JP2000325533A - Operation button for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To illuminate the whole surface of an operating part and to reduce an arrangement space in a depth direction by using an electro-luminescence(EL) for a light source in an operation button having the light source to illuminate the operating part from a rear part. SOLUTION: The three kinds of BET buttons 19, that is, a 1BET button, the 2BET button and a max. BET button are arranged in a control panel under a display window of a slot machine and one, two or three medals are bet in one game by the depressing operation of each BET button 19. In this case, the respective BET buttons 19 are constituted by having a button cover 31 made of a translucent resin and colored in red, for example, on the front surface of a button main body 32. EL 33 is arranged and attached onto a holder 34 at a position facing the operation surface 31a of the button cover 31 and its energizing is controlled with a wire harness 35.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation button of a gaming machine provided with a light source for illuminating an operation section operated by a player from behind.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, operation buttons of this type of gaming machine include, for example, those shown in FIG.
There is a bet (BET) button 1 shown in FIG. The BET button 1 is an operation button provided on a control panel of the slot machine, and is operated when betting a medal on a machine instead of inserting a medal into the slot.

A BET button 1 has a button cover 2
It is provided with. The button cover 2 is attached to the front of the button body 3, and an insert film 4 is provided inside the button cover 2. Information such as characters is printed on the insert film 4 in a single color or multicolor, and a light source 5 such as a light emitting diode (LED) or a lamp is provided further behind the insert film 4. When the light source 5 is a lamp, a reflector 6 is provided so as to surround the light source 5 as shown. The reflector 6 reflects the light emitted from the light source 5 toward the operation surface 2a of the button cover 2.

In such a configuration, the light emitted from the light source 5 illuminates the characters and the like printed on the insert film 4 from behind, and the characters such as “MAXBET” are projected on the operation surface 2 a of the button cover 2. The player uses the BET button 1 based on the projected characters and the like.
Understand the functions and roles of, and operate the BET button 1. B
When the ET button 1 is operated, a switch (not shown) is turned on, and a signal is sent to the controller of the slot machine.

[0005]

However, in the operation button of the above-mentioned conventional game machine, when the light source 5 is formed of an LED, the LED is inexpensive, so that the manufacturing cost of the operation button can be reduced. Since the light emission has no diffusivity, only the center portion of the operation surface 2a of the BET button 1 is illuminated as shown in FIG. For this reason, the information drawn on the insert film 4 was not shown in its entirety and was difficult to see.

When the light source 5 is constituted by a lamp, almost the entire operation surface 2a of the BET button 1 is illuminated as shown in FIG. 1C, but the lamp emits light when the filament is energized. Therefore, the emission color is yellowish reddish and close to orange. Therefore, the information drawn in various colors on the insert film 4 is a color obtained by adding the emission color of the lamp to the primary color, and is not accurately represented. When the button cover 2 was colored, the button cover 2 did not shine faithfully in its primary color.

Such a problem also occurs when the light source 5 is formed of an LED and the LED emits red light, for example. However, the above problem does not occur if an LED that emits white light is employed. However, an LED that emits white light is about 10 times as expensive as an LED that emits red light.
The manufacturing cost of the T button 1 increases.

When the light source 5 is constituted by a lamp, the lamp generates heat by energizing the filament, so that the BET button 1 becomes hot and impairs the player's feeling of button operation. Further, the filament of the lamp is liable to be broken due to vibration, life, and the like, and replacement work is required each time. When the light source 5 is formed of a lamp, components such as a reflector 6 for reflecting lamp light and a substrate on which the lamp is mounted are required.

Further, the BET button 1 needs a certain size in the depth direction in order to incorporate the light source 5 therein. Therefore, the position where the BET button 1 is provided on the control panel needs to be a position where the depth of the BET button 1 does not hit other components. That is, the operation buttons of the conventional gaming machine are limited in the installation position, and the operation buttons cannot be freely laid out.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and comprises an operation section operated by a player and a light source for illuminating the operation section from behind. In the operation button of the gaming machine, the light source is constituted by electroluminescence (hereinafter referred to as EL). The EL is arranged, for example, to face an operation surface of a button cover constituting an operation unit.

When the light source is constituted by EL as described above, E
Since L has a planar shape, the entire operation unit is illuminated by EL, and does not require an installation space in the depth direction.

Further, since the EL is a device which emits light by emitting electrons given the electric field energy as light, the EL does not generate heat at the time of light emission unlike a filament which emits light when energized.

[0013] Also, unlike the filament, the EL is resistant to vibration and has little effect on its life due to blinking light emission. Therefore, the component replacement cycle is longer than that of the lamp. Moreover, EL is inexpensive and does not require many components for its installation.

Further, the present invention comprises a film in which information is written in a single color or multicolor between a button cover and an EL,
The EL emits white light.

According to this configuration, the information written on the film is faithfully projected on the operation unit by the white color of the EL on the operation unit.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the button cover is colored and the EL emits white light.

