JP2012024144A - Light guide body, illumination unit, game board unit, and pachinko game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an illumination unit which can enhance performance effects by widely diffusing a range of light emitted to the front of a light guide body.SOLUTION: The light guide body includes: a reflection area 21 having: a recessed part 21a storing an LED 31 in the center of the back surface; and a reflective film 21b on the back surface except the recessed part; a nearly conical emitting area 23 which is disposed in the front opposed thereto and inclined backward; a conical reflecting recess part 24 for diffusing light emitted to the front from the LED 31 in the externally radial direction by a reflective surface 24a in the center part of the emitting area 23 opposed to the recessed part 21a; and a reflection and transmission surface 25 for emitting reflective light forward by receiving it from the reflecting recess part 24 in the externally radial side. The reflection and transmission surface 25 includes mountain-shaped projection parts 25a arranged in a nearly concentric state around the reflecting recess part 24; and a flat surface 25b formed between the projection parts, and reflects the reflective light from the reflecting recess part 24 to the reflecting area 21 at the projection parts 25a and then emits the light outside from the flat surface 25b by reflecting the light forward.

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of an illumination unit which is mounted on a gaming machine such as a pachinko gaming machine and exhibits an electric decoration function.

In gaming machines such as pachinko machines and arrange balls, conventionally, not only lighting effects but also status changes such as changes in gaming status on the gaming board are visually expressed and notified, and the electric Light sources such as LED lamps and filament lamps are arranged on the board surface, board surface parts, and other arbitrary parts for the purpose of, for example, achieving a decoration effect.
In addition, chip LEDs are mounted on board parts that represent people, animals, anime characters, etc., and the LEDs emit light in accordance with the progress of the game, thereby providing a characteristic effect in the progress of the game. Decoration devices are also known.
Since the LED is a so-called point light source with a small light emitting area, in order to obtain a wide illumination area, it is necessary to increase the number of LEDs mounted on a panel component or to diffuse light using a light guide, a diffusion film, or the like. . However, the increase in the number of LEDs is limited due to installation space, weight limitations, and the like, and there is a problem that the thickness dimension increases when light is diffused using a light guide or the like.

For example, in Patent Document 1, a film having translucency and light diffusibility is attached to the surface of a translucent cover member disposed on the front side of a light source lamp (top view type LED) as a point light source. In addition, a light emitting decoration device is disclosed in which a lens is disposed in front of a cover member to diffuse light from a point light source.
However, when viewed from the front, it is still difficult to eliminate the flashing in which light emission from the top view type LED located at the center of the lens is strongly recognized. In addition, in order to diffuse the light from such a top view type LED, it is necessary to secure a sufficient gap between the LED and the inner surface of the cover member, and the overall thickness increases. It was difficult to apply to the required lighting device.

JP 2005-204797 A

Thus, in the illumination device using the chip LED, in order to increase the light emission amount and expand the emission range, it is the easiest measure to increase the number of LEDs to be used. This is not a good idea because it increases weight and costs. That is, the number of LEDs that can be used in the electrical decoration device is often restricted in terms of layout.
Since the chip LED is a point light source, when the light is emitted to a light guide having an area that greatly exceeds the beam diameter of the light emitted from the LED, the light is uniformly distributed over a wide range only by the diffusion action by the light guide. When the light guide is viewed from the front, the brightness in the vicinity of the LED is high, and the light intensity unevenness and the brightness unevenness in which the brightness decreases with increasing distance from the LED are easily recognized.
Further, in order to diffuse the light from the chip LED, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient gap between the LED and the inner side surface of the light guide, and the overall thickness increases, so an electrical decoration device that is required to be thinned It was difficult to apply to.
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and while using an LED having the disadvantage of being lit up, the illumination effect is enhanced by widely diffusing the range of light emitted to the front of the light guide. The purpose is to provide units.
Moreover, this invention aims at achieving thickness reduction by reducing the gap between LED and a light guide as much as possible.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 includes a reflective region having a recessed portion for accommodating an LED at a central portion of the rear surface, and a reflective film on a rear surface portion excluding the recessed portion, and the reflective region. A light guide having a substantially conical emission area disposed on the front surface facing the area and inclined rearward, the emission area having an inner surface at a central portion facing the recessed portion A reflective recess having a conical shape for diffusing light emitted forward from the LED in the outer diameter direction by the provided reflecting surface, and reflecting from the reflecting recess on the outer diameter side of the reflecting recess on the front surface; An uneven reflection / transmission surface that receives light and emits it forward, and the uneven reflection / transmission surface includes convex portions having a mountain-shaped cross section arranged in a substantially concentric manner around the reflection recess, and between the convex portions And a flat surface formed on the projection, the primary reflected light from the reflection recess It was allowed to secondary reflected toward the reflective area Te by reflecting tertiary forward in the reflection region, and wherein the configured light guide body so as to emit from the flat surface to the outside.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the light transmitted through the convex portion is reflected by another adjacent convex portion and emitted.
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the convex portion is provided in a stepped shape intermittent in a circumferential direction at a predetermined pitch.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printed circuit board on which a plurality of LEDs are mounted, the light guide according to any one of the first to third aspects, and a plurality of convex portions on a surface facing the light guide. And an illumination unit having an outer lens unit.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a game board unit comprising the illumination unit according to the fourth aspect is characterized.
The invention of claim 6 is characterized by a pachinko gaming machine comprising the game board unit according to claim 5.

