JP2005261490A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine in which medals can be smoothly fed and a game is comfortably played by warming hands which are numb with cold. <P>SOLUTION: A heater for fetching outdoor air, turning it to warm air and blowing it is provided inside a game machine case body. By having a player operate a lever or a button provided on the game machine when the game is not played (when betting is not performed), the warm air is blown from a token putout port. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine in which a player directly handles a game medium such as a medal when playing a game, and more particularly to a gaming machine having a heating means for warming a player's hand.

  Conventionally, a medal payout opening provided in a medal gaming machine such as a slot machine shown in FIG. 1 is used only for paying out a medal acquired by a player.

  On the other hand, a player who plays a medal game machine in the cold season, when entering the amusement hall and starting a game, cannot get the medal, which is a game medium, into the medal slot well because he has been stagnated. It may interfere with smooth game by dropping the game.

As a prior art example of a gaming machine having a heating means, there is a “game medium storage structure on a gaming machine island” in which a heating means for warming a pachinko ball as a game medium is provided in a game medium storage section of a game island ( For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-8-66541

  However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 has a structure for heating a pachinko ball, which is a game medium, and can warm a hand held by a player with warm air generated from inside the gaming machine. is not.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a gaming machine that allows a player to smoothly insert medals when starting a medal game in a cold season.

  In order to achieve such an object, the invention described in claim 1 is a heating device having at least one or more air intake means for taking in air, and air heating means for heating the taken-in air into warm air. Is provided in the housing, and warm air is blown out from the game medium outlet.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the heating device has a hot air outlet for blowing out hot air, and the hot air outlet is provided in the hopper device. It is characterized in that it is directly connected to a game medium payout passage which is a passage for guiding the output game media to the game medium payout exit.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein an opening for taking in warm air is provided in the game medium discharge passage provided in the front door, and when the front door is closed, It is characterized by being combined with the opening.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the warming device starts the hot air blowing operation by the sub-control board that detects the operation of the operating means by the player. It is controlled to do.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the heating device operates when the player inserts the game medium into the game medium input port or operates the betting means. In any case, the sub-control board is controlled to stop the hot air blowing operation.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sub-control board is configured to blow out hot air when a game is not performed within a preset time. The heating device is controlled so as to stop the operation.

  A seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the invention of any one of the first to sixth aspects, the heating device is attached in the housing by an attaching means for fixing to the housing.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the heating device is connected to the main power supply device by wiring and is operated by power supply from the main power supply device. And

  The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an external air intake port which is an opening for taking in external air is directly provided on a side surface of the housing, and the air intake means is It is characterized by taking in outside air from the outside air taking-in port.

  According to a tenth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to the second or third aspect, an open / close plate that can be opened and closed by the wind pressure of the hot air is provided at the hot air outlet.

  According to the present invention, when a game is not being performed (when the player is not betting), the player operates a lever or button provided on the gaming machine, so that hot air blows out from the medal payout opening. Because it comes with a structure, it is possible to smoothly put in medals by warming the hands that are cold in the cold, and to play games comfortably.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 5 is a front view showing an appearance of the slot machine SM according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the internal structure of the front door and the cabinet box when the front door of the slot machine SM is opened.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the slot machine SM includes a box-shaped cabinet box 2 having a front opening and a front door (front mask) 3 that covers the front opening and can be opened and closed. And various game development devices are arranged in each part of the casing.

  The front door 3 is attached so that it can be opened laterally by an upper and lower hinge mechanism (not shown) disposed at the left edge of the cabinet box 2 and the front door 3, and is always provided at the right edge. 4, the cabinet box 2 is held closed and locked.

  The front side of the front door 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The front door 3 has a medal slot 5, a start lever 11, stop buttons 12, 13, and 14 provided corresponding to each spinning reel R1, R2, and R3 of the spinning reel device 200, left and right upper speakers SL, The SR is attached while being protected by the speaker cover, and the lower speaker SW is attached in the vicinity of the medal payout opening.

  A transparent window 10 is disposed on the middle panel in the front center of the front door 3 so as to be aligned with the spinning reel device 200, and is drawn along the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of each of the spinning reels R1, R2, and R3. A predetermined range (for example, a range of three upper and lower patterns) among a large number of patterns can be seen through from the front of the gaming machine.

  A medal payout opening 6 is provided at the center lower portion of the front door 3, and a receiving tray 7 protruding forward is provided below the medal payout outlet 6, and a game medal paid out from the hopper device HP is this medal. The tray 7 is received and stored through the discharge outlet 6.

  The back side of the front door 3 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, an effect display device (not shown) is provided between the speakers SR and SL on the upper back side of the front door 3. Further, a sub-control board 300 formed of an electric circuit board is attached to the back side of the effect display device. The sub-control board 300 is formed as a so-called electric circuit board in which electronic components such as an integrated circuit device (IC), a transistor, a resistor, and a capacitor are mounted and connected on an insulating resin substrate on which a conductive wiring pattern is formed. It is attached so as to overlap the back side of the effect display device.

