Decoration device and game machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9972164-B2
Application number	US-201615153794-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 13, 2016
Priority date	Jun 26, 2015
Publication date	May 15, 2018
Grant date	May 15, 2018

Abstract

A decoration device has a display panel having a cylindrical surface shape with curvature in a first direction on which a first pattern is provided, a light source to emit visible light, and a light guide plate with a diffusing surface opposes the display panel, the diffusing surface having a concave cylindrical surface shape, an exit surface opposing the diffusing surface having a convex cylindrical surface shape. The light guide plate is provided such that the first pattern is visible from the exit surface side. The light guide plate has a plurality of prisms that are formed in the diffusing surface and reflect the visible light that enters the light guide plate from the light source through an incident surface toward the exit surface. An angle between a reflecting surface of each prism and the diffusing surface increases as the distance of the prism from the incident surface increases.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A decoration device comprising:
a display panel formed to have a cylindrical surface shape with curvature in a first direction, and on which a first pattern is provided;
a light source configured to emit visible light; and
a light guide plate arranged such that a diffusing surface that diffuses visible light incident thereon after being emitted from the light source opposes the display panel, the diffusing surface being formed to have a concave cylindrical surface shape with curvature in the first direction, an exit surface opposing the diffusing surface being formed to have a convex cylindrical surface shape with curvature in the first direction, and the light guide plate being constituted such that the first pattern is visible from the exit surface side,
wherein the light guide plate includes:
an incident surface formed on an end surface that opposes the light source in the first direction of the light guide plate; and
a plurality of prisms that are formed in the diffusing surface and reflect visible light that enters the light guide plate from the incident surface toward the exit surface, and
each of the plurality of prisms has a reflecting surface oriented toward the incident surface side, and an angle between the reflecting surface and the diffusing surface increases as a distance of the prism from the incident surface increases.

2. The decoration device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of prisms are arranged along a second pattern.

3. The decoration device according to claim 2 , wherein
a ratio of an area of a first region in which the plurality of prisms are formed to an area of a second region in which the second pattern is formed is 30.0% or less.

4. The decoration device according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of prisms is formed such that an area of the reflecting surface increases, the closer the prism is to the incident surface among the plurality of prisms.

5. A game machine comprising the decoration device according to claim 1 .

6. The decoration device according to claim 1 , wherein
the light source comprises a first light source and a second light source, and
the incident surface comprises a first incident surface and a second incident surface which are respectively provided at longitudinal ends of the light guide plate in the first direction, wherein the first light source is provided facing the first incident surface and the second light source is provided facing the second incident surface.

7. The decoration device according to claim 6 , wherein
the light source comprises first light emitting elements arranged along the first incident surface extending a widthwise direction of the light guide plate and the second light source comprises second light emitting elements arranged along the second incident surface extending the widthwise direction of the light guide plate, such that the first light emitting elements and the second light emitting elements are respectively aligned each other in the longitudinal direction of the light guide plate.

8. The decoration device according to claim 1 , wherein
the light guide plate is formed of transparent resin.

9. The decoration device according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of prisms are formed in a grid having a predetermined pitch between each of the plurality of prisms.

10. The decoration device according to claim 1 , wherein
each of the plurality of prisms is formed in the diffusing surface as a substantially triangular groove having a predetermined length along a longitudinal direction of each prism.

11. The decoration device according to claim 10 , wherein
the predetermined length is from about 100 μm to several millimeters.

Assignees

• Omron Tateisi Electronics Co

Inventors

• Muraoka Eiji
• Kakinuma Takeshi
• Takagi Yoshihiko

Classifications

• G02B1/045

  Light guides · CPC title

• G07F17/3213 Primary

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

• G02B6/006

  to produce indicia, symbols, texts or the like · CPC title

• A63F13/00

  Video games, i.e. games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions · CPC title

• G07F17/34

  depending on the stopping of moving members {in a mechanical slot machine}, e.g. "fruit" machines · CPC title