According to this configuration, the button cover emits light of the primary color faithfully by the white light emission of the EL.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that information is written in a single color or multiple colors on the operation surface of the button cover, and the EL emits white light.

According to this configuration, the information written on the operation surface of the button cover is faithfully displayed in the primary colors by the white light emission of the EL.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment in which the operation buttons of a gaming machine according to the present invention are applied to a BET button of a slot machine will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a slot machine 1 according to this embodiment.
1 is a perspective view of FIG. Behind the front panel 12 at the front center of the slot machine 11, three reels 13a, 13
b and 13c are provided rotatably. Each reel 13
On the outer peripheral surface of a to 13c, a symbol row including a plurality of types of symbols (hereinafter, referred to as symbols) is drawn. Three of these symbols are observed through the display window 14 on the front of the slot machine 11, respectively. In the display window 14, three horizontal and two diagonal winning lines 15 are described.

A control panel 28 on the lower right side of the display window 14 has a slot 16 for a player to insert a medal.
Is provided. The control panel 28 on the lower left side of the display window 14 has a 1 BET button 17 and a 2 BE button.
A T button 18 and a Max BET button 19 are provided. When a medal is credited in the credit amount display section 20, one push button operation of these 1 BET button 17, 2 BET button 18, and MAX BET button 19 is performed instead of inserting a medal into the medal slot 16, so that one time. One, two and three medals are bet on the game, respectively. The credit number display section 20 displays the number of medals currently credited to the machine.

Below these BET buttons 17 to 19, a credit / payment changeover switch (C / P switch) 21 is provided.
And a start lever 22 are provided. A stop button 23a is provided at the center of the device on the right side of the start lever 22,
23b and 23c may be provided. C / P switch 2
By pressing the push button 1, the credit / payout (PLAY CREDIT / PAY OUT) of the medal can be switched.

Further, by operating the start lever 22, the reels 13a to 13c simultaneously start rotating.
In the slot machine provided with the stop buttons 23a, 23b, 23c, the stop buttons 23a, 23b, 2
3c is arranged corresponding to each of the reels 13a, 13b, 13c, and the rotation of each of the reels 13a, 13b, 13c is stopped in response to a push button operation of the player.

Further, a sound transmission hole 24 and a medal tray 25 are provided at the lower front part of the slot machine 11. The sound transmission hole 24 is for outputting sound generated from a speaker housed inside the device to the outside. The medal tray 25 stores medals paid out from a medal payout exit 26. In addition, a payout display panel 27 indicating how many medals are paid out for each winning is provided at the upper front part of the slot machine 11.

FIG. 2A is a sectional view showing the structure of the MAX BET button 19, and FIG.
It is an exploded perspective view of. Note that the structure of the 1 BET button 17 and the 2 BET button 18 is also described below in Max B.
The ET button 19 has the same structure as that of the ET button 19, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The Max BET button 19 has a button cover 31 on the operation unit. The button cover 31 is made of a translucent resin, and is colored red. The alphabet “MAXBET” is written on the operation surface 31a of the button with a red ground color and yellow. The operation surfaces of the 1BET button 17 and the 2BET button 18 made of the same red translucent resin are respectively provided with the alphabetical characters “1BET” and “2BET”.
ET "is written in a similar color.

The button cover 31 is attached to the front of the button main body 32, and the EL 33 is arranged to face the operation surface 31a. The EL 33 is mounted on a box-shaped holder 34 and is electrically connected to a wire harness 35. The EL 33 has a structure in which a luminous body layer is sandwiched between a back metal electrode and a transparent electrode, and in the present embodiment, a polyester film is used for the transparent electrode to form a film. The EL 33 is of a dispersion type, and a phosphor emitting white light is dispersed in a binder to form a light emitting layer.

In such a structure, an AC voltage is applied between the back metal electrode of the EL 33 and the transparent electrode via the wire harness 35, and an electric field is applied to the light emitting layer, so that electrons in the light emitting layer are applied to the electrons in the light emitting layer. Energized, the electrons move from the ground state to the excited state. Thereafter, when the electron returns to the ground state, the electron emits its energy as light, and the light emitting layer emits white light. The light emitted from the light emitting layer is radiated to the outside through the transparent electrode, and illuminates the alphabet “MAXBET” written on the operation surface 31a. Note that the brightness to be illuminated can be changed according to the magnitude of the AC voltage applied by the emission luminance of the EL 33 or the value of the frequency thereof, so that a desired brightness can be set.

In this embodiment, since the light source for illuminating the operation buttons is composed of the EL 33 having a planar shape as described above, the operation surface 31a of the button cover 31 has the entire surface of the EL 33 as shown in FIG. Illuminated by For this reason, unlike the related art in which the light source that illuminates the operation buttons is formed of LEDs, the illuminated operation surface is not limited to the central portion and information written on the operation surface is not difficult to see.
Each piece of information written on the operation surface 31a and each operation surface of the BET buttons 17 and 18 is clearly displayed to the player.

