JPH0698964A - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To clearly light up any specified pattern while rotating a reel drum by forming a light shield plane on the back of a reel tape excepting for one specified pattern among plural patterns at least. CONSTITUTION:A reel tape 90 is composed of a transparent base tape 91, and a pattern 92 is printed on the base tape 91. First of all, a black frame 93 showing the contour of the pattern 92 or inside pattern is printed on the back of the reel tape 90 and next, a light transmissive clored plane 94 is printed inside. Afterwards, a light transmissive coated plane 95 in white, for example, is printed over the entire back of the reel tape 90. Finally, a light transmissive light shield plane 96 in black, for example, is printed on the back of the reel tape 90 excepting for one specified pattern 92 among plural patterns 92 at least. Thus, not only the action of aiming the specified pattern can easily be performed at the time of rotating the reel tape 90 but also a player can easily judge the role at the time of stopping the reel tape 90.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slot machine, and more particularly to a slot machine provided with a light emitting source inside.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a slot machine of this type, a light emitting source is arranged obliquely above and in front of a reel drum, and a pattern of a reel tape wound around an outer peripheral portion of the reel drum is illuminated from obliquely above ( Hereinafter referred to as the "former slot machine".). In addition, a slot machine having a light emitting source inside a reel drum is also known (for example, a real machine).
62-27689, Jitsukaihei 1-93088), the light-emitting source emitted light when it was stopped and selectively illuminated the pattern on the reel tape (hereinafter referred to as "the latter slot machine").

[0003]

However, in the former slot machine of the related art described above, since the reel tape is illuminated from the front obliquely upper side, the pattern located below the reel tape becomes dark, and the pattern is darkened. However, there is a problem in that it cannot be uniformly illuminated. That is, when the reel tape is illuminated obliquely from the upper front, the pattern located on the upper side of the reel tape is bright, and the pattern located on the lower side looks even darker. I was able to do it and it looked bad.

Further, in order to develop a game for oneself, the player tries to stop and display an arbitrary pattern while watching the pattern rotating at a high speed when the reel drum rotates. However, when there is a difference in brightness between the upper and lower patterns, the reel tape pattern cannot be clearly seen when the reel drum rotates, so it becomes very difficult to stop any pattern while watching the rotating pattern. The game will be less interesting.

Further, if there is a difference in brightness between the upper and lower patterns, the eyes are easily tired and it is difficult to continue the game for a long time. On the other hand, in the above-mentioned conventional latter slot machine, since the light is emitted only when the reel drum is stopped, there is a problem that the pattern located under the reel tape is dark when the reel drum rotates. It was

Further, in the latter slot machine, a plurality of light emitting sources are used to secure the illuminance necessary for illuminating the pattern and to selectively illuminate the pattern, so that the structure is complicated. There was a problem that was. Therefore, the invention according to claim 1 has been made in view of the problems of the above-described conventional technique, and an object thereof is to clearly illuminate a specific pattern, particularly during rotation of the reel drum. It aims to provide a slot machine that can be done.

In addition to this, the device according to the second aspect can not only effectively utilize the illuminance of the light emitting source, but also can uniformly and clearly illuminate the pattern. Further, in the device according to the third aspect of the present invention, by using the fluorescent tube, it is possible to be natural and bright, close to daylight, and to prevent eyes from being tired.

[0008]

The present invention is to achieve the above-mentioned object, and the contents thereof will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. The invention as set forth in claim 1 is characterized in that a light-shielding surface is formed on the back surface of the reel tape except at least one specific pattern among the plurality of patterns.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a light-transmitting portion capable of transmitting light from the light-emitting source is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the reel drum, and the light-transmitting portion diffuses the light from the light-emitting source. Is formed. The invention according to claim 3 is
It is characterized in that the light emitting source is composed of a fluorescent tube.

[0010]

[Operation] Therefore, according to the invention of claim 1,
When the light emitting source located inside the reel drum is turned on, the back surface of the reel tape is illuminated by the light. When the back surface of the reel tape is illuminated, the light is blocked by the light-shielding surface at a portion having the light-shielding surface. On the other hand, in the place where there is no light shielding surface, the light from the light emitting source passes from the back surface to the front surface of the reel tape. Therefore, at least one specific pattern among the plurality of patterns located on the front side of the portion without the light-shielding surface is brightly illuminated by the light from the light emitting source.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the light from the light emitting source is diffused by the diffusing portion when passing through the light transmitting portion on the outer peripheral portion of the reel drum, and the diffused light causes the reel to emit light. The tape is illuminated from the back. Claim 3
According to the described device, the reel tape is illuminated from the back surface by the light from the fluorescent tube.

