JP5904914B2 - Display panel lighting device for gaming machines - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an illuminating device in which illumination light is applied from the back side to a display panel mounted on the front surface of a gaming machine so that images and title names printed on the display panel can be clearly displayed.

  Inside the case of a slot machine, also called a pachislot machine, a reel unit is housed in the upper stage and a hopper device is housed in the lower stage, and is usually covered with a front door locked in the closed position. A vertically long front door that integrally covers the reel unit and the hopper device is provided with a reel window for observation of the reel. A game operation section such as a medal slot, a start lever, and a stop button is provided below the reel window, and a door portion that covers the hopper device is provided below the operation section. In the case of a separate housing type in which the inside of the housing is separated into two stages of the reel housing portion and the hopper housing portion and each is individually covered with the front door, the upper portion of the lower front door that covers the hopper device Is provided with an operation unit for gaming.

  In the case of either a vertically long type or a vertically divided front door, a display panel is mounted below the operation unit, and the front surface of the front door covering the hopper device is a display space. The display panel has a horizontally long size of about 450-500 mm (width: 200-250 mm) depending on the size of the case. Character images and title names or various advertisements according to the model of the slot machine Various information is printed. An illuminating device is provided on the back side of the display panel, and an image or information printed on the display panel can be appealed to the player with the illumination light.

  As an illumination device that illuminates the display panel of the front door from the back side, a light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as LED) that emits white light can be effectively used as the light source as described in Patent Document 1. LEDs have lower power consumption and higher power saving effect than conventional cold cathode ray tubes (fluorescent lamps). Also, if the LED module in which LED chips are encapsulated with resin together with phosphors is used instead of LED bulbs, the external dimensions will be smaller and the installation space in the thickness direction of the front door will be greatly saved. There is an advantage that you can.

JP 2007-151924 A

  By the way, at present, the irradiation angle 2θ of the illumination light emitted from the LED module is widened to about 150 ° in the surface-mount type, but the light amount is usually drastically reduced as the irradiation angle is increased. For this reason, if it is intended to illuminate a horizontally long rectangular display panel with a uniform amount of light, dozens of LED modules are arranged at a fine pitch to the same length as the horizontal width of the display panel as described in Patent Document 1. An LED array must be used. Further, in order to spread the illumination light emitted from the LED array in a line shape in the vertical direction, it is indispensable to cover the entire LED array with a semi-cylindrical cover having diffuse transmission.

As described above, in conventional display panels for gaming machines using white LEDs, an LED array in which a large number of LED modules are arranged is required to uniformly illuminate the display panel as a whole. A diffusion plate for diffusing the light is also indispensable and the manufacturing cost is increased. Furthermore, if the number of LED modules used is large, it is disadvantageous in reducing power consumption, and such a problem cannot be ignored in a large-scale game arcade where a large number of game machines are installed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to efficiently use a limited number of LED modules and to illuminate a display panel of a gaming machine brightly and uniformly from the back side with white light. An object of the present invention is to provide a display panel lighting device for gaming machines that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a diffuse reflection board that is fixed to a support member provided behind a horizontally long rectangular display panel and has a white diffuse reflection surface formed on the front surface facing the back surface of the display panel. A plurality of LED modules which are mounted on an LED substrate fixed in a horizontally long posture at a substantially center of the diffuse reflection board, arranged in a straight line at intervals of 35 to 65 mm in the longitudinal direction, and each emit white light; A plurality of LED modules that are fitted to positioning portions provided for each of the LED modules and are fixed so as to wrap each LED module inside, and the white light emitted from the LED modules is spread to irradiate the back surface of the display panel. A display panel illumination device for a gaming machine is configured by combining LED units having aspherical lenses.

  The number of LED modules with aspherical lenses mounted on the LED substrate is preferably in the range of 3 to 6 as long as the amount of light applied to the display panel is satisfied. Further, the display panel lighting device for gaming machines of the present invention can be effectively used as a lighting device for a display panel mounted on the front door of the slot machine. When the lead wire is connected to the connector of the LED substrate, it is easy to connect to the drive circuit inside the front door through the opening formed in the diffuse reflection board. Note that a diffuser plate can be fixed to the diffuse reflection board, and the diffuser can be used in combination with this lighting device.

