CONTROL DECK AND GAMING MACHINE EQUIPPED WITH SAME

Abstract

A control deck 10 is provided to a gaming machine 1, and comprises a top plate 11, a non-contact power supply unit 26, an LED board 24, a decorative plate 21, and a control unit 25. The non-contact power supply unit 26 is provided directly below a specific charging position P1 on the upper surface of the top plate 11, and performs non-contact charging of a device placed in the charging position P1. The LED board 24 is provided to the lower part of the charging position, and emits light toward the charging position P1. The decorative plate 21 displays a pattern indicating the charging position P1 in a state of being visible from the front side of the top plate 11, using light emitted from the LED board 24. The control unit 25 performs lighting control for turning on or off the light emitted from the LED board 24.

Claims

1. A control deck that is provided to a gaming machine for receiving operation inputs to the gaming machine, the control deck comprising: a top plate that has an upper surface touched by the hands of a player who is playing the gaming machine; a non-contact power supply unit that is provided immediately below a charging position set at a specific position on the upper surface of the top plate, and configured to perform non-contact charging of a device that is placed in the charging position; a light source unit that is provided below the charging position of the top plate and configured to emit light toward the charging position; a pattern display layer configured to display a pattern indicating the specific charging position in a state of being visible from an upper surface side of the top plate, using the light emitted from the light source; and a control unit configured to perform lighting control for turning on or off the light emitted from the light source unit.

2. The control deck according to claim 1, further comprising a blindfold layer configured to make the pattern indicating the charging position invisible from an upper surface side of the top plate in a state in which no light is being emitted from the light source unit.

3. The control deck according to claim 2, wherein the blindfold layer has a property of transmitting light from a side of the light source unit and reflecting light from the upper surface side of the top plate.

4. The control deck according to claim 2, wherein the blindfold layer is provided between the top plate and the pattern display layer.

5. The control deck according to claim 1, further comprising a light separation wall, which is provided to the lower part of the pattern indicating the charging position, and separates the light emitted from a portion of the pattern from the light emitted from an outer peripheral portion thereof.

6. The control deck according to claim 1, further comprising a game start detection unit configured to detect that a game of the gaming machine has been started.

7. The control deck according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the light source unit to emit light toward the charging position when the game start detection unit detects the game start of the gaming machine.

8. The control deck according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the non-contact power supply unit to start supplying power when the game start detection unit detects the game start of the gaming machine.

9. The control deck according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the light source unit to display a completion of charging when charging of the device from the non-contact power supply unit is completed.

10. The control deck according to claim 1, further comprising an operation button that is provided at a position away from the charging position and configured to receive operation inputs to the gaming machine.

11. A gaming machine, comprising: the control deck according to claim 1; a main body unit to which the control deck is attached; and a display monitor that is provided on a front side of the main body unit and configured to display game content.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] FIG. 1 is an overall oblique view of the configuration of a gaming machine equipped with the control deck according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] FIG. 2 is an oblique view of the configuration of the control deck installed in on the front side of the gaming machine of FIG. 1;

[0042] FIG. 3 is a control block diagram centering on the control deck of FIG. 2;

[0043] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the configuration of the charging unit side of the control deck in FIG. 2;

[0044] FIG. 5 is a top view of the control deck of FIG. 2;

[0045] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the A-A line in FIG. 5;

[0046] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the configuration of a decorative plate included in the control deck of FIG. 6; and

[0047] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional oblique view of the configuration centering on the charging position of the control deck of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

[0048] A control deck 10 and a gaming machine 1 equipped with this control deck according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

[0049] In this embodiment, some unnecessarily detailed description may be omitted. For example, detailed description of already known facts or redundant description of components that are substantially the same may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary repetition in the following description, and facilitate an understanding on the part of a person skilled in the art.

[0050] The applicant has provided the appended drawings and the following description so that a person skilled in the art might fully understand this disclosure, but does not intend for these to limit what is discussed in the patent claims.

[0051] Directional terms such as “upper” and “lower” appearing in the following description mean “upper” and “lower” in the drawings used in the description, and are not intended to limit the details of the invention.

(1) Configuration of Gaming Machine 1

[0052] The gaming machine 1 according to this embodiment is, for example, a slot machine as shown in FIG. 1, and comprises a housing unit 2, a display monitor 3, a deposit unit 4, a card reception unit 5, and the control deck 10.

