Patents by Inventor Takehisa Itagaki

Takehisa Itagaki has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10354489
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a gaming machine configured to yield a rescue award according to the number of result determination areas on which the player has placed a bet, when games without any benefit are continued. To this end, a slot machine 1 executes a process of receiving a selection of ways bet through a control Panel 30, incrementing the game play count on a counter corresponding to the ways bet selected, upon start of the normal game, determining whether the game play count on the counter has reached the threshold game play count, and awarding the benefit when the game play count is determined as to have reached the threshold game play count.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2019
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Susumu Mio, Yuji Miyagawa, Takehisa Itagaki, Yukihiro Kawakami, Takeshi Narita, Yoichi Kato, Bungo Matsumura
  • Patent number: 10013851
    Abstract: A gaming machine runs a normal game, and runs a free game when the right to run the free game is awarded. In the free game, symbols are rearranged on a display device and a benefit is awarded based on a combination of the rearranged symbols, bonus random determination is executed based on a bonus random determination table for a number of times corresponding to the number of specific symbols rearranged, the right to run the bonus game obtained as a result of the bonus random determination is accumulatively stored in the running right stocking area of the storage device, and the bonus random determination is repeated for the awarded number of times of the free game. After the end of the free game, the bonus game is serially executed for the number of times of the bonus game accumulatively stored in the running right stocking area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING (HONG KONG) LIMITED
    Inventors: Yukinori Inamura, Susumu Mio, Bungo Matsumura, Takehisa Itagaki, Fumihiro Watabe
  • Patent number: 9865132
    Abstract: Provided is a gaming machine that presents a prediction of the start of free games provided in bonus games to be easily noted by the player, to attain the player's expectation for the free games. When a free game trigger or retrigger is established, the gaming machine controls selection and implementation of predictive effects for indicating that free games are to be started (or retriggered) depending on the positions of the symbols to stop, before displaying stopped symbols.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Takehisa Itagaki, Yuji Miyagawa, Yukihiro Kawakami, Masahiro Yoshida
  • Patent number: 9747756
    Abstract: As a normal game, symbols to be rearranged on a lower image display panel 141 are randomly determined, and the determined symbols are rearranged. When the combination of the rearranged symbols achieves bonus trigger, how many bonus symbol 167 is included in the symbols achieving the bonus trigger is included is determined. For the number of times corresponding the determined number of the bonus symbol 167, random determination is executed based on the bonus game number random determination table 192. The total sum of the numbers of times of execution of the free game having been awarded is awarded as the number of times of execution of the free game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2017
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Hiromoto Yamauchi, Hiroki Nakamura, Masumi Fujisawa, Hideko Aoki, Toshitaka Suzuki, Takehisa Itagaki, Yoichi Kato, Yukihiro Kawakami
  • Publication number: 20170243445
    Abstract: When a normal game is executed and a benefit awarded as a result of the game is the right to execute a free game, video reel groups of types A to E are randomly associated with first to fifth video reels 3a to 3e, respectively, a player selects one of the first to fifth video reels 3a to 3e, the type of the video reel group associated with the selected video reel is set as a video reel 3 used in the free game, and the free game is executed by using the selected video reel 3. After the free game is executed 6 times, whether to award the right to execute the free game again is randomly determined, and the right to execute the free game 6 times is awarded if it is determined that the right to execute the free game is awarded.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2014
    Publication date: August 24, 2017
    Inventors: Takehisa ITAGAKI, Masahiro YOSHIDA, Yukihiro KAWAKAMI, Hiromoto YAMAUCHI, Hiroshi TAKAHASHI
  • Patent number: 9721436
    Abstract: When a normal game is executed and a benefit awarded as a result of the game is the right to execute a free game, video reel groups of types A to E are randomly associated with first to fifth video reels 3a to 3e, respectively, a player selects one of the first to fifth video reels 3a to 3e, the type of the video reel group associated with the selected video reel is set as a video reel 3 used in the free game, and the free game is executed by using the selected video reel 3. After the free game is executed 6 times, whether to award the right to execute the free game again is randomly determined, and the right to execute the free game 6 times is awarded if it is determined that the right to execute the free game is awarded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2017
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Takehisa Itagaki, Masahiro Yoshida, Yukihiro Kawakami, Hiromoto Yamauchi, Hiroshi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 9710999
