Slot machine reel mounting assembly.

DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of gaming machines and, in particular, to the field of gaming machine roller mounting assemblies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gaming machines traditionally include various rotary reels, each having an outer circumferential roller strip printed with various game symbols, usually consisting of articles such as fruit drawings, playing cards or other symbols. The rollers are located in side-by-side relation for independent movement about a common axis. In the most modern machines, each of the rollers is driven individually by a stepping motor that rotates the rollers around the common axis.

Gaming on a gaming machine is initiated when a player either pulls a handle or presses a button on the gaming machine. This player action, in turn, triggers the start of the roller motors, which rotate the rollers. The rolls are then stopped at random positions, usually under the control of a microprocessor. At the end of the spin of all reels, the machine determines if the player has won a prize according to the given combinations of game symbols shown along a payline.

In order to accommodate the rollers, conventional game machines require a housing having sufficient depth to accommodate the rollers. These rollers may be mounted on modules or roller mounting mechanisms which may each be inserted separately into the housing. After insertion, it has become conventional to secure the module to the housing by screwing the module into an internal structure in the housing, and then connecting cables or

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- Providing electrical connections to a roller motor and other electronic components. In addition to the fact that they are relatively expensive to manufacture, removing these modules from the housing for maintenance or machine modifications is usually a cumbersome procedure.

In addition, the rollers mounted on the modules should be one by one in size with the local paging line 3. iz ad a n in the roll viewing window »Modules are held next to each other, as noted above, in side-by-side relationship for independent movement of the rollers about a common axis. This has created some difficulties when manufacturing and maintaining gaming machines using such modules. For example, one of the biggest problems is precisely aligning game symbol centers with the payline. On most gaming machines this requires a slow and dull adjustment of a number of inaccessible components inside the machine housing »As a result, adjusting the alignment of the rollers during the manufacture of the gaming machines, as well as the maintenance of the gaming machines represents igni fi tive problems for the industry »

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a roller mounting assembly for a gaming machine having a mechanism for adjusting the rotary position of the roller from the front of the machine so as to align the gaming symbols on the roller with a payline »

A further object of the present invention is to provide means for easily inserting and removing the roller mounting assembly from a support structure on a gaming machine.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine roller mounting assembly which includes a roller support member pivotally connected to one another.

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vertical support member »A roller and a motor is rotatably mounted on the roller support» To press the roller support to the front of the vertical support, a spring is secured to the vertical support component to apply a spring force. front thrust to the vertical support member »To counteract the effect of the spring on the roller support member, an actuating screw is engaged which engages the roller support member, in front of the vertical support member „The actuator serves to position the roller support member relative to the vertical support member, thereby providing a means for adjusting the rotary position of the roller relative to the payline» After the actuator has been used to place the roller in the desired position, the actuator is held in place by the spring tension thereby preventing any further rotary movement of the roller until, of course, the user wishes to adjust the location of the reel to the payline once again »

A further object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine roller mounting assembly having a vertical support member and a plurality of projections for securing the vertical support member to a base member in the housing of a gaming machine. , a roller support member is pivotally connected to the vertical support member, and a roll is rotatably mounted on the roller support member »To press the roller support member forward of the vertical support member, a spring is secured to the vertical support member» To counteract the effect of the spring, it is an actuating screw is mounted which engages the roller support member in front of the vertical support member »the actuating screw in cooperation with the spring, holds the roller support member in position relative to the support member; thus providing a means for adjusting the position of the roll relative to the payline. After the actuator bolt has been used to adjust the roller support member and thus the roll to the desired position, the actuator is

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-5 kept in place by the tension of the mill, thereby preventing further rotational movement of the roll until the user wishes to adjust the location of the roll in relation to the payline »