[0053] The housing unit 2 constitutes the outer shell of the gaming machine 1 and has a vertically oriented substantially cuboid shape. The display monitor 3 is provided to the housing unit 2 at a position corresponding to the eye level of the player, on the front side facing a player who is playing the game on the gaming machine 1. Also, the housing unit 2 is provided with the control deck 10 on which the player performs operation inputs, at a position below the display monitor 3, on the front side facing the player.

[0054] The display monitor 3 displays, for example, a plurality of reels that are rotated and stopped by player operations, and a winning combination is determined by the symbols displayed on the reels when the reels are stopped by the player's operation. As a result, the gaming machine 1 awards a prize according to the winning combination determined by the symbols shown on the stopped reels.

[0055] The display of the reels may be performed by displaying an image corresponding to the reels on a liquid crystal display screen or the like, or actual reels provided as rotating bodies may be disposed on the display monitor 3.

[0056] The deposit unit 4 is a deposit processing unit into which banknotes, tickets, receipts, or the like are inserted when a game is to be started on the gaming machine 1 (a slot machine, etc.). As shown in FIG. 1, the deposit unit 4 is provided above the right side of the control deck 10 in the housing unit 2 of the gaming machine 1.

[0057] The deposit unit 4 may have a banknote identification function for verifying whether a banknote is genuine or counterfeit when the banknote is inserted.

[0058] The card reception unit 5 is a card slot into which a membership card issued by a to casino or other such gaming facility is inserted. The membership card is inserted by a registered member upon starting to play the gaming machine 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the card reception unit 5 is provided above the right side of the control deck 10 in the housing unit 2 of the gaming machine 1, and to the left of the deposit unit 4.

[0059] The control deck 10 is provided on the upper surface of a portion provided so as to protrude toward the player from the lower portion of the housing unit 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the control deck 10 is provided with a charging unit 20 and an operation switch 30. A top plate 11 is provided to the upper surface of the control deck 10.

(2) Configuration of Control Deck 10

[0060] As shown in FIG. 2, the control deck 10 has an upper surface on which the player's hands, a device to be charged, and the like are placed. This upper surface is covered with a transparent top plate 11. Also, the charging unit 20 is disposed on the left side of the upper surface of the control deck 10, and the operation switch 30 is disposed on the right side.

[0061] The charging unit 20 includes a non-contact power supply unit 26 (see FIG. 3) that supplies power in a non-contact manner to a device placed at a specific charging position P1 (see FIG. 2, etc.) on the upper surface of the top plate 11. Also, the charging unit 20 is configured so that the pattern indicating the charging position P1 is not displayed when the gaming machine 1 is not being played, the purpose of which is to provide a charging function only to a player who is playing the gaming machine 1.

[0062] Here, the device to be charged by the charging unit 20 is, for example, a smart phone, some other kind of mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a music player, or another such mobile device.

[0063] Consequently, users of the gaming facility who are not playing a game on the gaming machine 1 will not be able to see where the charging position P1 is until the game on the gaming machine 1 is started. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the gaming machine 1 from being occupied only for the charging of a device by a spectator or the like who is not playing the gaming machine 1, thereby improving the utilization rate of the gaming machine 1.

[0064] The detailed configuration of the charging unit 20 will be described below.

[0065] The operation switch 30 is used by the player while playing the gaming machine 1. The operation switch 30 is made up of a central push button 31, a plurality of bet buttons 32a to 32e disposed around the periphery of the central push button 31, and a help button 32f (see FIG. 5).

[0066] As shown in FIG. 3, the control deck 10 comprises the deposit unit 4 and the card reception unit 5 on the gaming machine 1 side, the LED board 24 and the non-contact power supply unit 26 included in the charging unit 20, and a control unit that is connected to the operation switch 30 and controls the lighting of the LED board 24 and the power supply of the non-contact power supply unit 26 (discussed below).

[0067] As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 25 has a game start detection unit 25a, a lighting control unit 25b, and a power supply control unit 25c.

[0068] The game start detection unit 25a detects that a game of the gaming machine 1 has been started by detecting the insertion of banknotes or the like into the deposit unit 4. The game start detection unit 25a may also detect that the game of the gaming machine 1 has been started by detecting the insertion of a membership card into the card reception unit 5 of the gaming machine 1.

[0069] The lighting control unit 25b controls the LED board 24 to light the LEDs 24a and 24b when the game start detection unit 25a has detected the start of play on the gaming machine 1. Consequently, a pattern indicating the charging position P1 included in the decorative plate 21 (discussed below) becomes visible from the upper surface side of the top plate 11.

