JP2007267970A - Game machine and game machine island - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To not only allow a passage between game machine islands to be apparently large but raise visual recognition in a reel display window and a liquid crystal display window, and to raise operability by enhancing a degree of freedom in arrangement. <P>SOLUTION: A slot machine 1 allows a player to play a game in a state where the front face of a casing faces the player. A curved surface W to be curved in recessed shape when viewed from a side surface is formed in a part of or the whole of the front face of the casing. When the plurality of slot machines are juxtaposed in the game machine island S, the curved surfaces W with the recessed shape formed on the front face of the casing in the respective slot machine 1 are continuously viewed in a horizontal direction, so that the passage T between the game machine islands S is made to be apparently large. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a slot machine or a pachinko machine, and a gaming machine island in which a plurality of gaming machines are juxtaposed in the left-right direction.

Usually, in a hall where gaming machines such as slot machines and pachinko machines are installed, a plurality of gaming machine islands are configured through passage spaces. Each gaming machine island is configured by arranging a plurality of gaming machines in the left-right direction, and a chair is installed in front of each gaming machine. A player sits on a chair corresponding to the selected gaming machine and plays a game in a state of facing the front surface of the casing of the gaming machine.
Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the gaming machine will be described using a slot machine as an example.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a conventional slot machine, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the inside of the conventional slot machine.
As shown in these drawings, the housing of the slot machine 100 includes a box body 101 having an opening on the front surface, and a front door 102 that can be opened and closed on the front surface of the box body 101.
On the front surface of the front door 102, an upper front panel 103, an operation unit 104, a lower front panel 105, a tray 106, and the like are provided in order from the upper side.

A liquid crystal display window 107 is formed above the upper front panel 103 so that an internal liquid crystal panel (not shown) is visible to the player.
A reel display window 108 is formed in the upper panel 103, and a plurality of rotatable reels 109 (109 a, 109 b, 109 c) are juxtaposed on the inside thereof. A plurality of types of symbols arranged in the rotation direction are arranged on the peripheral surface of each reel 109, and these symbols are viewed from the outside of the machine through the reel display window 108.

The operation unit 104 includes a medal insertion slot 110, an insertion button 111 (111 a, 111 b) for inserting an internally held medal (credit), a start lever 112 for starting the rotation of the reel 109, A plurality of stop buttons 113 (113a, 113b, 113c) for performing rotation stop operation are provided.
The lower front panel 105 is formed by sticking a film on which a decorative character such as a model name or a decorative pattern is printed on a translucent panel member, and is rearward by a light source such as a fluorescent light or an LED (light emitting diode). Illuminated from.
A medal payout opening 114 is formed on the mounting surface of the tray 106, and medals paid out from the medal payout port 114 are stored in the tray 106.

Inside the housing, a medal selector 115, a drum unit 116, a hopper 117, a control unit 118, and the like are provided.
The medal selector 115 is provided on the back surface of the front door 102 and identifies and counts medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 110.
The drum unit 116 includes three reels 109 (109a, 109b, 109c) and a plurality of stepping motors (not shown) that rotatably hold the reels 109. By rotating these stepping motors, the drum unit 116 is rotated. Then, operations such as rotation start, constant speed rotation, and rotation stop of each reel 109 are performed.
The hopper 117 accumulates medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 110 and pays out medals in response to a signal from the control unit 118.
The control unit 118 includes a control board on which a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like are mounted, and controls each unit of the slot machine 100 according to a program written in the ROM.

Next, a gaming method of the slot machine 100 will be described.
First, the player bets medals prior to the start of the game. As a method for betting a medal, there are a method for inserting a medal into the medal insertion slot 110 and a method for betting an internally held medal by operating the insertion button 111.

A player who bets a medal depresses the start lever 112 to start the game. When the game starts, each reel 109 rotates, and the symbols are variably displayed in the reel display window 108. In the liquid crystal display window 107, an effect image display relating to the game is performed.
The player presses each stop button 113 in order while watching the design of each rotating reel 109 to stop the rotation of each reel 109. When all the reels 109 are stopped, a plurality of symbols are arranged in the reel display window 108, and a winning is determined based on the arrangement. When the stopped symbol arrangement is a winning combination, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination is paid out from the medal payout opening 114.