  According to the display panel illumination device for a gaming machine of the present invention, it is possible to perform uniform white illumination on the entire back surface of the horizontally long rectangular display panel while using a limited number of LED modules. Power consumption can be reduced simultaneously with saving.

It is an external view of the slot machine using the present invention. It is an external view of the slot machine with the lower front door opened. It is principal part sectional drawing of a lower front door. It is a principal part disassembled perspective view which shows the mounting part of a display panel, and an illuminating device. It is an external view of an LED unit. It is principal part sectional drawing of an LED unit. It is a light distribution characteristic view of an LED module. It is a principal part horizontal sectional view of an illuminating device. It is a principal part perspective view when a diffusion cover is combined with the LED unit. It is a principal part horizontal sectional view of the illuminating device in embodiment shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 1 showing the appearance of a slot machine using the lighting device of the present invention, the front door provided on the front surface of the housing 2 so as to be openable and closable is composed of an upper door 3a and a lower door 3b which are divided vertically. The upper door 3a covers the reel unit housed in the upper stage of the housing 2, and the lower door 3b covers the hopper device etc. housed in the lower stage. These doors 3a and 3b are opened by an attendant for supplying medals and for maintenance of troubles occurring during the game, and are usually used for games in a locked state.

  The upper door 3a is provided with a reel window 4 for reel observation, a liquid crystal display panel 5 for displaying an image of the progress of the game, and the like. The lower door 3b can be separated and opened from the bottom of the reel window 4 as shown in FIG. 2, and covers the hopper device 10 provided in the lower stage of the housing 2 in the closed position as described above. At the upper part of the lower door 3b, main operation parts such as a slot 7 for a medal inserted before the start of the game, a start lever 8 operated when the reel rotates, and a stop button 9 operated for stopping the reel Is provided.

  The medal inserted into the insertion slot 7 is guided to the back side of the lower door 3b, and authenticity is determined by the medal selector. Appropriate medals fall into the bucket 10a of the hopper device 10 through the guide plate 11, and inappropriate medals are returned to the tray 12. When the hopper device 10 pays out medals, the medals discharged from the discharge port 10b of the hopper device 10 are sent to the medal chute 14 fixed to the back surface of the lower door 3b through the opening 14a and are paid out to the tray 12. .

  As described above, a medal transfer mechanism is incorporated in the lower door 3b so that the medal from the insertion port 7 can be sent to the hopper device 19 and the medal from the hopper device 10 can be paid out to the tray 12. ing. Further, a circuit unit that detects and outputs an operation signal of the start lever 8 or the stop button 9 is incorporated in the lower door 3b, and the casing 2 and the lower unit are provided to input the operation signal to the control device on the casing 2 side. A cable 15 is provided between the door 3b.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a display panel 18 is mounted on the front surface of the lower door 3b. The display panel 18 is made of a transparent transparent plastic sheet having a size of about 480 mm in width and about 220 mm in length. The display panel 18 is color-printed with a title image, title characters, and the like on the back surface so that it can be observed from the front surface side, and these prints are covered with a white paint layer. The white paint layer functions to diffuse and transmit illumination light from the back surface side to the front surface side so that the color of the title image and title characters can be observed vividly.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the display panel 18 is fixed to the lower door 3 b by a support frame 20 and a holding plate 21 so as to be detachable. The support frame 20 exposes the surface of the display panel 18 to the outside through a rectangular opening 20a. A transparent plastic holding plate 21 is generally crimped to the rear surface side of the display panel 18. The holding plate 21 is integrated with the display panel 18 and the support frame 20 by fitting the hooks 21 a into the locking holes 20 b (FIG. 4) of the support frame 20.

The display panel 18 has a shape that is curved in a convex shape in the horizontal direction following the shape of the support frame 20 and the holding plate 21. However, if the shapes of the support frame 20 and the holding plate 21 are devised, the display panel 18 is designed. It is also possible to make it flat or concave, or project it into a partial spherical shape. Further, if the support frame 20 is also made of a transparent plastic, the front surface of the display panel 18 can be covered without providing the opening 20a.

