JP2008142133A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a structure and to lower costs in a display device installed above a game machine. <P>SOLUTION: On the front surface plate 3 of the display device 1, a display window 4 is opened. An upper roller 6 and a lower roller 7 are disposed inside a case 2. The upper roller 6 is energized in the direction of winding a screen 16 by a coil spring 9, and the lower roller 7 is driven by a servo motor 13. The servo motor 13 is operated to scroll the screen 16 and switch and display a message. Even when the number of kinds of the messages to be switched and displayed is increased, there is no need of adding components and the cost is not increased either. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention belongs to the technical field of a display device disposed above a gaming machine.

Multiple light-transmitting thin plates engraved with letters and patterns on the surface are laminated, and multiple edge lights that enter the light from the side edges of each light-transmitting thin plate are arranged, and those edge lights are selectively used Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-164955 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technique in which a flat display is arranged above a gaming machine so as to serve as a curtain plate. Is disclosed.
JP-A-11-164955

  The display of Patent Document 1 requires a set of translucent thin plates and edge lights corresponding to the number of message types to be displayed for switching. If the number of message types is increased, the configuration becomes complicated accordingly. Cost is also high.

The display device according to claim 1 comprises:
A window member having a display window through which light passes;
Translucent and band-shaped messages each having a size that fits in the display window are drawn at a plurality of locations along the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of markers are provided on the side edges corresponding to the messages. And the screen
A pair of rollers that are parallel to each other and are arranged along the lateral side of the display window behind the window member, each end of the screen is connected to each other, and one of them is rotated to rotate the screen. A pair of rollers in a relationship in which the screen is rewound from the other side when wound up,
A light guide plate that is disposed behind a portion of the screen that faces the display window and radiates light incident from an end surface to the front surface;
A light source that irradiates light to an end face of the light guide plate;
An urging means for urging one of the pair of rollers in a direction to wind the screen;
A driving means that exerts a driving force on the other of the pair of rollers to rotate the screen in the direction of winding the screen against the rotational bias by the biasing means and to maintain the stopped state;
Detecting means for detecting the marker;
Control means for controlling the drive means, wherein the other of the pair of rollers is rotationally driven in the direction of winding the screen, and when the target marker is detected by the detection means, the rollers are brought into the stopped state. Control means for controlling the drive means to maintain,
This is a display device that is arranged one-on-one with a gaming machine above the gaming machine.

  In this display device, each end portion of the translucent belt-like screen is connected to each of a pair of rollers arranged in parallel to each other and behind the window member, and one of the pair of rollers is rotated. When the screen is wound up, the screen is rewound from the other side by the amount wound up.

  One of the pair of rollers is urged to rotate in the direction of winding the screen by the urging means. The other of the pair of rollers is driven by the driving means and is driven to rotate in the direction of winding the screen against the rotation bias by the biasing means, and is stopped against the rotation bias by the biasing means. Can be maintained in a state.

A plurality of markers arranged corresponding to each message are provided on the side edge of the screen, and the detecting means detects these markers.
The control means for controlling the drive means rotates the other of the pair of rollers in the direction of winding the screen, and controls the drive means to maintain the roller in a stopped state when the target marker is detected by the detection means. To do.

  On the screen, messages that are each sized to fit in the display window of the window member are drawn at a plurality of locations along the longitudinal direction, so that the drive means rotates the roller under the control of the control means, and also stops. Thus, the message on the screen can be switched and displayed on the display window.

  If the driving means is stopped and no driving force is applied, the roller urged by the urging means rotates in the direction of winding the screen, and the screen is rewound from the other roller accordingly. When the target marker is detected by the detection means, the control means controls the drive means to bring the other roller into a stopped state, whereby the message can be switched and displayed in the opposite direction.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the driving means can also rotationally drive the other of the pair of rollers in a direction to rewind the screen, and the control means can rotate the other of the pair of rollers. This reverse direction switching can be performed more smoothly by adopting a configuration in which the rotation driving is also performed in the returning direction.

  In addition, a light guide plate is arranged behind the part facing the display window of the screen, and a light source that irradiates light to the end surface of the light guide plate is provided, so that light incident from the end surface of the light guide plate is emitted to the front side. The message can be clearly displayed by illuminating the back of the screen.