[0070] The lighting control unit 25b controls the LED board so as to turn off the LEDs 24a and 24b when, for example, it is assumed that play on the gaming machine 1 has ended once any banknotes, receipts, etc., of unused money have been refunded from the deposit unit 4, for example. As a result, the pattern indicating the charging position P1 included on the decorative plate 21 (discussed below) can be made invisible once play on the gaming machine 1 comes to an end.

[0071] Also, the lighting control unit 25b controls the LED board 24 so that when the charging of a device placed on the charging position P1 is complete, light of a different color from that during charging is emitted to indicate the completion of charging. As a result, a player playing a game on the gaming machine 1 can recognize the completion of charging of the device from the change in the color of the pattern at the charging position P1.

[0072] When the game start detection unit 25a detects the start of play on the gaming machine 1, the power supply control unit 25c performs power supply control so that the non-contact power supply unit 26 begins to supply power. As a result, in a state in which play on the gaming machine 1 has begun, power can be supplied to the device placed at the specific charging position P1.

[0073] The power supply control unit 25c stops the supply of power from the non-contact power supply unit 26 when, for example, it is assumed that play on the gaming machine 1 has ended once any banknotes, receipts, etc., of unused money have been refunded from the deposit unit 4. As a result, the power supply can be shut off as soon as play on the gaming machine 1 comes to an end.

[0074] The top plate 11 is, for example, a flat member made of stainless steel or the like, and as shown in FIG. 4, forms the upper surface of the control deck 10 and has an opening 11a formed to line up with the position where the charging unit 20 is installed, and an opening 11b formed to line up with the position where the operation switch 30 is installed.

[0075] For convenience of explanation, FIG. 4 is an exploded oblique view of the configuration of the charging unit 20 side, but does not show the configuration on the operation switch 30 side.

[0076] As shown in FIG. 4, a base portion 12 is a housing that constitutes the lower surface side of the control deck 10, and houses the various components that make up the charging unit 20 and the operation switch 30.

(3) Detailed Configuration of Charging Unit 20

[0077] As shown in FIG. 5, the charging unit 20 is disposed on the left side of the upper surface of the control deck 10, and the pattern indicating the charging position P1 is disposed in a state of being invisible from the upper surface side except when the gaming machine 1 is being played. On the other hand, once play on the gaming machine 1 is begun, the charging unit 20, as shown in FIG. 5, enters a state in which a pattern formed by combining a plurality of circles and indicating the charging position P1 is visible.

[0078] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the charging unit 20 has a decorative plate (pattern display layer, blindfold layer) 21, double-sided tape 22, a board cover 23, the LED board 24, and the non-contact power supply unit 26.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 4, the decorative plate 21 is a substantially disk-shaped sheet including a pattern indicating the charging position P1, and is affixed to the upper surface of the top plate 11. As shown in FIG. 7, the decorative plate 21 includes an acrylic plate 21a, a black mirror sheet (blindfold layer) 21b, and a design sheet 21c.

[0080] The acrylic plate 21a is, for example, a substantially transparent disc-shaped member made of PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) resin, and forms the surface on which the device to be charged is placed by a player during a game. The acrylic plate 21a is disposed on the uppermost surface side of the decorative plate 21, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 7, the black mirror sheet (blindfold layer) 21b is disposed between the acrylic plate 21a (the surface layer) and the design sheet 21c (the bottom layer). In a state in which no light is being emitted from the LED board 24, the black mirror sheet 21b appears to be a completely black surface when viewed from the upper surface side of the top plate 11, and makes the pattern indicating the charging position P1 invisible. Also, the black mirror sheet 21b has a property of transmitting light from the LED board 24 side and reflecting light from the upper surface side of the top plate 11.

[0082] Consequently, unless light is emitted from the LED board 24, the pattern indicating the charging position P1 cannot be seen from the upper surface side of the top plate 11.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 7, the design sheet (pattern display layer) 21c constitutes the bottom layer of the decorative plate 21, and includes a pattern (see FIG. 2) indicating a specific charging position P1.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 2, etc., the pattern indicating the charging position P1 includes a plurality of circles and a charging mark M1 disposed in the center of the circles. This pattern is made visible when the above-mentioned control unit 25 lights the LEDs 24a and 24b once a player starts playing the gaming machine 1, and becomes invisible when the LEDs 24a and 24b are switched off once play on the gaming machine 1 comes to an end.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 4, the double-sided tape 22 is a substantially annular adhesive sheet provided for affixing the decorative plate 21 to the upper surface of the top plate 11, and is adhesive on both the upper surface side and the lower surface side. The double-sided tape 22 has an inside diameter larger than the inside diameter of the opening 11a formed on the upper surface of the top plate 11, and is affixed around the outer periphery of the opening 11a.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 6, the board cover 23 is a substantially cylindrical member that is disposed in the gap between the top plate 11 and the base portion 12 together with the LED board 24, the non-contact power supply unit 26, and so forth, and has a partition (light separation wall) 23a.