  A plurality of hooks 20 c extending rearward are integrally provided at the rear edge of the support frame 20. These hooks 20c are inserted through the locking holes 22 formed through the lower door 3b as shown in FIG. 3 while bending the arm portions. When the hook portion at the tip enters the back surface of the lower door 3b, it is restored to the locked position by its own elasticity and fixed to the lower door 3b.

The hook 20c cannot be removed from the locking hole 22 in a state where the lower door 3b is closed. However, if the lower door 3b is opened, the hook 20c can be easily removed from the back side using a jig such as a screwdriver. it can. Therefore, for example, even in a slot machine of a different model, the support frame 20 and the holding plate 21 can be used as a common member only by making the position and shape of the locking hole 22 common. Of course, even in the same type of slot machine, variously designed display sheets 18 can be used while being exchanged at an appropriate timing.

  In order to provide illumination light from the back side of the display sheet 18, the illumination device 24 is attached to the lower door 3b serving as a support member. The illumination device 24 includes a reflection board 25 that is hooked to the lower door 3b and the LED unit 26 that is fixed to the front surface of the reflection board 25 in the same manner as the support frame 20 described above. The reflection board 25 is a plastic plate material, and a diffuse reflection surface 27 is formed on the surface thereof. The diffuse reflection surface 27 can be easily obtained by applying a white coating having a high diffuse reflection property to the surface of the reflection board 25 or attaching a white diffuse reflection sheet.

A plurality of hook claws 25a extending rearward are integrally formed on the reflection board 25 and are fitted into the locking holes 28 of the lower door 3b. Further, a boss 25b protrudes from the back surface of the reflection board 25 and fits into a recess 29 formed on the front surface of the lower door 3b. Screws 30 are screwed onto these bosses 25b from the back side of the lower door 3b as shown in FIG. 8, and the lighting device 24 is firmly fixed to the lower door 3b. The support frame 20 is also provided with an integral boss, and a recess is formed on the front surface of the lower door 3b so that the boss is fitted. If the structure is fixed by screwing, the support frame 20 can be more firmly integrated with the lower door 3b.

  The LED unit 26 shown in FIG. 5 is fixed to the center of the surface of the reflection board 25 with an adhesive. Of course, it may be fixed by a mechanical method such as screwing instead of an adhesive, but since the LED substrate 32 having a pattern wiring portion (not shown) is used as the base material of the LED unit 26, Care must be taken not to damage the pattern wiring section. On the LED substrate 32, five LED modules 40 each having an LED chip sealed in a resin housing are mounted, and connectors 33a and 33b are mounted on both ends. As shown in FIG. 8, since the through hole 25c is provided in the reflection board 25 and the opening 34 is formed in the required portion of the lower door 3b, the lead wire 35 connected to the connectors 33a and 33b is connected to the lower door. The LED unit 26 can be driven by being connected to a drive circuit 36 incorporated in the interior of 3b.

  The LED substrate 32 has a length of about 200 to 240 mm and a width of about 20 to 24 mm, and five plastic aspherical lenses 38 project from the surface. The cross-sectional shape of each aspheric lens 38 is as shown in FIG. 6 and encloses the LED module 40 mounted on the LED substrate 32. The LED module 40 is obtained by enclosing a surface mount type LED chip that emits blue light in a transparent resin package. A fluorescent material that emits yellow fluorescence when irradiated with blue light is kneaded into the resin package, whereby white light is emitted from the LED module 40. In order to obtain white light, it is also possible to change the emission color of the LED module 40 and the type of phosphor. For example, three types of emission color LED chips of red, green, and blue are combined in a transparent resin package. It may be.

  As indicated by the solid line in FIG. 6, the irradiation angle 2θ of the LED module 40 alone remains at about 150 °. Further, as indicated by a solid line in the light distribution characteristic of FIG. 7, when the maximum value of the output light amount is 1, the output light amount becomes the maximum at the irradiation angle of 0 °, and decreases as the irradiation angle increases and the irradiation angle becomes 90 °. If it exceeds, it will decrease drastically. The LED module 40 having such a light distribution characteristic can be practically used as illumination light up to an irradiation angle of 2θ = 60 °, but illumination unevenness becomes conspicuous at wider angles.