  Since the message drawn on the screen is switched and displayed by scrolling, it is not necessary to add a component and the cost does not increase even if the number of types of messages displayed by switching is increased.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the following examples and the like, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention.
[Example]
As shown in FIG. 1, the display device 1 of this embodiment includes a box-shaped case 2. A display window 4 is open on the front plate 3 (corresponding to a window member) of the case 2, but the display window 4 is closed with a transparent plastic transparent plate 5.

  An upper roller 6 and a lower roller 7 that are parallel to each other are disposed inside the case 2. The upper roller 6 is disposed along the upper side of the display window 4, and the lower roller 7 is disposed along the lower side, but both are hidden by the front plate 3 and are not visible from the display window 4.

  The upper roller 6 is attached to the case 2 via a support shaft 8 that penetrates the center portion, and is rotatable about the support shaft 8. However, a coil spring 9 (corresponding to the biasing means) is loosely fitted on the outer periphery of the support shaft 8, and one end 9 a is fixed to the support shaft 8 and the other end 9 b is fixed to the upper roller 6 through the short tube 10. Therefore, when the upper roller 6 is rotated, the torsion of the coil spring 9 is increased or decreased according to the rotation direction.

  Similarly to the upper roller 6, the lower roller 7 is also attached to the case 2 via a support shaft 11 that passes through the center, but the lower roller 7 rotates together with the support shaft 11. A pulley 12 is fixed to the support shaft 11. A servo motor 13 (corresponding to driving means) is installed at the lower part of the case 2. A belt 15 is wound around the pulley 14 and the pulley 12 attached to the output shaft of the servo motor 13. The servo motor 13 can rotate forward, reverse and brake, and is free if no power is applied.

  Each end of the screen 16 is connected to the upper roller 6 and the lower roller 7 respectively. The surplus length of the screen 16 is wound around the upper roller 6 and the lower roller 7, and there is no slack. For example, when the screen 16 is wound by rotating the lower roller 7, it is wound from the upper roller 6. The screen 16 corresponding to the minutes is rewound.

  Even when all the extra length of the screen 16 is wound around the upper roller 6, the coil spring 9 is not twisted to 0, and the upper roller in the direction of winding the screen 16 (clockwise in FIG. 1B). 6 is urged to rotate. Accordingly, a tension derived from the biasing force of the coil spring 9 is applied to the screen 16.

  The screen 16 is a transparent plastic film (eg, polyester, polyethylene, etc.). (1) When the store is opened (eg, please come and enjoy yourself), (2) Normal (eg, jackpot symbol), (3) Assistance (example: description of game method), (4) customer call (example: please wait for a while, the store clerk will visit), (5) service time (example: coffee service etc.), (6) jackpot 1 ( Example: Congratulations, jackpot.), (7) Jackpot 2 (Congratulations, probable jackpot.), (8) Data explanation (explanation of game machine data), (9) Meal (example: meal now) ), (10) Breaking down (Example: Inconvenience. Please play at another table), (11) Just before closing (Example: Thank you for today. We look forward to come.) Messages, and the like are printed.

  One message is drawn in a message area of a size that can be accommodated in the display window 4, but may be divided into a plurality of message areas when the amount of display is large (for example, description of a gaming method). A plurality of such messages are drawn at a plurality of locations along the longitudinal direction of the screen 16 at appropriate intervals.

  Further, (12) there is no message printing as the store use area, and a plurality of message areas in which a part of the screen 16 is cut into a rectangle for one message are provided. In this (12) store use area, a sheet on which a unique message is printed at the store where the display device 1 is installed (preferably the same material as the screen 16) is pasted so as to close the cut out message area. Thus, it can be used to display a desired message for each store.

A plurality of markers 17 are provided on one side edge of the screen 16 so as to correspond to each message area.
The message is printed with translucent ink, but the marker 17 is light-shielding. Therefore, it can be detected by an optical sensor (detection means, not shown) using a photocoupler.

  A light guide plate 18 is disposed behind the transparent plate 5 in parallel with the transparent plate 5, and the screen 16 passes between the transparent plate 5 and the light guide plate 18. On the left and right sides of the light guide plate 18 are disposed LED substrates 20 on which a plurality of illumination LEDs 19 (corresponding to a light source, full-color LEDs in this embodiment) are mounted in a vertical row, and the light emitted from the illumination LEDs 19 is The light enters from the end face of the light guide plate 18.

