JP2003275397A - Rail for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rail for a game machine which is easily produced since the number of parts is reduced. <P>SOLUTION: The shell of a pachinko game machine as a game machine is formed by an outer frame, and a front frame is supported by the outer frame so as to be opened or closed. A game board is held inside the front frame, and comprises: a main body board; and a rail decorative frame 16 fixed on the front surface of the main body board. The single rail 17 for the game machine which is formed of a metallic material to have a belt shape is substantially circularly bent, and laid. An outer rail part 22 and an inner rail part 23 are integrally constituted of one rail in the rail 17. The outer rail part 22 runs clockwise from the lower end center of the rail decorative frame 16, and reaches the upper right side of the rail decorative frame 16. The inner rail part 23 runs clockwise from the distal end of the outer rail part 22, and reaches the upper left side of the rail decorative frame 16. <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 rail such as a pachinko gaming machine which is held on a gaming board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a pachinko gaming machine, which is a kind of gaming machine, has an outer frame formed by an outer frame, and a front frame having a square frame shape is openably and closably supported on the front surface of the outer frame. . On this front frame, a game component such as a game ball launching device and a ball plate capable of developing a pachinko game can be mounted, and a game board can be held inside the front frame. A glass door is openably and closably supported on the front surface of the front frame, and the game board is visible from the front of the pachinko gaming machine.

In the game area on the front side of the game board, game components such as nails and prize winning equipment are arranged, and a pachinko game is developed by supplying game balls to this game area.
A belt-shaped rail for a gaming machine is laid on the front surface of the gaming board. The rail for the game machine is composed of an inner rail and an outer rail, and the outer rail is curved in an arc shape from the center of the lower end of the game board to the upper left side, and is laid so as to surround the game area. On the other hand, the inner rail is curved so as to bulge downward and is laid along the inner side of the outer rail from the upper left side to the right side of the game board. Then, the game ball launched by the game ball launching device passes from the center of the lower end of the game board between the outer rail and the inner rail while being guided by each rail, and jumps out from the upper left side of the game board to the game area. ing. Further, an out port is transparently provided on the lowermost game area surface of the inner rail. Then, the inner rail guides the out ball that has not won the winning device to the bottom of the inner rail, and discharges the out ball from the out port.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the rail for the gaming machine is the outer rail and the inner rail.
Since it is composed of different types, there is a problem that it takes time to manufacture.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the problems existing in the above prior art. An object of the present invention is to provide a rail for a gaming machine, which has a reduced number of parts and can be easily manufactured.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a rail for a gaming machine according to the invention described in claim 1 is for a gaming machine provided so as to surround a gaming area provided on the front surface of a gaming board. An outer rail portion that guides the game ball shot by the hitting ball launching device to the upper part of the game area, and an inner rail portion that guides the game ball in the game area to the lower part of the game area, The outer rail portion and the inner rail portion are continuously formed from one rail.

According to the rail for the gaming machine of the invention described in claim 2, in the invention described in claim 1, it is possible to bounce back the game ball which is about to flow backward from the game area toward the ball striking device. The elastic protrusion is connected and fixed to the tip of the inner rail portion.

According to the rail for a gaming machine of the invention described in claim 3, in the invention of claim 1 or 2, the outer rail portion and the inner rail portion are rail frames for holding the rail. The outer rail portion and the inner rail portion are held in a curved state, and both front and rear portions of the outer rail portion and the inner rail portion are held by rail holding portions formed on the rail frame.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a pachinko gaming machine which is a kind of gaming machine will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In addition, below, up, down, left and right shall indicate up, down, left and right when the pachinko gaming machine is viewed from the front.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pachinko gaming machine 11 has an outer frame formed by an outer frame 12 having a vertically long rectangular frame shape, and a front frame 13 having a rectangular frame shape can be opened and closed on the front surface of the outer frame 12. It is supported. On this front frame 13, a game component such as a hitting ball launching device and a ball plate capable of developing a pachinko game can be mounted, and a square plate-shaped game board 14 is held inside the front frame 13. A glass door (not shown) is openably and closably supported on the front surface of the front frame 13, and the game board 14 is visible from the front surface of the pachinko gaming machine 11. An outer frame 12 of the pachinko gaming machine 11 is fixed to an installation frame base in a game store or the like, and constitutes an island facility.

