US 12,148,586 B2
Button deck with non-penetrating pushbutton
Garrett Hill, Las Vegas, NV (US); Samuel Villanueva, Las Vegas, NV (US); and Donald Redding, Las Vegas, NV (US)
Assigned to Aristocrat Technologies, Inc., Las Vegas, NV (US)
Filed by Aristocrat Technologies, Inc., Las Vegas, NV (US)
Filed on Jan. 19, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/417,163.
Application 18/201,029 is a division of application No. 17/314,861, filed on May 7, 2021, granted, now 11,699,560, issued on Jul. 11, 2023.
Application 18/417,163 is a continuation of application No. 18/201,029, filed on May 23, 2023, granted, now 11,915,897.
Prior Publication US 2024/0161987 A1, May 16, 2024
Int. Cl. G07F 17/32 (2006.01); H01H 13/14 (2006.01); H01H 36/00 (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)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
17. A button deck for an electronic gaming machine (EGM), comprising:
a substrate;
a non-penetrating pushbutton assembly, including:
a first portion positioned on a first surface of the substrate, the first portion including:
a button frame coupled to the first 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 first surface of the substrate from an unpressed position to a pressed position;
a pivotable reflective surface positioned between the button face and the substrate, wherein the pivotable reflective surface is configured to pivot based on movement of the button face; and
a biasing mechanism configured to bias the button face away from the first surface of the substrate; and
a second portion positioned at a second surface of the substrate, the second portion including:
a light source configured to direct a light beam toward the pivotable_reflective surface; and
a light sensor configured to detect the light beam reflected from the pivotable reflective surface;
wherein the non-penetrating pushbutton assembly is configured such that the position of the button face determines whether the light sensor detects the light beam reflected from the pivotable reflective surface; and
wherein the light sensor is configured to signal the EGM when the button face has been pressed.