  The light guide plate 18 has a structure that radiates light incident from the end face to the front side, and the light emitted from the light guide plate 18 illuminates the screen 16 (message) from behind (the light guide plate 18 serves as a backlight). .

  In addition, a decoration LED 23 (full color LED in this example) is provided inside the case 2. The decorative LEDs 23 are arranged in a horizontal line along the upper side of the front plate 3 (upper portion of the display window 4), and the upper side of the front plate 3 is irradiated with the light to cause this portion to emit light.

On the other hand, a pushbutton switch 21 (six in this example, but any number) is arranged below the display window 4 of the front plate 3, and a data display unit 22 is provided below the pushbutton switch 21. .
The push button switches 21 are assigned to store clerk calls, service calls, data switching, game machine explanations, during meals, and the like, and are operated by the player. The data display unit 22 is configured by 7 segments or a dot matrix using LEDs, and can display numbers, graphs, various characters, and the like. When the push button switch 21 is operated, the data display unit 22 displays correspondingly or switches the display. That is, the push button switch 21 and the data display unit 22 realize a function corresponding to a conventional calling device.

  Further, a control board 24 is provided inside the case 2. The control board 24 is provided with a control unit centered on the CPU and a power supply unit. The servo motor 13, the light sensor 19, the illumination LED 19, the decoration LED 23, the push button switch 21, the data display unit 22, and the like described above are connected to the control board 24, and the control board 24 supplies power to them and controls their operations. Etc.

  This display device 1 is arranged one-on-one with a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine or a slot machine as the equipment of a gaming store, and is installed above the gaming machine (so-called curtain). The control board 24 is connected to a control unit (so-called island machine) of the gaming machine installation island, and is connected to a dedicated PC through the island machine. The dedicated PC can set the display pattern of the screen 16 for every store, every island, every game machine, every time, etc. In addition, if the computer communicates with the hall computer via the dedicated PC, the display pattern can be changed according to the instruction of the hall computer.

  Normally, the display device 1 for each island operates simultaneously according to the instruction of the island machine, but when operating in accordance with the operation of the push button switch 21 or a signal from the gaming machine (a jackpot signal, a probability change signal, etc.) The display device 1 operates individually.

  For example, if the instruction from the island machine is (1) display at the time of opening the store, the control board 24 turns the servo motor 13 so that the message area where the message at the time of opening of the store is printed faces the display window 4. The screen 16 is scrolled to rotate, and when the target position is reached, the servo motor 13 is brought into a braking state to stop the scrolling. Whether or not the target position has been reached is determined by counting the detection signal of the marker 17 by the optical sensor.

  If the island machine (2) issues a normal display command after an appropriate time has elapsed since the opening of the store, the control board 24 displays (2) a message area in which a normal message is printed in the display window 4 as described above. The screen 16 is scrolled and stopped so as to be in a position to face.

  When the player operates the pushbutton switch 21 for explaining the gaming machine, the screen 16 is scrolled so that the message area where the explanation message for the gaming machine is printed faces the display window 4 (3). Stop. When the set time elapses, (2) return to the normal message display.

  When the push button switch 21 for calling the clerk is operated, (4) the screen 16 is scrolled and stopped so that the message area where the customer call message is printed faces the display window 4. Further, the decoration LED 23 is turned on in the light emission mode (light emission color or light emission pattern) for calling the store clerk. If the push button switch 21 for calling the store clerk is operated again, (2) the display is returned to the normal message, and the decoration LED 23 is also set to the normal light emission mode.

  When the push button switch 21 for service call is operated, (5) the screen 16 is scrolled and stopped so that the message area where the service time message is printed faces the display window 4. Further, the decoration LED 23 is turned on in the light emission mode of the service call. When the service call pushbutton switch 21 is operated again, (2) the display is returned to the normal message, and the decoration LED 23 is also set to the normal light emission mode.

  When the jackpot signal is input, (6) the screen 16 is scrolled and stopped so that the message area where one jackpot message is printed faces the display window 4. In addition, the decorative LED 23 is turned on in a light emission mode that is usually a big hit. When the jackpot signal ends (the jackpot game ends), (2) the display is returned to the normal message, and the decoration LED 23 is also set to the normal light emission mode.

