Patents Assigned to Universal Entertainment Corporation
  • 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
  • Patent number: 9576441
    Abstract: The present invention provides a gaming machine which can provide games that are prevented from progressing monotonously and thus can provide a player with a feeling of tension, thereby facilitating the consumption of more gaming media. A currently played chance game is discontinued and the chance game is started afresh from the first game under the condition that a second symbol appears on a symbol display unit upon the number of games being less than a predetermined number in the chance game mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Kenta Kitamura, Tatsuya Teranishi, Masumi Fujisawa
  • Patent number: 9576439
    Abstract: A gaming machine that is capable of achieving respectively different game patterns at a time of a bonus game is provided. A main CPU displays a selection screen in a case where a feature game trigger is established, and causes a player to select either one of a free game and a roulette game. In a case where the free game is selected, a total of values that correspond to BONUS symbols that correspond to the feature game trigger is determined as the number of free games. The main CPU conducts lottery processing for determination of symbols and lottery processing for determination of BONUS symbol values. The values that correspond to the BONUS symbols are added on one by one basis, and a progress of obtaining the number of free games is displayed as effect on a video display unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2017
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Masumi Fujisawa, Kenta Kitamura, Susumu Mio, Yoichi Kato, Hiromoto Yamauchi
  • 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: 9547951
    Abstract: The currency-value converter according to the present invention transmits amount-of-converted-currency data indicating the amount of basic currency identified based on the type of this currency, the amount of the currency and the exchange rate, to a controller installed in a gaming machine, when the type of currency accepted through a currency validator is not the basic currency. The exchange rate is a rate in which a correspondence relationship between an amount of the basic currency and an amount of another type of currency other than the basic currency is set for each type of currency other than the basic currency. Then, a game is played at the gaming machine based on the transmitted amount-of-converted currency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2017
    Assignee: Universal Entertainment Corporation
    Inventor: Jun Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 9530165
    Abstract: A financial transaction system includes: an ATM process substituting server connected to a backbone server that executes a user accounting process through a communication mechanism capable of concealing content of communication; and a transaction screen WEB server connected to the ATM process substituting server and capable of connecting to a user communication terminal. The transaction screen WEB server transmits, to the communication terminal, transaction screen data for the user to input transaction necessary information, receives, from the communication terminal, transaction necessary information data inputted in accordance with the transaction screen data, and transmits the transaction necessary information data to the ATM process substituting server. The ATM process substituting server transmits the transaction necessary information data to the backbone server and transmits a message requesting the user for a specified transaction process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
    Inventor: Nobuyuki Nonaka
  • Patent number: 9530286
    Abstract: A gaming machine includes: a reel having an outer circumferential surface on which symbols are lined up; a reel driving mechanism which rotates the reel to rearrange the symbols; a magnet which is provided in the reel driving mechanism to change an external magnetic field in accordance with the rotation of the reel; a magnetic force detecting mechanism which detects a magnetic force of the external magnetic field so as to output a magnetic force detection signal; a reel setting unit by which the magnetic force detection signal and arrangement positions of the symbols are associated with one another; and a reel drive control unit which controls the reel driving mechanism so that the symbols are rearranged in a predetermined arrangement based on the magnetic force detection signal and the arrangement positions of the symbols.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignees: Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze Gaming America, Inc.