  Since it comprised as mentioned above, according to this invention, while the thickness of a light guide can be made thin as much as possible, the illumination unit which applies a light guide can be reduced in thickness and size, and a flat surface can emit light. Surface light emission can be performed to suppress unevenness in the amount of light and luminance that are weak points of the LED light source.

The front view which shows the game board surface (game board unit) of the pachinko game machine to which this invention is applied. The front view which shows the game board surface (game board unit) of the pachinko game machine to which this invention is applied. The exploded view of the illumination unit of this invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the inner lens 20 shown in FIG. 3. The front view of each light guide 20a which comprises the inner lens shown in FIG. Sectional drawing in the AA of the light guide 20a shown in FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are front views showing a game board surface (game board unit) of a pachinko gaming machine to which the present invention is applied.
In FIG. 1, an outer rail R <b> 1 and an inner rail R <b> 2 are provided around a game area 101 in the game board 100. These outer rail R1 and inner rail R2 guide a game ball launched from a launching device (not shown) provided below the game board 100 to the upper part of the game area 101 or to the out port 118.
An image display 111 is disposed in the center of the game area. The image display 111 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display panel such as a liquid crystal display device, and displays an image such as a decorative symbol corresponding to a special symbol, for example, a numeric symbol, an alphabet symbol, or a character symbol. In the so-called reach state or special game state, an effect image or the like indicating each game state is also displayed.
In addition, above the image display 111, the movable accessory 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is accommodated, and according to the production | presentation in a pachinko game machine, from the accommodation position shown in FIG. As shown, the image display 111 moves forward and backward from the protruding position protruding to the front side.

The movable accessory 1 is an illumination unit of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an illumination unit) that can emit light by incorporating an LED (Light Emission Diode) on an internal substrate.
A first start port 113 is disposed in the lower center of the image display 111. The first start port 113 generates a right to display the first special symbol in a variable manner when the game ball wins.
An electric tulip (hereinafter referred to as “electric chew”) 114 having a pair of left and right open / close claws (movable pieces) as a variable winning device in the central area of the game board 100 and below the image display 111. Is arranged. The electric chew 114 functions as a second starting port, and generates a right to variably display the second special symbol when a game ball is won.
The electric chew 114 is configured to open for a predetermined time when the normal symbol stops in a predetermined manner.

Further, a gate 115 for operating the normal symbol 123 is provided in the right area of the game board 100.
Further, in the right region of the game board 100, on the right side of the first starting port, a big prize opening 116 of a big prize winning device that is opened in the special gaming state is arranged.
Furthermore, in the game area 101 of the game board 100, a general winning opening 117 is arranged, and a windmill and a large number of game nails (not shown) are projected. The game nail slows down the falling speed of the game ball and changes the falling direction in a complicated manner to enhance the interest in game progression.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the illumination unit of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 3, the illumination unit 1 of the present invention includes a translucent outer lens 10 that is shaped like a gong, a plurality of inner lenses 20 disposed on the inner side, and a plurality of inner lenses 20 on the inner lens 20 side surface. And a printed circuit board 30 on which a top view type LED (Light Emitting Diode) light source 31 is mounted.
The inner lens 20 causes light from the LED 31 on the printed circuit board 30 to enter and emits light from the entire inner lens 20 according to the configuration described later, thereby widening the range of light emitted to the front side (player side). do.
The outer lens 10 accommodates the inner lens 20 and the printed circuit board 30 inside thereof, but has a fine unevenness (not shown) on the surface facing the inner lens 20, and further emits light from the inner lens 20. Spread. However, this configuration is not an essential configuration for obtaining the effects of the present invention, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

