according to the first aspect, wherein an end surface of the optical fiber on the side where the lamp is provided has a spherical shape.

  According to the gaming machine of the second aspect, the light transmitted through the optical fiber diffuses on the spherical end surface of the optical fiber to illuminate the lamp.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the plurality of optical fibers are disposed so that each end thereof surrounds the light emitting source. It is connected to a light source.

  According to the gaming machine of the third aspect, since the light supplied from the light source is introduced into the plurality of optical fibers without leakage, the loss of light can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 4 is the gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light emitting source is a light emitting diode.

  According to the gaming machine of the fourth aspect, the light emitting diode as the light emitting source emits light, and the lamp is illuminated through the plurality of optical fibers connected to the light emitting diode.

  The invention according to claim 5 is an illuminating device for illuminating a lamp provided on a front panel portion of a gaming machine, wherein a plurality of light emitting diodes are connected to the light emitting diodes, and the light emitting diodes emit light. And an optical fiber that introduces light to be transmitted from one end and transmits the light to the lamp provided on the other end side for illumination.

  According to the illumination device of the fifth aspect, the light emitted from the light emitting diode is dispersed by the optical fibers provided in a plurality with respect to the light emitting diode to illuminate the lamp. Thereby, the light quantity which each lamp requires can be distributed efficiently, and the number of light emitting diodes can be reduced compared with the past. Therefore, the power consumed by the lighting device can be reduced.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the illumination device according to the fifth aspect, wherein the end face of the optical fiber on the side where the lamp is provided has a spherical shape.

  According to the illumination device of the sixth aspect, the light transmitted through the optical fiber is diffused on the spherical end surface of the optical fiber to illuminate the lamp.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the illumination device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the plurality of optical fibers are arranged so that each end thereof surrounds the light emitting diode. It is connected to a light emitting diode.

  According to the illumination device of the seventh aspect, since light emitted from the light emitting diode is introduced into the plurality of optical fibers without leakage, light loss can be reduced.

  According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the light emitted from the light source is supplied to the plurality of optical fibers without omission, and the light is efficiently distributed to illuminate the lamp. The lamp can be illuminated with the same brightness at the source, in other words, the same effect can be maintained. Thereby, the power consumption of the gaming machine can be reduced.

  According to the fifth to seventh aspects of the present invention, the light emitted from the light emitting diodes is efficiently distributed to illuminate the lamp, so that it is possible to reduce the power consumption by providing fewer light emitting diodes than in the past. Moreover, even if the lamp has a complicated shape with a sophisticated design, the end face of the optical fiber can be arranged in accordance with the shape of the lamp so that the lamp can be illuminated uniformly.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, a slot machine 1 will be described as a gaming machine to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the external structure of the slot machine 1, and FIG. 2 is a view showing the internal structure of the slot machine 1. In the slot machine 1, a front door 2 is attached to a box-shaped housing 3 by a hinge mechanism so as to be opened and closed.

  In FIG. 1, on the side facing the player of the front door 2, an upper panel portion 21, a middle panel portion 22, and a lower panel portion 23 corresponding to a so-called decorative plate, which are substantially integrally formed of hard plastic, respectively. Is provided. An operation console 24 is provided integrally between the middle panel portion 22 and the lower panel portion 23, which slightly protrudes toward the player and on which switches described later for performing game operations are arranged. Note that the upper panel portion 21, the middle panel portion 22, the lower panel portion 23, and the console 24 face the player side, and these constitute a “front panel portion”.

  The upper panel portion 21 is provided with effect lamps 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b that are designed in design such that the shape of the light emitting region is linear or arcuate. In addition, each lighting lamp 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b incorporates a lighting device, which will be described later, formed from a high-intensity light emitting diode.

  In addition, a liquid crystal display device 212 is disposed in the approximate center of the upper panel portion 21 so as to face a display window 213 formed by fitting a transparent hard plastic plate or the like. That is, an image displayed on the liquid crystal display device 212 is viewed through the display window 213. Note that the liquid crystal display device 212 is one of the effect display devices that mainly display images related to game effects.

  Further, on both end sides of the display window 213, mesh-like sound emitting portions 211a and 211b, respectively, on which a speaker (not shown) that emits effect sound effects is attached on the back side are arranged.

