JP2003210793A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine allowing a player to easily check information about a game. <P>SOLUTION: An integrated tray 26 storing a game ball and supplying it to a ball shooting device is arranged on the lower part side of an inside frame 14 having a game board 32, and in the substantially central part of the front face of the integrated tray 26, a ball dispensing button 104 serving as a dispensed ball dispensing operation part and a returning button 106 serving as an operation part for removing a card from an intermachine device are arranged. A display unit 110 for displaying information such as a card balance is arranged in the upper face left side end part of the integrated tray 26. In this way, the player can easily check the information related to the game displayed in the display unit 110 while placing his/her hand around the button upper part of the integrated tray 26 or operating the ball dispensing button 104 by his/her thumb during the game. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gaming machine, and more particularly, to a gaming machine in which a display portion of information relating to a game can be easily viewed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In game machines such as pachinko machines, operation switches related to games such as renting game balls and stopping reels in slots, and an information display section such as a display and a lamp for displaying information such as card balance and out of balls. Are unitized and are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the hitting ball supply tray. For example, in Japanese Patent No. 2562736 and Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-55259, an operation section (switching means) related to a game is provided on the outer upper surface of a guide gutter which is arranged in a row on the downstream side of a hitting ball supply plate and is arranged in a row. There is a model in which the display unit is provided close to the left and right of the operation unit, and the display unit is arranged close to the upper side of the operation unit provided near the front of the plate.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, when the operation portion such as the ball lending button is operated, or the player confirms the remaining amount of the game balls stored in the hit ball supply tray.
Alternatively, when playing with a hand (left hand) in the vicinity of the bowl and guide gutter to make the posture easier, the display is hidden by the palm or fingers. Therefore, when checking the card balance information etc. on the display part, there is a trouble to move the position of the hand to see the display part or remove the hand from the plate, which reduces the concentration on the game. There is a problem.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention, when the player confirms the information related to the game, does not perform an unnecessary operation such as releasing his / her hand from the operation section for performing the operation related to the game, An object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine in which the information display portion can be easily visually recognized while concentrating on the game.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inner frame in which a side end portion is pivotally supported by an outer frame so as to be openably and closably attached, and a game board is detachably attached at a front surface side, A glass frame provided on the front surface of the inner frame and covering the board surface of the game board, and game balls stored in the ball dish portion that are arranged below the game board and project on the front surface of the inner frame are arranged in a line. A batting ball supply tray that supplies the gaming ball to the batting ball launching device that drives the board surface, an operation unit that is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the batting ball supply tray, and performs a game-related operation, and an operation area that operates the operation unit. And a display unit for displaying information related to the game, which is characterized in that.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the inner frame is attached to the outer frame so that the side end portions thereof are pivotally supported by the outer frame so as to be openable and closable, and the game board is detachable on the front side. The board surface of the game board is covered and protected by a glass frame provided on the front surface of the inner frame. The hitting ball supply plate is provided on the front surface of the inner frame so as to be disposed below the game board, and supplies the game balls stored in the ball plate portion in a row to the hitting ball launching device. Then, by the operation of the firing handle or the like by the player, the game ball is launched from the hitting ball launching device and is driven into the board surface of the game board.

Further, an operating section for performing game-related operations is provided on the outer peripheral surface including the top surface and front surface of the hitting ball supply plate, and the display section for displaying information related to the game is outside the operation area for operating the operating section. It is provided in. In addition, with the outside of this operation area,
For example, when a player puts his or her hand on the hitting ball supply tray to operate the operation unit and puts a fingertip (thumb or the like) on the operation unit, it refers to an area other than the area around the operation unit that is covered by the palm or other fingers. .

With this, the player can visually check the display unit and confirm information related to the game while holding the hand around the operation unit of the hitting ball supply tray or while operating the operation unit during the game. it can. Therefore, the player can avoid a useless operation at the time of confirming the display unit, and can maintain his or her concentration on the game.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the gaming machine according to the first aspect, the outside of the operation area includes the left upper surface of the outer peripheral surface of the hitting ball supply tray, and the operation portion is arranged on the left upper surface thereof. Is characterized by. According to a third aspect of the invention, in the gaming machine according to the first aspect, the outside of the operation area includes the lower left portion of the front surface of the glass frame, and the operating portion is disposed on the lower left portion thereof. .