A further object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine roller mounting assembly which includes a roller bearing member pivotally connected to a vertical bearing member. roller and a motor »To press the roller support to one front of the vertical support, a spring is secured to the vertical support component, to apply a forward biasing force to the roller support member »To counteract the spring effect on the roller support member, an actuating screw is engaged which engages the roller support member in front of the vertical support member» 0 The actuator serves to position the roller support member relative to the vertical support member, thereby providing a means for adjusting the rotational position of the roll relative to the payline. After the actuator has been used to place the roll in the desired position, the actuator is held in place by the tension of said spring thereby preventing any movement. additional rotary reel until, of course, the user wishes to adjust the reel location relative to the payline once again, To control the rotation of the reel, a control means is operatively connected to the roll to provide a means for controlling the rotation of said roll.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a baseplate having two rows of slots aligned in series to receive at least one vertical support member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional gaming machine Figure 2 is a top view of a baseplate in accordance with one embodiment of this invention.

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18242-34511 Figure 3 is a top view of the base plate of Figure 2 showing a different alignment of the rollers.

Figure 4 is an exploded view of a roller mounting assembly according to one embodiment of the invention;

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<td rowspan="2">Figure 5 roller assembly</td><td colspan="3">it's a side view</td><td rowspan="2">cut off</td><td rowspan="2">of the set</td><td rowspan="2">in</td>

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<td>Figure 6</td><td>is</td><td>a sight</td><td>front</td><td>cut off</td><td>of the set</td><td>in</td>

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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An. Conventional gaming machine having a housing 10, as shown in Figure 1, typically uses a handle 12 or the push button (not shown in the drawings) to initiate operation of the gaming machine. The user pulls handle 12 or loads a button, thereby rotating a group of rollers with symbols shown generally at 14. Upon completion of the operation, the reels 14 stop and show in a window 16 configured in front of the housing 10 the result of that particular operation. A payline 18 in the window 16 is used to indicate the winning positions of the game symbols 20 in the drains. The rollers 14 are secured within the gaming machine housing 10.

Figure 2 shows a component used in a process of mounting the rollers 14 on the internal frame of the game machine. This component is a baseplate 22 which is held horizontally within the housing. The baseplate 22 is configured with a first and second row of slots 24 and 26. »

The slots in the first row 24 are axially aligned with the slots in the second row 26.

As best seen in Figures 4, 5 and 6, a vertical support member 2S is provided to support each of the rollers 14, and is mounted on the base plate 22. The support 28 has a pair

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30 and 32 located on a displaced bottom portion 34 of the support 28. The first projection 30 is inserted into a first slot 36 in the first row 24 and a second projection 32 is inserted into a second slot 33 in the second row 26 which is axially aligned with slot 36 into which the first projection 30 has been inserted. Each projection 30 and 32 slides underneath the base plate 22 and engages with it. Thus, by inserting the projections 30 and 32 into the two slots 36 and 38, the roller support 28 is secured to the base plate 22. In addition, a horizontal projection 40, located at a rear portion 42 of the support 28 on the inner frame or a rear panel, thereby further holding bracket 28 within housing 10. This arrangement provides substantial advantages, because when removing bracket 28 from baseplate 22, all that is required is to pull bracket 28 forward and disengage projections 30 and 32 from slots 36 and 38 into which they have been inserted. .

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According to this embodiment of the invention, the user may arrange several rollers 1.4 according to their preference. For example, Figs. 2 and 3 show two different possible arrangements of rollers, as shown by the dotted lines, representing various vertical supports 28. To do this, the user simply inserts the support 28 into which the roller is mounted. , in any two axially aligned slots. 0 The user can choose a variety of roll arrangements, being limited only by the number of slots 24 and 26 on the baseplate 22, and the number of rolls they want to use on the gaming machine 10. As a result of this, it is possible to quickly and conveniently configuring the rollers of the gaming machine 10, for example from the five-roll machine of figure 2 to the four-roll machine of figure 3.