  Here, the sub-control board 300 is a board that controls effects related to lamps, sound such as sound effects and music, and effect images provided in the gaming machine. On this sub-control board 300, production speakers SR, SL, SW, production lamps (not shown) and production display devices are connected by wiring via predetermined wiring cables (not shown). The electric circuit provided on the control board 300 drives the effect speakers SR, SL, SW, effect lamps (not shown) and the effect display device in accordance with instructions from the main control board 100, so that the player It is designed to appeal to the visual and auditory sense.

  Below the effect display device and the sub-control board 300, a substantially rectangular frame 20 in which a see-through window 10 is formed is attached. Below the frame 20, it hits the back side of the lower panel 9, and is sorted by the selection mechanism G 0 that sorts whether the thrown-in thrown from the medal throwing unit 5 is a regular game medal or foreign object, and is sorted by the select mechanism G 0. A guide member G1 for guiding game medals to the hopper device HP provided on the cabinet box 2 side, a guide member G2 for guiding foreign matter distributed by the selection mechanism G0 to the medal payout port 6, and output from the hopper device HP. A guide member G3 which is a medal payout passage for guiding a payout game medal to the payout outlet 6 is provided, and a speaker SW is attached in the vicinity of the medal payout outlet 6. Similarly to the guide member G3, in order to guide a payout game medal output from the hopper device HP to the payout port 6, a medal payout provided in a direction perpendicular to the front door 3 from the side surface of the hopper device HP. A passage 22 is provided.

  Next, the inside of the cabinet box 2 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the interior of the cabinet box 2 is divided into two upper and lower stages that are larger than the shelf 15 fixed by connecting the left and right side plates, and the operation of the slot machine SM is integrated in the upper stage. A main control board 100 to be controlled is housed in a transparent resin board case, screwed to the upper part of the back plate 16, and three reel reels R1, R2, R3 on which a large number of symbols are drawn along the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. A rotating reel device 200 for rotating / stop-driving is supported and attached to the upper surface of the shelf board 15.

  In the lower part, a power source that supplies power to various game development devices such as a hopper device HP that pays out game medals according to a winning state in response to a command signal from the main control substrate 100, and the main control substrate 100 and the spinning reel device 200. An auxiliary storage unit SHP for storing game medals overflowing from the medal storage unit when the game medals are inserted when the device substrate 500 and the medal storage unit (not shown) of the hopper device HP are full are attached. ing.

  Moreover, the heating device used as the characteristic of this invention is provided in the front door side of the auxiliary storage part SHP (refer FIG. 3). A main power supply unit PWU is provided below the cabinet box 2. The main power supply unit PWU is 100V or 24V input from the outside, is transformed to each predetermined voltage, and is supplied to each substrate. The heating device is supplied with power from the main power supply unit PWU.

  Here, at the upper part on the back side of the cabinet box 2, a main control board 100 having a unit structure housed in a hard plastic housing case is provided to control the operation of the slot machine SM. With the main control board 100 as the center, the sub control board 300, the central display board 400, the power supply device board 500, the spinning device board 600, and the external concentrated terminal board 700 are connected to each other via predetermined cables (not shown). Has been.

  The main control board 100 is equipped with a semiconductor memory ROM and a microprocessor MPU (both not shown), and the microprocessor MPU stores a system program and a slot machine game program stored in advance in the semiconductor memory ROM. By executing and controlling each of the substrates 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, the operation state of the slot machine SM and the progress of the game are integrated and managed. Specifically, the main lottery of gaming machines, control of each reel, management of input switches and the like are performed.

  As described above, game development devices (100, 200, 500, HP, etc.) attached to the cabinet box 2 and game development devices (5, 11-14, SL, SR, SW, etc.) attached to the front door 3 ) Are connected to each other by a wire harness (electrical wiring) (not shown) so that the slot machine SM can be played.

  In the slot machine SM configured as described above, when a player inserts a game medal as a game medium into the medal slot 5, presses one of the plurality of bet buttons B, and operates the start lever 11, The control board 100 outputs an activation command signal to the spinning reel device 200 based on the signal from the start lever 11 to simultaneously start and rotate the three spinning reels R1, R2, and R3. The player can arbitrarily select a rotating reel and operate the corresponding stop buttons 12, 13, and 14 in a desired order and timing, and the main control board 100 receives an operation signal from these stop buttons. In response, a stop command signal is output to the spinning reel device 200, and the rotation of the corresponding spinning reel R1, R2, R3 is braked and stopped.