According to the invention described in claim 2 or 3,
The outside of the operation area includes the left upper surface on the outer peripheral surface of the hitting ball supply tray or the lower left portion on the front surface of the glass frame, and the display section is arranged in each of these sections. The line of sight of the player during the game is usually around the ball-launching side of the game board, that is,
There is a lot of time to turn from the left side of the game board to the center. On the other hand, by arranging the display unit as described above, that is, by disposing it on the lower left side of the game board, the amount of change in the line of sight when the player confirms the display unit is reduced. As a result, the display section can be visually recognized more easily while concentrating on the game.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show a pachinko machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the pachinko machine 10 includes an outer frame 12, and one side portion of a frame-shaped inner frame 14 having a window portion is attached to the front surface of the outer frame 12 so as to be openable and closable. One side of the glass frame 20 in which the glass 16 is attached to the glass frame 18 is attached to the window portion of the inner frame 14 so that the glass frame 20 and the inner frame 14 can be opened and closed.
Is locked by a locking device (cylinder) 22 provided on the other side of the inner frame 14.

At the lower position of the glass frame 20, a ball plate for storing prize balls and rental balls paid out from the prize ball paying device in the main body of the pachinko machine through the prize ball paying outlet 23 and guiding them to the hitting ball launching device. An integral plate 26 having a portion 24 is attached to one side of the inner frame 14 so as to be openable and closable. On the front of the integrated plate 26,
An ashtray 28 is arranged on the lower left side, and a firing handle 30 for adjusting the flight distance of a batted ball to be shot from a batted ball launching device (not shown) is provided on the lower right side.

In the window of the inner frame 14, a game board 32, which is placed on a game board mounting table and is replaceable, is installed so as to close the window. In the game board 32, a sheet-shaped cell 34 made of a resin material is attached to the surface of the veneer plate 33, and the board surface 32A is surrounded by an outer band 36 and an inner band 37 and rail decorations 38 and 39. A circular game area 40 is formed, and a decorative image (not shown) including a background image and various character images is printed in a range corresponding to the game area 40 on the surface of the cell 34.

In the game area 40, a special symbol display device 42
And winning prizes (variable winning device) 44
Game components such as a prize winning opening 48 and a windmill 50, and side decorations 52A and 52B arranged on the left and right side ends are attached, and an out opening 54 is arranged at the lowest position. Further, at the lower right corner of the rail decoration 38 arranged at the right end portion of the game board 32, a certificate stamp board 58 to which a certificate stamp 56 is attached is attached, and this certificate stamp board 58 is a hinge plate arranged at the left side. It is supported by 60 and can be opened and closed with respect to the board surface 32A.

The pachinko machine 10 of the present embodiment is a model for arranging a hitting ball launching device on the lower left side of the game board 32 and launching a game ball upward. The game area 40 is expanded by lowering it.

On the front of the pachinko machine 10, as shown in FIG. 2, on the front of the glass frame 20, a plurality of indicator lamps 62, 63 having functions such as a prize ball indicator lamp and a completion indicator lamp are provided on the glass 16. Speakers 64 that are arranged so as to surround and that generate game sound effects near the upper left corner and the upper right end.
66 are arranged.

Next, the structure of the integrated plate according to the present embodiment and the arrangement of the operation section and the display section related to the game provided on the integrated plate will be described in detail.

An enlarged view of the integral dish 26 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown, the bowl portion 24 of the integrated dish 26
A standing wall 70 and stepped portions 72, 74 are provided at substantially the center, whereby the ball dish 24 has a high surface portion 76 occupying the left side area, a middle surface portion 78 occupying the right side area, and a low level surface occupying the substantially central area. It is divided into the surface portion 80.