The game board 14 is provided with a main body board 15 formed from a veneer plate in a square plate shape and a rail decoration frame 16 formed from a synthetic resin as a rail frame in a square frame shape. Inside the rail decoration frame 16, a rail 17 for a gaming machine, which is formed of a metal material in a band shape (hereinafter, simply referred to as a rail), is laid in a substantially circular shape by utilizing its elasticity. The rail decorative frame 16 on which the rail 17 is laid is fixed to the front surface of the main body board 15 by a fixing member such as a pin.

A substantially circular game area 18 is provided in the center of the front surface of the main body board 15, and a sheet (not shown) on which a pattern is printed is stuck to the game area 18, and
Game components such as nails and prize winning devices are arranged. On the other hand, on the back surface of the main body board 15, a control board, electric wiring and the like (not shown) are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 2, a substantially circular opening 19 is formed in the center of the rail decoration frame 16, and in the mounted state of the main body board 15 shown in FIG. 5, the gaming area is viewed from the front of the pachinko gaming machine 11. 18 is visible. On the front surface of the rail decoration frame 16, a not-shown decorative member such as a display lamp that lights up as the prize balls are discharged is arranged, and the periphery of the game area 18 is decorated.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the rail decorative frame 16 includes a rectangular frame-shaped decorative frame 20 and a rectangular frame-shaped receiving frame 21 attached from the rear of the decorative frame 20. The decorative frame 20 and the receiving frame 21 are held so as to sandwich the rail 17 from the front and the rear of the rail 17. And
The front surface of the receiving frame 21 is superposed on the rear surface of the decorative frame 20, and the decorative frame 20 and the receiving frame 21 are fixed by a fixing means such as a screw or an adhesive layer not shown in the figure. In addition,
The rail 17 in FIG. 1 shows a state in which it is bent to a predetermined curvature against its elastic force.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this rail 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes an outer rail portion 22 that rotates clockwise from the center of the lower end of the rail decoration frame 16 and reaches the upper right side of the rail decoration frame 16.
And an inner rail portion 23 that turns clockwise from the tip of the outer rail portion 22 and reaches the upper left side of the rail decoration frame 16. The outer rail portion 22 and the inner rail portion 23 are continuously formed from one rail 17. The left side of the rail decoration frame 16 is the outer rail portion 2
An inner rail portion 23 is laid in parallel with the inner side of 2, and a space is provided between the outer rail portion 22 and the inner rail portion 23.

As shown in FIG. 1, inside the decorative frame 20, an outer rail supporting portion 24 having a front arc shape as a rail supporting portion is formed.
Is rotated from the center of the lower end of the decorative frame 20 in the clockwise direction to the decorative frame 2.
It is formed over the upper right side of 0. Also, the decorative frame 2
A front arc-shaped inner rail support portion 25 as a rail support portion is formed on the inner side of 0 and extends clockwise from the tip of the outer rail support portion 24 to the upper left side of the decorative frame 20. The rail supporting portions 24 and 25 are continuously formed, and the outer surfaces of the rail portions 22 and 23 are supported by the rail supporting portions 24 and 25. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, an outer rail holding groove 26 and an inner rail holding groove 27 each having a lateral U-shape as a rail holding portion are formed at the front ends of the rail support portions 24 and 25, respectively. The front parts of the parts 22, 23 can be inserted.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, inside the receiving frame 21, an outer rail receiving groove 28 having a front arc shape serving as a rail holding portion is rotated clockwise from the center of the lower end of the receiving frame 21. It is recessed across the upper right side of. Also,
A front arc-shaped inner rail receiving groove 29 serving as a rail holding portion is provided inside the decorative frame 20 so as to extend clockwise from the tip of the outer rail receiving groove 28 to the upper left side of the receiving frame 21. The rail receiving grooves 28 and 29 are continuously formed, and the rail receiving grooves have a U-shaped cross section so that the rear side portions of the rail portions 22 and 23 can be inserted.

