Overlapping LCD displays for a gaming machine
View Patent ↗A gaming system includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) assembly including a first LCD panel and a second LCD panel. The first LCD panel and the second LCD panel each have an active display region between two opposing inactive sides of the respective LCD panel. At least one LCD panel includes an LCD glass panel which is cut, removing the majority of the inactive side and creating a smaller, inactive side at the edge of the respective LCD panel, adjacent to the active display region. The first and second LCD panels are mounted onto a single light source illuminating both the first and second LCD panels, such that inactive side at the edge of the at least one cut LCD panel overlaps another inactive side of the other LCD panel at one edge without obscuring any of the active display region of either LCD panel.
1. A liquid crystal display (LCD) assembly for a gaming machine, the assembly comprising:
a first LCD panel including a pair of opposing first inactive sides and an active first display region between the pair of first inactive sides;
a second LCD panel including a pair of opposing second inactive sides and an active second display region between the pair of second inactive sides, the second LCD panel being positioned alongside the first LCD panel and overlapping one of the first inactive sides, but not the first display region, of the first LCD panel; and
a unitary light guide underlying both the first and second LCD panels and configured to illuminate both the first and second LCD panels.
2. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first and second LCD panels are generally parallel to each other, and the light guide is generally flat.
3. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first and second LCD panels form an obtuse angle relative to each other, and the light guide is generally non-flat.
4. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first and second display regions are configured to display imagery, and the pair of first inactive sides and the pair of second inactive sides are incapable of displaying imagery.
5. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein one of the second inactive sides of the second LCD panel overlaps the one of the first inactive sides of the first LCD panel, and wherein the one of the second inactive sides has been cut and sealed to substantially remove any inactive region thereof.
6. The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the one of the first inactive sides of the first LCD panel has been cut and sealed to substantially remove any inactive region thereof.
7. A gaming machine, comprising:
an input device;
a liquid crystal display (LCD) assembly including:
a first LCD panel including a pair of opposing first inactive sides and an active first display region between the pair of first inactive sides;
a second LCD panel including a pair of opposing second inactive sides and an active second display region between the pair of second inactive sides, the second LCD panel being positioned alongside the first LCD panel and overlapping one of the first inactive sides, but not the first display region, of the first LCD panel; and
a unitary light guide underlying both the first and second LCD panels and configured to illuminate both the first and second LCD panels; and
game-logic circuitry, comprising one or more central processing units and one or more memory devices, the one or more memory devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more central processing units, cause the game-logic circuitry to:
receive, via the input device, an input indicative of a wager to play a wagering game; and
display the wagering game on the LCD assembly.
8. The gaming machine of claim 7 , wherein the first and second LCD panels are generally parallel to each other, and the light guide is generally flat.
9. The gaming machine of claim 7 , wherein the first and second LCD panels form an obtuse angle relative to each other, and the light guide is generally non-flat.
10. The gaming machine of claim 7 , wherein the first and second display regions are configured to display imagery, and the pair of first inactive sides and the pair of second inactive sides are incapable of displaying imagery.
11. The gaming machine of claim 7 , wherein one of the second sides of the second LCD panel overlaps the one of the first inactive sides of the first LCD panel, and wherein the one of the second inactive sides has been cut and sealed to substantially remove any inactive region thereof.
12. The gaming machine of claim 11 , wherein the one of the first inactive sides of the first LCD panel has been cut and sealed to substantially remove any inactive region thereof.
13. A method of making a liquid crystal display (LCD) assembly for a gaming machine, the method comprising:
providing a first LCD panel including a pair of opposing first inactive sides and an active first display region between the pair of first inactive sides;
providing a second LCD panel including a pair of opposing second inactive sides and an active second display region between the pair of second inactive sides;
arranging the second LCD panel alongside the first LCD panel with the second LCD panel overlapping one of the first inactive sides, but not the first display region, of the first LCD panel; and
arranging a unitary light guide under both the first and second LCD panels such that the light guide can illuminate both the first and second LCD panels.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second LCD panels are positioned generally parallel to each other, and the light guide is generally flat.
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second LCD panels are positioned to form an obtuse angle relative to each other, and the light guide is generally non-flat.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second display regions are configured to display imagery, and the pair of first inactive sides and the pair of inactive second sides are incapable of displaying imagery.
17. The method of claim 13 , wherein one of the second inactive sides of the second LCD panel overlaps the one of the first inactive sides of the first LCD panel, and wherein the one of the second inactive sides has been cut and sealed to substantially remove any inactive region thereof.
18. The method of claim 13 , wherein the one of the first inactive sides of the first LCD panel has been cut and sealed to substantially remove any inactive region thereof.