    Abstract: Provided is a gaming machine that is able to offer a variety of gaming patterns with avoidance of monotony during a free game that is a game played in a bonus game. A gaming machine, when a free game trigger is established, performs a control of shifting a game from a base game to a free game. In the free game, symbols are displayed in rotation and stopped in a symbol display region 4 in accordance with a result of a symbol lottery. When picture symbols are consecutively arranged on one reel, display regions where the consecutive symbols are arranged are coupled into a coupled display region, and a corresponding picture is displayed in the coupled display region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignees: Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventors: Takehisa Itagaki, Yuji Miyagawa, Masahiro Yoshida, Naoki Terada
  • Patent number: 9697678
    Abstract: Provided is a gaming machine that is able to offer a variety of gaming patterns with avoidance of monotony during a free game that is a game played in a bonus game. A gaming machine, when a free game trigger is established, performs a control of shifting a game from a base game to a free game. In the free game, symbols are displayed in rotation and stopped in a symbol display region 4 in accordance with a result of a symbol lottery. In the display of the symbols in rotation, the symbols are scrolled in a direction reverse to a rotation direction employed in the base game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2017
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Takehisa Itagaki, Yoichi Kato
  • Patent number: 9640023
    Abstract: Provided is a gaming machine that is able to offer a variety of gaming patterns with avoidance of monotony during a free game that is a game played in a bonus game. A gaming machine, when a free game trigger is established, performs a control of shifting a game from a base game to a free game. In the free game, symbols are displayed in rotation and stopped in a symbol display region 4 in accordance with a result of a symbol lottery. When a top symbol is displayed in rotation in the symbol display region 4, the top symbol is scrolled at a speed lower than the other symbols.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignees: Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventors: Takehisa Itagaki, Yuji Miyagawa, Naoki Terada
  • Patent number: 9607478
    Abstract: A plurality of gaming terminals provided in a parallel manner, a plurality of upper displays which are provided in a parallel manner independently from the gaming terminals and form a single common effect display screen, a plurality of display controllers controlling image display on the respective upper displays, and a center controller controlling the display controllers are provided. The center controller controls the display controllers so that the upper displays perform image display as one common effect display screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2017
    Assignees: Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroki Munakata, Kenta Sugano, Daisyun Okamoto, Masumi Fujisawa, Takehisa Itagaki
  • Publication number: 20170061743
    Abstract: A display area is provided in which regions for displaying symbols stopped are arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. The processing of (1-1) stopping symbols in each of the columns and (1-2) determining whether or not a plurality of predetermined symbols are successively stopped among the symbols stopped in the processing of (1-1) are executed. Upon determining in the processing of (1-2) that the plurality of predetermined symbols are successively stopped, a coupled-region animation is produced for the predetermined symbols, the coupled-region animation being produced in a region obtained by coupling regions where the plurality of predetermined symbols are successively stopped.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2016
    Publication date: March 2, 2017
    Inventors: Takehisa ITAGAKI, Fumihiro WATABE, Takaki NARITA
  • Patent number: 9576421
    Abstract: A plurality of gaming terminals each having a terminal display on which a plurality of symbols are provided, a plurality of upper displays forming a single common effect display screen which is constituted by gaming terminal areas corresponding to the respective gaming terminals, and a center controller are provided. When the common game starts, the center controller displays a common game start effect image on a common effect display screen and transmits a common game start effect image display command to the gaming terminals so that the common game start effect image divided for respective gaming terminal areas is displayed on the terminal display of each of the gaming terminals corresponding to the gaming terminal areas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignees: Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventors: Hiroki Munakata, Kenta Sugano, Daisyun Okamoto, Masumi Fujisawa, Takehisa Itagaki
  • Publication number: 20170032609
    Abstract: A gaming machine runs a normal game, and runs a free game when the right to run the free game is awarded. In the free game, symbols are rearranged on a display device and a benefit is awarded based on a combination of the rearranged symbols, bonus random determination is executed based on a bonus random determination table for a number of times corresponding to the number of specific symbols rearranged, the right to run the bonus game obtained as a result of the bonus random determination is accumulatively stored in the running right stocking area of the storage device, and the bonus random determination is repeated for the awarded number of times of the free game. After the end of the free game, the bonus game is serially executed for the number of times of the bonus game accumulatively stored in the running right stocking area.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2016
