US 11,699,560 B2
Button deck with non-penetrating pushbutton
Garrett Hill, Las Vegas, NV (US); Samuel Villanueva, Las Vegas, NV (US); Donald Redding, Las Vegas, NV (US); and Steven Santisi, Las Vegas, NV (US)
Assigned to Aristocrat Technologies, Inc., Las Vegas, NV (US)
Filed by Aristocrat Technologies, Inc., Las Vegas, NV (US)
Filed on May 7, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/314,861.
Prior Publication US 2022/0359141 A1, Nov. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. H01H 36/00 (2006.01); H01H 13/14 (2006.01); G07F 17/32 (2006.01); H01F 7/16 (2006.01)
CPC H01H 36/004 (2013.01) [G07F 17/3209 (2013.01); H01H 13/14 (2013.01); H01H 36/0033 (2013.01); H01F 2007/1684 (2013.01); H01H 2231/008 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A button deck for an electronic gaming machine (EGM), comprising:
a substrate having an upper surface and a lower surface; and
a non-penetrating pushbutton assembly, including:
an upper portion positioned on the upper surface of the substrate, the upper portion including:
a button frame coupled to the upper surface of the substrate;
a button face positioned in the button frame and configured to be pressed such that the button face moves within the button frame toward the upper surface of the substrate; and
a plurality of magnets coupled to the button face; and
a lower portion positioned at the lower surface of the substrate, the lower portion including:
at least one electromagnet positioned such that it is aligned with one or more of the plurality of magnets, and
a control board electrically coupled to the at least one electromagnet and configured to:
drive the at least one electromagnet to create a magnetic field;
identify a fluctuation in power required to drive the at least one electromagnet caused by a magnetic field of the plurality of magnets interacting with the magnetic field of the at least one electromagnet when the button face is pressed by a player; and
send a signal to the EGM that the button face has been pressed.