  In particular, as in the slot machine described above, when various structures are assembled on the back side of the front door 3a and the entire thickness of the front door 3a cannot be used as an illumination space, the LED unit 26 to the display panel 18 are used. If the width of the display panel 18 is about 60 mm to 70 mm and the horizontal width of the display panel 18 is about 480 mm, if the entire display panel 18 is to be illuminated uniformly, at least about 10 LED modules 40 are narrowly spaced. Must be used side by side.

  In this regard, in the LED unit 26 of the present invention, an aspheric lens 38 having a unique shape is combined with the LED module 40 so that a wider irradiation angle can be obtained as indicated by broken lines in FIGS. 6 and 7. Has been improved. The aspherical lens 38 has a concave portion 38 a into which the LED module 40 enters on the bottom surface side, and the front surface side has an aspherical shape with a depression at the center of the top surface. Due to this aspherical shape, the output light does not reach the maximum value at an irradiation angle of 0 °, but the light distribution is spread laterally, and sufficient output light can be obtained even when the irradiation angle 2θ exceeds 120 °. As shown by the broken line, relatively 50% output light can be obtained even at an irradiation angle 2θ = 150 °. As a result, the five LED modules 40 can be mounted side by side at a pitch of 50 mm on the LED substrate 32, and the aspherical lens 38 can be combined and fixed to each of them.

  Accurate positioning is performed between the LED module 40 and the aspherical lens 38 so as to obtain this light distribution characteristic. The LED substrate 32 is provided with a pin 41 that serves as a positioning portion for the aspheric lens 38. For each LED module 40, the pins 41 are provided at three locations that are 120 degrees rotationally symmetric with respect to each LED module 40. These pins 41 are fitted into positioning holes 42 opened on the bottom side of the aspheric lens 38, and the aspheric lens 38 is accurately positioned in the height direction and the direction along the surface of the LED substrate 32 with respect to the LED module 40. Position. After positioning, the aspherical lens 38 is fixed to the LED substrate 32 with an adhesive.

  FIG. 8 shows a state in which the LED unit 26 assembled as described above is fixed to the lower door 3b together with the reflection board 25, and the display panel 18 is mounted so as to cover the front surface thereof. When power is supplied to the slot machine, power is supplied to each part in the housing, and power is also supplied to the drive circuit 36 of the lighting device 24. The drive circuit 36 supplies drive current to the five LED modules 40 connected in series simultaneously through the lead wire 35 and the connectors 33a and 33b.

  The white illumination light emitted from the LED module 40 is diverged at a wide angle by each aspherical lens 38 as shown in FIG. The illumination light emitted from the aspherical lens 38 passes through the transparent restraining plate 21 and illuminates the display panel 18 from the back side. Since the white paint layer is formed on the lowermost layer of the display panel 18 and the color print layer is formed on the upper layer, images and characters color-printed on the surface layer side by illuminating the white paint layer are stored in the housing of the slot machine. It will be observed clearly from the front side of the body.

  Furthermore, since the surface of the white paint layer of the display panel 18 is a diffuse reflection surface, a part of the illumination light becomes diffuse reflection light toward the LED unit 26 as indicated by a broken line in FIG. Most of the diffuse reflection light is diffusely reflected again by the diffuse reflection surface 27 of the reflection board 25 and becomes illumination light that illuminates the display panel 18 from the back side again. Accordingly, the aspherical lens 38 not only generates divergent illumination light at a wide angle from the LED module 40, but also the illumination light emitted from each LED module 40 causes the white paint layer and the reflection board 25 on the back surface of the display panel 18 to be reflected. Combined with multiple diffuse reflections with the diffuse reflection layer 27, the entire range of the display panel 18 is illuminated with almost uniform brightness while using a limited number of LED modules 40. It becomes like this.

  In the above embodiment, since the vertical size of the display panel 18 is smaller than the horizontal size, illumination unevenness does not occur even if the LED modules 40 are arranged in a horizontal row, but the vertical size is increased and the amount of light in the vertical direction is increased. When the shortage is concerned, it is desirable that the LED modules 40 are arranged in two horizontal rows together with the aspherical lens 38. In this case, as the lighting device 24, it is only necessary to arrange the LED boards 32 in two rows vertically and fix them to the reflection board 25, and to add a drive circuit 36.