The front end portions of the rail portions 22 and 23 are inserted into the rail holding grooves 26 and 27, respectively, and are sandwiched by the rail holding grooves 26 and 27. The rear side portions of the rail portions 22 and 23 are inserted into the rail receiving grooves 28 and 29, respectively, and are sandwiched by the rail receiving grooves 28 and 29.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, on the left side of the rail decoration frame 16, a game ball is guided in an arc-shaped region sandwiched between the inner surface of the outer rail portion 22 and the outer surface of the inner rail support portion 25. Is a guiding area 30. The guide region 30 has a proximal end side of the outer rail portion 22 and a distal end side of the inner rail portion 23 as a starting end and a terminating end, respectively. Outer rail part 2
The base end of 2 is bent and formed diagonally downward,
It is connected to the tip of the launch rail (not shown). Further, a foul opening (not shown) is formed between the tip of the launch rail and the base end of the outer rail portion 22 by providing a space. Then, when the game ball set at the base end of the launch rail is launched by the hitting ball launching device, the game ball is guided by the launch rail and jumps over the foul mouth to reach the start end of the guidance area 30. Further, this game ball is guided from the start end of the guide region 30 to the end thereof and the game region 18
To reach. In addition, among the game balls launched by the hitting ball launching device, slow-playing game balls that do not reach the game area 18 (hereinafter referred to as foul balls) fall directly from the launch rail to the foul mouth or are guided. It returns to the starting end of the area 30, falls to the foul mouth, and is discharged from the bowl. This foul mouth causes the foul ball to go back up the firing rail,
It is designed to suppress collision with the next game ball to be launched.

As shown in FIG. 1, at the tip of the inner rail portion 23, an elastic projection piece 31 formed of a thin metal plate in the shape of a rectangular plate is formed.
Are connected and fixed. The base end side of the elastic projection 31 is bent and formed, and the outer surface of the base end side is brought into contact with the inner end of the inner rail portion 23 and is fixed by a fixing member such as a rivet (not shown). On the other hand, the tip end of the inner rail support portion 25 is cut out obliquely upward to form an inclined surface 32, and the center of the elastic protrusion 31 comes into contact with the inclined surface 32 as shown in FIG. ing. Further, the tip of the elastic protrusion 31 is provided so as to protrude toward the outer rail portion 22,
The tip end side of the elastic protrusion 31 closes the end of the guide region 30 in the rail decoration frame 16.

The elastic projection 31 is moved by the elastic force of FIG.
As shown by the two-dot chain line, the tip and the center can be easily curved to the game area 18 side. Then, when the game ball launched by the hitting ball launching device is guided to the guide region 30 and collides with the elastic projection piece 31, the elastic projection piece 31 is curved toward the game area 18 side by the pressing force of the game ball. At this time, the game ball can pass through the elastic protrusion 31 and reach the game area 18. The elastic projection piece 31 after passing the game ball is returned to the original position by the elastic force and closes the end of the guiding area 30. At this time,
The center of the elastic projection piece 31 is supported by abutting against the tip of the inner rail support portion 25, and the center of the elastic projection piece 31 is hard to bend toward the starting end of the guiding region 30. Then, when the game ball hit by a game component such as a nail in the game area 18 tries to flow backward from the end of the guide area 30, the elastic projection piece 31.
The game ball is bounced back to the game area 18 by the tip end side of. Further, an elastic member such as a rectangular rubber material (not shown) is fixed to the inside of the tip of the outer rail portion 22, and the game ball strongly hit by the hitting ball launching device is used as the game area 18
It is designed to be dropped below.

In this way, the pachinko game is developed by supplying the game balls to the game area 18. In this pachinko game, when a game ball wins a prize device, the prize ball is ejected. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the center of the lower end of the game area 18, a front horizontal elliptical out port 33 is transparently provided, and a game ball that has not won a winning device is from the out port 33 to the back of the main body board 15. It is discharged to the sphere and collected in the ball circulation system that constitutes the island facility.

At the center of the lower part of the receiving frame 21, a lateral elliptical annular out-ornament portion 34 is provided. The out-portion decoration portion 34 is provided corresponding to the out-portion 33 and decorates the peripheral edge of the out-portion 33. Inner rail part 2
In the lower part of 3, a front side horizontal U-shaped sphere collecting recess 35 as a sphere collecting portion is formed by bending. Then, the game balls that have not won the prize fall in the game area 18 and the inner rail portion 2
Reach the top of 3. These game balls are the inner rail part 2
3 is guided by 3 and gathers in the ball collecting recess 35.

Corresponding to the ball collecting concave portion 35, a mounting concave portion 36 as a mounting portion is provided in a lower portion of the inner rail supporting portion 25, and an outer surface of the ball collecting concave portion 35 is fitted into the mounting concave portion 36. It has become. Further, when the rail 17 is attached to the decorative frame 20, the rail 17 can be positioned by aligning the outer surface of the ball collecting recess 35 with the mounting recess 36.

The upper surface of the ball collecting recess 35 is the out-spout part 3.
It is connected to the inner bottom surface of 4. Then, the game balls collected in the ball collecting recess 35 are guided by the ball collecting recess 35, pass through the inside of the out-ornament portion 34, and are discharged from the out port 33.

