JP2010162287A - Image display apparatus and game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

An image display device and a game machine that are easy to observe are provided.
An image display device 4 having a display area 421 for displaying an image for one screen, wherein the display area 421 forms a right-eye image and a left-eye image, and is three-dimensionally viewable by parallax. It has a 3D image display area 423 that can display an image, and a 2D image display area 422 that displays a 2D image. According to this, by observing the displayed two-dimensional image, it is possible for an observer who is difficult to recognize the displayed image as a stereoscopic image to grasp the display contents, and to display without watching the three-dimensional image. Since the contents can be grasped, eye fatigue can be reduced.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device that displays an image, and a gaming machine including the image display device.

Conventionally, as a gaming machine, when a game ball wins a winning opening provided on the game board, a pachinko machine that pays out the game ball according to the number of the winning game balls, and a predetermined pattern is prepared by a lottery operation A pachislot machine that pays out a predetermined number of coins is known. As such a gaming machine, a gaming machine including an image display device such as a liquid crystal panel is known. With such an image display device, a lottery image, a jackpot image or the like in which a picture and a number are scrolled is displayed, so that the gaming property of the gaming machine is enhanced.
As such an image display device, there is known an image display device capable of forming a right-eye image and a left-eye image and displaying a stereoscopically viewable image by parallax (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3096613

  However, in an image display device that displays a stereoscopic image as described in Patent Literature 1, it may be difficult for an observer to recognize an observed image as a stereoscopic image. There is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the contents of. In addition, even an observer who can recognize a stereoscopic image has a problem that eye fatigue is great when the observation time is long. For this reason, there has been a demand for an image display device that allows easy observation of images.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image display device and a gaming machine that are easy to observe.

  In order to achieve the above object, the image display device of the present invention is an image display device having a display area for displaying an image for one screen, and the display area forms an image for the right eye and an image for the left eye. Thus, the image display apparatus has a three-dimensional image display area capable of displaying a three-dimensional image stereoscopically viewed by parallax, and a two-dimensional image display area for displaying a two-dimensional image.

  According to the present invention, while displaying a three-dimensional image in the three-dimensional image display region, a two-dimensional image related to the three-dimensional image (for example, a two-dimensional image obtained by converting the three-dimensional image into a two-dimensional image) is converted into a two-dimensional image. By displaying in the display area, even an observer who is difficult to recognize the image displayed in the three-dimensional image display area as a stereoscopic image can easily grasp the contents of the image displayed in the display area. . Further, even an observer who can recognize a stereoscopic image can reduce eye fatigue by observing a two-dimensional image as compared to observing a three-dimensional image. By displaying the two-dimensional image and the three-dimensional image in one screen in this way, it is possible to configure an image display device that is easy for the observer to observe with little fatigue.

In the present invention, a display unit having the display area, and a parallax generation unit that is arranged in accordance with the three-dimensional image display area and causes the right-eye image and the left-eye image to enter the right eye and the left eye, respectively. It is preferable.
Here, as the parallax generation means, the generated right-eye image and left-eye image are restricted from entering the left eye and right eye of the observer, and the right-eye pixel and the left-eye pixel enter the right eye and the left eye. In addition to a barrier member that allows this, a minute lenticular lens is provided, and a lens member that causes the right-eye image and the left-eye image to enter the right eye and the left eye due to the lens effect of the lenticular lens, respectively. Can do.

  According to the present invention, the parallax generation unit can appropriately cause the right-eye image and the left-eye image to enter the observer's right eye and left eye, respectively, and recognizes the displayed three-dimensional image as a stereoscopic image to the observer. It can be made easy. In addition, by arranging such a parallax generation unit in accordance with the three-dimensional image display area, it is possible to easily set the emission directions of the right-eye image and the left-eye image.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the parallax generation unit is disposed on an image light emitting side that respectively forms the right-eye image and the left-eye image in the display area.
Here, in order to appropriately separate the right-eye image and the left-eye image, it is necessary to appropriately dispose the parallax generation unit according to the arrangement of the pixels constituting the display unit. On the other hand, according to the present invention, since the parallax generation unit is arranged on the image light emission side, the parallax generation unit can be easily aligned with the pixel, and the parallax generation for the display unit can be performed. The means can be easily attached.