[0012]

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part of a slot machine, FIG. 2 is a front view of the slot machine, and FIG. 3 is a part of the slot machine. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reel unit, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a rotary reel, FIG. 6 is a partial plan view showing a diffusion portion of a reel drum, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing process of a reel tape. Are shown respectively.

In FIG. 2, numeral 10 indicates a slot machine. First, the outline of the front panel of the slot machine 10 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular window portion 11 is formed substantially at the center of the height of the slot machine 10. Inside the window portion 11, a plurality of rotating reels 12 (three rotating reels 12 in this embodiment) are formed. ~ 14 are arranged respectively.

Further, on the glass surface of the window portion 11, as shown in FIG. 2, five lines 15 to 19 for displaying the winning lines of the three rotating reels 12 to 14 are displayed. The lines 15 to 19 are substantially horizontal center line 15 and upper and lower lines 16 and 1 which are located above and below and parallel to the center line.
7 and upper and lower lines 16 and 17 are diagonally arranged and are composed of a diagonal line 18 that rises to the right and a diagonal line 19 that descends to the right and intersect in the shape of a dot.

As shown in FIG. 2, a medal insertion slot 20 for the player to insert medals is arranged on the lower right side of the rotary reels 12 to 14 as seen in FIG.
Further, on the left side of the medal insertion slot 20, a credit medal insertion button 21 for inserting one credit medal is arranged. Furthermore, to the right of the medal slot 20,
A 7-segment 2-digit credit number display unit 22 for displaying the number of credits of medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 20 is arranged.

On the other hand, a credit switching button 23 for clearing credit medals is arranged in the left corner of FIG. 2 opposite to the credit medal insertion button 21. In addition, above the credit switching button 23, the number of paid-out prize medals is displayed.
A payout medal display section 24 for displaying two-digit segments is arranged.

Below the three rotating reels 12-14,
As shown in FIG. 2, three stop switches 25 ... For individually stopping each of the rotary reels 12 to 14 are provided in association with each of the rotary reels 12 to 14. A lever-shaped start switch 26 for starting the rotation of the rotary reels 12 to 14 is provided on the left side of the stop switch 25 in FIG.

In addition, below the front of the slot machine 10,
As shown in FIG. 2, a medal discharge port 27 is provided.
Inside the slot machine 10, as shown in FIG.
A reel unit 30 including the three rotating reels 12 to 14 described above and an illumination unit 40 that illuminates the rotating reels 12 to 14 of the reel unit 30 are built in.

As shown in FIG. 4, the reel unit 30 has a frame-shaped base 50, a plurality of stepping motors 60 as drive sources fixed to the base 50, and individual rotations by the stepping motors 60. The three rotating reels 12 to 14 are positioned inside the rotating reels 12 to 14 and fixed to the base 50, and the three rotating reels 12 to 14 are individually illuminated from the inside. And three fluorescent tubes 70 as a light emitting source.

As shown in FIG. 5, each of the rotary reels 12 to 14 is composed of a reel drum 80 and a reel tape 90 wound around the outer periphery of the reel drum 80. As shown in FIG. 5, the reel drum 80 includes a central bearing portion 81 directly connected to an output shaft (not shown) of the stepping motor 60, and a plurality of connecting portions radially extending from the bearing portion 81. 82, and a cylindrical ring portion 83 that connects the ends of these connecting portions 82 in an annular shape.

The reel drum 80 is integrally formed of a translucent, for example, transparent or translucent resin material, and the entire reel drum 80 has a translucent portion through which the light from the fluorescent tube 70 can be transmitted. Has become. As shown in FIG. 6, in the ring portion 83 of the reel drum 80, at least one of the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface thereof, in the present embodiment, the inner peripheral surface is roughened with, for example, a chemical agent, and is formed like a frosted glass. A diffusing portion 84 composed of fine irregularities is formed. That is, when the diffusing portion 84 formed of fine irregularities is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the ring portion 83, when the light from the fluorescent tube 70 passes from the inner peripheral surface of the ring portion 83 toward the outer peripheral surface. Then, it is irregularly refracted and diffused.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bearing portion 81 is located substantially at the center of the ring portion 83 in the width direction, and the connecting portion 82 is formed in a truncated cone shape opening toward the ring portion 83. ing. Therefore, a substantially donut-shaped space centered on the bearing portion 81 is formed inwardly surrounded by the bearing portion 81 and the inner peripheral surface of the ring portion 83. Inside the above space,
As shown in FIG. 1, the fluorescent tube 70 described above is arranged so as not to hinder the rotation of the reel drum 80, and the fluorescent tube 70 is fixed to the base 50 of the reel unit 30 although not shown. More specifically, the fluorescent tube 70 is arranged in the space, closer to the window 11 of the slot machine 10 with respect to the bearing 81, and substantially parallel to the window 11 of the slot machine 10, It is fixed with its upper end tilted slightly backward.