By the way, the slot machines as described above have almost the same basic arrangement on the front surface of the housing, although there are differences in the panel design.
For example, the front panel is divided up and down with the operation part as a boundary, the upper front panel is inclined upward according to the position of the player's eyes, the operation part protrudes to the player side, A common feature is that a stepped surface is formed with the panel, the lower front panel is a substantially vertical surface, and a saucer is provided below the lower front panel (for example, And Patent Documents 1-3).
In the slot machine of Patent Document 1, there is a difference in that the reel display window portion of the upper front panel is curved in a convex shape when viewed from the side surface direction. There is a difference in that the step surface of the part is formed by an L-shaped cover panel, and in the slot machine of Patent Document 3, the upper front panel is formed by a transparent panel, and a three-dimensional decorative object is arranged on the inside. There is a difference.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-160685 JP 2005-198777 A JP 2005-205165 A

However, in the conventional slot machine as described above, since the operation part protrudes toward the player side, the operation part of each slot machine seems to protrude continuously in the left-right direction when juxtaposed on the gaming machine island. There was a problem that the passage between the gaming machine islands seemed narrow.
In addition, in the conventional slot machine, the upper front panel is inclined upwards, so the ceiling lighting and the face of the person standing behind are reflected, and the player is concerned about the eyes of others and is concerned about the game There was a problem of being unable to concentrate. In addition, there is a problem that the visibility of the liquid crystal display window and the reel display window of the slot machine is lowered due to the crowding of illumination and people.

Furthermore, in the conventional slot machine, since the front panel is divided into the upper and lower sides with the operation unit as a boundary, the design cannot be continuous over the entire front surface, and the degree of freedom in arrangement is low. There was also a problem in operability.
For example, the presence of the lower front panel causes the operation unit and the saucer to be spaced apart from each other, which increases the amount of movement of the hand and may result in fatigue when playing for a long time. In addition, due to the presence of the lower front panel, the upper space of the tray is narrowed, and it may be difficult to remove the medal.

  The present invention has been considered in view of the above circumstances, and can widen the passage between gaming machine islands, improve the visibility of the reel display window and the liquid crystal display window, and increase the degree of freedom of arrangement. It aims to provide a gaming machine and a gaming machine island that can improve operability.

In order to achieve the above object, a gaming machine according to the present invention is a gaming machine as described in claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is played in a state where the front surface of the housing faces the player, The entire surface is formed with a curved surface that is concavely curved when viewed from the side.
According to the gaming machine of the present invention having such a configuration, when a plurality of gaming machines are arranged in parallel on the gaming machine island, the concave curved surface formed on the front surface of the casing of each gaming machine is continuous in the left-right direction. As you can see, you can make the passage between the gaming machine islands wide.

In addition, the gaming machine of the present invention is configured such that an operation unit operated by a player is disposed on the curved surface, as described in claim 2.
If it does in this way, the sense of protrusion of an operation part can be negated by a concave curved surface, and the passage between game machine islands can be shown more widely.

In addition, the gaming machine of the present invention is configured such that a reel display window is provided on the curved surface to allow the player to visually recognize the reel.
In this way, the possibility of reflection of the ceiling lighting and the face of the person standing behind on the reel display window is reduced, so there is no concern about other people's eyes and it will not be possible to concentrate on the game, Moreover, the visibility of the liquid crystal display device and the reel display window can be improved by eliminating illumination and reflection of people.

In addition, the gaming machine of the present invention has a configuration in which a liquid crystal display window is provided on the curved surface to allow the player to visually observe the liquid crystal panel.
This reduces the possibility that the ceiling lighting or the face of a person standing behind will be reflected in the liquid crystal display window, so that the visibility of the liquid crystal display window can be improved.

In addition, the gaming machine of the present invention is configured such that the curved surface is formed by a curved transparent panel.
If it does in this way, not only a curved surface can be formed easily, but the illumination of the curved surface by a backlight or an edge light is attained.

In addition, the gaming machine of the present invention is configured such that the curved surface is formed entirely on the front surface of the casing except for a lower end portion where a tray is provided.
In this way, since the area of the curved surface is increased, the passage between the gaming machine islands can be made wider.
Further, not only a continuous design can be realized over the entire front surface of the housing, but also the operability can be improved by increasing the degree of freedom of arrangement. For example, if the operation unit is arranged at the lower end of the curved surface, the operation unit and the saucer can be brought close to each other, so that the amount of hand movement can be reduced and the player's fatigue can be reduced.

