JP2003290417A - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve an easier and accurate transfer of medals to a medal box from an upper receiving tray 37 while elevating exultation in the winning of games. <P>SOLUTION: The upper receiving tray 37 is installed above a reel window 20 to enable players to visually recognize how medals are put out to the upper receiving tray 37 in the winning of games through a clearance 38 thereby elevating exultation. By guiding the medals in the upper receiving tray 37 to an ejection port 49 below the reel window 20 through a medal path 48, the distance can be reduced between the ejection port 49 and the medal box thereby achieving an easier and accurate transfer of the medals. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slot machine in which winning or losing is decided by arranging patterns when a reel stops rotating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a slot machine, after inserting a medal into a medal insertion slot, a start lever is operated to rotate a plurality of reels (usually three reels) each having a pattern drawn on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The reels are stopped one after another by appropriately pressing the stop button corresponding to, and if the picture of each reel at this time has a predetermined arrangement, the player wins and the predetermined number of medals are paid to the tray. It was made to be released.

In the conventional slot machine, the above-mentioned tray is installed below the reel, that is, below the front wall of the slot machine (near the player's knees).

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional slot machine, since the tray is installed at the lower part of the front wall of the slot machine, which is a blind spot for the player, the player is required to pay out the medals. However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to visually recognize the object just by feeling it, and as a result, the uplifting feeling at the time of victory is reduced and the customer's attraction is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide a slot machine capable of improving the attraction of customers by enhancing the feeling of uplifting when a game is won.

[0006]

The object is to provide a reel window for visually recognizing a plurality of rotating reels on the front wall, and an arrangement of patterns drawn on the outer peripheral surface of the reel when the reels stop rotating. In the slot machine that determines the win or loss by the above, in the front wall above the reel window, a receiving tray for receiving the paid-out medals is installed, and the medals in the receiving tray are provided below the reel window. It is possible to achieve this by installing a medal passage leading to the above and providing an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing the upper end of the medal passage.

If a tray for receiving medals to be paid out when a player wins is installed on the front wall above the reel window as described above, the player can visually recognize the payout status of medals. As a result, the feeling of uplifting at the time of victory is enhanced and the customer's attraction can be improved. Here, if the saucer is installed at the position as described above, the distance between the saucer and the medal box at the foot becomes long, so when the saucer is filled with medals or when the game is finished, the saucer is If it is troublesome to transfer medals from the medals to the medals box, or if the medals spill out of your hands during the transfer of medals, there is a risk that the mess will be scattered and annoy people around you.

However, as described above, the medal passage and the opening / closing mechanism are provided, and the opening / closing mechanism is opened at the time of transferring the medals, so that the medals in the tray are discharged to the discharge port provided below the reel window by the medal passage. By guiding the medals, the medals can be easily and surely transferred to the medal box installed at the feet, and no one in the surroundings will be bothered.

Further, according to the second aspect, since the medals can be stored in the lower tray,
The number of medals stored can be increased, and the work of transferring to a medal box becomes easy.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, 11 is a slot machine (pachi-slot machine) installed on a fixed base (not shown). In this slot machine 11, a player sits in front of the slot machine 11 to play a game. I do. The slot machine 11 has a device body 12, and a front wall 13 of the device body 12 is an upper panel extending substantially vertically.
It is composed of a lower panel 15 which is bent in a dogleg shape, and an operation panel 16 which connects the upper and lower panels 14 and 15 with each other and is inclined upward toward the rear.

The upper panel 14 has a display 18 including a dot matrix display, a CRT, a liquid crystal display, etc.
Is installed, and this display 18 is stationary to announce the
A dynamic image and a warning message at the time of failure are displayed. Also the front wall
Three transparent reel windows 20 lined up in the left-right direction are formed on the operation panel 16 of 13, and on the other hand, explanations of a game method, a winning combination, etc. are displayed around these reel windows 20. Reference numeral 21 denotes a plurality of, in this case, three cylindrical reels provided in the apparatus main body 12, and these reels 21 are arranged in a position overlapping with the reel window 20 while maintaining a coaxial relationship. 21 can be seen through the reel window 20.