4A and 4B are schematic views of the inner lens 20 shown in FIG. 3, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view and FIG. 4B is a rear view.
As shown in FIG. 4A, in the inner lens 20, a plurality of disc-shaped light guides 20a described later are arranged so as to wrap (overlap) each other.
Since this arrangement depends on the shape of the accessory that the inner lens 20 and thus the illumination unit 1 is shaped, it is not necessarily limited to the pattern shown in the drawing, and is adjusted as appropriate according to the shape.

FIG. 5 is a front view of each light guide 20a constituting the inner lens shown in FIG. 4, and shows a light emission state when light is emitted from the LED 31. FIG.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the light guide 20a shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of a region D in FIG. 6A.
The structure of the light guide constituting the inner lens of the present invention and the light path in the light guide will be described with reference to FIGS.
4 and 6, the inner lens 20 (light guide 20a) has light guide properties from a transparent resin.
The inner lens 20 (light guide 20a) has a recessed portion 21a (FIG. 4B) that accommodates the LED 31 at the center of the rear surface (rear side), and includes a reflective film 21b at a portion other than the recessed portion 21a. A reflection region 21 and a substantially conical emission region 23 that faces the reflection region 21 and is inclined toward the reflection region 21, and is provided on the inner surface at the center of the emission region 23 that faces the recess 21a. A conical reflecting recess 24 having an angle for diffusing light emitted forward from the LED 31 in the outer diameter direction by the reflecting surface 24a is provided.

Further, the emission region 23 includes an uneven reflection / transmission surface 25 that receives reflected light from the reflection recess 24 and emits it forward from the emission region 23 on the outer diameter side of the reflection recess 24 on the front surface thereof.
The concave / convex reflective / transmissive surface 25 is formed in a stepwise and intermittent manner with a predetermined pitch in the circumferential direction centered on the reflective recess 24, for example, convex portions 25a having a cross-sectional mountain shape arranged in a substantially concentric shape (FIG. 5). And a flat surface 25b formed between the convex portions 25a.
The light emitted from the LED 31 mainly follows the following three types of optical paths.

The optical path in the light guide 20a will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
A part of the light emitted from the LED 31 mounted on the printed circuit board 30 (not shown) is bent rightward on the reflection surface 24a of the reflection recess 24 and reflected to the outer diameter side (primary reflection).
The light is almost totally reflected on the reflecting surface 24a. For this purpose, the reflecting surface 24a may be coated with a material having high reflectivity such as aluminum.
When the emitted light is incident on the slope of the convex portion 25a, most of the light is reflected in a direction substantially orthogonal to the reflective region 21 (secondary reflection), and further reflected by the reflective region 21 (third-order reflection). The light A is emitted in the same direction as the direction.

By the way, since the reflective region 21 includes the reflective film 21b formed by aluminum vapor deposition or the like at a portion other than the recessed portion 21a, the light that has been secondarily reflected does not pass through the reflective region 21 and escape to the back side.
A small part of the light reflected by the reflecting surface 24a is not reflected but diffused on the slope of the convex portion 25a, and a part of the light is emitted as light B on the front side, and the remaining light is adjacent Reflected toward the front side on the slope of the convex portion 25a, and emitted as light B.
This is because the opposed slopes of the adjacent convex portions 25a are opposed to each other at an angle that is substantially orthogonal, and the light bent right side in FIG. 6 by the reflecting surface 24a is due to the relationship between the slopes. The light is emitted in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the incident light, that is, on the front side of the light guide.
(Second optical path)
Since the outgoing light from the LED 31 is diffused by about 120 degrees, a part of the outgoing light does not go to the reflection recess 24 but directly enters the uneven reflection / transmission surface 25.
The light is refracted by the convex portion 25 a of the uneven reflection / transmission surface 25 and is emitted as light C to the front side.
Thus, the light A is emitted from the flat surface 25b and the lights B and C are emitted from the convex portion 25a. However, since the flat surface emits light by the light A, the light guide 20a emits light as a whole.