In addition, the gaming machine of the present invention, as described in claim 7, is inclined such that a surface rising from the mounting surface of the tray toward the lower end of the curved surface becomes higher toward the front side as viewed from the player side. It is as the structure which is doing.
As described above, in the present invention, by bending the front surface of the gaming machine, the size of the front surface portion in the vertical direction can be reduced without changing the area of the front surface portion. As a result, a wide space below the gaming machine can be secured, and the space above the tray can be widened. This makes it possible to easily take out medals and the like.

Moreover, the gaming machine of the present invention has a configuration in which a speaker is disposed on the mounting surface of the tray as described in claim 8.
As described above, the gaming machine of the present invention can secure a large space below the gaming machine by curving the front surface, and can widen the space above the tray. And the speaker which outputs a predetermined production sound etc. can be arrange | positioned on the attachment surface to which this saucer is attached.
In this way, by providing the speaker on the mounting surface of the tray, the output sound from the speaker can be released and diffused along the surface rising toward the lower end of the gaming machine, and the speaker sound is directed toward the player. It becomes large and can be heard with a sense of reality.

Furthermore, the gaming island of the present invention is a gaming machine island comprising a plurality of gaming machines arranged in parallel in the left-right direction, as defined in claim 9, wherein each gaming machine is any one of claims 1-8. The game machine is configured as described above.
In this way, since the concave curved surface formed on the front surface of the housing of each gaming machine can be seen continuously in the left-right direction, the passage between the gaming machine islands can be felt wide.

  According to the present invention, since a curved surface that is concavely curved when viewed from the side is formed on a part or the whole of the front surface of the housing of the gaming machine, when a plurality of gaming machines are arranged in parallel on the gaming machine island The concave curved surface formed on the front surface of the housing of each gaming machine can be seen continuously in the left-right direction, and the passage between the gaming machine islands can be felt wide.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the gaming machine and the gaming machine island of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the gaming machine according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a gaming machine island in which gaming machines according to the present embodiment are arranged side by side.
As shown in these drawings, the gaming machine of the present embodiment can rotate and stop a plurality of reels, and acquire a predetermined winning game medium (medal or game ball) according to the symbol arrangement of the stopped reels. A slot machine 1 that can be used is constituted.
And the slot machine 1 of this embodiment is comprised as a curved surface where the front surface of a game machine housing | casing curves in a concave shape seeing from a side surface direction.

Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the slot machine 1 according to the present embodiment includes a housing 2 of the slot machine 1 having a box 3 having an opening on the front surface and a front surface of the box 3. The front door 4 is provided to be freely opened and closed.
Inside the box 3, a drum unit 5, a hopper 6, a control unit (not shown), and the like are provided. On the back side of the front door 4, a liquid crystal panel 7, a medal selector (not shown), and the like are provided. It is supposed to be. Since these structures are substantially the same as those of conventionally known gaming machines, the description of the conventional example is cited.

A front panel 8, a decorative frame 9, an operation unit 10, and a saucer 11 are provided on the front surface of the front door 4, and a speaker SP is provided on the rear surface of the saucer 11.
The saucer 11 protrudes from the lowermost part of the front surface of the front door 4. A medal payout opening 4 b is formed on the tray mounting surface 4 a of the front door 4, and medals paid out from here are stored in the tray 11.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a speaker SP is disposed on the tray mounting surface 4a.

In the slot machine 1 according to the present embodiment, since the front surface of the housing is curved, the size of the front surface portion in the vertical direction can be reduced without changing the area of the front surface portion. A wide lower space can be secured. Utilizing this, in the slot machine 1 of the present embodiment, the upper space of the tray is set to be wide, and the medal can be easily taken out.
In the present embodiment, the speaker SP that outputs a predetermined effect sound or the like is arranged on the tray mounting surface 4a to which the tray 11 having a wide upper space is secured. Thus, by providing the speaker mounting surface 4a with the speaker SP, the output sound from the speaker can be emitted and diffused along the surface 4c rising toward the lower end of the gaming machine, and the speaker sound is directed to the player. Will be able to resonate with a greater sense of presence.

The operation unit 10 includes a medal insertion slot 12 for inserting medals, an insertion button 13 for inserting internally held medals (credits), a start lever 15 for performing a rotation start operation of the reels 14 (14a, 14b, 14c), and a reel 14 A plurality of stop buttons 16 (16a, 16b, 16c) for performing rotation stop operation are provided.
The operation unit 10 of the present embodiment is unitized as a unit, and protrudes from the front surface of the front door 4.