A plurality of types of patterns 23 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of each reel 21.
The three patterns 23 among these patterns 23 are visually recognized at the same time through the reel window 20. An output shaft of a drive motor (not shown) is connected to the reel 21.
These drive motors are attached to the apparatus main body 12. Then, when the drive motor is operated, the reel 21 rotates and different kinds of patterns 23 appear in the reel window 20 one after another.

At the right end of the operation panel 16, just below the reel window 20, there is provided an insertion slot 25 for inserting medals.
Then, when a medal is inserted into the insertion slot 25, the control means 26 housed and fixed in the apparatus main body 12 stores the number of inserted medals as a credit. 27 and 28 are bet buttons provided on the operation panel 16 on the left side of the slot 25. When the bet button 27 is pressed, one medal is bet, and when the bet button 28 is pressed, 3 medals are bet. You can bet on medals.

After inserting the medals into the slot 25, one of these bet buttons 27 and 28 is pressed to determine the bet number of medals, and then the start lever 30 provided on the upper end of the lower panel 15 is pressed. When is operated, the above-mentioned drive motors are operated and the reels 21 are synchronously rotated in the same direction at a constant speed.

Reference numerals 32, 33 and 34 denote three stop buttons provided on the lower panel 15 on the right side of the start lever 30 so as to correspond to the reels 21.
When 33, 34 are pressed, the operation of the drive motor is stopped and the rotation of the corresponding reel 21 is stopped. And all reels
The pattern that appeared on the reel window 20 when the rotation of 21 stopped 23
Is in a predetermined arrangement state, for example, one of the patterns 23
If the cards are arranged in a horizontal row or in a diagonal row, the winning state is achieved and the player wins.

Reference numeral 36 is a rectangular opening formed in the front wall 13 above the reel window 20, more specifically, in the lower end portion of the upper panel 14, and the lower portion of this opening 36 is opened upwards and discharged. An upper tray 37 as a tray for receiving medals is installed. As a result, a gap 38 is formed between the upper end of the opening 36 and the upper end of the upper tray 37, and the player can take out the medal in the upper tray 37 through the gap 38.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a hopper housed and fixed at the lower end of the apparatus main body 12, and a large number of medals are housed in the hopper 40. 41 is an elevator that is installed on the left side of the reel 21 in the apparatus main body 12 and extends substantially vertically.
One end of this elevator 41 is connected to the hopper 40,
The discharge port 42 formed at the other end is opened immediately above the left side portion of the upper tray 37.

Then, as described above, when the player wins, the elevator 41 is operated by the control means 26, and the number of winning medals (the number multiplied by the multiplication rate) is received from the hopper 40 and lifted. After that, it is discharged from the discharge port 42 to the upper tray 37. Since the player can actually see the situation at this time through the gap 38 even during the game, the uplifting feeling at the time of winning can be enhanced and the customer attraction force can be improved.

In particular, when the specific pattern 23 is in a specific array state, it becomes a big bonus or regular bonus state. In this bonus state, the pattern 23 is always in a predetermined array for a short time and is in a winning state. As a result, a large number of medals are successively paid out to the upper tray 37, so that the feeling of uplifting is further enhanced. On the other hand, when the pattern 23 is not in the predetermined arrangement state, the player loses, and in this case, the control means 26 subtracts the multiplication number from the credit number and stores it again as the current possession number. . In this way, the winning or losing is decided by the arrangement of the patterns 23 when the rotation of the reel 21 is stopped.

If the upper tray 37 for receiving medals to be paid out when a player wins is installed on the front wall 13 above the reel window 20 as described above, the situation of paying out medals can be visually visually recognized. However, since the distance between the upper saucer 37 and the medal box at the foot is long, the upper saucer 37 is filled with medals, or when the game is finished. If the work of transferring the medals from the upper tray 37 to the medal box is troublesome, or if the medals fall out of the hands during the transfer of the medals, there is a risk that they will be greatly scattered and annoy people around.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the medal passage and the opening / closing mechanism as described below are provided. That is, in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4, the bottom wall of the upper tray 37 is gradually inclined downward from the left side to the right side, and as a result, the medals are discharged from the discharge port 42 as described above. Then, the medal slides on the bottom wall to the right and is gradually accumulated from the right side. Reference numeral 45 denotes a rectangular passage opening formed at the right end of the bottom wall of the upper tray 37, and the medals stored in the upper tray 37 can drop downward through the passage opening 45.