As shown in FIG. 7, the reel tape 90 comprises a transparent base tape 91.
The pattern 92 is printed on 91. That is, reel tape
As shown in FIG. 7, on the back surface of 90, first, a black frame 93 showing the outline of the pattern 92, the internal pattern, etc. is printed. Next, inside the black frame 93 of the design 92, a light-transmitting colored surface 94 such as red, yellow, or green is printed.

Then, on the entire back surface of the reel tape 90,
For example, a light-transmitting painted surface 95 such as white is printed. More specifically, the painted surface 95 is printed on all of the black frame 93 and the colored surface 94 of the reel tape 90 and the ground surface of the remaining base tape 91. Finally, on the back of the reel tape 90,
At least one specific pattern out of the plurality of patterns 92
92, for example, a black light-shielding surface 96 having a light-shielding property is printed except for the portion of the pattern 92 of "7", for example. More specifically, the light shielding surface 96 is the black frame 93 and the colored surface 9 of the remaining pattern 92 except for the black frame 93 and the colored surface 94 of the “7” pattern 92.
4 and all of the remaining ground surface of the base tape 91 is printed. Therefore, the white painted surface 95 printed from above remains on the black frame 93 and the colored surface 94 of the pattern "7".

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the lighting unit 40 is provided with a single fluorescent tube 41 as a light emitting source, and the fluorescent tube 41 is one of the three rotary reels 12 to 14 of the reel unit 30. It is located outside. More specifically, it is located on the back side of the window portion 11 of the front panel of the slot machine 10 and is arranged substantially horizontally obliquely above the three rotating reels 12 to 14.

Also, as shown in FIG. 1, below the fluorescent tube 41 of the lighting unit 40, the light from the fluorescent tube 41 emitted from above is reflected toward the three rotating reels 12-14. A reflector 100 is provided. Therefore, the reflected light reflected by the reflection plate 100 can brightly illuminate the lower side of the rotating reels 12 to 14 which is easily shaded. That is, since the rotating reels 12 to 14 are illuminated by the fluorescent tube 41 from diagonally above, the lower sides of the rotating reels 12 to 14 are shaded,
It is easy to see differences in brightness between the top and bottom. For this reason, the reflection plate 100 brightly illuminates the lower side behind the rotating reels 12 to 14, thereby making it difficult to make a difference in brightness between the upper and lower sides.

Next, the slot machine having the above configuration
The operation of 10 will be described. When the slot machine 10 is turned on, all three fluorescent tubes 70 are turned on. When these fluorescent tubes 70 are turned on, light from them is irregularly refracted and diffused by the diffusing section 84 when passing through the ring section 83 of the reel drum 80 from its inner peripheral surface to its outer peripheral surface. It

After that, the diffused light is reeled by the reel tape 90.
Illuminate the back of the. At this time, if you hit the black shading surface 96,
The light is blocked. On the other hand, when the light hits the white painted surface 95 without the light shielding surface 96, the colored surface 94 of the reel tape 90 also appears to shine in the color. Here, the pattern 92 of "7" appears to shine from the surface of the reel tape 90.

At the same time when the slot machine 10 is turned on, the fluorescent tube 41 of the lighting unit 40 is turned on. Therefore, the picture 92 of each of the three rotating reels 12 to 14 is brightly illuminated by the light of the fluorescent tube 41. Further, the light of the fluorescent tube 41 is reflected by the reflecting plate 100 located below, and the reflected light illuminates the lower side behind the rotating reels 12 to 14 brightly.

Therefore, the pictures 92 of the three rotating reels 12 to 14 seen from the window 11 of the slot machine 10 are evenly illuminated in the vertical direction. After that, when the start switch 26 (FIG. 2) on the front surface of the slot machine 10 is operated, the driving force of the stepping motor 60 starts the rotation of the three rotary reels 12 to 14.

Even during this rotation, the three fluorescent tubes 70 remain lit, and when viewed from the window 11 of the slot machine 10,
The pattern "7" 92 looks very bright. For this reason, it becomes easy to perform the target movement of the pattern 92 of "7" forming the winning combination.
After that, the stop switch 25 on the front of the slot machine 10
When a is operated, the corresponding rotating reels 12 to 14 are stopped.

Even at this time of stop, the three fluorescent tubes 70 are kept lit, and when viewed from the window 11 of the slot machine 10,
The pattern "7" 92 looks very bright. Therefore, the player can easily determine the winning combination. In the present embodiment, the reel drum 80 is integrally formed of a transparent or semitransparent resin material having a light-transmitting property, and the reel drum 80 is configured so as to serve as a light-transmitting portion. Not limited to this, the bearing 81 and the connecting portion 82, and the ring portion 83 are formed as separate bodies, and only the ring portion 83 is formed as a transparent portion by molding a transparent or semitransparent resin material, for example, and is separately formed. It may be fixed to the non-translucent bearing 81 and the connecting portion 82.