  Moreover, as a display means, the panel which has self-light emitting elements, such as organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) and a plasma, can be mentioned, A liquid crystal panel etc. which modulate the backlight and the light irradiated from the said backlight, etc. The structure provided with a light modulation apparatus can be mentioned. Of these, in the latter configuration, the parallax generating means can be arranged between the backlight and the light modulation device. However, in the former case, the back side of the panel (the base end side in the light beam emission direction) ) Cannot be provided with parallax generating means. Therefore, by providing the parallax generating unit on the image light emission side, the parallax generating unit can be arranged regardless of the configuration of the display unit. Therefore, the degree of freedom in designing the image display device can be improved.

A gaming machine according to the present invention includes the above-described image display device.
According to the present invention, the same effects as those of the above-described image display device can be obtained, and an image display in which a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional image are combined can be performed. it can.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Schematic configuration of gaming machine]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment.
The gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as a pachinko machine, and a game ball ejected by an ejection device (not shown) according to the operation of the handle 35 moves while falling on the board surface of the game board 31. When a predetermined winning opening is won, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out.
As shown in FIG. 1, the gaming machine 1 includes a frame 2 and a gaming machine main body 3 housed in the frame 2.

[Appearance structure of gaming machine body]
A gaming board 31, a front door 32, an upper dish 33, a lower dish 34, and a handle 35 that cover the front surface of the gaming board 31 are provided on the front side of the gaming machine body 3 (side facing the player). The gaming machine main body 3 includes an image display device 4, a control device 5 (FIG. 2), an injection device (not shown), a winning sensor 6 (FIG. 2), and a payout device 7 (FIG. 2). I have.
The game board 31 has a game area 31A surrounded by a substantially circular side wall 31B, and a rail 311 is formed in the game area 31A for guiding a game ball emitted by the injection device. A plurality of nails 312 for changing the trajectory of the game ball are arranged at appropriate positions on the surface of the game board 31 corresponding to the game area 31A.

  A substantially horizontally long opening 31C is formed in the approximate center of the game area 31A, and a transparent cover 313 is fitted into the opening 31C. An image display device 4 to be described later is disposed on the back side of the transparent cover 313, and an image displayed by the image display device 4 is observed through the transparent cover 313.

A pair of winning ports 314 and winning ports 315 and 316 are provided on both the left and right sides and below the opening 31C. Among these, the winning opening 315 located below the opening 31C is a start chucker that causes the control device 5 (FIG. 2) described later to execute a lottery process when a game ball wins. In addition, a winning port 316 located below the winning port 315 is an attacker that is opened for a predetermined time when a big hit is made in the lottery process. Each of the winning openings 314 to 316 is provided with a winning sensor 6 (FIG. 2) for detecting a winning of a game ball. When the winning sensor 6 detects a winning of a gaming ball, A detection signal is output.
In addition, at the lower end of the game area 31A, an out port 317 for collecting game balls that have not won the winning ports 314 to 316 is formed.

The upper plate 33 and the lower plate 34 are respectively provided substantially at the center and the lower side of the front surface of the gaming machine body 3, and the upper plate 33 and the lower plate 34 are provided with the payout device 7 (see FIG. A game ball is paid out by 2).
The handle 35 is provided on the lower right side of the front surface of the gaming machine main body 3, and when the handle 35 is rotated, the injection device (not shown) has the strength corresponding to the rotation angle of the handle 35, and the game ball is moved to the aforementioned position. It is injected onto the game board 31 along the rail 311.