Reference numeral 48 denotes a duct-shaped medal passage which is installed on the right side of the reel 21 in the apparatus main body 12 and extends in a substantially vertical direction. One end (upper end) of the medal passage 48 surrounds the passage opening 45 and is raised. It is fixed to the bottom wall of the tray 37, while the other end (lower end) serves as a medal discharge port 49. 51 is the front wall 13 below the reel window 20, more specifically, the stop button 3
2, 33, 34 are lower trays installed on the lower panel 15 immediately below, and the other end of the medal passage 48 is connected to the lower end of the right side wall of the lower tray 51, and is opened as a discharge port 49. There is.

Reference numeral 53 designates a substantially rectangular opening / closing plate that is slightly larger than the passage port 45. Front and rear ends of the opening / closing plate 53 are formed on the bottom wall of the upper tray 37 and extend in the left-right direction, and the passage port 45 is formed. It is slidably inserted in the guide grooves 54 facing the front and rear ends. When the opening / closing plate 53 is moved to the right while being guided by the guide groove 54, the passage port 45, that is, one end (upper end) of the medal passage 48 is closed, and when it is moved to the left, the passage port 45 ( The upper end of the medal passage 48) is opened.

Reference numeral 56 denotes an arm integrally formed at the left end of the opening / closing plate 53 and extending in the front-rear direction. This arm 56 and a locking piece provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall of the upper tray 37 located to the right of the arm 56. A spring 58 as a biasing means is arranged between the spring 58 and 57. As a result, the opening / closing plate 53 is
Normally, the spring 58 moves to the right side by the urging force of the spring 58 to close the passage opening 45 (the upper end of the medal passage 48).

Reference numeral 59 is a slide groove formed in the lower end portion of the front wall of the upper tray 37 and extending in the left-right direction. The front end portion of the arm 56 is inserted into the slide groove 59. 60 is a knob fixed to the front end of the arm 56 protruding forward from the upper tray 37, and when the player holds the knob 60 by hand and pushes it to the left, the opening / closing plate 53 is biased by the spring 58. While facing each other, move to the left to open the passage opening 45 (upper end of the medal passage 48). At this time, the medals stored in the upper tray 37 are guided to the discharge port 49 through the medal passage 48 and discharged from the discharge port 49. The opening / closing plate 53, the locking piece 57, the spring 58, and the knob 60 described above collectively constitute an opening / closing mechanism 61 for opening / closing the upper end of the medal passage 48.

In this way, the medal passage 48 and the opening / closing mechanism 61
By opening the opening / closing mechanism 61 when transferring medals, the medals in the upper tray 37 are guided by the medal passage 48 to the discharge port 49 provided below the reel window 20. It can be easily and surely transferred to a medal box installed at the feet, and it is possible to prevent annoyance from the surrounding people.

If the lower tray 51 for receiving the medals discharged from the outlet 49 is provided on the extension line of the outlet 49 as described above, the medals can be stored in the lower tray 51. The number of medals that can be played can be increased, and the work of transferring to a medal box becomes easy. If the lower tray 51 is not provided,
The medals fall from the discharge port formed on the front wall and are directly transferred to the medal box.

Reference numeral 63 is a payout button provided on the lower panel 15 on the left side of the start lever 30, and when the payout button 63 is pressed, the control means 26 outputs the stored number of holdings to the elevator 41, The number of medals is paid out to the upper tray 37.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. When playing a game using the slot machine 11 as described above, first, one or more medals are inserted into the insertion slot 25. At this time, the control means 26 stores the number of inserted medals as credits. Next, when one of the bet buttons 27 and 28 is pressed to determine the number of bets for medals, when the start lever 30 is operated, the drive motor operates and all reels 21 rotate synchronously in the same direction at the same speed. After that, when the player presses the stop buttons 32, 33, 34 one after another at an appropriate timing, the operation of the corresponding drive motor is stopped, whereby the rotation of the corresponding reel 21 is reduced to 1
Stop one after another.