  When a jackpot signal with a probability change signal is input, (7) the screen 16 is scrolled and stopped so that the message area where the two jackpot messages are printed faces the display window 4. Further, the decorative LED 23 is turned on in the light emission mode at the time of the probable big hit. When the jackpot signal ends (the jackpot game ends), (2) the display is returned to the normal message, and the decoration LED 23 is also set to the normal light emission mode.

  When the data switching pushbutton switch 21 is operated, the display data of the data display unit 22 is switched, and the message area where the (8) data explanation message after the switching is printed is positioned to face the display window 4. Then, the screen 16 is scrolled and stopped. When the set time elapses, (2) return to the normal message display.

  When the push button switch 21 during a meal is operated, (9) the screen 16 is scrolled and stopped so that the message area where the message during a meal is printed faces the display window 4, and the remainder of the meal time is left. Is displayed on the data display unit 22. If the pushbutton switch 21 is re-operated or the remaining time becomes zero, (2) the display of the normal time message is returned and the display of the remaining time on the data display unit 22 is also terminated.

  When a gaming machine breaks down or when a store clerk discovers an illegal act, (10) a failure command is issued from the hall computer or island machine. (10) A message area in which a failure message is printed is displayed on the display window. The screen 16 is scrolled and stopped so as to reach the position 4. This display continues until this command is canceled due to recovery of failure or the like, and then (2) returns to the normal message display.

  When the closing time approaches, the island machine commands (11) just before closing. Then, the control board 24 of the display device 1 stops the screen 16 by scrolling the screen 16 so that the message area on which the message (11) just before closing is printed faces the display window 4. In addition, the decoration LED 23 is turned on in a light emitting mode just before closing. This state continues until the display device 1 is turned off due to closing.

As described above, the display device 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to switch and display messages drawn on the screen 16 by scrolling. Therefore, it is not necessary to add a component even if the number of types of messages displayed by switching increases. There is no cost.
[Others]
In the embodiment, the back surface of the screen 16 is illuminated by the light guide plate 18 and the illumination LED 19, but a cold cathode tube or the like disposed behind the screen 16 can be used as a backlight instead.

  Although this embodiment is an example installed in a game store, a similar display device can be installed outdoors (not limited to a game store) and used to display advertisements, guidance, and the like. In that case, the cross-sectional shape of the case may be a triangle or a quadrangle, and display windows may be provided on two or three surfaces.

The front view (a) of the display apparatus of an Example, the left view (b), sectional drawing (c).

Explanation of symbols

1 ... display device,
3 ... front plate,
4 ... Display window,
6 ... Upper roller,
7: Lower roller,
9: Coil spring,
13 ... Servo motor,
16 ... Screen,
17 ... marker,
18 ... light guide plate,
19 ... LED for illumination,
21 ... pushbutton switch,
22 ... Data display part,
24: Control board.

Claims (2)

A window member having a display window through which light passes;
Translucent and band-shaped messages each having a size that fits in the display window are drawn at a plurality of locations along the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of markers are provided on the side edges corresponding to the messages. And the screen
A pair of rollers that are parallel to each other and are arranged along the lateral side of the display window behind the window member, each end of the screen is connected to each other, and one of them is rotated to rotate the screen. A pair of rollers in a relationship in which the screen is rewound from the other side when wound up,
A light guide plate that is disposed behind a portion of the screen that faces the display window and radiates light incident from an end surface to the front surface;
A light source for irradiating light to an end face of the light guide plate;
An urging means for urging one of the pair of rollers in a direction to wind the screen;
A driving means that exerts a driving force on the other of the pair of rollers to rotate the screen in the direction of winding the screen against the rotational bias by the biasing means and to maintain the stopped state;
Detecting means for detecting the marker;
Control means for controlling the drive means, wherein the other of the pair of rollers is rotationally driven in the direction of winding the screen, and when the target marker is detected by the detection means, the rollers are brought into the stopped state. Control means for controlling the drive means to maintain,
A display device arranged one-on-one with a gaming machine above the gaming machine. The driving means can also rotationally drive the other of the pair of rollers in a direction to rewind the screen,
The display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit also performs control to rotate the other of the pair of rollers in the rewinding direction.

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