Gaming Machine With Improved Lighting Arrangement

• US 20110201411A1
• Filed: 10/19/2009
• Published: 08/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: WMS Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Flowers, Dorian A., Smolucha, Walter E., Greenberg, Jacob C., Lesley, Paul M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,376,839 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3202 Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3211 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3216 Construction aspects of a gaming system, e.g. housing, seats, ergonomic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3244 Payment aspects of a gaming system, e.g. payment schemes, setting payout ratio, bonus or consolation prizes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/34 depending on the stopping of moving members in a mechanical slot machine, e.g. "fruit" machines

Abstract

A gaming machine includes a cabinet frame, a display, and an emotive lighting area. The cabinet frame has a cabinet surface visible to and facing a player position in front of the gaming machine. The display is mounted to the cabinet frame and is configured to display a randomly selected outcome from a wagering game. The emotive lighting area is integrated with the cabinet frame on the cabinet surface, proximate the display, and is separate from the display. The emotive lighting area includes a light source and a reflective surface, each of the light source and the reflective surface being concealed within the cabinet frame such that they are not viewable from the player position, the reflective surface configured to receive light directly from the light source and to reflect the light to a viewable area.

Claims

1. A gaming machine comprising:

a cabinet frame for containing various components, the cabinet frame having a cabinet surface visible to and facing a player position in front of the gaming machine;

at least one display mounted to the cabinet frame and being configured to display a randomly selected outcome from a wagering game, the randomly selected outcome being selected from a plurality of outcomes in response to receiving a wager input from the player; and

at least one emotive lighting area integrated with the cabinet frame on the cabinet surface and positioned proximate the display, the emotive lighting area being separate from the display and including a light source and a reflective surface, each of the light source and the reflective surface being concealed within the cabinet frame such that they are not viewable from the player position, the reflective surface being configured to receive light directly from the light source and to reflect the light to a viewable area.

2. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the viewable area is a diffusion surface.

3. The gaming machine of claim 2, wherein the diffusion surface is an area of the cabinet surface.

4. The gaming machine of claim 2, wherein the diffusion surface includes a low reflective metallic finish material.

5. The gaming machine of claim 4, wherein the low reflective metallic finish material is a satin chrome material.

6. The gaming machine of claim 4, wherein the low reflective metallic finish material is a coating applied to the cabinet surface.

7. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the reflective surface includes a minor-quality reflective material.

8. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the emotive lighting area further includes a transparent member configured to enclose the light source and the reflective surface within the cabinet frame.

9. The gaming machine of claim 8, wherein the transparent member includes a highly-transmissive material.

10. The gaming machine of claim 8, wherein the transparent member includes a transparent chrome material.

11. The gaming machine of claim 8, wherein the transparent member includes a coating of up to 75% of minor-reflective material.

12. The gaming machine of claim 1, wherein the light source includes a plurality of light-emitting diodes.

13. A gaming machine comprising:

a cabinet;

a display mounted to the cabinet and being configured to display a randomly selected outcome from a wagering game, the randomly selected outcome being selected from a plurality of outcomes in response to receiving a wager input; and

a plurality of diffuse lighting areas integrated with the cabinet and positioned alongside the display, the diffuse lighting areas including

a first light source concealed from plain sight within the cabinet,

a first reflective surface concealed from plain sight within the cabinet and configured to directly receive light from the first light source, and

a diffusion surface positioned in plain sight and configured to directly receive light from the first reflective surface, the diffusion surface being part of a cabinet surface; and

a transparent chrome area integrated with the cabinet and positioned alongside the display, the transparent chrome area including

a second light source concealed from plain sight within the cabinet,

a second reflective surface concealed from plain sight within the cabinet and configured to directly receive light from the second light source, and

a transparent member configured to enclose the second light source and the second reflective surface within the cabinet, the transparent member including a chrome coating such that the second light source is concealed from plain sight when the second light source is deactivated and only some emitted light is transmitted when the second light source is activated.

14. The gaming machine of claim 13, wherein the plurality of diffuse lighting areas are positioned in one or more of generally vertical positions and horizontal positions alongside the display, the transparent chrome area being positioned generally perpendicular to the plurality of diffuse lighting areas in one of the generally vertical positions and horizontal positions.

15. The gaming machine of claim 13, further comprising an emotive lighting controller coupled to the first light source and the second light source, the emotive lighting controller being operative to control each light source individually.

16. The gaming machine of claim 13, wherein at least one of the first light source and the second light source includes an array of light-emitting diodes.

17. A gaming machine comprising:

a cabinet;

a display mounted to the cabinet and being configured to display a randomly selected outcome from a wagering game, the randomly selected outcome being selected from a plurality of outcomes in response to receiving a wager input; and

a plurality of diffuse lighting areas integrated with the cabinet, each of the diffuse lighting areas including

a light source for emitting light,

a reflective surface for receiving the emitted light, the reflective surface being positioned within the cabinet such that the reflective surface redirects the emitted light towards a diffusion surface, and

the diffusion surface being part of a cabinet surface and configured to diffuse light received from the reflective surface such that the diffuse light is visible outside the cabinet.

18. The gaming machine of claim 17, further comprising a controller coupled to and operative to control each light source for creating light shows in a single wagering game.

19. The gaming machine of claim 18, wherein the controller is a dedicated controller for controlling only light sources.

20. The gaming machine of claim 18, wherein the diffusion surface includes a low reflective metallic finish material.

21. The gaming machine of claim 18, wherein the reflective surface includes a minor-quality reflective material.

22. A gaming machine comprising:

a cabinet;

a display mounted to the cabinet and being configured to display a randomly selected outcome from a wagering game, the randomly selected outcome being selected from a plurality of outcomes in response to receiving a wager input; and

a transparent lighting area integrated with the cabinet and including

a light source mounted within an interior area of the cabinet,

at least one reflective surface mounted proximate the light source within the interior area of the cabinet; and

a transparent chrome member mounted generally flush with a cabinet surface to cover the light source and the reflective surface, the transparent chrome member having a coating of up to 75% of chrome material to provide a two-way mirror effect in which ambient light is reflected when the interior area is dark and in which light from the interior area is visible when the light source is activated.

23. The gaming machine of claim 22, further comprising a controller coupled to the light source and being operative to synchronize output of light with features shown on the display.

24. A gaming system of interconnected gaming machines for playing a wagering game, each of the gaming machines comprising:

a display mounted to a gaming cabinet;

a game controller coupled to the display and operative to cause the displaying of a randomly selected event in a wagering game;

a diffuse lighting area integrated with the cabinet and including

a light source for emitting light,

a reflective surface for receiving the emitted light, the reflective surface being positioned within the cabinet such that the reflective surface redirects the emitted light towards a diffusion surface, and

the diffusion surface being part of a cabinet surface and configured to diffuse light received from the reflective surface such that the diffuse light is visible outside the cabinet; and

an emotive lighting controller coupled to the light source and to the game controller, the emotive lighting controller being operative to synchronize colors and light shows displayed on the display and in the diffuse lighting area based on the event in the wagering game.

25. The gaming system of claim 24, wherein the emotive lighting controller of each one of the interconnected gaming machines is synchronized such that a light show can be run across all the interconnected gaming machines.

26. The gaming system of claim 24, wherein only one emotive lighting controller serves as a master controller.