In order to assemble the rail decoration frame 16, first, the rail 17 is curved so as to match the outer rail support portion 24 and the inner rail support portion 25 of the decoration frame 20.
Then, the ball collecting concave portion 35 is aligned with the mounting concave portion 36, and the rail portions 22 and 23 are inserted inside the rail supporting portions 24 and 25. Next, the elastic force of the rail 17 is used to loosen the curve of the rail 17. Then, each rail part 22, 2
The outer surface of 3 is abutted and supported by the outer rail support portion 24. At this time, the ball collecting recess 35 is formed in the inner rail portion 23,
A mounting recess 36 is formed in the inner rail support portion 25. Therefore, when the rail 17 is mounted on the decorative frame 20, by aligning the ball collecting recess 35 with the mounting recess 36,
The rail 17 can be positioned. Further, the decorative frame 20 includes an outer rail supporting portion 24 and an inner rail supporting portion 25.
Are formed. Therefore, the elastic force of the rail 17 can be used to easily support the rail 17 in a curved state.

Next, the front side portions of the rail portions 22 and 23 are fitted into the rail holding grooves 26 and 27, respectively. continue,
The receiving frame 2 is formed so that the rail receiving grooves 28 and 29 of the receiving frame 21 are fitted into the rear side portions of the rail portions 22 and 23, respectively.
The front surface of 1 is brought into contact with the back surface of the decorative frame 20. Then, the rail decoration frame 16 is assembled by fixing the decoration frame 20 and the receiving frame 21 with a fixing means such as a screw.
At this time, the outer rail portion 22 and the inner rail portion 23 are integrally configured by one rail 17. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide the outer rail portion 22 and the inner rail portion 23 as separate components, and the number of components can be reduced. Further, the rail 17 can be easily attached to the rail decoration frame 16 without separately attaching the outer rail portion 22 and the inner rail portion 23 to the rail decoration frame 16. In addition, each rail portion 22,
The front side of 23 is clamped in each rail holding groove 26, 27,
The rear side portions of the rail portions 22 and 23 have rail receiving grooves 28,
It is sandwiched by 29. Therefore, the rail 17 can be easily fixed to the rail decoration frame 16 in a curved state.

Further, an elastic projection piece 31 is connected and fixed to the tip of the inner rail portion 23. Therefore, the elastic protrusion 31
Need not be separately attached to the decorative frame 20, the main body board 15, etc., and can be attached together with the rail 17 when the rail decorative frame 16 is assembled. The rail 17 is made of a metal material and is laid inside the rail decoration frame 16. Therefore, the inside of the rail decoration frame 16 can be reinforced.

The effects exerted by this embodiment will be described below. -In the rail 17 for the gaming machine of this embodiment,
The outer rail portion 22 and the inner rail portion 23 are one rail 17
It is composed continuously from. With this configuration, the number of parts is reduced, and the product can be easily manufactured. Further, the rail 17 can be easily attached to the rail decoration frame 16 without separately attaching the outer rail portion 22 and the inner rail portion 23 to the rail decoration frame 16.

Conventionally, the elastic protrusion has been attached to the main body panel or the like separately from the rail. In the rail 17 for the gaming machine of this embodiment, an elastic protrusion 31 is connected and fixed to the tip of the inner rail portion 23. With this structure, the elastic protrusion 31 can be attached together with the rail 17 when the rail decorative frame 16 is assembled. Therefore, it is possible to save the trouble of separately attaching the elastic protrusion 31 to the main body board 15 or the like, and easily attach the elastic protrusion 31.

Conventionally, each of the outer rail and the inner rail is curved to have a predetermined curvature and is fixed to the main body board by a fixing member such as a pin. In the rail 17 for the gaming machine of this embodiment, the front side portions of the rail portions 22 and 23 are sandwiched by the rail holding grooves 26 and 27, and
The rear side portions of the rail portions 22 and 23 have rail receiving grooves 28,
It is sandwiched by 29 and fixed to the decorative frame 20 and the receiving frame 21. When configured in this way, the rail 17 is fixed to the decorative frame 20 and the receiving frame 2 without using a fixing member.
It can be easily fixed in a curved state.

The rail 17 for the game machine of this embodiment
In, the outer surfaces of the outer rail portion 22 and the inner rail portion 23 are in contact with and supported by the rail support portions 24 and 25 formed in the decorative frame 20 in a curved state. With this structure, the rail 17 can be easily supported in a curved state.