The high-level surface portion 76 is inclined downward to the right in the drawing, and the wide-range receiving surface portion 82 on the left end side receives the ball-lending balls discharged from the ball discharge nozzle of the inter-mountain ball lending machine, and the low-level surface portion 80 side. It is supposed to guide you. The middle surface portion 78 and the lower surface portion 80 are inclined downward to the left in the figure, and the above-mentioned ball lending and prize balls discharged from the prize ball payout opening 23 roll in the inclination direction to lower the lower surface portion. It is adapted to be guided by a guide trough portion 84 provided on the downstream side of 80. And the guide gutter 8
The balls (game balls) guided by 4 are aligned in a line by the guide gutter portion 84, and are guided to a ball feeder (not shown) that sends the game balls to the hitting ball launching device one by one.

Further, the step portion 74, which is a boundary between the middle surface portion 78 and the low surface portion 80, is formed with a circular ball-removing opening 86 extending across both surface portions. This ball outlet 86
Communicates with a ball discharge port 88 provided substantially in the center of the lower surface 26A of the integrated plate 26, and is normally closed by a ball punching plate 90. Further, a ball removing button 92 is embedded in the lower portion of the front surface 26B of the integrated plate 26.

When the ball is transferred from the integrated dish 26 to the ball box at the time of a big hit, the ball removal button 92 is pressed to operate the ball removal mechanism 94 built in the integrated dish 26.
Is operated, the ball removing plate 90 slides to the right (the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 3), and the ball removing port 86 is opened. As a result, the game balls in the ball dish portion 24 that are stored on the upstream side of the ball outlet 86 fall to the ball outlet 86, are discharged downward from the ball outlet 88, and are transferred to the ball box. Further, when the pressing of the ball removing button 92 is released, the ball removing plate 90 is biased to the original position by the spring member provided in the ball removing mechanism 94, and the ball discharging port 88 is closed.

Further, on the bottom surface of the most downstream part of the guide trough portion 84,
A ball outlet 96 that communicates with the ball outlet 88 is provided. The ball removal port 96 is normally closed by a ball removal plate 98, and the ball removal plate 98 is incorporated in the integrated plate 26 and is located below the high-level surface portion 76 of the ball plate 24. It is connected to 100. Further, the ball removing lever 102 for operating the ball removing mechanism 100 is provided on the front surface 2 of the integrated plate 26.
6B is located on the upper left side.

Then, at the end of the game, the ball pulling lever 1
By sliding 02 to the left, the ball punching plate 98
Slides to the right (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4) and the ball outlet 96 is opened, whereby the game balls remaining on the downstream side of the ball outlet 86 are discharged from the ball outlet 88. Like Also here, by releasing the operation of the ball pulling lever 102, the ball pulling plate 98 is biased to the left by the elastic force of the spring member in the ball pulling mechanism 100 to close the ball pulling port 96. Is.

A ball lending button 104, which serves as a lending operation unit for lending balls, is provided on the left side in the approximate center of the front face 26B of the integrated dish 26, and on the right side, an operation for taking out a card from the pedestrian ball lending machine. A return button 106 that serves as a part is provided. Both of these buttons are located behind the buttons and are integrated into the tray 2
6 is electrically and mechanically connected to the operation unit substrate 108 built in 6 to form a unit.
Is connected to the control board on the pachinko machine body side by a cable (not shown).

To operate each button, the left hand is usually placed near the center of the upper edge (upper surface 26C) of the integrated dish 26, and four fingers from the forefinger to the little finger are hooked on the ball dish 24 to bring the thumb to the front. Turn it to the 26B side and lightly grasp the upper part of the integrated plate 26 as it is. Then, the thumb is placed on the surface of one of the buttons, and the button is pressed when necessary. As described above, in the integrated dish 26 of the present embodiment, by arranging the ball lending button 104 and the return button 106 in the approximate center of the front surface 26B, by grasping the vicinity of the upper center of the integrated dish 26,
The thumb is naturally aligned with the button surface. Therefore, the buttons can be operated easily and smoothly even when playing the game while holding the integrated plate 26 while supporting the body.

A display unit 110 for displaying information such as a card balance is provided on the left end of the upper surface 26C of the integrated plate 26.
Is provided. The display unit 110 is provided with a display substrate 114 on which a segment display 112 is mounted, and the surface of the display substrate 114 has a transparent resin cover 11
Covered by 6. Also, this display substrate 114
Is also connected to the control board on the main body side of the pachinko machine with a cable not shown. For example, the segment display 112 displays the number of spheres that can be rented out by the card inserted in the pedestrian ball lending machine in terms of numerical information. It has become so.
Further, the frequency is configured to decrease according to the number of times the above-mentioned ball lending button 104 is operated.

