GB2326506A - Entertainment machine with a movable front panel - Google Patents

Description

ENTERTAINMENT MACHINES This invention relates to entertainment machines, particular player-operable coin-operated amusement machines, such as 'fruit' or 'poker' machines of the kind having a main display device for displaying a selected combination of symbols at a win zone. As used herein the term coin is intended also to cover tokens, charge or credit cards or any other means of supplying credit or monetary value.

The main display of a fruit machine may comprise an assembly of multiple side by side symbol-bearing reels which are rotatable about a common horizontal axis, or a video simulation of this, mounted within a housing behind a window in a glass panel.

It is common also to provide a supplementary display, for a so-called feature game, comprising a further, upper glass panel printed with a track or other arrangement on which play can progress by back illumination of different areas. Progression may occur in correspondence with selections of numbers, or other symbols, displayed with a rotatable symbol-bearing 'feature' reel mounted behind a window in the upper glass panel.

The various components associated with the glass panels are mounted on supports attached to side walls of the machine housing. In the case of the feature reel this necessitates the use of supports extending across the front of the housing behind the upper glass panel whereby installation of the reel in precise registration with its respective window may be complicated and time consuming, and access to the interior of the housing for maintenance purposes may be obstructed, especially in the case of a front opening housing. In the latter respect, the housing may be constructed with the glass panels mounted in a frame which is hinged for movement outwardly at the front of the housing to provide access to its interior.

An object of the present invention is to provide an alternative reel mounting arrangement of improved convenience for use with a machine having a movably mounted front panel.

According to the invention therefore there is provided an entertainment machine having a housing with at least one light transmitting front panel thereto, which panel is mounted for movement between open and closed positions, and at least one rotatable display reel mounted behind a window in the said front panel, characterised in that, the reel is mounted on the panel so as to be movable therewith.

With this arrangement, mounting structures for the reel can be minimised, thereby facilitating installation; and, in so far as the reel moves away from the interior of the machine housing when the panel is moved to the open position, obstruction of the interior of the machine by the reel can be avoided or minimised whereby access for maintenance purposes can be facilitated.

Most preferably, mounting of the reel on the panel may be effected by means of one or more bolts, or other fixing devices, passed through holes in the panel and engaging a supporting structure on which the reel is rotatably mounted. This structure may comprise a plate and/or bracket or the like.

Preferably also, the reel is detachably mounted on the supporting structure to facilitate installation and maintenance.

The reel may be of the form of a drum having a cylindrical peripheral part with a web or spoke arrangement between the peripheral part and a central hub.

An electric drive motor of any suitable kind is preferably also mounted relative to the panel and drivably connected to the reel. This may be a stepper motor, or a dc motor, or any other suitable drive motor.

There may also be other electrical components and/or electrical circuitry for example on a printed circuit board, mounted relative to the panel, for use in connection with required controlled operation of the drive motor.

That is, in so far as it is required that the reel should be capable of rotation and then stopping at a position selected from a range of predetermined stopping positions, electrical components and circuitry may be required to ensure that the present position of the reel relative to a zero datum point is known, and to ensure that stopping can be achieved in precise registration with a predetermined stopping position. At least some of such required components/circuitry may be mounted relative to the panel.

In the case where data processing circuitry, such as a microprocessor circuit, is required for control of operation of the reel, this may be provided, in according with conventional practice, by a main control unit mounted in the machine housing and connected to the reel by cabling. it is however also possible to provide the reel with local processing circuitry mounted relative to the panel whereby processing control is distributed between the main control unit and the circuitry local to the reel.

Most preferably the reel is of the kind having symbols at spaced positions around it periphery, for example on a strip attached around the aforementioned drum. The arrangement is preferably such that the symbols are displayed through a window in the panel and can be back lit by a lamp or lamps within the reel, such lamp or lamps also being mounted relative to the panel.

The panel is preferably a glass panel which is printed with decorative/informative matter. The aforesaid window may be defined by a clear area of the panel bounded by a printed frame.

The panel is preferably fixed within a rigid frame structure.

There may be a single said reel, mounted on the panel, or there may be a plurality of reels mounted on the panel as an assembly of side by side reels and/or as individual reels separately mounted at different positions.