  When all the reels R1, R2, and R3 that have been rotated stop, the main control board 100 determines a winning symbol, that is, whether or not a winning symbol is won. The main control board 100 has an effective line (upper, middle and lower three horizontal lines and two left and right diagonal lines) according to the number of game medals inserted for the symbols displayed on the reel or the effect display device after the stop. Judgment of winning symbols on line).

  When the symbol combination on the active line corresponds to a predetermined winning symbol combination, a payout command signal corresponding to the winning state is output to the hopper device HP, and a predetermined number of game medals are received from the hopper device HP. To be paid out. At this time, sound effects corresponding to winnings are generated from the upper speakers SR and SL and the lower speaker S.

  On the other hand, if the winning symbol determination result shows that the combination of symbols on the active line does not correspond to the winning symbol combination set in advance, the gaming medal is not paid out and the inserted gaming medal is stored in the hopper device HP. Part (not shown).

  Thus, a player who plays a game in the slot machine SM loses the inserted game medal when the displayed symbol does not correspond to the predetermined combination, but the displayed symbol is changed to the predetermined combination. When applicable, it is possible to acquire more game medals than the number inserted, and the enjoyment of increasing game medals can be enjoyed.

  The slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Hereinafter, as a first example, a slot machine including a heating device will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows the internal structure at the lower front of the slot machine SM of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped heating device 1 is attached to the bottom plate of the cabinet box 2 with a fixture such as a mounting bracket at the bottom of the cabinet box 2 of the slot machine SM (see FIG. 2). ). The heating device 1 includes at least one or more fans 18 as means for rotating and taking in air on the side of the device, and a heating wire 19 for heating the taken-in air. Further, the heating device 1 is connected to the main power supply device PWU in the vicinity of the hopper device HP, and the fan 18 and the heating wire 19 are operated by power supply from the main power supply device PWU.

  The warming device 1 is provided with a warm air outlet 21 that is an opening for blowing warm air on the side surface opposite to the surface on which the fan 18 is provided. On the other hand, it is a passage for guiding payout game medals output from the hopper device HP to the payout port 6, and a medal payout passage 22 is provided in a direction perpendicular to the front door 3 from the side surface of the hopper device HP. Yes. The hot air outlet 21 is directly connected to an opening (not shown) provided in the medal payout passage 22.

  In the heating apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the air taken in by the fan 18 is heated by the heating wire 19 provided in the vicinity of the fan 18 to become warm air, and the fan 18 warms the air. Blow out from the outlet 21 to the medal payout passage 22.

  Then, the warm air that has exited from the warm air outlet 21 blows out of the gaming machine housing from the medal payout opening 6 through the medal payout passage 22. The player can be warmed by bringing his hand close to or holding the medal payout opening 6 where hot air blows out.

  In the present embodiment, the medal payout passage 22 is provided separately from the guide member G3 having the same function. However, the method of taking warm air is not limited to this, for example, it is provided in the front door. The guide member G3 is provided with an opening for taking in warm air, and when the front door is closed, the warm air outlet of the heating device 1 and the opening of the guide member G3 are combined with no gap. Also good.

  Next, the operation of the heating device 1 will be described. When the player operates either the start lever 11 or the stop buttons 12 to 14 as the operation means, it is detected that the sub control board 300 has been operated, and the hot air blowing operation is started. The temperature apparatus 1 is controlled. When the player inserts a game medal into the medal slot 5, or when the player presses the bet button B, which is a betting means, the sub-control board 300 detects the medal insertion or the bet button press, Control to stop the wind blowing operation. Therefore, the warm air blowing operation of the heating device 1 according to the present embodiment is performed when the game operation is not started, that is, when a medal is not inserted or when a bet is not placed.

  However, even when the game operation is not started, it is dangerous to operate the heating device for a long time from the viewpoint of safety, so the game is performed within a predetermined time. If not, the sub-control board 300 controls to stop the warm air blowing operation of the heating device 1.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional side view showing the inside of the lower part of the slot machine SM which is Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The heating device 1 of the first embodiment has a configuration in which air inside the gaming machine casing is taken in and heated to produce hot air, but the heating device of the second embodiment is a cabinet as shown in FIG. An outside air intake port 24 that is an opening for taking in outside air is directly provided on the side surface of the box 2 so as to take in air outside the gaming machine housing.

  The heating device 1 of the present embodiment is fixed to the casing by attaching an L-shaped mounting bracket 23 to the side surface of the heating device and the bottom plate of the cabinet box 2 as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the heating device for blowing out the hot air is provided in the gaming machine casing and the hot air is discharged from the medal payout opening. When starting the game, it is possible to warm the hand that has been squeezed in the cold close to the medal payout opening, so that the medal can be inserted smoothly.