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Inventors: Yukinori INAMURA, Susumu MIO, Bungo MATSUMURA, Takehisa ITAGAKI, Fumihiro WATABE
  • Patent number: 9558616
    Abstract: The gaming machine includes: a cabinet having a display window; one or more reels disposed in the cabinet so that the or each reel is visible from outside the cabinet through the display window, the or each of the one or more reels being provided with a reel band having symbols; and a light application device configured to apply visible light representing visual information which enables recognition of information related to games to the reel band. The or each of one or more reels has a mirror layer which reflects the visible light from the light application device. The light application device is disposed in an area outside the window frame of the display window so that the visible light is applied to the reel, on the side of the reel band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2017
    Assignees: Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventors: Yoshinori Kondo, Jun Hirato, Kenta Kitamura, Takehisa Itagaki
  • Patent number: 9520019
    Abstract: When a trigger condition is established in a normal game, the following processes are executed: a process of shifting to a bonus game in which a re-trigger condition which is less stringent than the trigger condition may be established; and when the re-trigger condition is established in the bonus game, a process of adding another bonus game having a smaller benefit than the bonus game and executing the another bonus game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Takehisa Itagaki, Yoichi Kato, Toshitaka Suzuki
  • Patent number: 9520027
    Abstract: In a gaming machine, a display displays a jackpot challenge for providing a progressive payout. A controller executes each round of a game, determines an event to be performed in each round, determines whether a determined event belongs to predetermined events capable of providing any one icon of a plurality of icons, performs the determined event and determine a result of a performed event, obtains an icon of the performed event when the performed event belongs to the predetermined events and the result of the performed event is to award the icon of the performed event to a player, triggers the jackpot challenge when the plurality of icons are obtained, and executes the jackpot challenge to determine whether to award the progressive payout to the player.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Masumi Fujisawa, Hiroki Munakata, Kenji Enokido, Takehisa Itagaki, Masaya Honda, Daisyun Okamoto
  • Patent number: 9495843
    Abstract: When a trigger condition is established in a normal game, a gaming machine 300 executes a process of shifting to a bonus game in which a re-trigger condition which is less stringent than the trigger condition may be established, a process of executing a free game at least once in the bonus game, and a process of increasing the payout rate of the free game in the bonus game when the re-trigger condition is established in the bonus game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Takehisa Itagaki, Hiromoto Yamauchi, Yoichi Kato, Yukihiro Kawakami
  • Patent number: 9466177
    Abstract: In a gaming machine, a display displays images of a free game. The controller executes a game, provides a plurality of free games when a result of the game satisfies a predetermined condition, determines at least one free game to a special mode from among the plurality of free game, and determine remaining free games to a base mode, rearranges a plurality of symbols to always appear at least one special symbol on the display in the free game of the special mode, rearranges the plurality of symbols to randomly determine whether to appear the special symbol on the display in the free game of the base mode, and provides a payout determined by a winning combination of symbols appeared on the display in each free game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Masumi Fujisawa, Hiroki Munakata, Kenji Enokido, Takehisa Itagaki, Masaya Honda, Daisyun Okamoto
  • Publication number: 20160284167
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a gaming machine configured to yield a rescue award according to the number of result determination areas on which the player has placed a bet, when games without any benefit are continued. To this end, a slot machine 1 executes a process of receiving a selection of ways bet through a control Panel 30, incrementing the game play count on a counter corresponding to the ways bet selected, upon start of the normal game, determining whether the game play count on the counter has reached the threshold game play count, and awarding the benefit when the game play count is determined as to have reached the threshold game play count.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2016
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: Susumu MIO, Yuji MIYAGAWA, Takehisa ITAGAKI, Yukihiro KAWAKAMI, Takeshi NARITA, Yoichi KATO, Bungo MATSUMURA
  • Patent number: 9454876
    Abstract: Provided is a gaming machine capable of enhancing entertainment characteristics of the gaming machine. On the gaming machine 1, a game outcome is that after undergoing a process in which trigger symbols whose number is one short of a number of a combination of symbols which triggers a bonus game are rearranged, the plurality of symbols are finally rearranged, an operation of cancelling predictive presentation effects is deactivated until the predictive presentation effects have been finished.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2016
    Assignees: Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventors: Masumi Fujisawa, Takehisa Itagaki, Yoichi Kato, Daisyun Okamoto, Hiroki Munakata