There may also be two or more panels, and if desired there may be one or more reels mounted on each such panel.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention there are two panels, an upper panel and a lower panel, in a common frame structure which may be hinged on the machine housing at its upper edge. The upper panel may have a single reel mounted thereon.

The machine is preferably a 'fruit' or 'poker' machine as described above, whereby the aforesaid lower panel has behind a window therein an assembly of multiple side by side symbol-bearing reels, or a video simulation thereof, at a main win zone, and the aforesaid upper panel has a single feature reel behind a window in conjunction with a back illuminated feature game display, the single feature reel being the reel in accordance with the invention which is mounted on the upper panel for movement therewith.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic front perspective view of one form of a fruit machine according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the rear of a front panel of the machine of Fig. 1, showing a mounting for a reel with the reel omitted; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view showing the reel mounted in position; and Fig. 4 is a block circuit diagram of the machine.

Referring to Fig. 1, this shows a fruit machine having a floor-standing box-shaped housing 1 with a front wall 2 having a stepped upper structure 3 defined by a metal frame 4 supporting upper and lower printed glass panels 5, 6.

The frame 4 is hinged at its top edge 7 so that it can be moved forwards to provide access to the interior of the housing.

The upper glass panel 5 is generally upright when the frame 4 is closed, whereas the lower panel 6 is at a small angle to the horizontal.

The upper glass panel 5 is printed with decorative and informative matter 8 representing a 'feature' game i.e. a path or track or other display on which play can progress from marked area to area. There is also a 'feature reel' window 9 (i.e. a clear area of the glass panel bounded by a printed frame), and the frame 4 has a coin slot 10.

The lower glass panel 6 is printed to define a large square or rectangular central clear main display window 11 bounded by decorative and informative matter. There are also player operable press buttons 12.

There is a payout opening 13 in the front wall 2 below the frame 4.

Within the housing there are mounted behind the upper panel 5, a coin mechanism 14 to receive coins inserted through the slot 10, a feature reel 15 mounted behind the small window 9 and a bank of lamps 16 for back illumination of the feature game display 8.

The feature reel 1 5 comprises a reel with numbers or other symbols at spaced intervals around its periphery, and a drive mechanism 17 incorporating a stepper motor 18 is operable to rotate the reel 15 and bring this to rest with one of the symbols displayed through the window 9.

The construction and mounting of this reel are described in more detail hereinafter.

Also within the housing 1, behind the lower front panel 2, there is an assembly of three side by side symbol-bearing reels 19 each with its respective drive mechanism 20 incorporating a stepper motor operable to rotate the reel 19 and bring this to rest with three of the symbols displayed through the window 11 centred on a horizontal win line.

As can be seen from Fig. 4, the various electrical and electronic devices described above, namely the bank of lights 16 behind the upper panel 5, the drive mechanism 17 for the feature reel 15, the coin mechanism 14, the drive mechanisms 20 for the main reels 19, the press buttons 12, and also a payout mechanism 21 within the housing connected to the payout outlet 13, are all connected to a microprocessor based operating system 22 in a main control unit mounted within the machine.

In use, the player inserts coins into the coin mechanism 14 through the slot 10 sufficient to generate credit for one or more games and the machine is actuated so that a game can now be played.

The player can start a game by pressing a start button 12. The main reels 19 then spin and then come to rest with a selected combination of symbols displayed on the win line in the window 11. The displayed symbol combination is assessed by the control unit 22 and a win indication is given in the event that the combination is of a predetermined winning nature.

The control buttons 12 can be used to perform 'hold' or 'nudge' functions when made available to the player, so that the player can seek to influence the outcome of a game, in conventional manner.

In conventional manner, for example when special symbols are displayed on the win line in the window 11, or on some other basis, play can transfer to the feature game 8 on the upper panel 5 where the player may have the opportunity of obtaining further, or enhanced wins. At this stage, the feature reel 15 rotates and then comes to rest to display a selected symbol, and then play progresses around the track or the like on the upper panel 5 by back illumination of successive squares or areas of the track, or otherwise, with the bank of lamps 16.

As can be seen from Figs. 2 & 3, the feature reel 15 is mounted directly on, and supported by, the upper glass panel 5.

The feature reel 15 is an integral moulded plastics structure in the form of a drum having a openwork cylindrical peripheral part 23 fixed on a hub 24 via a web or spoke structure 25. A strip 26 bearing symbols printed at regular intervals is detachably fixed around the outer surface of the cylindrical part 23.