The front panel 8 is made of a transparent panel such as glass or acrylic and covers the front surface of the front door 4. A liquid crystal display window 8a for allowing the player to visually observe the liquid crystal panel 7 is formed on the front panel 8, and a reel display window 8b for allowing the player to visually recognize the reel 14 is formed at the center of the front panel 8. In the lower part of the front panel 8, an operation part mounting hole 8c for attaching the operation part 10 is formed.
In the present embodiment, a light source (not shown) that makes light incident from the inner peripheral end face of the front panel 8 is disposed at the edge of the window hole that forms the reel display window 8b. The light source includes, for example, a plurality of LEDs (single color LED, multicolor LED, full color LED, etc.), and these LEDs are arranged at a predetermined pitch over the entire edge of the window hole. When light is incident from the inner peripheral end face of the front panel 8, the outer peripheral end face of the front panel 8 emits light due to the so-called edge light effect.
In this way, since the outer peripheral end face of the front panel 8 can emit light over the entire circumference without providing a light source or a lamp cover on the outer circumference, avoiding an increase in the size and appearance of the slot machine 1. It is possible to perform an electrical decoration effect that is highly visible to surrounding players.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the hall, a plurality of gaming machine islands S are configured through a passage T. Each gaming machine island S is configured by arranging a plurality of slot machines 1 side by side in the left-right direction, and a chair C is installed in front of each slot machine 1. A player sits on a chair C corresponding to the selected slot machine 1 and plays a game in a state facing the front surface of the casing of the slot machine 1.
In the slot machine 1 of the present embodiment, a part or the whole of the front surface of the housing is formed as a curved surface W that curves in a concave shape when viewed from the side surface direction. With such a configuration, when a plurality of slot machines 1 are arranged side by side on the gaming machine island S, the concave curved surface W formed on the front surface of the housing of each slot machine 1 is continuous in the left-right direction. Since it is visible, the passage T between the gaming machine islands S can be felt widely.

Here, when the concave curved surface W is formed on the front surface of the housing of the slot machine 1, it is preferable to dispose the operation unit 10 on the curved surface W. If it does in this way, the protrusion feeling of the operation part 10 can be negated by the concave curved surface W, and the channel | path T between the gaming machine islands S can be shown more widely.
Further, the reel display window 8b and the liquid crystal display window 8a are also preferably arranged on the curved surface W. This reduces the possibility that the ceiling lighting or the face of a person standing behind will be reflected in the reel display window 8b or the liquid crystal display window 8a. Therefore, the visibility of the reel display window 8b or the liquid crystal display window 8a is improved. Can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the curved surface W is formed on the front surface of the housing by configuring the front panel 8 with a curved transparent panel. If it does in this way, not only the curved surface W can be formed easily, but the illumination of the curved surface by a backlight or an edge light is attained.
Moreover, in this embodiment, since the front surface of the housing is entirely covered with the front panel 8 except for the lower end portion where the tray 11 is provided, and the entire front surface is a concave curved surface W, the area of the curved surface W is reduced. The passage T between the gaming machine islands S can be made wider as much as possible. Moreover, not only a continuous design can be realized over the entire front surface of the housing, but also the operability can be improved by increasing the degree of freedom of arrangement. For example, in the present embodiment, the operation unit 10 is arranged at the lower end of the curved surface W, and the operation unit 10 and the tray 11 are brought close to each other, so that it is possible to reduce the amount of hand movement and reduce player fatigue. Become.
Further, in the present embodiment, the surface 4c rising from the tray mounting surface 4a toward the lower end of the curved surface W is inclined so as to be higher toward the front side when viewed from the player side. If it does in this way, since the upper space of the saucer 11 becomes large, taking out of a medal becomes easy. In addition, since the lower end portion of the curved surface W is inclined upward, even if the rising surface 4c is inclined, the angles formed by each other are close to a right angle, and a design sense of incongruity can be avoided.

According to the slot machine 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the slot machine 1 is played in a state in which the front surface of the housing faces the player, and a side surface is formed on a part or the whole of the front surface of the housing. Since a curved surface W that is curved in a concave shape when viewed from the direction is formed, when a plurality of gaming machines island S are arranged in parallel, the concave curved surface W formed on the front surface of the casing of each slot machine 1 is As a result, the passage T between the gaming machine islands S can be felt wide.
Further, in the present embodiment, since the operation unit 10 operated by the player is disposed on the curved surface W, the protruding feeling of the operation unit 10 is canceled by the concave curved surface W, and between the gaming machine islands S The passage T can be shown wider.

