Illumination – Plural light sources
Patent
1997-04-23
1999-09-21
O'Shea, Sandra
Illumination
Plural light sources
362320, 362418, 353109, 474150, 474204, F21V 2114
Patent
active
059544228
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to drive assemblies and is especially, but not exclusively, concerned with drive assemblies for use with gaming machines, sometimes referred to as fruit machines or amusement machines.
It is well known for gaming machines to include a number of adjacent reels marked around their circumferential surfaces with symbols such as fruit. During play, the reels are caused to spin about a common axis by pulling on a handle or pressing a button. When the reels come to a standstill, the positions of the symbols on the different reels in relation to one or more predetermined lines decide whether or not a player has won.
Each of the reels is typically formed from a strip presenting the symbols and a drum-like support carrying the strip.
Recently, it has been proposed that each of the reels can take the form of a plurality of parallel and rotatable supports around which a strip is wrapped.
For example, International patent application no. PCT/GB 94/00139 (WO 94/17500) discloses a drive assembly in which there are three rotatable supports extending between and located at the respective corners of a pair of generally triangular non-rotatable supports. An electrical stepper motor or other drive means rotates only one of the rotatable supports, which thus positively moves the strip wrapped therearound whilst the other two rotatable supports merely idle, in order to bring symbols presented by the strip into successive view through one or more windows or other inspection means. Moreover, said International patent application no. PCT/GB 94/00139 (WO 94/17500) discloses that the two rotatable supports which merely idle are spring-mounted relatively to the non-rotatable supports in directions intended to ensure that the strip wrapped therearound is correctly tensioned.
To remove the strip, it is necessary in practice for both of the two rotatable supports which merely idle to be physically moved to compress their respective springs. Typically, a spring-mounting is provided in which two plates are formed with small holes which are normally out of alignment, but which can be moved into alignment against the pressure of a restoring force, and then kept in alignment by insertion of a matchstick through the small holes. This can be awkward, particularly when each of the two rotatable supports which merely idle is provided with one of the spring-mountings at each of its ends.
According to the present invention, however, a drive assembly comprises a strip and three or more parallel and rotatable supports around which the strip is wrapped, characterised in that at least two of the rotatable supports are linked together for common movement whilst at least one of the rotatable supports is stationary.
Preferably, said at least two of the rotatable supports are associated with a common movable holder and said at least one of the rotatable supports are associated with a common stationary holder.
The movable holder may be curved at a region over which the strip is to pass and said curved region of the movable holder may be provided with a series of circumferentially-spaced rotatable supports of relatively small diameter.
In contrast, the stationary holder may be straightsided at all regions over which the strip is to pass. The stationary holder may, for example, be of generally quadrilateral outline, with a series of rotatable supports of relatively large diameter being located at respective ones of its corners. In such a manner, it is possible for space to be saved whilst maintaining a traditional curved display for the strip.
The movable holder may be in the form of a light box carrying light bulb(s) or other illumination means and said light bulb(s) or other illumination means may be located in region(s) between respective adjacent pair(s) of said rotatable supports of said movable holder.
It is particularly advantageous for the movable holder to be in the form of a light box carrying illumination means in terms of ease of manufacture and ease of assembly. When the light box has a curved region over which the
Holmes Robert Alan
Marchini Barry Allen
Honeyman Marshall
O'shea Sandra
Starpoint Electrics Limited
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