The drum hub 24 is mounted on the axle of the stepper motor 18, and the motor 18 is mounted on printed circuit board 27 including control circuitry for the motor 18. There are also lamps (not shown) connected to the printed circuit board 27 and supported within the drum for back illumination of the strip 26.

As shown, there is a stirrup-shaped bracket 28 which is bolted to the panel 5, alongside the window 9, by means of two bolts 29 passed through holes in the panel 5 and in feet of the stirrup 28. The bolts 29 have heads 30 on the outerside of the panel 5 which are suitably decorative or inconspicuous as by shape or colouration.

A support plate 31 is detachably mounted on the stirrup 28, as for example by a sliding click fit with a groove in the stirrup 28, and the printed circuit board 17, motor 18 and drum are fixed to this plate 31 by detachable insertion of two springy flanges 32 into opposite sides of an aperture 33 in the plate 31.

Cabling (not shown) for control signals and power supply runs between the printed circuit board 17 and the main control unit 22 within the machine (not shown).

With this arrangement the reel 15 is held securely in position with the drum free to rotate with the back illuminated strip 26 viewable through the window.

The reel 15 can be readily installed within the machine due to the ease with which the reel can be mounted in position in precise registration with the window 9.

When the machine is opened by hinging the frame structure 3 forwards and upwards, the reel 15 moves with the upper panel 5 and therefore is moved out of the way of the interior of the machine to facilitate access for maintenance purposes.

The cabling between the reel 15 and the main control unit 22 is arranged to permit this as by incorporation of adequate slack and/or by running the cabling via or across the hinge joint so that the cabling can flex to permit opening. There may be easy release connectors in the cabling to enable the cabling to be detached when required.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only.

Claims (18)

1. An entertainment machine having a housing with at least one light transmitting front panel thereto, which panel is mounted for movement between open and closed positions, and at least one rotatable display reel mounted behind a window in said front panel, characterised in that said reel is mounted on said panel so as to be movable therewith.

2. An entertainment machine according to claim 1, wherein the mounting of said reel on said panel is effected by means of at least one fixing device, passed through holes in said panel and engaging a supporting structure on which said reel is rotatably mounted.

3. An entertainment machine according to claim 2, wherein said supporting structure comprises a plate and bracket arrangement.

4. An entertainment machine according to claim 2 or 3, claim wherein said reel is detachably mounted on said supporting structure.

5. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, wherein said reel is in the form of a drum having a cylindrical peripheral part with a spoke arrangement between said peripheral part and a central hub.

6. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, wherein an electric drive motor is mounted relative to said panel and drivably connected to said reel.

7. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, further including electrical components and electrical circuitry mounted relative to said panel for use in control of said drive motor.

8. An entertainment machine according to claim 7, wherein said reel is selectively rotatable between a range of predetermined stopping positions, whereby said electrical components and circuitry control the position of said reel relative to a zero datum point.

9. An entertainment machine according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein said electrical components and circuitry include data processing circuitry.

10. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, wherein said reel is provided with local processing circuitry mounted relative to said panel whereby processing control is distributed between a main control unit and said local circuitry.

11. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, wherein said reel has symbols at spaced positions around the periphery of said reel, said symbols are displayed through a window in said panel, and are back lit by a lamp(s) within said reel mounted relative to said panel.

12. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, wherein said panel is a glass panel which is printed with matter, the window is defined by a clear area of said panel bounded by a printed frame.

13. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, wherein the panel is fixed within a rigid frame structure.

14. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, wherein a single reel is mounted on the panel.

15. An entertainment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein a plurality of reels are mounted on the panel as an assembly of side-by-side reels.

16. An entertainment machine according to any preceding claim, wherein at least two panels are provided, an upper panel and a lower panel, in a common frame structure which is hinged on the machine housing at the upper edge thereof.

17. An entertainment machine according to any one of claims 1 to 16 which is a coin operated entertainment machine comprising a lower panel which has behind a window therein an assembly of multiple side-by-side symbol-bearing reels, or a video simulation thereof, at a main win zone, and an upper panel having a back illuminated feature game display, the upper panel being the aforesaid panel having the said rotatable display reel mounted there behind.

18. An entertainment machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompany drawings.