Gaming machine having enhanced emotive lighting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020111295-A1
Application number	US-201916584223-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 26, 2019
Priority date	Oct 3, 2018
Publication date	Apr 9, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

A gaming machine includes a cabinet, an emotive lighting system coupled to the cabinet the textured surface, and logic circuitry. The emotive lighting system includes a textured surface including a plurality of walls that define a plurality of channels, a first array of light-emitting devices oriented to emit light in a first direction, and an optical waveguide positioned over the first array of light-emitting devices. Each channel is aligned with at least one light-emitting device of the first array, and the optical waveguide guides light from the first array towards the channels in a second direction at an oblique or orthogonal angle relative from the first direction. The logic circuitry causes each light-emitting device of the first array to selectively emit light such that each channel is selectively illuminated with indirect light from the aligned light-emitting device and substantially isolated from indirect light emitted from unaligned light-emitting devices.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A gaming machine comprising:
a cabinet; an emotive lighting system coupled to the cabinet, the emotive lighting system comprising:
a textured surface comprising a plurality of walls that define a plurality of channels;
a first array of light-emitting devices oriented to emit light in a first direction, wherein each channel of the plurality of channels is aligned with at least one light-emitting device of the first array of light-emitting devices; and
an optical waveguide positioned over the first array of light-emitting devices, the optical waveguide configured to guide light from the first array of light-emitting devices towards the plurality of channels in a second direction at an oblique or orthogonal angle relative from the first direction; and
logic circuitry configured to cause each light-emitting device of the first array of light-emitting devices to selectively emit light such that each channel of the plurality of channels is selectively illuminated with indirect light from the aligned at least one light-emitting device and substantially isolated from indirect light emitted from unaligned light-emitting devices of the first array of light-emitting devices.

2 . The gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the emotive lighting system further comprises a second array of light-emitting devices configured to emit light in the first direction substantially unimpeded by the optical waveguide.

3 . The gaming machine of claim 2 , wherein the emotive lighting system further comprises at least one diffuser panel positioned over the second array of light-emitting devices to diffuse the light emitted in the first direction.

4 . The gaming machine of claim 3 , wherein the emotive lighting assembly further comprises a support panel coupled to the diffuser panel, the support panel configured to cover a portion of the diffuser panel, wherein the diffuser panel includes a ridge uncovered by the support panel that emits the diffused light.

5 . The gaming machine of claim 2 , wherein each light-emitting device of the first array of light-emitting devices is associated with a corresponding light-emitting device of the second array of light-emitting devices, wherein the logic circuitry is configured to cause each light-emitting device of the first array of light-emitting devices to emit light synchronously with the corresponding light-emitting device of the second array of light-emitting devices.

6 . The gaming machine of claim 2 , wherein the logic circuitry is configured to cause the first array of light-emitting devices to selectively emit light according to a first sequence, and to cause the second array of light-emitting devices to selectively emit light according to a second sequence simultaneous to the first sequence.

7 . The gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the first direction extends outward from the cabinet.

8 . The gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of channels extend in the second direction, and the second direction is orthogonal relative to the first direction.

9 . The gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of walls of the textured surface further defines an unaligned channel that is unaligned with any light-emitting device of the first array of light-emitting devices, the unaligned channel positioned between two channels of the plurality of channels.

10 . The gaming machine of claim 1 , wherein the optical waveguide further comprises a plurality of fingers and a light pipe coupled to the plurality of fingers, each finger of the plurality of fingers extending over a respective light-emitting device of the first array of light-emitting devices to guide light emitted from the first array of light-emitting devices to the light pipe, wherein the light pipe emits the light received from the plurality of fingers in the second direction.

11 . A method of operating a gaming machine including an emotive lighting system, the gaming machine including logic circuitry communicatively coupled to the emotive lighting system, the method comprising:
causing, by the logic circuitry, a first array of light-emitting devices of the emotive lighting system to emit light according to a first lighting sequence, the first array of light-emitting devices oriented to face a first direction; receiving, by an optical waveguide of the emotive lighting system, the light emitted in the first direction by the first array of the light-emitting devices; guiding, by the optical waveguide, the received light towards a second direction; emitting, by the optical waveguide, indirect light from the first array of light-emitting devices towards a textured surface of the emotive lighting system in the second direction, the textured surface including a plurality of walls that define a plurality of channels; and receiving, by at least one channel of the plurality of channels, the indirect light.

12 . The method of claim 11 further comprising causing, by the logic circuitry, a second array of light-emitting devices of the emotive lighting system to emit light in the first direction substantially unimpeded by the optical waveguide according to a second lighting sequence.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising diffusing, by a diffuser panel of the emotive lighting assembly, the light emitted by the second array of light-emitting devices in the first direction.

14 . The method of claim 12 further comprising synchronizing, by the logic circuitry, the first lighting sequence with the second lighting sequence to occur simultaneously.

15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the first lighting sequence includes a set of lighting characteristic of the light to be emitted by the first array of light-emitting devices over a period of time.

16 . A gaming system comprising:
gaming machine comprising:
a cabinet; and
an emotive lighting system coupled to the cabinet, the emotive lighting system comprising:
a textured surface comprising a plurality of walls that define a plurality of channels;
a first array of light-emitting devices oriented to emit light in a first direction, wherein each channel of the plurality of channels is aligned with at least one light-emitting device of the first array of light-emitting devices; and
an optical waveguide positioned over the first array of light-emitting devices, the optical waveguide configured to guide light from the first array of light-emitting devices towards the plurality of channels in a second direction at an oblique or orthogonal angle relative from the first direction; and

logic circuitry configured to cause each light-emitting device of the first array of light-emitting devices to selectively emit light such that each channel of the plurality of channels is selectively illuminated with indirect light from the aligned at least one light-emitting device and substantially isolated from indirect light emitted from unaligned light-emitting devices of the first array of light-emitting devices.

17 . The gaming system of claim 16 , wherein the emotive lighting system further comprises a second array of light-emitting devices configured to emit light in the first direction substantially unimpeded by the optical waveguide.

18 . The gaming system of claim 16 , wherein the emotive lighting system further comprises at least one diffuser panel positioned over the second array of light-emitting devices to diffuse the light emitted in the first direction.

19 . The gaming system of claim 17 , wherein the logic circuitry is configured to cause the first array

Assignees

• Bally Gaming Inc

Inventors

• Glenn Robert
• Lesley Paul

Classifications

• G02B6/0018

  Redirecting means on the surface of the light guide · CPC title

• G02B6/0068

  Arrangements of plural sources, e.g. multi-colour light sources · CPC title

• G07F17/3213 Primary

  Details of moving display elements, e.g. spinning reels, tumbling members · CPC title

• G02B5/0278

  used in transmission · CPC title

• G02B5/021

  the diffusion taking place at the element's surface, e.g. by means of surface roughening or microprismatic structures · CPC title