[0087] As shown in FIG. 4, the partition 23a is a cylindrical portion on the inside of the board cover 23 including substantially cylindrical portions that are concentrically disposed. As shown in FIG. 8, the partition 23a is disposed so as to cover the upper space of the LEDs 24a that illuminate the charging mark M1 in the center of the pattern indicating the charging position P1. Therefore, the cylindrical upper space of the LEDs 24b that illuminate the plurality of circular portions around the outer periphery of the charging mark M1 is shielded from the upper space of the LEDs 24a that illuminate the charging mark M1.

[0088] Consequently, the light emitted from the LEDs 24a that illuminate the charging mark M1 is prevented from mixing with the light emitted from the LEDs 24b that illuminate the plurality of circular portions on the outer periphery of the charging mark M1.

[0089] Therefore, even when it is desired to display the charging mark M1 and the circular portions around the charging mark M1 with light of different colors, the light of different colors will be visible in different colors, without the two colors of light becoming mixed.

[0090] The LED board 24 is attached to the upper surface of the base portion 12, and the LEDs 24a and 24b are disposed on the upper surface thereof. The LED board 24 is controlled by the control unit 25 so as to switch on and off the light emitted from the LEDs 24a and 24b, switch the color of the light, and so on.

[0091] The LEDs 24a and 24b are disposed in a lattice pattern at substantially regular intervals on the upper surface of the LED board 24, and emit light upward toward the decorative plate 21.

[0092] The non-contact power supply unit 26 is a bundle of annular coils provided as a power supply antenna, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, is disposed directly under the decorative plate 21 including the charging mark M1 indicating the specific charging position. The non-contact power supply unit 26 performs non-contact power supply to the device placed on the charging mark M1.

Main Features

[0093] The control deck 10 in this embodiment is provided to the gaming machine 1 and comprises the top plate 11, the non-contact power supply unit 26, the LED board 24, the decorative plate 21, and the control unit 25. The non-contact power supply unit 26 is provided directly below the specific charging position P1 on the upper surface of the top plate 11, and performs non-contact charging of the device placed in the charging position P1. The LED board 24 is provided to the lower part of the charging position P1, and emits light toward the charging position P1. The decorative plate 21 displays a pattern indicating the charging position P1 in a visible state from the upper surface side of the top plate 11, with light emitted from the LED board 24. The control unit 25 performs lighting control for switching on and off the light emitted from the LED board 24.

[0094] Consequently, even if someone who is not a player, such as a spectator, sits in front of the gaming machine 1, for example, the LED board 24 can be controlled such that the pattern indicating the charging position P1 will not be displayed on the top plate 11 (the LEDs 24a and 24b are switched off). On the other hand, when a player sits down in front of the gaming machine 1 and performs an operation input, such as making a deposit to start a game or performing an operation to start a game, the LED board 24 can be controlled so that the pattern indicating the charging position P1 will be displayed (the LEDs 24a and 24b are lit).

[0095] As a result, it is possible to control so that the charging position P1 is not displayed on the control deck 10 unless a game has been started, thereby avoiding a decrease in the operation rate of the gaming machine 1 due to the gaming machine 1 being occupied by non-players.

Other Embodiments

[0096] An embodiment of the present invention was described above, but the present invention is not limited to or by the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0097] (A)

[0098] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the control unit 25 (the game start detector 25a, the lighting control unit 25b, and the power supply control unit 25c) provided in the control deck 10 controlled the lighting of the LED board 24 and the power supply by the non-contact power supply unit 26 only during a game, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0099] For example, the control unit that performs lighting control and power supply control may be used along with a control unit provided inside the gaming machine. That is, control on the control deck side may be performed by the control unit on the gaming machine side.

[0100] (B)

[0101] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an example was given in which the control deck 10 was configured so as to protrude from the front of the gaming machine 1 toward the player. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0102] For example, the shape and size of the control deck are not limited to the what is shown in FIG. 1, and other forms may be employed.

[0103] (C) In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, an example was given in which the decorative plate 21 included the black mirror sheet (blindfold layer) 21b having a half-mirror function. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0104] For example, the control deck may be configured to comprise a decorative plate that does not include a black mirror sheet (blindfold layer).