From the above, the pachinko machine 10 of the present embodiment.
Then, on the display unit 110, the player holds his / her hand near the upper center of the integrated plate 26 (above the ball lending button 104 and the return button 106) or while operating the ball lending button 104 with the thumb during the game. Information related to the displayed game can be confirmed. Therefore, when confirming the display information, it is possible to suppress a wasteful operation such as removing the hand from the integrated plate 26, and the concentration on the game is not reduced.

In this embodiment, the display unit 11
By arranging 0 at the left end of the upper surface 26C of the integrated plate 26, when the player confirms the display information, the line of sight mainly directed from the left side of the game area 40 of the game board 32 to the center is reasonably lower left. The display unit 110 comes into view with only a slight shift. In this way, by reducing the amount of change of the line of sight in the confirmation of the display information, it becomes possible to visually recognize more easily while concentrating on the game.

In the present embodiment, the display unit 11
Since the ball removing lever 102 is arranged near 0, the outside of the palm may be caught on the display unit 110 when the ball removing lever 102 is operated, depending on the size of the hand. However, since the ball removing lever 102 is operated only at the end of the game, there is no particular problem.

Further, the arrangement of the display section (display unit 110) for displaying the information on the game is not limited to the left end portion of the upper surface 26C of the integrated plate 26 as described above.
For example, in the present embodiment, at least the ball lending button 10
4 and above the return button 106 (the front face 26B of the integrated plate 26)
And the upper surface 26C).
Further, it can be incorporated in other than the ball dish, and for example, in the pachinko machine 10 of the present embodiment, it can be arranged in an empty space (20A in FIG. 2) at the lower left corner on the front surface of the glass frame 20.

Although a pachinko machine provided with only one ball dish has been described as an example here, the present invention is a normal model which is divided into a ball hitting tray (upper tray) and a surplus ball receiving tray (lower tray). Can also be applied to. In that case, the display unit can be arranged in an empty space or the like existing on the right side of the upper surface of the upper plate.

The contents displayed by the display unit may be other than the remaining card number information described above, for example, information about the contents of the game, game trouble information such as error display, or the like. Also, the operation section can be applied to operation switches directly related to the game contents such as a reel stop switch of a slot.
Other than the front surface 26B of the integrated plate 26, for example, it may be near the center of the upper surface 26C.

[0034]

Since the gaming machine of the present invention has the above structure,
When the player confirms the information related to the game, the player can easily see the information display unit while concentrating on the game without releasing his / her hand from the operation unit that performs the operation related to the game.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pachinko machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a pachinko machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an integrated plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an integrated plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Pachinko machines (gaming machines) 12 outer frame 14 Inner frame 20 glass frame 20A (outside the operation area) 24 ball dish 26 Integrated plate (ball hitting supply plate) 26B Front (outer peripheral surface) 26C Top surface (outer peripheral surface) 32 game board 32A board 104 Ball lending button (operation unit) 106 Return button (operation unit) 110 Display unit (display / outside operation area)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inner frame to which a side end is axially supported by an outer frame so as to be openably and closably attached, and a game board is detachably attached to a front surface side, and a board surface of the game board provided on the front surface of the inner frame. To the hitting ball launching device, which covers the glass frame and arranges the game balls, which are arranged below the game board and project on the front surface of the inner frame and stored in the ball dish portion, in a row and drive the game balls on the board surface. A batting ball supply plate to be supplied, an operation unit provided on the outer peripheral surface of the batting ball supply plate for performing a game-related operation, and a display unit provided outside the operation area for operating the operation unit and displaying information related to a game And a gaming machine. 2. The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the outside of the operation area includes a left upper surface of the outer peripheral surface of the hitting ball supply tray, and the operation portion is arranged on the left upper surface. 3. The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the outside of the operation area includes a lower left portion of the front surface of the glass frame, and the operation portion is disposed on the lower left portion thereof.