The rail 17 for the game machine of this embodiment
In the above, the inner rail portion 23 is formed with a ball collecting concave portion 35, and the ball collecting concave portion 35 is fitted into a mounting concave portion 36 formed in the inner rail supporting portion 25. Therefore, when the rail 17 is mounted on the decorative frame 20, the rail 17 can be positioned by aligning the ball collecting recess 35 with the mounting recess 36.

The above embodiment can be modified and embodied as follows. -In the said embodiment, the inner rail part 23 is the outer rail part 2
It turns clockwise from the tip of 2 and reaches the upper left side of the rail decoration frame 16. However, the inner rail portion 23 may be provided, for example, from the tip of the outer rail portion 22 in the clockwise direction to the left side of the rail decorative frame 16. Then, the inner rail support portion 25 from the tip of the inner rail portion 23 to the upper left side of the rail decoration frame 16 may be substituted.

In the above embodiment, each rail support portion 2
4 and 25 are provided on the decorative frame 20. However, the rail supporting portions 24 and 25 may be provided on the front surface of the receiving frame 21 to support the outer surfaces of the rail portions 22 and 23.

In the above embodiment, the rail decoration frame 16
When assembled, there is a space between the tip of the elastic projection piece 31 and the inner surface of the outer rail portion 22, but the elastic projection piece 31 is further extended and its tip comes into contact with the inner surface of the outer rail portion 22. It may be configured as follows. According to this configuration, since the tip of the elastic projection piece 31 is in contact with the inner surface of the outer rail portion 22, the tip side of the elastic projection piece 31 is less likely to be curved in the starting end direction of the guiding region 30. Therefore, when the game ball hit by a game component such as a nail in the game region 18 tries to flow backward from the end of the guiding region 30, the tip end side of the elastic protrusion 31 easily bounces the game ball back to the game region 18. be able to.

In the above embodiment, the pachinko gaming machine 11 is applied as a gaming machine, but it may be applied to a gaming machine such as an arrangement ball machine. Next, technical ideas that can be understood from the embodiments will be described below.

(1) A ball collecting portion for collecting game balls is formed on the inner rail portion, and the ball collecting portion is fitted to a mounting portion formed on a rail frame for holding the rail. The rail for a game machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3. According to this configuration, when the rail is attached to the rail frame, the rail can be positioned by aligning the ball collecting portion with the mounting portion.

(2) The outer rail portion and the inner rail portion are held by the rail frame for holding the rail in a curved state, and the outer surfaces of the outer rail portion and the inner rail portion are attached to the rail frame. The rail support portion formed is abutted and supported by the rail support portion and the above (1).
A rail for a gaming machine according to any one of 1. With this configuration, the rail can be easily supported in a curved state.

(3) A rail for a gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and (1) and (2), which is made of a metal material. With this configuration, the rail frame to which the rail is attached can be reinforced.

[0041]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects. According to the rail for the gaming machine described in claim 1, the number of parts is reduced and the rail can be easily manufactured.

According to the rail for the gaming machine described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the elastic protrusion can be easily attached. According to the rail for the gaming machine described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the rail can be easily fixed to the rail frame in a curved state.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a rail and a rail decoration frame according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a rail decoration frame on which rails are laid.

3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a tip portion of an inner rail portion.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a game machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... a pachinko gaming machine as a gaming machine, 14 ... a gaming board,
16 ... Rail decorative frame as rail frame, 17 ... Rail for game machine, 18 ... Gaming area, 22 ... Outer rail part, 23 ...
Inner rail portion, 26 ... Outer rail holding groove as rail holding portion, 27 ... Inner rail holding groove as rail holding portion, 28
... an outer rail receiving groove as a rail holding portion, 29 ... an inner rail receiving groove as a rail holding portion, 31 ... an elastic protrusion.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rail for a game machine, which is provided so as to surround a game area provided on the front surface of a game board, and an outer rail portion which guides a game ball shot by a hitting ball launching device to the upper part of the game area. A gaming machine characterized by comprising an inner rail portion for guiding a game ball in the game area to a lower portion of the game area, and the outer rail portion and the inner rail portion being continuously formed from one rail. Rails. 2. The game according to claim 1, wherein an elastic projection piece capable of bouncing back a game ball that tries to flow backward from the game area toward the ball striking device is connected and fixed to the tip of the inner rail portion. Rail for machine. 3. The outer rail portion and the inner rail portion are held in a curved state by a rail frame for holding the rail, and the front and rear side portions of the outer rail portion and the inner rail portion are the rail frames. The rail for a gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, which is clamped by a rail holding portion formed in.