Since the EL 33 emits white light, the button cover 31 emits light faithfully in its primary color red, and characters written on the operation surface 31a faithfully appear in the primary color yellow. Therefore, unlike a conventional lamp light source that emits light in a color close to orange, the information written on the operation surface and the button cover itself do not emit light in a color different from the intended color.

Therefore, when the operation buttons of the gaming machine according to the present embodiment are used for a gaming machine that performs a complicated game using the information written on the operation buttons as clues, the information is clearly displayed as described above. Therefore, a particularly high effect is exhibited. In this case, by displaying the information written on the operation buttons in multiple colors and projecting, it is possible to explain to the player using a color intended for a complicated game operation, which is compared with a case where information is described in a single color and explained. The operation of the game is easily understood by the inventor.

Since the planar EL 33 does not require a dimension in the depth direction of the operation buttons, the BET buttons 17 to 17 are not required.
Reference numeral 19 can be laid out at a desired position on the control panel 28. In other words, these conventional BETs
Since the buttons required a certain size in the depth direction to incorporate the LED and the lamp, if there are provided stop buttons 23a to 23c that also require dimensions in the depth direction, so as not to intersect them. The BET buttons 17 to 19 shown in FIG. 1 are arranged on the left side of the control panel 28. However, the BET buttons 17 to 19 according to the present embodiment have the
Therefore, it can be installed also on the control panel 28 adjacent to the input port 16 and above the stop buttons 23a to 23c. Stop button 2
It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where the light is emitted from 3a to 23c.

Since the EL 33 is an element which emits light by emitting the energy of the electron to which the electric field energy is applied, the EL 33 does not generate heat at the time of light emission unlike a conventional filament which emits light when energized. . Therefore, when operating the BET buttons 17 to 19, the fingertip does not feel heat as in the related art, and the button operation feeling of the player is improved.

Further, unlike the filament, the EL 33 is resistant to vibration and has little effect on its life due to blinking light emission. Therefore, the cycle of replacing parts is longer than that of the conventional lamp light source. Therefore, maintenance management of the slot machine 11 becomes easy. Further, the EL 33 is inexpensive and does not require components such as a reflector and a substrate unlike the conventional lamp light source, so that the manufacturing cost of the BET buttons 17 to 19 does not increase.

In the above embodiment, “MAX”
BET "has been described on the button cover 31 itself, but the button cover 31 and the EL 33
May be provided with an insert film in which information is written in a single color or in multiple colors, and the EL 33 projects the information written in the insert film on the operation surface 31a. Also in this case, the information written on the insert film is faithfully projected on the operation surface 31a by the white light emission of the EL 33 on the operation surface 31a, and the same effect as in the above embodiment is exerted.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the slot machine 11 has been described. However, a game machine such as a pachinko machine, a pinball game machine, a smart ball game machine, or a poker game machine is used. The present invention can also be applied to operation buttons that require lighting used in the same manner as in the above embodiment. In this case, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the light source of the operation button is composed of a planar EL,
The entire operation section of the operation buttons is illuminated by EL, and the information drawn on the operation section is displayed in an easily viewable manner. Further, since the operation buttons do not require an installation space in the depth direction, they can be laid out at desired positions. In addition, since the EL does not generate heat when emitting light, the operation feeling of the operation buttons is improved. In addition, since EL is resistant to vibration and has little effect on its life due to blinking light emission, the cycle of component replacement is extended, and maintenance management of the gaming machine is facilitated. Further, since the EL is inexpensive and does not require many parts for installation, the manufacturing cost of the operation button does not increase.

Further, mono-color or multi-color information written on the film provided between the button cover and the EL or on the operation surface of the button cover is faithfully displayed in the primary colors by the white light emission of the EL. When the button cover is colored, the button cover emits light of the primary color faithfully by the white light emission of the EL.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a structure of a BET button used in the slot machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a BET used in a conventional slot machine.
It is a figure showing the structure of a button.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Slot machine 13a, 13b, 13c Reel 14 Window 17 BET button 18 BET button 19 Max BET button 23a, 23b, 23c Stop button 28 Control panel 31 Button cover 31a Operating surface 32 Button Main body 33 ... Electroluminescence (EL) 34 ... Holder 35 ... Wire harness

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An operation button of a gaming machine comprising an operation unit operated by a player and a light source for illuminating the operation unit from behind, wherein the light source is made of electroluminescence. Operation buttons for gaming machines. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit includes a button cover having an operation surface, and the electroluminescence is arranged to face the operation surface of the button cover. Operation buttons for gaming machines. 3. The device according to claim 2, further comprising a film in which information is written in one color or multicolor between the button cover and the electroluminescence, wherein the electroluminescence emits white light. Operation buttons for gaming machines. 4. The operation button according to claim 2, wherein the button cover is colored, and the electroluminescence emits white light. 5. The operation button according to claim 2, wherein the button cover has information written in a single color or multicolor on the operation surface, and the electroluminescence emits white light. 6. The operation button according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is a slot machine or a ball-and-ball gaming machine.