  The middle panel portion 22 is provided with a panel surface 221 formed of a hard plastic plate or the like. A substantially rectangular transparent display window 222 is formed substantially at the center of the panel surface 221, and the three reels 311a, 311b, and 311c attached in the housing 3 can be seen through the display window 222. .

  Here, although details will be described later, the spinning device 31 installed in the housing 3 is configured by arranging three cylindrical reels 311a, 311b, and 311c in the rotation axis direction, and each reel 311a. , 311b, 311c, a plurality of types of symbols are drawn along the circumferential direction. Then, the player can visually check the three symbols in the vertical direction drawn on one reel through the display window 222 and the symbols in the three rows of reels arranged in the horizontal direction. Further, the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c are rotated and stopped in accordance with the player's instruction operation, whereby the type of the displayed reel symbol is changed.

  Further, on the panel surface 221 of the middle panel portion 22, a game information display device 223 for effecting and displaying information related to a gaming state such as an internal winning for a winning combination by turning on a lamp (not shown) provided on the back side, and A plurality of light emitting diodes arranged in a matrix and selectively emitting light to each of the light emitting diodes, and a dot display device 224 that produces a dot image and a game medal credited (stored) in the slot machine 1 There is provided a numerical information display device 225 composed of a 7-segment LED for displaying numerical information such as the number of “medals”), the number of medals won by winning, or the number of winning winning combinations.

  Further, on the panel surface 221, the usage method of the slot machine 1, explanation of game contents, and the like are drawn by characters and the like designed to enhance the visual effect.

  On the lower side of the middle panel portion 22, an operation console 24 having a flat surface that is slightly lowered toward the player side (front side) is formed. A medal insertion unit 241 for inserting medals is provided on the right side of the plane of the console 24, and two bet buttons 243 and 244, which are push button switches, are provided on the left side of the plane. .

  The bet buttons 243 and 244 are button switches for presenting the number of medals to bet on one game of the slot machine. When the game is started, the bet button 243 is pressed, whereby two medals are bet on the game from the stored medals. Similarly, when the bet button 244 is pressed, three medals are bet. Note that the bet button 244 is particularly called a “max bet button” because it is provided to present the maximum number of medals that can be bet on one game.

  A start lever 245 for instructing the start of rotation of the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c is provided on the left side of the front surface of the console 24, and the rotation of the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c is stopped at the center of the front surface of the console 24. Three stop buttons 246a, 246b, and 246c, which are push button switches for instructing, are provided corresponding to the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c.

  The start lever 245 is provided with a swingable operation rod having a spherical operation knob at the tip, and is turned on when the operation rod is tilted, and automatically when the hand is released from the operation rod by the biasing force of the spring. It is formed of a switch unit that returns to a position and is turned off. The stop buttons 246a, 246b, and 246c are switches for independently stopping the rotating reels 311a, 311b, and 311c by pressing them.

  That is, when the player presses the bet button 243 or 244, the number of medals bet on the game is presented, and when the start lever 245 is tilted, the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c rotate at the same time. It has become. At this time, the slot machine 1 performs a lottery of a winning combination (winning winning combination) by internal processing (hereinafter referred to as “internal lottery”).

  When each reel 311a, 311b, 311c reaches a predetermined number of revolutions, the reel stop operation by the stop buttons 246a, 246b, 246c is ready. In this state, when the player presses the stop buttons 246a, 246b, and 246c in any order, the corresponding reels are controlled to stop. When the symbols displayed by the stopped three reels 311a, 311b, 311c are aligned on an effective line in a combination corresponding to the winning combination in the internal lottery, the winning combination is obtained, and according to the type of winning combination. A number of medals are distributed to the player.

  A key hole 247 into which a key for unlocking the front door 2 is inserted is provided on the front right side of the console 24. When an administrator of the slot machine 1 inserts a predetermined key into the keyhole 247 and performs an unlocking operation, the front door 2 attached to the housing 3 can be opened forward by a hinge mechanism, and the front door 2 can be opened. These are automatically locked when closed to the housing 3 side.

  The lower panel portion 23 is provided with a panel 231 for introducing game contents of the slot machine 1 or appearance characters. In addition, on both side portions of the lower panel portion 23, there are provided effect lamps 235a and 235b in which an illuminating device having a high-intensity light emitting diode, which will be described later, is installed. Note that the effect of the game is enhanced by lighting and blinking the above-described plurality of effect lamps 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b, 235a, 235b and the like as the game progresses.