The light-shielding surface 96 on the back surface of the reel tape 90
Is not limited to black, it is the place with and without the light-shielding surface 96,
It is sufficient that the colors have a difference in brightness. further,
As the specific pattern 92, one pattern 92 of "7" is illustrated, but the number is not limited to "7", and two or more patterns 92 are specific patterns.
It may be 92. FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which is a partial plan view showing the diffusion portion 84 of the reel drum 80.

The diffusing portion 84 is formed on at least one of the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the ring portion 83 of the reel drum 80, that is, the inner peripheral surface in this embodiment. More specifically,
As shown in FIG. 8, the diffusing portion 84 is formed in a diamond cut shape, and concave portions 85 that are recessed in a truncated cone shape and convex portions 86 that are similarly raised in a truncated cone shape are alternately formed. According to this embodiment, when the light from the fluorescent tube 70 passes through the ring portion 83 of the reel drum 80, the uneven portions 85 and 86 of the diffusing portion 84 irregularly refract and diffuse the light.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention, which is a partial plan view showing the diffusion portion 84 of the reel drum 80. The diffusion portion 84 is formed on at least one of the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the ring portion 83 of the reel drum 80, which is the inner peripheral surface in the present embodiment. More specifically,
As shown in FIG. 8, the diffusion portion 84 is formed into a corrugated cross section,
V-shaped concave portions 85 and inverted V-shaped convex portions 86 are alternately formed.

According to this embodiment, the light from the fluorescent tube 70 is
When passing through the ring portion 83 of the reel drum 80, it is irregularly refracted and diffused by the uneven portions 85 and 86 of the diffusion portion 84. As illustrated in each of the above-described embodiments, the diffusing unit 84 of the reel drum 80 can be modified in various ways,
The structure of the embodiment shown in the drawings is not limited, and the ring portion is not limited.
It may be formed on at least one of the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of 83, for example, only one surface of the outer peripheral surface or both surfaces of the inner peripheral surface.

[0037]

Since the present invention is constituted as described above, it has the following effects. Claim 1
According to the described invention, it is possible to provide a slot machine capable of clearly illuminating a specific pattern.

Therefore, when the reel tape is rotated, not only the operation aiming for a specific pattern is facilitated, but also when the reel tape is stopped, the player can easily determine the winning combination. In addition to this, according to the invention of claim 2, not only can the illuminance of the light emitting source be effectively utilized, but also a specific pattern can be illuminated uniformly and clearly.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 3, by using the fluorescent tube, it is natural and bright, close to daylight.
Moreover, it can make the eyes less tired.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, which is a sectional view of an essential part of a slot machine.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a slot machine.

FIG. 3 is a partial exploded perspective view of the slot machine.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reel unit.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a rotating reel.

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view showing a diffusion portion of the reel drum.

FIG. 7 is an essential part of an explanatory view showing a reel tape manufacturing process.

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which is a partial plan view of the diffusion portion of the reel drum.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention, which is a partial plan view of the diffusion portion of the reel drum.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 slot machine 11 window 12 to 14 rotating reel 15 to 19 winning line 20 medal insertion slot 21 credit medal insertion button 22 credit number display 23 credit switching button 24 payout medal display 25 stop switch 26 start switch 27 medal ejection 30 Reel unit 40 Lighting unit 41 Fluorescent tube 50 Base 60 Stepping motor 70 Fluorescent tube 80 Reel drum 81 Bearing section 82 Connecting section 83 Ring section 84 Diffusing section 85 Concave section 86 Convex section 90 Reel tape 91 Base tape 92 Picture 93 Black frame 94 Colored surface 95 Painted surface 96 Light-shielding surface 100 Reflector

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A base, a drive source fixed to the base, a reel drum which is rotated by the drive source and on which a plurality of patterns are displayed, and a reel tape which is wound around an outer peripheral portion of the reel drum. And located inside the reel drum and fixed to the base,
In a slot machine provided with a light emitting source that illuminates the reel tape from the back surface thereof, on the back surface of the reel tape, among the plurality of patterns,
A slot machine characterized in that a light-shielding surface is formed except at least one specific pattern. 2. A light-transmitting portion capable of transmitting light from a light-emitting source is formed on an outer peripheral portion of the reel drum, and a diffusing portion for diffusing light from the light-emitting source is formed in the light-transmitting portion. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting source is constituted by a fluorescent tube.