    Inventors: Tatsuhiko Tanimura, Noritoshi Kukita, Hiroatsu Ike, Yoshitomo Sasaki
  • 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: 9520025
    Abstract: A gaming system is provided enabling real-time cash management to be performed, even while in the play of a game to be performed by employing game media rendering their items of recorded information readable. Having received a result of detection of game chips on a game betting board from a game betting device, a server device accumulates the result of the detection, and judges whether or not movement of game chips has occurred between a dealer and each player, in comparison with a past result. When movement of game chips has occurred between the dealer and such each player, data relevant to a game chip table, a player table, and a dealer table is updated so as to reflect a result of the movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
    Inventors: Toshimi Koyama, Jun Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 9520026
    Abstract: A game system that is capable of performing a game by employing an information card in place of a conventional paper-based system is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Kazuo Okada, Jun Fujimoto, Takao Nireki, Kunihiro Manabe, Noritoshi Kukita
  • 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: 9520028
    Abstract: Provided is a gaming machine that can entertain a player by developing various game results after entering a feature game mode from a base game mode. The gaming machine progresses the games as follows: in base games, if trigger symbols appearing at rearrangement of symbols complete a specific arrangement pattern, the games are changed from base games into roulette games. In roulette games, the maximum number of lotteries is determined based on the arrangement pattern of the trigger symbols.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Kenta Kitamura, Kensaku Yoshikawa, Tatsuya Teranishi
  • Patent number: 9514616
    Abstract: The present invention provides a gaming machine capable of improving amusingness of a game by varying the continuity of the main game. According to the present invention, a normal mode game in the normal mode is started based on an input of the bet information from the bet input device; the mode is entered from the normal mode to the chance mode when an enter condition is satisfied as a result of referring to the predetermined symbol determination table in the normal mode; a free game is started as a chance mode game in the chance mode; and the mode is returned from the chance mode to the normal mode when an end condition is satisfied as a result of referring to the specific symbol determination table in the chance mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC
    Inventors: Kenta Kitamura, Tatsuya Teranishi, Akira Osawa
  • Patent number: 9505582
    Abstract: A bill processing apparatus which is capable of reliably supplying information on a bill to the bill housing body side. The paper sheet processing apparatus has a bill housing part (100) being capable of housing a bill inserted from a bill insertion slot, and also a reader/writer (142) which wirelessly transmits information on the bill inserted from the bill insertion slot. The bill housing part (100) has a coil antenna (104c) which wirelessly receives the information transmitted from the reader/writer (142), and a storage part (104b) which stores the information on the bill received from the coil antenna (104c).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2016
    Assignee: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takao Nireki
  • 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: 9483910
    Abstract: In order to make it easy to change the necessary device specifications when adapted to paper currencies in circulation in a plurality of countries and regions, a paper currency processing device (M1) has: a paper currency slot (M5) which is capable of handling the paper currency (T) of multiple currency circulation regions from the outside of the device; a paper currency transfer mechanism for transferring the paper currency (T) between the paper currency slot (M5) and various locations inside the device; and a plurality of paper currency cases linked to the paper currency transfer mechanism. The paper currency transfer mechanism is controlled in such a manner that the paper currency case associated with a currency circulation area is identified, and the paper currency (T) is transferred into the identified paper currency case.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada
  • Patent number: 9483904
    Abstract: A gaming machine capable of realizing game patterns differing from one another in a bonus game is provided. A main CPU 222 determines symbols to be rearranged by conducting a lottery based on a first symbol determination table in which in free games, probabilities, with each of which predetermined symbols (BONUS symbols) are rearranged on a particular condition (a condition that three or more BONUS symbols are rearranged in a display window 56), are set so as to exceed a predetermined probability and in the next free games subsequent to the game in which the predetermined symbols have been rearranged on the particular condition, determines symbols to be rearranged by conducting a lottery based on a second symbol determination table in which probabilities, with each of which the predetermined symbols are rearranged on the particular condition, are set so as to less than the predetermined probability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventors: Kenta Kitamura, Kenji Enokido, Tatsuya Teranishi, Takaki Narita
  • 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
  • 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
  • Patent number: 9443375
    Abstract: The present invention provides players with fun brought by a moveable component. A gaming machine includes a game result determination unit, that determines a game result; a game execution unit, that executes a game in such a manner as to reach the game result; a moveable component, disposed at a position visible from outside and configured to be capable of mechanical movement; and a movement control unit, which enables the moveable component to move in a movement pattern corresponding to the game result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 13, 2016
    Assignees: UNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT CORPORATION, ARUZE GAMING AMERICA, INC.
    Inventor: Kazuo Okada