  Also, on the lower side of the panel 231, there are provided a discharge port 232 for discharging medals and a tray 233 for receiving the discharged medals. Further, adjacent to the discharge port 232, sound emitting portions 234a and 234b formed from a large number of holes are provided, and a speaker described later that emits effect sound effects is disposed on the back side of the sound emitting portions 234a and 234b.

  Next, the back surface structure of the front door 2 and the internal structure of the housing 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the front door 2 is opened from the housing 3.

  In the figure, on the upper part of the back surface of the front door 2, a light emitting unit 253 e that emits illumination light through an effect lamp 214, a light emitting source 253 s formed of a high-intensity light emitting diode, and light from the light emitting source 253 s A lighting device 253, which will be described later, provided with a light guide portion 253f formed from an optical fiber that guides light to the light emitting portion 253e is disposed. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a similar lighting device 253 is provided on the back surface of the front door 2 for the other effect lamps 215 a, 215 b, 216 a, 216 b, 235 a, and 235 b provided on the front panel portion. It is arranged.

  In addition, speakers 251a and 251b are attached to the back surface of the front door 2 so as to face the sound emitting units 211a and 211b. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the display window 213 is positioned between the speakers 251 a and 251 b, and the liquid crystal display device 212 is attached with the display surface facing the display window 213. Further, a sub-control board 200 formed of an electric circuit board is attached to the back side of the liquid crystal display device 212.

  Although the details will be described later, the overall operation of the slot machine 1 is comprehensively controlled by the main control board 300 provided on the housing 3 side, and the sub-control board 200 controls the display control of the liquid crystal display device 212. Also, control relating to game effects, such as control of effect lamps 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b, 235a, 235b, speakers 251a, 251b, 252a, 252b, is mainly performed.

  Below the sub-control board 200, a panel surface 221 having a display window 222 for viewing the reels 311a, 311b, 311c is attached. Below the display window 222, an electric circuit (relay) substrate called a central display substrate 240 is provided. The central display board 240 is electrically connected to switches such as bet buttons 243 and 244 provided on the console 24, a start lever 245, and stop buttons 246a, 246b, and 246c. Are connected so as to be transferred to the main control board 300.

  Below the central display board 240, a selection mechanism 261 that distributes the input material to be inserted into the medal insertion unit 241 according to whether it is a regular medal or a foreign object and a medal distributed by the selection mechanism 261 are provided in the housing 3. A guide member 262 for guiding the hopper device 321, a guide member 263 for guiding the foreign matter distributed by the selection mechanism 261 to the discharge port 232, and a guide for guiding medals discharged from the hopper device 321 to the discharge port 232. A member 264 is provided. In addition, speakers 252a and 252b are attached to both sides of the discharge port 232 so as to face the sound emitting units 234a and 234b described above, so that production effect sounds are output via the sound emitting units 234a and 234b. It is configured.

  Next, a rotating drum device 31 including three reels 311a, 311b, and 311c is provided in the approximate center in the housing 3. The rotating device 31 is positioned and attached to a predetermined frame (reference number omitted) of the housing 3 so that the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c face the display window 222 when the front door 2 is closed to the housing 3 side. ing. In addition, on the upper surface of the spinning device 31, a spinning device substrate 310 (not shown), which is a control board for controlling a stepping motor that rotationally drives the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c, is provided.

  A main control board 300 that centrally controls the entire operation of the slot machine 1 is attached above the rotating drum 31. A hopper device 321, an auxiliary storage unit 322 for storing medals overflowing from the hopper device 321, and a main power supply device 331 are provided below the spinning device 31. On the side surface of the main power supply device 331, a power supply device substrate 330 corresponding to a so-called switchboard is provided. Further, an external central terminal board 390 that can be connected to a management computer called a “hall computer” installed in the game facility is attached to the upper right wall surface in the housing 3.

  The main control board 300, the sub control board 200, the central display board 240, the spinning device board 310, the power supply board 330, and the external concentrated terminal board 390 are all insulative resins on which conductive wiring patterns are formed. An electronic circuit such as an integrated circuit (IC), a transistor, a resistor, and a capacitor is mounted on the substrate and is formed as a so-called electric circuit substrate connected by wiring. The main control board 300 and the sub control board 200 each have a unit structure housed in a hard plastic case.