[0105] In this case, compared to a configuration that includes a black mirror sheet, the pattern indicating the charging position will not be completely invisible, but the pattern indicating the charging position will still be difficult to see when the light source is turned off, so the same effect as described above can be obtained.

[0106] (D)

[0107] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which, when the game start detection unit 25a of the control unit 25 detected deposit processing from the deposit unit 4, or when the card reception unit 5 detected the insertion of a membership card or the like, it was determined that a game had been started, and the lighting control unit 25b switched on the LEDs 24a of the LED board 24. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0108] For example, the game start detection unit may determine that a game has been started on the gaming machine by detecting the operation of an operation switch, rather than deposit processing or the reception of a membership card.

[0109] (E)

[0110] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which, when the game start detection unit 25a of the control unit 25 detected the start of play on the gaming machine 1, the lighting control unit 25b controlled the LED board 24 to light the LEDs 24a so that the pattern indicating the charging position P1 becomes visible, and the power supply control unit 25c starts supplying power from the non-contact power supply unit 26. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0111] For example, when the game start detection unit detects that play on the gaming machine has started, the lighting control unit may perform only lighting control of the LED board, with power always being supplied from the non-contact power supply unit.

[0112] However, from the standpoint of prohibiting a user who is not playing a game from supplying power to a device to be charged, it is preferable to perform power supply control as well, as in Embodiment 1 described above.

[0113] (F)

[0114] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the board cover 23 including the partition 23a was provided between the decorative plate 21 and the LED board 24 so that of the LEDs 24a of the LED board 24, there would be no mixing of light between the center portion the outer peripheral portion of the design sheet (pattern display layer) 21c that indicates the charging position P1. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0115] For example, the control deck may be configured such that there is no partition (light separation wall) on the board cover.

[0116] (G)

[0117] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, an example was given in which the charging unit 20 (specific charging position) including the LED board 24, the non-contact power supply unit 26, etc., was disposed in a portion of the opening 11a formed in the top plate 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0118] For example, the specific charging position may be installed at a specific position on a top plate without any opening.

[0119] In this case, the control deck is configured such that the pattern display layer is provided on the upper or lower surface side of the top plate, and the light source unit and the non-contact power supply unit are provided in the lower space thereof, which affords the same effect as above.

[0120] (H)

[0121] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which, when the charging of the device placed on the charging position P1 is complete, the lighting control unit 25b controls the LED board 24 so that light of a different color from that during charging will be emitted to indicate that the charging is complete. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0122] For example, the configuration may be such that the lighting control unit controls the LED board so as to turn off the LEDs when charging of the device placed on the charging position is complete.

[0123] (I)

[0124] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the top plate 11 was made of stainless steel. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0125] For example, the top plate may be a flat member made of glass that transmits light.

[0126] However, in the case of a top plate in which an opening is provided at the charging position and the charging unit is disposed so as to be fitted into the opening as in Embodiment 1, a flat member may instead be formed of a metal or the like that does not transmit light.

[0127] (J)

[0128] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the slot machine shown in FIG. 1 was used as the gaming machine to which the control deck of the present invention was attached. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0129] For example, the gaming machine to which the control deck of the present invention is attached may be a pachinko game, a card gaming machine for playing poker or the like, a mahjong machine, or the like, instead of a slot machine.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0130] The control deck of the present invention has the effect of avoiding a decrease in the utilization rate of a gaming machine due to the occupation of that gaming machine by non-players, and therefore can be widely applied to various kinds of gaming machine, including slot machines, pachinko games, and so forth.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0131] 1 gaming machine [0132] 2 housing [0133] 3 display monitor [0134] 4 deposit unit [0135] 5 card reception unit [0136] 10 control deck [0137] 11 top plate [0138] 11a, 11b opening [0139] 12 base portion [0140] 20 charging unit [0141] 21 decorative plate (pattern display layer, blindfold layer) [0142] 21a acrylic plate [0143] 21b black mirror sheet (blindfold layer) [0144] 21c design sheet (pattern display layer) [0145] 22 double-sided tape [0146] 23 board cover [0147] 23a partition (light separation wall) [0148] 24 LED board (light source) [0149] 24a LED [0150] 24b LED [0151] 25 control unit [0152] 25a game start detection unit [0153] 25b lighting control unit [0154] 25c power supply control unit [0155] 26 non-contact power supply unit [0156] 30 operation switch [0157] 31 push button [0158] 32a-32e bet button [0159] 32f help button [0160] M1 charging mark [0161] P1 charging position