[Configuration of control device]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the control device 5.
The control device 5 is configured as a circuit board on which a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like is mounted, and is housed in the frame 2 described above. The control device 5 controls the operation of the gaming machine main body 3 and includes a winning determination unit 51, a lottery processing unit 52, and an operation control unit 53, as shown in FIG.

The winning determination unit 51 determines whether or not a game ball has won a winning opening 315 based on a detection signal input from the winning sensor 6.
The lottery processing unit 52 executes a lottery process when the winning determination unit 51 determines that a game ball has won the winning opening 315.
The operation control unit 53 controls the operation of each component of the gaming machine main body 3. For example, when the detection signal is input from the winning sensor 6, the operation control unit 53 causes the payout device 7 to pay out a predetermined number of game balls according to the number of winning game balls. In addition, the operation control unit 53 opens the winning opening 316 for a predetermined time when the lottery processing in the lottery processing unit 52 is a big hit. Further, the operation control unit 53 outputs a command for displaying an image corresponding to the operation state of the gaming machine main body 3 to the display control means 44 described later of the image display device 4.

[Configuration of image display device]
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the image display device 4.
The image display device 4 displays an image corresponding to a command input from the control device 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the image display device 4 includes a backlight 41, a liquid crystal panel 42, a parallax barrier 43, display control means 44, and a housing 45 that houses them.
Among these, the housing | casing 45 is a metal housing | casing which has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. The housing 45 is formed with an opening 451 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view and having a size corresponding to a display area 421 described later of the liquid crystal panel 42. The opening area of the opening 451 is set to be substantially the same as that of the opening 31C described above, and the edge of the opening 451 is in contact with the back surface of the game board 31.

  The backlight 41 is composed of a cold cathode tube bent in a substantially W shape and a reflector provided on the back side of the cold cathode tube, and discharge light generated by applying a voltage to the cold cathode tube is reflected by the reflector. Reflected and emitted to the liquid crystal panel 42 side. The backlight 41 is not limited to such a configuration, and an LED (Light Emitting Diode) is used instead of a combination of an L-shaped or U-shaped edge-type cold cathode tube and a light guide plate, or a cold cathode tube. A configuration in which a plurality of solid light sources such as the above are arranged may be employed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a pixel configuration of the liquid crystal panel 42.
The liquid crystal panel 42 is a fixed pixel type image forming device. This liquid crystal panel 42 is substantially an arrangement in which pixels composed of three sub-pixels each having R (red), G (green), and B (blue) color filters arranged on the light beam emission side are arranged vertically and horizontally. The display area 421 has a rectangular shape, and an image for one screen is displayed in the display area 421. Although not shown in detail, each of these sub-pixels includes a TFT (Thin Filmed Transistor) that applies a voltage to a liquid crystal sealed and sealed between a pair of transparent substrates as a switching element. When the voltage applied as the image signal is changed to change the alignment state of the liquid crystal, the incident light beam is modulated according to the image signal.

As shown in FIG. 4, such a display area 421 includes a display area 422 as a two-dimensional image display area for displaying a two-dimensional image, and a display area 423 as a three-dimensional image display area for displaying a three-dimensional image. In one screen.
Among these, the display area 423 is located above the display area 422 when the display area 421 is viewed from the front, and is configured by the above-described pixels and similarly to the right-eye pixel 423R that forms the right-eye image. It is composed of the above-described pixels and is composed of a left-eye pixel 423L that forms a left-eye image. These pixels 423R and 423L are alternately arranged in the width direction (column direction) and the vertical direction (row direction), respectively. ing. Note that the right-eye pixels 423R and the left-eye pixels 423L may be alternately arranged along at least one of the width direction and the vertical direction without being limited to such a pixel arrangement.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the parallax barrier 43 corresponds to the parallax generation unit of the present invention, separates the right-eye image and the left-eye image formed in the display area 423, and displays the right-eye image on the right eye of the observer. The left eye image is incident on the left eye. The parallax barrier 43 is attached with an adhesive or the like at the position corresponding to the display area 423 and on the image light emission side formed by the display area 423 when the image display device 4 is manufactured.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view showing the image display device 4. In FIG. 5, the display control means 44 and the housing 45 are not shown.
As shown in FIG. 5, the parallax barrier 43 includes a light transmitting body 431 disposed on the image light emitting side of the liquid crystal panel 42 and a plurality of masks 432 disposed on the light beam emitting side of the light transmitting body 431. I have. For this reason, the parallax barrier 43 has a configuration in which a plurality of masks 432 are arranged in stripes when viewed from the front side (image light emission side). Each mask 432 is disposed across the boundary between the pixels 423L and 423R adjacent to each other, and a slit 433 is formed between the masks 432. The light transmitted through the pixels 423L and 423R is emitted outside the image display device 4 through the slits 433.

