Flexible electroluminescent display for use with electronic gaming systems

1. An electroluminescent display comprising:

a flexible display material shaped to cover a designated portion of an electronic gaming machine, the flexible display material including:

an appliable backing layer including an interior surface, an exterior surface, and a body extending continuously between the interior surface and the exterior surface, the exterior surface configured to be removably affixed to the designated portion of the electronic gaming machine;

a plurality of electrically conductive traces fixably mounted on, and in direct contact with, the interior surface of the appliable backing layer;

a graphics layer including a plurality of graphics regions, each graphics region of the plurality of graphics regions having an associated shape; and

a plurality of electroluminescent (EL) display elements disposed between the interior surface of the appliable backing layer and the graphics layer, each EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements shaped to correspond to and match a shape of one of the plurality of graphics regions, each EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements configured to back-illuminate a respective matching graphics region of the plurality of graphics regions, wherein each electrically conductive trace of the plurality of electrically conductive traces is electrically coupled to at least one EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements and configured to supply electrical power thereto,

wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are each positioned on the interior surface of the appliable backing layer to correspond with a position of at least one EL display element relative to the graphics layer to facilitate electrically coupling each EL display element to at least one electrically conductive trace when the graphics layer and the plurality of EL display elements are coupled to the appliable backing layer; and

a controller coupled, through the plurality of electrically conductive traces, to the plurality of EL display elements, wherein the controller is a networked controller configured to synchronously control the EL display and an additional EL display disposed on an additional electronic gaming machine to distribute at least one of an animated and static effect over the EL display and the additional EL display.

2. The electroluminescent display of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to receive, from a sensing device, data indicating that a player is in proximity to the electroluminescent display, and in response to receiving the data, the controller is further configured to control at least one of the plurality of EL display elements to be illuminated in response to the player being in proximity to the electroluminescent display.

3. The electroluminescent display of claim 1 , wherein the appliable backing layer is at least one of a flexible magnetic backing and an adhesive backing.

4. The electroluminescent display of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are at least one of etched into and soldered on the interior surface of the appliable backing layer, wherein the exterior surface is sized to match at least one non-electronic display surface of the electronic gaming machine to facilitate covering the at least one non-electronic display surface when the exterior surface is removably coupled to the at least one non-electronic display surface of the electronic gaming machine.

5. The electroluminescent display of claim 1 , the flexible display material further including a stitchable perimeter, the stitchable perimeter configured to receive a stitching material.

6. The electroluminescent display of claim 1 , wherein the flexible display material is configured to be upholstered on a seating element of the electronic gaming machine.

7. The electroluminescent display of claim 1 , wherein the graphics layer is printed with artwork and comprises a sheet of biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BoPET).

8. An electroluminescent display comprising:

an appliable backing layer including an interior surface, an exterior surface, and a body extending continuously between the interior surface and the exterior surface, the exterior surface configured to be removably affixed to a portion of an electronic gaming machine;

a plurality of electrically conductive traces fixably mounted on, and in direct contact with, the interior surface of the appliable backing layer;

a graphics layer including a plurality of shaped graphics regions; and

a plurality of electroluminescent (EL) display elements disposed between the interior surface of the appliable backing layer and the graphics layer, each of the plurality of EL display elements defining a shaped electroluminescent region, each shaped electroluminescent region corresponding to and matching a shape of a shaped graphics region of the graphics layer and configured to back-illuminate the corresponding graphics region of the graphics layer, wherein each electrically conductive trace of the plurality of electrically conductive traces is electrically coupled to at least one EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements and configured to supply electrical power thereto; and

a controller coupled, through the plurality of electrically conductive traces, to the plurality of EL display elements, wherein the controller is a networked controller configured to synchronously control the EL display and an additional EL display disposed on an additional electronic gaming machine to distribute at least one of an animated and static effect over the EL display and the additional EL display,

wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are configured to supply electrical power to the plurality of EL display elements in response to a control signal generated by the controller, wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are each positioned on the interior surface of the appliable backing layer to correspond with a position of at least one EL display element relative to the graphics layer to facilitate electrically coupling each EL display element to at least one electrically conductive trace when the graphics layer and the plurality of EL display elements are coupled to the appliable backing layer.

