Patents Represented by Attorney NDQ&M Watchstone LLP
  • Patent number: 7892082
    Abstract: A gaming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a roulette wheel including a plurality of pockets associated with respective numbers in advance; a memory for storing a plurality of control data for controlling the gaming apparatus so as to provide different weights on probabilities that a ball is housed in each of the pockets; and a controller, the controller controlling rotation of the roulette wheel and launching of the ball by referring to a single control data out of the control data, determining a number corresponding to one of said pockets with said ball housed therein as a winning number, determining whether or not to offer a prize based on the determined winning number and a BET placed by a player, and selecting another control data different from the single control data, out of the plurality of control data, and setting the selected control data as a reference target, when determining that the prize is to be offered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 7892083
    Abstract: A gaming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a roulette wheel including a plurality of pockets associated with respective numbers in advance; a memory for storing a plurality of control data for controlling the gaming apparatus so as to provide different weights on probabilities that a ball is housed in each of the pockets; and a controller, the controller controlling rotation of the roulette wheel and launching of the ball by referring to a single control data out of the control data, cumulatively accumulating part of betted currency value as a jackpot, and selecting another control data different from the single control data, out of the plurality of control data, and setting the selected control data as a reference target, when the accumulated jackpot reaches a predetermined amount.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 7893639
    Abstract: A motor control device that includes a first speed estimator estimating the rotation speed of the rotor of a permanent-magnet synchronous motor and that controls the motor so that a first estimated rotation speed estimated by the first speed estimator follows the specified speed value further includes a second speed estimator that estimates the rotation speed of the rotor by an estimation method different from that used by the first speed estimator. The motor control device detects synchronization failure based on a comparison between a second estimated rotation speed estimated by the second speed estimator and the first estimated rotation speed or the specified speed value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshio Tomigashi
  • Patent number: 7892086
    Abstract: A gaming system comprises: multiple slot machines each of which provides a basic game of a kind that differs from those of the other slot machines; and a second gaming device which is a separate device from the multiple slot machines, and which provides a roulette game. The gaming system further comprises a central controller. With such an arrangement, in the case that a “BONUS” symbol combination has come to a stop along an active pay line in a basic game at any one of the slot machines, the central controller receives a second game start signal from this slot machine. Also, the central controller receives payout data for the basic game from the multiple slot machines at a predetermined timing, and determines a payout for the second game based upon the payout data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2011
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 7887910
    Abstract: A laminated optical element includes an optical substrate made of an optical material, an intermediate layer provided on the optical substrate, and an optical resin layer provided on the intermediate layer. The optical resin layer is made of a resin composed of an organometallic polymer having an -M-O-M- bond (M is a metal atom), a metal alkoxide and/or a hydrolysate thereof having only one hydrolyzable group, and an organic polymer having a urethane bond and a methacryloxy group or an acryloxy group. The intermediate layer is obtained by dispersing metal oxide microparticles in a matrix resin composed of a metal alkoxide having a radical polymerizable group and a hydrolyzable group and/or a hydrolysate thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiichi Kuramoto, Nobuhiko Hayashi, Hitoshi Hirano, Mitsuaki Matsumoto, Masaya Nakai
  • Patent number: 7887193
    Abstract: An illuminating device includes a discharge lamp, a condenser lens, an integrator lens, a polarization conversion system, an electromagnetic wave shielding plate, and an electromagnetic wave shielding wall. A light given out from each lens in the light-incident-side fly's eye lens becomes two light fluxes via respective polarizing beam splitters and the two light fluxes pass through two lenses in the light-exit-side fly's eye lens. The electromagnetic shielding plate has an aperture on an optical axis of each lens in the light-exit-side fly's eye lens. The electromagnetic wave shielding plate is grounded through the electromagnetic wave shielding wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hideyuki Kanayama, Takashi Ikeda, Haruhiko Murata
  • Patent number: 7887198
    Abstract: An optical device includes a light source, a light valve and a projection lens configured to enlarge an image to be displayed on the light valve. The light valve is disposed in the vicinity of an object plane of the projection lens. The light source illuminates a peripheral portion more brightly than an optical axis portion, in a plane parallel to the object plane located in the vicinity of the object plane of the projection lens. The optical axis portion is a portion where an optical axis passes through and the peripheral portion is a portion located in the periphery of an optical axis portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2011
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshihiro Yokote
  • Patent number: 7883404
    Abstract: The slot machine fixes symbols selected by the player's operation to press a touch panel and symbols next to selected symbols which coincide with selected symbols, and scrolls symbols other than fixed symbols.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2011
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 7878542
    Abstract: An airbag device includes an airbag, an adjusting unit capable of adjusting an aperture efficiency of at least one vent hole, a tether belt whose one end is connected to the adjusting unit, and a holding unit for hooking another end of the tether belt. In case where the inflating airbag needs to exert a small reactive force, the adjusting unit is made in a full-opened state at a development early stage with the other end being held by the holding unit and then made in a half-opened until a development final stage with the other end being kept held by the holding unit. In case where the inflating airbag needs to exert a large reactive force, the adjusting unit is made in a full-closed state from a development start to the development final stage with the other end being released from the holding unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Nihon Plast Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masato Unno, Aki Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 7879412
    Abstract: A diamond thin film coating method is provided that enables, with no need for an intermediate layer, the formation of a diamond thin film, which has conventionally been considered difficult because cobalt contained in a binding phase of a cemented carbide provides a catalysis for the formation of graphite. Cobalt in a binding phase (11) present in a surface of a cemented carbide substrate member comprised of a hard phase of a carbide (2) and a binding phase (1) containing cobalt, is silicidated into silicide (3), and thereafter the diamond thin film is formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignees: The University of Electro-Communications, Campus Create Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hideo Isshiki