The translucent body 431 has a wedge shape formed by filling a gap between adjacent pixels 423L and 423R with a plurality of V-shaped grooves extending in the vertical direction along the gap, and filling each groove with a light shielding material. A light shielding body 434.
These light shields 434 restrict the light emitted from the left-eye pixel 423L from traveling to the left and entering the right eye of the observer, and the light is directed to the right with respect to the normal direction of the surface of the liquid crystal panel 42. Advance in an inclined direction. For this reason, the light of the image for the left eye emitted from the pixel 423L is incident on the left eye EL of the observer.
The light blocking body 434 restricts the light emitted from the right-eye pixel 423 </ b> R from traveling to the right and entering the left eye of the observer, and the light is leftward with respect to the normal direction of the surface of the liquid crystal panel 42. Proceed in a slanted direction. For this reason, the light of the right-eye image emitted from the pixel 423R enters the observer's right eye ER.

  Returning to FIG. 3, although not shown in detail, the display control unit 44 is configured as a circuit board on which a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or a VDP (Video Processing Unit), a VRAM (Video Random Access Memory), or the like is mounted. ing. The display control unit 44 generates an image corresponding to a command input from the control device 5. Specifically, the display control unit 44 displays the right-eye image and the left-eye image displayed on the right-eye pixel 423R and the left-eye pixel 423L of the display area 423 and the two-dimensional image displayed on the display area 422 for one screen. An image is generated on the VRAM. At this time, the display control unit 44 generates an image indicating information such as reach notice as a two-dimensional image, and also generates an image related to a three-dimensional image composed of a right-eye image and a left-eye image.

  For example, when displaying the reach image, the display control unit 44 includes a reach image that is a three-dimensional image to be displayed in the display area 423 and a two-dimensional reach image to be displayed in the display area 422. It is generated as an image for one screen. Then, the display control unit 44 outputs an image signal corresponding to the generated image for one screen to the liquid crystal panel 42. As a result, the generated images (a three-dimensional image and a two-dimensional image, respectively) are displayed in each of the display areas 423 and 422.

According to the gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, a reach image that is a three-dimensional image is displayed in the display area 423, and a reach image obtained by making the reach image two-dimensional is displayed in the display area 422, whereby the displayed three-dimensional image is converted into a three-dimensional image. Even an observer who is difficult to recognize can grasp the contents of the image displayed by the image display device 4 by observing the two-dimensional image. Similarly, by observing the displayed two-dimensional image, eye fatigue can be reduced as compared with the case of observing a three-dimensional image. Therefore, it is possible to configure the image display device 4 that is less fatigued by the observer and easy to observe, and thus the gaming machine 1.

  Furthermore, the configuration and display control of the image display device 4 can be simplified as compared with the case where the display area 422 for displaying a two-dimensional image and the display area 423 for displaying a three-dimensional image are configured by separate display means. In addition, the manufacturing cost of the image display device 4 and thus the gaming machine 1 can be reduced.

  By disposing the parallax barrier 43 according to the display area 423, the right-eye image and the left-eye image can be appropriately incident on the viewer's right eye and left eye, respectively, and the displayed three-dimensional image is a three-dimensional image. This makes it easy for the observer to recognize. Further, the parallax barrier 43 is arranged in accordance with the display area 423, and a right-eye image and a left-eye image are formed on the right-eye pixel 423R and the left-eye pixel 423L, respectively, thereby displaying a stereoscopically viewable three-dimensional image. Therefore, a display area that can display the three-dimensional image can be easily configured.

  Since the parallax barrier 43 is disposed on the image light emitting side in the display area 423, it is easy to align the parallax barrier 43 with respect to the respective pixels 423L and 423R of the liquid crystal panel 42 integrated with the backlight 41. it can. Accordingly, the parallax barrier 43 can be attached appropriately and easily.

[Modification of Embodiment]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like within the scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.
In the above-described embodiment, the display area 422 for displaying a two-dimensional image is set below the display area 421, and the display area 423 for displaying a three-dimensional image is set above the display area 421. Not limited to. For example, the positions of the display area 422 and the display area 423 may be interchanged, the display area 422 is set on one side of the display area 421 in the width direction (left-right direction), and the display area 423 is set on the other side. Also good. Furthermore, one of the display areas 422 and 423 may be set at the center of the display area 421 and the other may be set around. That is, in the display area, the position, the number of rows, and the number of the display area for displaying the two-dimensional image and the display area for displaying the three-dimensional image are not limited.

In the above-described embodiment, the above-described parallax barrier 43 is exemplified as the parallax generation unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the parallax barrier 43 includes a plurality of minute lenticular lenses. You may employ | adopt the lens member which injects an image into a right eye and a left eye, respectively. That is, the configuration of the parallax generation unit is not limited.
Further, the position of the parallax generating unit with respect to the liquid crystal panel 42 is not limited to the image light emission side as long as the image for the right eye and the image for the left eye can be separated and each image can enter the right eye and the left eye. The liquid crystal panel 42 may be on the back side, that is, between the liquid crystal panel 42 and the backlight 41.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image display device 4 includes the backlight 41 and the liquid crystal panel 42 that modulates the light emitted from the backlight 41, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, instead of these, a panel having a self-luminous element such as an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) or plasma, or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) may be adopted. That is, as long as the right-eye image, the left-eye image, and the two-dimensional image can be formed on one screen, the configuration for forming the image is not limited.

  In the above-described embodiment, the gaming machine 1 configured as a pachinko machine is given as the gaming machine including the image display device 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the image display device of the present invention may be employed in other gaming machines such as pachislot machines and pinball machines. Furthermore, the image display device of the present invention may be used alone, or the image display device of the present invention may be employed in other electronic devices such as game machines.

  The present invention can be used for an image display device, and can be preferably used particularly for an image display device employed in a gaming machine.

The perspective view which shows the game machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the image display apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a diagram showing a pixel configuration of a liquid crystal panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an image display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game machine, 4 ... Image display apparatus, 43 ... Parallax barrier (parallax production | generation means), 421 ... Display area, 422 ... Display area (two-dimensional image display area), 423 ... Display area (three-dimensional image display area).

Claims (4)

An image display device having a display area for displaying an image for one screen,
The display area is
A three-dimensional image display area capable of displaying a right-eye image and a left-eye image and displaying a stereoscopically viewable three-dimensional image by parallax;
A two-dimensional image display area for displaying a two-dimensional image;
An image display device comprising: The image display device according to claim 1,
Display means having the display area;
Parallax generating means arranged according to the three-dimensional image display area, and causing the right eye image and the left eye image to enter the right eye and the left eye, respectively.
An image display device comprising: The image display device according to claim 2,
The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the parallax generation unit is arranged on an image light emitting side that respectively forms the right-eye image and the left-eye image in the display area.   A gaming machine comprising the image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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