  Next, as Example 3, a slot machine including another type of heating device will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside from the top of the slot machine SM of this embodiment, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematic views showing the operation of the opening / closing plate provided at the hot air outlet. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the heating device 1 of this embodiment has a valve structure in which a movable opening / closing plate 27 is provided at a hot air outlet. The opening / closing plate 27 is opened / closed by receiving the wind pressure of the hot air blown out by a hinge portion 28 provided at one end of the opening / closing plate. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, during the game, the hot air blowing operation is controlled to be stopped as in the first embodiment, so that the opening / closing plate 27 is in a closed state. The medals 25 and 26 for payout pass through the medal payout passage 22. Therefore, the open / close plate 27 during the game prevents the game medal from being mixed into the hot air outlet 21. Therefore, the material constituting the opening / closing plate 27 is a weight that can be moved by the wind pressure of the warm air, and has a strength that can withstand the contact of a game medal that passes at the time of payout. For example, an aluminum plate or the like is desirable. In addition, the arrow in Fig.4 (a) has shown the direction where the opening-and-closing board 27 opens.

  On the other hand, when the game is not in progress, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), warm air is blown out from the hot air blowing port 21, so that the open / close plate 27 is pushed by the wind pressure, and the medal payment is made. Hot air blows out from the exit 6. Here, the opening / closing plate 27 opened by the wind pressure is in contact with the passage wall 29 which is the side surface of the medal payout passage 22, so that the opening angle is regulated. When hot air blowing stops, it closes by the weight of the opening / closing plate. The reason for this configuration is that if the opening / closing plate is opened too much, it may not be closed. In addition, the arrow in FIG.4 (b) has shown the direction from which warm air blows off.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, by providing a movable opening / closing plate at the warm air outlet of the heating device to form a valve structure, the opening / closing plate is opened by the warm wind and the warm air blows out. Since it is configured, it is not necessary to provide a power device for moving the opening and closing plate, and it is possible to efficiently emit hot air, and when the hot air is not emitted, that is, when playing, the medal paid out from the hopper is warm. It can prevent mixing in a heating apparatus from a wind blower outlet.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, it is not limited to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary. In the above embodiment, the slot machine is an example of a gaming machine. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and in any gaming machine in which a player directly handles a game medium such as a medal at the time of a game. It is possible to apply.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an interior below a gaming machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic sectional side view which shows the inside below the gaming machine which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is a top view which shows the inside of the game machine which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a schematic sectional side view which shows the warm air blower outlet of the game machine which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is a front view which shows the external appearance of the game machine which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view which shows the inside of the game machine which is one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 Cabinet box 3 Front door (front mask)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Locking device 5 Medal insertion slot 6 Medal outlet 7 Receptacle 8 Ash tray 9 Lower panel 10 Transmission window 11 Start lever 12, 13, 14 Stop button 15 Shelf plate 16 Back plate 18 Fan 19 Heating wire 20 Frame body 21 Hot air outlet 22 medal payout passage 23 mounting bracket 24 outside air intake port 25, 26 game medal 27 opening / closing plate 28 hinge portion 29 passage wall 100 main control board 200 spinning reel device (main reel device)
300 Sub-control board 400 Central display board 500 Power supply board 600 Cylinder board 700 External concentration terminal board SM Slot machine B Bet button R1, R2, R3 Cylinder reel SR, SL Upper speaker SW Lower speaker G0 Select mechanism G1, G2 , G3 Guide member PWU Main power supply unit HP Hopper unit SHP Auxiliary storage part

Claims (10)

At least one air intake means for taking in air;
An air heating means for heating the taken-in air to warm air, and having a heating device in the housing,
A gaming machine characterized in that the warm air is blown out from a game medium payout port. The heating device has a hot air outlet for blowing out the hot air,
The hot air outlet is
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is directly connected to a game medium payout passage which is provided in the hopper device and which guides the game medium output from the hopper device to the game medium payout port.   An opening for taking in warm air is provided in a game medium payout passage provided in the front door, and when the front door is closed, the hot air outlet and the opening are combined. The gaming machine described.   The said heating apparatus is controlled so that a warm air blowing operation may be started by the sub-control board which detects operation of the operation means by a player. Game machines.   The heating device controls the sub-control board to stop the hot air blowing operation when the player inserts the game medium into the game medium insertion slot or operates the betting means. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is a game machine.   The said sub control board controls the said heating apparatus so that a warm air blowing operation may be stopped, when a game is not performed within the predetermined time set beforehand. The gaming machine according to any one of the above.   The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the heating device is attached to the inside of the housing by an attaching means for fixing to the housing.   The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the heating device is connected to a main power supply device by wiring and is operated by power supply from the main power supply device.   The outside air intake port which is an opening part for taking in external air is directly provided in the side surface of the said housing | casing, The said air intake means takes in external air from the said external air intake port, The any one of Claim 1 to 8 characterized by the above-mentioned. The gaming machine according to item 1.   4. The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein an opening / closing plate that can be opened and closed by the wind pressure of the warm air is provided at the warm air outlet.

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