9. The electroluminescent display of claim 8 , wherein the appliable backing layer is a flexible magnetic backing and is sized to match at least one non-electronic display surface of the electronic gaming machine to facilitate covering the at least one non-electronic display surface when the exterior surface is removably applied to the electronic gaming machine.

10. The electroluminescent display of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are at least one of etched into and soldered on the interior surface of the appliable backing layer, wherein the exterior surface is configured to be removably applied to a surface of the electronic gaming machine that does not otherwise include a display.

11. The electroluminescent display of claim 8 , wherein the graphics layer is printed with artwork and comprises a sheet of biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BoPET).

12. The electroluminescent display of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to receive, from a sensing device, data indicating that a player is in proximity to the electroluminescent display, and in response to receiving the data, the controller is further configured to control at least one of the plurality of EL display elements to be illuminated in response to the player being in proximity to the electroluminescent display.

13. An electronic gaming system comprising:

an electronic gaming machine comprising:

a display configured to display a wagering game;

a player input interface configured to receive a player input;

a credit input mechanism including at least one of a card reader, a ticket reader, a bill acceptor, and a coin input mechanism, the credit input mechanism configured to receive a credit wager, the credit wager initiating play of the wagering game; and

a game controller for controlling the wagering game; and

a flexible electroluminescent (EL) display configured to be applied to a designated portion of the electronic gaming machine, the flexible EL display including:

an appliable backing layer including an interior surface, an exterior surface, and a body extending continuously between the interior surface and the exterior surface, the exterior surface configured to be removably affixed to the designated portion of the electronic gaming machine;

a plurality of electrically conductive traces fixably mounted on, and in direct contact with, the interior surface of the appliable backing layer;

a graphics layer including a plurality of graphics regions, each graphics region of the plurality of graphics regions having an associated shape; and

a plurality of EL display elements disposed between the interior surface of the appliable backing layer and the graphics layer, each EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements shaped to correspond to and match a shape of one of the plurality of graphics regions, each EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements configured to back-illuminate a respective matching graphics region of the plurality of graphics regions, wherein each electrically conductive trace of the plurality of electrically conductive traces is electrically coupled to at least one EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements and configured to supply electrical power thereto,

wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are each positioned on the interior surface of the appliable backing layer to correspond with a position of at least one EL display element relative to the graphics layer to facilitate electrically coupling each EL display element to at least one electrically conductive trace when the graphics layer and the plurality of EL display elements are coupled to the appliable backing layer, and

wherein the game controller is a networked game controller configured to synchronously control the flexible EL display and an additional flexible EL display disposed on an additional electronic gaming machine to generate an animated effect over the flexible EL display and the additional flexible EL display to distribute the animated effect over the electronic gaming machine and the additional gaming machine.

14. The electronic gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the appliable backing layer is a flexible magnetic backing and is configured to be removably applied to an exterior surface of the electronic gaming machine.

15. The electronic gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are at least one of etched into and soldered on the interior surface of the appliable backing layer, wherein the exterior surface is sized to match at least one non-electronic display surface of the electronic gaming machine to facilitate covering the at least one non-electronic display surface when the exterior surface is removably applied to the electronic gaming machine.

16. The electronic gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the appliable backing layer is shaped to be removably applied to a surface of at least one of: an electronic gaming machine cabinet and a seating element of the electronic gaming machine.

17. The electronic gaming system of claim 13 , wherein the flexible electroluminescent display further includes a controller, and wherein each electrically conductive trace of the plurality of electrically conductive traces is coupled between the controller and at least one EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements, and wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are configured to supply electrical power to each EL display element in response to a control signal generated by the controller.

18. The electronic gaming system of claim 13 , wherein each electrically conductive trace of the plurality of electrically conductive traces is coupled between the game controller and at least one EL display element of the plurality of EL display elements, and wherein the plurality of electrically conductive traces are configured to supply electrical power to each EL display element in response to a control signal generated by the game controller.