At this time, if the patterns 23 visually recognized through the reel window 20 are in a predetermined arrangement state, the player wins because of the hit state, but at this time, the elevator 41 is output by the output from the control means 26. Is activated, and after receiving the winning number of medals from the hopper 40, it is lifted and paid out from the discharge port 42 to the upper tray 37. At this time, the player can actually visually recognize the payout status of the medals through the gap 38, and thereby the uplifting feeling at the time of winning is enhanced and the customer attraction force is improved.

On the other hand, if the pattern 23 is not in the predetermined arrangement state, the player loses, and in this case, the control means 26
Subtracts the number of bets from the stored number of holdings and stores it again as the number of holdings. In addition, when the specific pattern 23 is in a specific arrangement state, it becomes a big bonus or a regular bonus state, and in this bonus state, the pattern 23 is always in a predetermined arrangement for a short time and is in a hit state, so a large number of medals. Are successively paid out to the upper tray 37, but the player can also visually recognize the situation at this time, so that the above-mentioned feeling of uplifting is further enhanced.

When the upper tray 37 is filled with medals during such a game, the medals stored in the upper tray 37 are transferred to the medal box at the foot.
The player pinches the knob 60 and pushes it to the left, and the open / close plate
Move 53 to the left to pass through 45 (upper end of medal passage 48)
Open up. As a result, the medals stored in the upper tray 37 are guided to the discharge port 49 through the medal passage 48 and discharged from the discharge port 49 to the lower tray 51.

As a result, the distance between the medal and the medal box is shortened, and the medal can be easily and surely transferred to the medal box installed at the foot of the medal box, and the annoyance to other people is prevented. can do.

On the other hand, when the game is to be ended after repeating the game as described above, the payout button 63 is pressed. At this time, the control means 26 outputs the stored number of holdings to the elevator 41. , The above number of medals 37
To pay out. After that, the medals stored in the upper tray 37 are transferred to the lower tray 51 through the medal passage 48 as described above.
, And then transfer to the medal box.

In the above-described embodiment, the upper tray 37 is formed as an integral member whose volume does not change, but in the present invention, the tray is a front tray piece and a front end portion at the rear end portion of the front tray piece. It may be divided into two pieces which overlap with the rear side dish piece that overlaps with each other, and at least the front side dish piece may be movable in the front-rear direction. By doing this, when a large number of medals are paid out, it is possible to increase the volume by coping with the front side plate piece by moving the front side plate piece, and at the same time, to the front side of the front side plate piece as described above. It is also possible to increase the feeling of victory by sticking out.

Further, in the present invention, a weight sensor may be arranged between the lower surface of the tray and the apparatus main body to detect the weight (number) of medals stored in the tray. By doing this, when the medal is full in the saucer, the lamp is turned on to warn, or
It is possible to prevent the medal from overflowing the receiving tray by moving the receiving tray from the filled receiving tray to another receiving tray. Further, in the present invention, when a medal or the like having an IC chip built therein is used, it may be possible to transmit and read a radio wave such as a specific signal.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the attraction of customers by enhancing the feeling of uplifting when winning a game, and it is easy to transfer medals from the tray to the medal box. , Can be sure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view with a part broken away.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

11… Slot machine 13… Front wall 20 ... reel window 21 ... reel 23 ... design 37 ... saucer 48 ... medal passage 49 ... outlet 51 ... Lower pan 61 ... Opening / closing mechanism

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A slot machine in which a reel window for visually recognizing a plurality of rotating reels is provided on a front wall, and the winning or losing is determined by an arrangement of patterns drawn on the outer peripheral surface of the reel when the rotation of the reel is stopped. A receiving tray for receiving the paid-out medals is provided on the front wall above the reel window, and a medal passage for guiding the medals in the receiving tray to an outlet provided below the reel window, and A slot machine comprising an opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the upper end of the medal passage. 2. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the front wall is provided with a lower tray for receiving medals discharged from a discharge port.