  When there is a margin in the amount of illumination light from the LED module 40, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a diffusion cover 45 having diffusion permeability is fixed to the reflection board 25, and the LED unit 26 together with the LED substrate 32. May be entirely covered. When the light absorption rate of the diffusion cover 45 is increased, not only a decrease in illumination efficiency cannot be ignored, but there is a concern about high temperatures due to heat generation. For example, the diffusion cover 45 may be a transparent base material. A plastic material in which a large number of transparent and minute glass beads are mixed may be used as a molding material and molded into a cover shape as shown.

  Since the diffusion cover 45 diffuses the illumination light emitted from the LED unit 26 and guides it to the display plate 18, the diffusion light is diffused by the diffusion cover 45 in addition to the divergence of the illumination light by the aspherical lens 38. As a result, the display panel 18 is entirely illuminated without unevenness, and clear images and characters can be observed from the front side of the slot machine housing.

  As described above, the description has been given according to the illustrated embodiment. However, in the case where the display panel is mounted on the front surface of the front door of the slot machine, the front door is not limited to the upper door and the lower door. The present invention is equally applicable to a slot machine having a front door integrated with a door. In addition, the present invention can be used for various gaming machines other than slot machines as long as a display panel that displays game contents and models or various characters in a design manner is used.

  Various changes can be made to the structure of the attachment / detachment mechanism including the support frame 20 that detachably supports the display panel 18 and the structure of the connecting portion between the attachment / detachment mechanism and the lower door 3b. For example, regarding the shape of the support frame 20, a transparent cover that covers the front surface of the display plate 18 may be integrated so that the surface of the display plate 18 is not directly exposed to the outside through the opening 20a. In addition, appropriate modifications in consideration of design and strength, such as combining a metal plate with a part of the support frame 20, are possible.

2 Housing 3b Lower door 7 Slot 12 Receptacle 14 Medal chute 18 Display panel 20 Support frame 24 Illumination device 25 Reflecting board 26 LED unit 27 Diffuse reflecting surface 32 LED substrate 38 Aspherical lens 38a Concave 40 LED module 41 Pin 42 Positioning hole 45 Diffusion cover

Claims (5)

In a display panel illumination device for gaming machines that irradiates illumination light from the back side to a horizontally long display panel attached to the front of the gaming machine,
Is fixed to the support member provided behind the display panel, a white diffuse reflection surface having a diffusing function formed on the surface and reflection function, a diffuse reflection board towards the back surface of the display panel,
A plurality of LED modules that are arranged in a straight line at an interval of 35 to 65 mm in the longitudinal direction on an LED substrate fixed in a horizontally long posture at the center of the diffuse reflection board, and each emit white light, and the LED substrate The LED module is fixed so as to wrap each LED module by being fitted to a positioning portion provided for each LED module, and the irradiation angle of white light emitted from the LED module is widened to irradiate the back surface of the display panel. An LED unit having a plurality of aspheric lenses,
Equipped with a,
The aspherical lens has a depression that is recessed toward the LED module side at the center of the upper surface of the light exit slope on the surface side,
The display panel illumination device for a gaming machine , wherein the recess is formed of a smooth bowl-shaped curved surface .   The display panel illumination device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the number of the LED modules mounted on the LED substrate is 3 to 6.   3. The game machine according to claim 2, wherein the gaming machine is a slot machine, and the display panel is mounted on a front surface of a front door that covers a front surface of a housing of the slot machine and includes an operation unit for gaming. Display panel lighting device for gaming machines.   The lead wire connected to the connector of the both ends of the said LED board is connected to the drive circuit provided in the inside of the front door through the opening formed in the said diffuse reflection board. Display panel lighting device for gaming machines.   The diffusion cover that covers the LED substrate as a whole is fixed to the diffuse reflection board, and the white light emitted from each of the aspherical lenses is diffused to irradiate the back surface of the display panel. The display panel illumination device for gaming machines according to any one of -4.

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