  Next, a control system provided in the slot machine 1 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. First, although not shown in FIG. 2 for convenience of explanation, the main control board 300 includes a sub-control board 200, a rotation device board 310, a central display board 240, a power supply board 330, and an external concentrated terminal board 390. Each is connected by a distribution cable.

  The main control board 300 is equipped with a CPU as an arithmetic unit and electronic components such as a ROM and a RAM, which are semiconductor memories, and the CPU calculates in accordance with a system program and a slot machine game program stored in advance in the ROM. Processing is performed, and a control signal including predetermined command contents is sent to each control board 200, 310, etc., thereby performing distributed control, thereby centrally controlling the entire slot machine 1.

  The central display board 240 is connected to the bet buttons 243 and 244, the start lever 245, and the stop buttons 246a, 246b, and 246c, and functions as a relay board that transfers output signals output from these switches to the main control board 300. Further, the central display board 240 transfers an output signal output from the game medal detection sensor provided in the selection mechanism 261 to the main control board 300, informs the number of medals inserted into the medal insertion part 241, and To inform you of the clogging and clogging. Further, a monitor LED 248 is connected to the central display board 240, and when the slot machine 1 is abnormal, error information thereof is displayed.

  The sub-control board 200 is a control board for mainly controlling and executing effects. The sub-control board 200 includes an illumination control unit 201 for controlling the lighting device 253 that emits the lamps 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b, 235a, 235b and the like for lighting, and a speaker 251a, A sound control unit 202 for controlling sounding of 251b, 252a, and 252b, and a display device for performing control for displaying an effect image on the liquid crystal display device 212, which includes a VDP (Video Display Processor), a frame memory, a video RAM, or the like A control unit 203 and a game information display control unit 204 that performs control to display game information on the dot display device 224, the game information display device 223, and the like are provided.

  When the sub control board 200 is supplied with a control signal suggesting the start of production from the main control board 300, the sub control board 200 drives the production lamps 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b, 235a, 235b, and the liquid crystal display device 212. By displaying the effect video on the screen, the effect that appeals to the visual and auditory sense of the player is performed.

  Stepping motors 312a, 312b, and 312c that rotate the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c and photosensors 313a, 313b, and 313c that detect the rotational positions of the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c are connected to the spinning device substrate 310. Has been. When the control signal indicating that the reels 311a, 311b, and 311c should be rotated or stopped is supplied from the main control board 300, the spinning device board 310 receives the detection signals from the photosensors 313a, 313b, and 313c. While appropriately grasping the rotation position of each reel 311a, 311b, 311c, the drive pulse signal to the stepping motors 312a, 312b, 312c is controlled to control the operation of the reels 311a, 311b, 311c.

  The power supply device board 330 is formed with a power distribution circuit that distributes various power supply voltages generated by the main power supply device 331 to the hopper device 321 and other parts, and system power necessary for the operation of the slot machine 1 is supplied from the power distribution circuit. Supply. When the power supply device board 330 receives a command to pay out medals from the main control board 300, the power supply device board 330 controls the hopper device 321 to pay out medals.

  The external concentration terminal board 390 is a terminal board for sending a status signal of the slot machine 1 output from the main control board 300 or a signal indicating the progress of the game to the hall computer.

  Next, the configuration of the illumination device 253 provided in the above-described effect lamps 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b, 235a, 235b will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 4A is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the illumination device 253, and FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the illumination device 253 provided in the slot machine 1. It is the figure which fractured | ruptured and represented some upper panel parts.

  In FIG. 4A, an illumination device 253 includes a light source 253s, which is a single high-intensity light-emitting diode, and a light guide unit including a bundle of a plurality of optical fibers that guide (transmit) light from the light source 253s. 253f, and a light-emitting portion 253e that emits light from the light-emitting source 253s is formed at the end of each optical fiber. More specifically, each end of the plurality of optical fibers forming the light guide portion 253f is closely packed around the high-intensity light emitting diode that is the light emission source 253s, so that it is connected in a so-called dome shape. Thus, the light emitted from the light source 253s is introduced from the end of each optical fiber almost evenly and without leaking.