  • Patent number: 7846019
    Abstract: In a base game, a first payout is provided when a winning combination of “BELL”, “CHERRY”, or “PLUM” has come to a stop on a payline L. On the other hand, a second payout is provided when the “BELL” symbols in a predetermined number have come to a stop on a display area. The payout process of the first payout and the second payout is executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2010
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 7841937
    Abstract: When a start condition of a payout variable game is fulfilled during a base game, depending on number of award-not-accompanied occurrence times of a specific symbol combination selected by a player at the beginning payout variable game to be executed a predetermined number of times at maximum, a number of credits to be paid out to an award-accompanied occurrence of the specific symbol combination during the payout variable game is varied depending on number of award-not-accompanied occurrence times of the specific symbol combination. Alternatively, a number of credits to be paid out at a termination of the payout variable game is varied depending on number of award-accompanied occurrence times of the specific symbol combination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2010
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 7834908
    Abstract: An imaging device is provided that predicts before still image photographing, whether alignment of a plurality of images obtained by the still image photographing mode should be performed based on the divided exposures and automatically switches photographing modes depending on the predicted result. The imaging device has a first movement computation unit that calculates image movement from input images when still image photograph is not performed, and a photographing mode switching unit that switches between a first still image photographing mode and a second still image photographing mode when starting photographing, based on image movement calculated by the first movement computation unit right before the photographing begins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 16, 2010
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Haruo Hatanaka
  • Patent number: 7828644
    Abstract: A scatter object symbol is randomly selected among plural symbols. The symbols are rearranged. A payout determined by a combination of the symbols rearranged on a payline is awarded. When a predetermined number or more of the scatter object symbols are rearranged, the scatter object symbol is set as a scatter symbol. It is notified contents of a payout determined on the basis of the scatter symbol and the corresponding payout is awarded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 7825911
    Abstract: A touch sensor includes a contact sensor and a pressure sensor. The contact sensor includes a first electrode and a first switching element connected to the first electrode, and detects a change in an electric potential when an object contacts a surface. The pressure sensor includes a second electrode and a second switching element connected to the second electrode, and detects a change in a pressure when an object depresses the surface. The touch sensor includes a plurality of the contact sensors and a plurality of the pressure sensors disposed regularly in an array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Sano, Keiichi Kuramoto, Hiroyuki Fujii, Kenichiro Wakisaka
  • Patent number: 7815504
    Abstract: When a start condition of a special game is established during a base game, payout amount of credits for occurrence of an award accompanied by payout of credits due to a specific symbol during a predetermined number of times of a special game is varied in accordance with the number of rearranged specific player-selected symbols at the start of the special game. Alternatively, payout amount of credits when the predetermined number of times of the special game terminate is varied in accordance with the number of times of occurrence of the award accompanied by payout of credits due to the specific symbol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 19, 2010
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 7810863
    Abstract: An instrument panel includes a panel body and a joint member. The panel body includes a core member and an outer layer that covers the core member, and is formed by reaction injection molding. The panel body includes a meter installed portion. A recess of the meter installed portion becomes an undercut at the time of molding. A core member is provided with a deformable portion which is elastically deformable. The molded panel body can be demolded by deforming the deformable portion. There is no need to provide a slide core with a molding die. A deformation of the deformable portion is prevented by installing the joint member onto the demolded panel body. According to the instrument panel, it is possible to improve a product quality and reduce manufacturing cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignee: Nihon Plast Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshifumi Kamano, Hajime Mochizuki, Shingo Yanagibashi, Norio Hayakawa, Enda Clarke, Yasunori Sei
  • Patent number: 7808714
    Abstract: Provided is an image providing apparatus having connecting member connecting a head set and optical housing capable of adjusting displacement of the optical housing in the vertical direction to the eyeball of the observer when adjusting the eye-relief of the optical housing to the eyeball of the observer. The ball joint has ball portions respectively on two ends thereof, on one of the ends (upper ends) is provided to the supporting member side capable of maintaining a posture thereof, and the ball portion on another ends (lower ends) is provided to the optical housing side for maintaining a posture thereof. The connecting member has a first member and a second member, the first member is connected to the second member so as to be movable and capable of maintaining a posture thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2010
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takahisa Ando
  • Patent number: 7808203
    Abstract: A motor control device that includes a first speed estimator estimating the rotation speed of the rotor of a permanent-magnet synchronous motor and that controls the motor so that a first estimated rotation speed estimated by the first speed estimator follows the specified speed value further includes a second speed estimator that estimates the rotation speed of the rotor by an estimation method different from that used by the first speed estimator. The motor control device detects synchronization failure based on a comparison between a second estimated rotation speed estimated by the second speed estimator and the first estimated rotation speed or the specified speed value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2010
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yoshio Tomigashi
  • Patent number: 7806765
    Abstract: A game system of the present invention comprises: a second game machine for executing a second game which is different from a basic game played in a slot machine; a plurality of second game terminals, having a bet input device with which a bet on a second game player is to be inputted, and a bet controller for issuing a bet signal in accordance with the second game bet when the second game bet is inputted; a slot machine, having a game controller programmed so as to execute the basic game and also programmed so as to enable play of the second game executed on the second game machine when a prescribed second game start condition is established in the basic game, and a command input device to which a command is to be inputted concerning acceptance or refusal of the second game bet on the second game player from a player other than the second game player, the game controller issuing a command signal in accordance with the command when the command is inputted; and a central controller for determining a payout val
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2010
    Assignee: Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada