JP2004351134A - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slot machine in which a takeout space for taking out a game medium can be sufficiently secured between a tray and a member near the tray. <P>SOLUTION: A slot machine 1 comprises a case in which various devices for playing a game are housed, and a front door 2 which is mounted on the case to be freely opened/closed. The front door 2 includes a tray 5 for receiving game mediums put out of the casing and protruding parts 30A, 30B extending to near the tray 5 on the upside of an opening 9 of the tray 5, and an escape part 4 extending away from the protruding part 30A is provided in the area of the tray 5 which approximately faces the protruding part 30A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a slot machine, and in particular, may be referred to as a front door (“front panel”, “front door”, “door”, etc.) that is openably and closably mounted on a box housing various internal devices. )).
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, a slot machine includes various devices for executing a game, for example, a plurality of reels for variably displaying a plurality of types of symbols, a drive control device for driving and controlling these reels, and a game processing operation. , A hopper (medal payout device) for paying out a game medium as a prize (hereinafter referred to as a game medal), and a power supply device are housed in a box.
In addition, a front door that allows the symbols drawn on the reel to be visually recognized is attached to the box so as to be freely opened and closed. On the front door, a start switch for simultaneously starting the rotation of each reel, a plurality of stop switches for individually stopping the rotation of each reel, a medal slot for inserting game medals, A tray for receiving game medals paid out from a box hopper is provided.
In the slot machine having such a configuration, a predetermined number of game medals are paid out by the hopper and received in the tray according to the display mode of each reel when the spinning reel is completely stopped by the stop switch. Can be
By the way, in such a slot machine, a player repeats a series of operations such as taking out a game medal dispensed from a box from a tray and inserting it into a medal slot, thereby performing a game. Therefore, conventionally, various measures have been applied to the tray to make it easier to obtain game medals. For example, there has been proposed a technique of illuminating a tray with light so that a player can visually recognize a game medal in a tray even in a place where indoor lighting is dark (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Patent No. 2843732.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the tray has conventionally been provided with various devices for facilitating the acquisition of game medals, but the take-out space for removing the game medals from the tray has not been taken into consideration so much. That is, in some slot machines, the space between the tray and a member near the tray is narrow depending on the design, but even in such a case, the shape of the tray is uniform. Therefore, there is a case where it is not possible to secure a sufficient space for taking out the game medal between the tray and a member near the tray, and in that case, it is difficult to take out the game medal from the tray, or The player may feel uncomfortable when handling game medals in the tray.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a slot machine capable of sufficiently securing a take-out space for taking out a game medium between a tray and a member near the tray. Is to provide.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 includes a box housing various devices for executing a game, and a front door that is openably and closably mounted on the box. In the slot machine, wherein the front door has a tray for receiving game media to be dispensed from the box, and a protruding portion extending to the vicinity of the tray above the opening of the tray, the front door substantially faces the protruding portion. A relief portion extending in a direction away from the protrusion is provided in the area of the tray.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the relief portion extending in the direction away from the protrusion is provided in the area of the tray substantially opposed to the protrusion, the tray and the protrusion are provided. A sufficient take-out space for taking out the game media can be ensured. Therefore, the convenience when the player uses the tray can be improved as compared with the related art.
[0006]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the relief portion is a notch formed in a side wall of the tray.
[0007]
According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as the first aspect of the invention, and it is only necessary to cut out the side wall of the tray. It is. Further, since the game medium can be scraped out through the notch, the game medium can be easily taken out from the tray.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the relief portion is a projecting portion projecting forward from a side wall of the tray.
According to the third aspect of the invention, the same operation and effect as the first aspect of the invention can be obtained, and the inner volume of the tray can be increased by the overhang portion. The number of game media received in the tray can be increased. In addition, since the game medium can be taken out of the tray in the area protruding forward from the tray, it is not necessary to reach for the inside of the tray and to take out the game medium, and the take-out property of the game medium is further improved.
[0009]
Further, the invention described in claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protruding portion is a speaker.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the same operation and effect as those of the first to third aspects can be obtained, and the speaker is provided on the upper side of the tray. Therefore, the sound from the speaker is not interrupted by the tray or the game medium in the tray, and powerful sound can be output from the upper side of the tray.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 schematically shows a slot machine 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the slot machine 1 has a front panel (front door) 2 attached to the front of a box 1a so as to be opened and closed. In the box 1a, various devices for executing a game, for example, a plurality of reels for variably displaying a plurality of types of symbols, a drive control device for driving and controlling these reels, and a game process A control device for controlling the operation, a hopper (medal payout device) for paying out game medals (game media) as prizes, and a power supply device are accommodated.
[0012]
FIG. 2 shows the details of the front panel 2. As illustrated, the front panel 2 has a rectangular frame-shaped panel body 20. At the upper part of the panel body 20, for example, three reel display windows 19 through which the symbols drawn on the reels can be visually recognized are provided.
[0013]
A tray 5 for receiving medals paid out from the box 1a of the slot machine 1 is attached to a lower portion of the panel body 20. A control panel (operation panel) 22 is attached to the center of the panel body 20. The control panel 22 includes a start switch 10 for simultaneously starting the rotation of the reels, a plurality of stop switches 12, 14, and 16 for individually stopping the rotation of the reels, and a medal input. And a medal insertion slot 18 are provided.
[0014]
Further, a waist panel 21 as a decorative panel is attached to the panel body 20 between the tray 5 and the control panel 22. Speakers 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B that output sounds accompanying various effects of the slot machine 1 are attached to lower portions on both left and right sides of the waist panel 21. In this case, the speakers 30A and 30B include a speaker body 30a and a case 30b that covers the outside of the speaker body 30a, and the surface thereof is flush with the surface of the waist panel 21 as clearly shown in FIG. And is partly incorporated in the waist panel 21 so as to protrude downward toward the tray 5. That is, in the present embodiment, the speakers 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B form a protruding portion of the front panel 2 that extends to the vicinity of the tray 5 above the opening 9 of the tray 5 (or extends close to the tray 5). I have.
[0015]
As shown in detail in FIGS. 3 to 5, the tray 5 is formed in a box shape having an opening 9 on an upper side by a side wall 5 a and a bottom wall 5 b, and extends long along the width direction of the front panel 2. I have. In this case, one end in the longitudinal direction of the tray 5 extends over the entire lower side of a speaker (hereinafter, referred to as a right speaker) 30A provided on one side of the waist panel 21. An ashtray 7 is provided adjacent to the other end of the tray 5 in the longitudinal direction below the speaker (hereinafter referred to as a left speaker) 30B provided on the other side of the waist panel 21. I have. Therefore, the other end in the longitudinal direction of the tray 5 does not extend over the entire lower side of the left speaker 30B, and shares the lower region of the left speaker 30B with the ashtray 7.
[0016]
When the speakers 30A and 30B protrude downward from the waist panel 21 toward the tray 5 as in the present embodiment, the space between the tray 5 and the waist panel 21 is reduced. In particular, in the lower region of the right speaker 30A where one end side (right side) of the tray 5 completely overlaps, unlike the lower region of the left speaker 30B where the other end side (left side) of the tray 5 partially overlaps, a game medal is provided. It is difficult to secure a sufficient take-out space for taking out the space between the tray 5 and the waist panel 21. In the present embodiment, since the medal insertion slot 18 is provided on the right side of the front panel 2, the player can play the game medals with the right hand mainly from the portion of the tray 6 located in the lower area of the right speaker 30A. It is common to take out and insert it into the medal insertion slot 18. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a sufficient space for taking out game medals in the lower area of the right speaker 30A.
[0017]
Therefore, in the present embodiment, a contrivance has been made to secure a large space for taking out game medals in the lower region of the right speaker 30A. Specifically, a relief portion 4 extending in a direction away from the right speaker 30A (a direction indicated by an arrow X in FIG. 4) is provided in a region of the tray 5 substantially opposed to the right speaker 30A. In the present embodiment, the escape portion 4 is formed by notching the front side wall 5a of the tray 5 in a direction away from the right speaker 30A.