  In addition, a light emitting unit 253e having a spherical cut surface is formed at the other end of each optical fiber that is the light guide unit 253f, and light guided from the light source 253s through the optical fiber is guided. Are diffused and emitted at the spherical end face.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, the illumination device 253 is incorporated in the effect lamps 214, 215b, and 215c, and is arranged so that each of the light emitting units 253e emits light so that each lamp is turned on. Is done. That is, a plurality of light emitting portions 253e are arranged in accordance with the shape of the effect lamps 214, 215b, 215c, in other words, the shape of the light emitting region.

  According to the illuminating device 253 having such a configuration, the light from one light source 253s is dispersed by a plurality of optical fibers and supplied to each effect lamp 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b. Since the required amount of light can be efficiently distributed without waste, the number of high-intensity light-emitting diodes as the light-emitting source 253s can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. In addition, since light from the light source 253s is introduced into the light guide unit 253f made of a plurality of optical fibers without leakage and is emitted from the light emitting unit 253e, it is possible to reduce the loss of illumination light. The number of high-luminance light-emitting diodes that are the sources 253s can be reduced. Therefore, the power consumed by the production lamps 214, 215a, 215b, 216a, 216b, 235a, 235b can be saved, and the power consumption of the slot machine 1 can be reduced.

  In addition, since the light emitting portion 253e, which is the tip of the optical fiber, is formed smaller than the conventional high-intensity light emitting diode, even in the case of an intricately shaped lighting lamp with a complicated design, the light emitting portion 253e is almost matched to the shape. They can be arranged at equal intervals, and the light emitting area of the effect lamp can be illuminated almost uniformly.

  FIG. 5 shows the number of high-intensity light-emitting diodes (LEDs 1 to 5) in the case where the production lamp of the slot machine 1 is provided with a conventional high-intensity light-emitting diode and when the illumination device 253 according to the present invention is adopted. FIG. As shown in the figure, in the past, 20 high-intensity light emitting diodes (LEDs 1 to 20) were provided in the production lamp, but by adopting this lighting device 253, the number of high-intensity light emitting diodes is The number can be reduced to five (LEDs 1 to 5), and the power consumption of the effect lamp can be reduced to ¼.

It is a front view showing the external structure of the slot machine. It is a figure showing the internal structure of the slot machine. It is a block diagram showing the control system of a slot machine. FIG. 4A is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the illumination device provided in the effect lamp. FIG. 4B is a diagram in which a part of the upper panel portion of the slot machine is broken to illustrate the configuration of the lighting device. It is the figure which compared the number of high-intensity light emitting diodes at the time of providing the conventional high-intensity light emitting diode in the effect lamp of a slot machine, and the case where the illuminating device which concerns on this invention is employ | adopted.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Slot machine, 2 ... Front door, 3 ... Housing,
200 ... Sub-control board, 212 ... Liquid crystal display device,
214, 215, 216, 235 ... Production lamp,
240 ... central display board, 241 ... medal slot,
243, 244 ... Bet button, 245 ... Start lever,
246a, 246b, 246c ... Stop button,
251a, 251b, 252a, 252b ... speakers,
253 ... Illumination device, 253e ... Light emitting part,
253f ... Light guide part (optical fiber),
253s ... Light emission source (high brightness light emitting diode)
31 ... Cylinder device, 311a, 311b, 311c ... Reel,
300 ... Main control board

Claims (7)

A gaming machine in which an electric decoration device comprising a lamp is provided on the front panel portion, and at least one light emitting source,
A plurality of optical fibers connected to the light emitting source, and an optical fiber that introduces light supplied from the light emitting source from one end and transmits the light to the lamp provided on the other end side for illumination. Gaming machine. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein an end surface of the optical fiber on the side where the lamp is provided has a spherical shape. The gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the plurality of optical fibers is disposed so that each end thereof surrounds the light source and is connected to the light source. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting source is a light emitting diode. An illumination device for illuminating a lamp provided on a front panel portion of a gaming machine, wherein a light emitting diode,
A plurality of optical fibers connected to the light-emitting diodes, for introducing light emitted from the light-emitting diodes from one end and transmitting the light to the lamp provided on the other end side for illumination. Lighting device. The lighting device according to claim 5, wherein an end surface of the optical fiber on a side where the lamp is provided has a spherical shape. The lighting device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein each of the plurality of optical fibers is arranged so that each end thereof surrounds the light emitting diode and is connected to the light emitting diode.

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