Moreover, in the convex part 25a, since the ratio of the light reflected toward the reflective film 21b is overwhelmingly larger than the light transmitted toward the adjacent convex part 25a, the light is reflected by the reflective film 21b and is flat. The light A (surface emission) heading toward is a stronger light, and the light B emitted from the convex portion 25a is relatively weak.
That is, the actual light emission is a form in which strong surface light emission and other weak light emission coexist.
Although not all light from the LED 31 can be directly incident on the slope of the convex portion 25a depending on the inclination angle of the uneven reflection / transmission surface 25, all light that is thirdarily reflected by the reflective film 21b is light A. Since there is also light that is reflected from the flat surface 25b and returns to the reflective film 21b side instead of coming out from the flat surface 25b to the front side, the return light is transmitted through the flat surface 25b while changing the angle in the external direction. By repeating the reflection and the reflection at the reflection film 21b, all the flat surfaces 25b can be illuminated uniformly.
Of course, part of the light enters the convex portion 25a and exits from the inclined surface to the front side.

As described above, the light emitted from the LED 31 is folded right side in FIG. 6 by the reflective recess 24, and the light is folded right below in FIG. 6 by the convex portion 25a sandwiching the flat surface 25b, and further the reflective film 21b. Since the light is reflected and emitted from the flat surface 25b, the distance between the concavo-convex reflection / transmission surface 25 and the reflective film 21b, that is, the thickness of the light guide 20a (inner lens 20) is reduced as much as possible (for example, within 3 mm). In addition, the flat surface 25b emits light to emit light, and the light source unevenness and luminance unevenness, which are weak points of the LED light source, can be suppressed. As a result, the number of LEDs 31 can be reduced.
By reducing the thickness of the light guide 20a, that is, the inner lens 20, an illumination unit used in a pachinko gaming machine that requires a thinner device can be reduced in size and thickness.
In order to diffuse the light from the chip LED, it is necessary to secure a sufficient gap between the LED and the inner surface of the light guide, and there is a problem that the thickness of the entire unit increases naturally. This problem can be solved by applying the configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Illumination unit, 10 Outer lens, 20 Inner lens, 20a Light guide, 21 Reflection area | region, 21a Recessed part, 21b Reflection film | membrane, 23 Outgoing area | region, 24 Reflection recessed part, 24a Reflective surface, 25 Concave-reflection / transmission surface 25a Convex part, 25b Flat surface, 30 Printed circuit board, 31 LED, 100 Game board, 101 Game area, 111 Image display, 113 Start port, 114 Electric chew, 115 Gate, 116 Grand prize port, 117 General prize port, 118 out Mouth, 123 Normal design

Claims (6)

A reflective region having a recessed portion for accommodating the LED at the center of the rear surface and having a reflective film on the rear surface portion excluding the recessed portion, and a substantially cone inclined to the rear side disposed on the front surface facing the reflective region A light guide having a shape-like emission region,
The emission region includes a conical reflection recess that diffuses light emitted forward from the LED in an outer radial direction by a reflection surface provided on an inner surface at a central portion that faces the recess. In the outer diameter side of the reflection recess in the concavo-convex reflection / transmission surface that receives the reflected light from the reflection recess and emits it forward,
The uneven reflection / transmission surface includes convex portions having a mountain-shaped cross section arranged in a substantially concentric manner around the reflective recess, and a flat surface formed between the convex portions, from the reflective recess The primary reflected light is secondarily reflected by the convex portion toward the reflection region, and then is thirdarily reflected forward by the reflection region, so that the light is emitted from the flat surface to the outside. A light guide characterized by that.   2. The light guide according to claim 1, wherein the light transmitted through the convex portion is reflected by an inclined surface opposite to another adjacent convex portion and is emitted from the inclined surface.   The light guide according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is provided in a stepped shape that is intermittent in a circumferential direction at a predetermined pitch.   A printed circuit board on which a plurality of LEDs are mounted, a light guide according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and an outer lens unit having a plurality of convex portions on a surface facing the light guide. Illumination unit characterized by having.   A game board unit comprising the illumination unit according to claim 4.   A pachinko gaming machine comprising the gaming board unit according to claim 5.

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