[0018]
As described above, the slot machine 1 of the present embodiment has the speakers 30A and 30B as protrusions extending to the vicinity of the tray 5 above the opening 9 of the tray 5, and has a take-out space for taking out game medals. A relief portion 4 extending in a direction away from the right speaker 30A is provided in a region of the tray 5 substantially opposed to the right speaker 30A where the right speaker 30A becomes narrower. Therefore, a sufficient take-out space for taking out the game medals can be secured between the tray 5 and the right speaker 30A, and the convenience when the player uses the tray 5 can be improved as compared with the related art. Can be.
[0019]
Further, in the present embodiment, the escape portion 4 is formed by cutting out the side wall 5 a of the tray 5. Therefore, formation of the escape part 4 becomes easy. Further, since the game medals can be scraped out through the cutouts, the game medals can be easily taken out from the tray 5.
[0020]
Further, in the present embodiment, since the speakers 30A and 30B are provided above the tray 5, the sounds from the speakers 30A and 30B are not interrupted by the tray 5 and the game medals in the tray 5, A powerful sound can be output from the upper side of the tray 5.
[0021]
FIG. 6 shows another form of formation of the escape portion 4. In this modification, a relief portion 4 extending in a direction away from the right speaker 30A (a direction indicated by an arrow Y in FIG. 6) is provided in a region of the tray 5 substantially opposed to the right speaker 30A. Specifically, the escape portion 4 is formed by an overhang portion 11 that extends forward (toward the player) from the side wall 5 a of the tray 5. Even if such an overhang portion 11 is provided, a sufficient takeout space for taking out game medals can be secured between the tray 5 and the right speaker 30A, and the overhang portion 11 reduces the inner volume of the tray 5. Since it can be increased, the number of game medals that can be received in the tray 5 can be increased. In addition, since the game medals can be taken out of the tray 5 in the area protruding forward from the tray 5, there is no need to reach out to the inside of the tray 5 to take out the game medals, and the takeout of the game medals is further improved. .
[0022]
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the other end (left side) of the tray 5 does not completely overlap with the left speaker 30B due to the presence of the ashtray 7, so that the escape portion 4 is intentionally provided on the tray 5 in the lower region of the left speaker 30B. Although it is not necessary to provide a relief portion (notch or overhang portion 11 provided on the side wall 5a) extending in a direction away from the left speaker 30B in a region of the tray 5 substantially facing the left speaker 30B. Needless to say, it is good. In the above-described embodiment, the protrusions of the front panel 2 extending to the vicinity of the tray 5 above the opening 9 of the tray 5 (or extending close to the tray) are formed by the speakers 30A and 30B. However, the protruding portion is not limited to the speaker, and may be a decorative member or the like provided for improving the design. In addition, the protrusion does not need to be provided on the waist panel 21 and extends to the vicinity of the tray 5 above the opening 9 of the tray 5 (or if it extends close to the tray). , May be provided at any part of the front panel 2. Further, the projecting portion does not need to extend downward of the front panel, but may extend forward.
[0023]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the slot machine of the present invention, a sufficient take-out space for taking out the game media can be secured between the tray and the member near the tray.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view of a slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of a front door of the slot machine of FIG.
3A is a plan view of a tray provided on a front door of FIG. 2, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3C is a line BB of FIG. (D) is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view of a region with a notch) along the line CC of (a).
FIG. 4 is a side view of a tray shown in association with a position of a speaker.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a tray shown in association with a position of a speaker.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a tray showing another form of forming a relief portion.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 slot machine 1a box 2 front panel (front door)
4 Escape part 5 Tray 9 Opening 11 Overhang part (Escape part)
30A, 30B Speaker (projection)

Claims (4)

A box in which various devices for executing a game are accommodated, and a front door which is openably and closably mounted on the box, wherein the front door receives a game medium paid out from the box. And a protruding portion extending to the vicinity of the tray above the opening of the tray,
A slot machine characterized in that a relief portion extending in a direction away from the protrusion is provided in a region of the tray substantially opposed to the protrusion. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the relief portion is a notch formed in a side wall of the tray. 2. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the escape portion is an overhang portion that extends forward from a side wall of the tray. 3. The slot machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the protrusion is a speaker.

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