As shown in figures 3, 4 and 5, the roll 14 is attached to a roll support member 44, which is itself pivotally mounted in one or two holes generally shown at 45 in the vertical support 28. Offset holes 45 provide a means for inserting the diameter rollers

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9, and the hinged roller support 44 provides a mechanism for adjusting the rotary position of the mounted rollers 14 so as to rotatably align the roller symbols 14 with the payline 18, when the rollers .14 are stopped »To position the roll 14 relative to the vertical support 28, thereby aligning the symbols 20 on the roll 14 with the payline 1.8, a spring 46 is used to press the angular position of the hinged roller support 44 in a forward direction with respect to the support member 28 '. The spring 56 has an upper turn 48 which engages a first boss 50 in the support 28. »An upper arcuate portion 52 spring 46, pending from upper turn 48, engages a second boss 54 in bracket 28 «Together, first boss 50 and second boss 54 cooperate to hold spring 46 in bracket 28. "Spring 46 equally engages a pin 56 located within roller bracket 44, thereby pressing roller bracket 44 toward the front portion. 58 While not indicated in the drawings, spring 46 is initially secured to stud 56 by inserting a rod or screwdriver or the like; through a hole during assembly of the mechanism shown in figure 4. This tool is used to temporarily engage spring 46 until it can be properly positioned against pin 56 while the roller support shaft is to be inserted in one of the holes 45.

The rotary position of the roller support 44, and thus the symbols 20 relative to the support 28, can be adjusted using an adjustment mechanism shown generally at 60 '. It is evident that various mechanisms 60 capable of adjusting can be used. the position of the roll holder in conjunction with this embodiment of the invention. But in a preferred embodiment, actuator 60 consists of a screw 62 inserted through an opening in the holder 28, its end being received in a receptacle 63 in the roll holder 44. To maintain the position of the screw 62 and thus the angular position of the roll holder 44, an internally threaded fastener 64 is inserted into a notch (not indicated in the drawings) on a front portion 58 of holder 28 «* · * $ *” y

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bolt 62 is threaded into fastener 64, thereby preventing linear movement of bolt 62. However, the rotatable position of roller 14 can be adjusted by simply rotating bolt 62, thereby pivoting roller holder 44 to rear 42 of bracket 28, or by turning screw 6.2 in the other direction, and thereby allowing the roller support 44 to move forward 58 of the support 28. The rotary movement of the roller support 44 is effectively prevented after adjustment by the actuator 60 due to the front pressing effect of the spring 46 '.

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A stepper motor 66 including a drive shaft 70 is preferably secured by screws 69 in the upper portion of the roller support 44, as indicated generally by 68. The motor 66, as is conventional in gaming machines, rotates the roll 14 about a horizontal axis 74 »A laterally extending pin 76 is fixed perpendicular to shaft 70, around which a plurality of O-rings 78 are mounted 78» To provide rotary motion to roll 1.4 , comprising a shoulder 80 carrying a roll strip 82, the symbols 20 being printed on the outer surface, the pin 76 extending laterally, together with the O-rings 78, is inserted into a transverse groove (not indicated in the drawings) on the shoulder 80 thereby providing a means for connecting the roller 14 to the motor 66 'The roller 14 will thus rotate with the shaft 70 of the motor 66'

To control the rotation of roll .1.4, motor 66 is operatively connected to a computer (not shown in the drawings). A roller controller board 84, secured to roller holder 44, is connected to motor 66 by a first cable. 86 »The first cable 86 has a first connection 88 connecting the cable 86 to the roller controller 84 and a motor connection (not shown in the drawings) connecting the cable 86 to the motor 66« The roller controller board 84 is in turn , connected to a rear plane 90 via a second cable 92 »A connection 94 connects the second cable 92 to a receptacle 95 on the rear plane 90« As can be seen from figures 5 and 6, the connection 94 is placed in a slot in the rear portion Bracket 28 »Therefore, the connection 94

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connects the rear plane 90 to the roller controller board 84, but also helps to secure the support 28 to the base frame 96 which, as shown in section in figure 4, also supports the rear plane 90 and the base member 22. take on c on side races So what you have to do with it, using a ig nce 1 94 94, facilitates the assembly of the game machine 10 and the replacement of rollers 14, since an assembly bracket 28 will connect directly to the rear plane 90 without the need for prolonged dismounting and mounting.

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