Further, in the present embodiment, the reel display window 8b that allows the player to visually observe the reel 14 is disposed on the curved surface W, so that the illumination of the ceiling and the face of the person standing behind are reflected on the reel display window 8b. And the visibility of the reel display window 8b can be improved. Similarly, since the liquid crystal display window 8a that allows the player to visually observe the liquid crystal panel 7 is disposed on the curved surface W, the ceiling lighting and the face of a person standing behind may be reflected in the liquid crystal display window 8a. And the visibility of the liquid crystal display window 8a can be improved.
In addition, since there is no reflection of a person in this way, there is no concern about the gaze of others, and the player can concentrate on playing the game.

Moreover, in this embodiment, since the curved surface W is formed by the curved transparent panel, not only the curved surface W can be formed easily, but also the curved surface W can be illuminated by a backlight or an edge light.
In the present embodiment, the curved surface W is formed entirely on the front surface of the casing except for the lower end portion where the tray 11 is provided. Therefore, the area of the curved surface W is increased as much as possible, and the gaming machine island is The passage T between S can be shown more widely. Further, not only a continuous design can be realized over the entire front surface of the housing, but also the operability can be improved by increasing the degree of freedom of arrangement.
Further, in the present embodiment, the surface 4c rising from the mounting surface 4a of the tray 11 toward the lower end of the curved surface W is inclined so as to be higher toward the front side when viewed from the player side. The space can be widened and the medal can be easily taken out. Further, by providing the speaker SP on the mounting surface 4a of the saucer having a wide upper space in this way, the output sound from the speaker can be emitted and diffused along the surface 4c rising toward the lower end of the gaming machine. It is possible to make the speaker sound louder and more realistic to the player.

The preferred embodiment of the gaming machine of the present invention has been described above, but the gaming machine according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case of the slot machine as the gaming machine to which the present invention is applied has been described as an example. However, the gaming machine to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the slot machine and is a pachinko machine. As long as a plurality of gaming machines can be juxtaposed in the left-right direction, any gaming machine can be applied. In addition to slot machines and pachinko machines, there are various types of gaming machines that use a gaming medium such as balls and coins, for example, as well as slot machines and pachinko machines. The present invention can be applied.
Further, in the slot machine of the above-described embodiment, the case where the game medium to be used is a medal (coin) is shown, but the game medium that can be used in the slot machine to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a medal. Of course, it is also possible to use a sphere (pachinko sphere).

  The present invention can be applied to a gaming machine such as a slot machine or a pachinko machine that is played in a state in which the front surface of the housing faces the player, and a gaming machine island in which a plurality of gaming machines are arranged in the left-right direction. It can be suitably used in an environment where a sufficient passage between machine islands cannot be secured.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the slot machine which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a gaming machine island in which slot machines according to an embodiment of the present invention are arranged side by side. It is a front view of the slot machine which concerns on a prior art example. It is a perspective view which shows the inside of the slot machine which concerns on a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Slot machine 2 Case 3 Box 4 Front door 4a Receptacle mounting surface 4c Standing surface 5 Drum unit 6 Hopper 7 Liquid crystal panel 8 Front panel 8a Liquid crystal display window 8b Reel display window 10 Operation part 11 Receptacle S Game machine island T Passage W Curve surface

Claims (9)

A gaming machine that is played with the front of the housing facing the player,
A gaming machine characterized in that a curved surface that is concavely bent when viewed from the side is formed on a part or the whole of the front surface of the housing.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein an operation unit operated by a player is disposed on the curved surface.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein a reel display window is provided on the curved surface to allow a player to visually recognize the reel.   The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a liquid crystal display window for allowing a player to visually observe the liquid crystal panel is disposed on the curved surface.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the curved surface is formed by a curved transparent panel.   The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the curved surface is formed entirely on the front surface of the housing except for a lower end portion where a tray is provided.   The gaming machine according to claim 6, wherein a surface rising from the mounting surface of the tray toward the lower end of the curved surface is inclined so as to be higher toward the front side when viewed from the player side.   The gaming machine according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a speaker is disposed on a mounting surface of the tray. A gaming machine island comprising a plurality of gaming machines arranged side by side in the left-right direction,
A gaming machine island, wherein each gaming machine comprises the gaming machine according to claim 1.

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