JP2008093333A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine allowing a person to scrape game tokens within a medal saucer for the game or insert the hand in the token saucer for the game, having a simple structure, and capable of being easily and inexpensively constituted. <P>SOLUTION: The front lower part of a game machine body has the token saucer 23 which has a front wall 44 inclining in a front rising way and receives the game token discharged from a token discharge port 22 and the tilt angle of the inside of a part, which serves as a scraping section 45 at the time of scraping the game token within the token saucer 23 in the front wall 44 to the front side, is smaller than the tilt angle of the inside of the other part of the front wall 44. The scraping section is in the intermediate part 45 of the right and left directions of the front wall 44 and the tilt angle of the inside becomes large gradually from the intermediate part 45 to the right and left ends sides. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to improvements in gaming machines such as slot machines and ball game machines, and in particular, game media trays such as medals provided at the lower front of the gaming machine main body.

  The game media include game medals used in slot machines and the like, and game balls used in ball game machines such as pachinko machines according to the type of game machine. For example, in a gaming machine such as a slot machine that uses a game medal to play a game, a medal payout means is provided in the gaming machine body, and a medal tray is provided in the lower front part of the gaming machine body. Depending on the winning combination, a predetermined number of medals are paid out by the medal payout means through the medal discharge port, and the paid-out medals are received and stored in the medal tray.

This medal tray is conventionally formed in a substantially horizontally long rectangular shape that is long in the left-right direction, and is arranged on the right side of the ashtray at the lower front portion of the gaming machine body. The medal tray has a front wall that slopes forward, and the front wall is formed in an arc shape that gently curves with the same large radius at the lower end and the upper end, and is integrated with the front side of the ashtray in design. (Patent documents 1, 2).
JP 2003-102902 A JP 2006-212067 A

  When the amount of medals stored in the medal tray increases or when the game is ended, it is necessary to transfer the medals in the medal tray to the receiving box. In this case, many players use a method in which a receiving box is placed on the front lower side of the front wall, and the medals in the medal tray are scraped out by hand along the front wall into the receiving box.

  However, although the front wall of the conventional medal tray is tilted forward, the tilt angle at each position in the left and right direction is very large and the shape is close to the vertical state. There is a problem that medals are difficult to collect, and when the collected medals are scraped along the inner surface of the front wall, there is a problem that the medals spill from the left and right sides of the palm into the medal tray, and it is difficult to scrape the medals.

  Also, even with a ball game machine, a paid-out game ball is received and stored in a game ball tray, while a hand is inserted into the game ball tray to grab the game ball inside. Even in such a case, the conventional game ball tray has a very large inclination angle at each position in the left-right direction and a shape close to a vertical state, so that its front wall, particularly its upper edge, is obstructive. There is a drawback that it is difficult to insert a hand into the game ball tray. In addition, in recent ball game machines, the unification of the game ball tray is progressing, and it becomes more difficult to insert a hand if the depth of the game ball tray is deepened to secure a sufficient volume.

  In view of such conventional problems, the present invention can easily scrape out game media in a game media tray or insert a hand into the game media tray, and can be easily and inexpensively implemented with a simple structure. An object is to provide a game machine that can be used.

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine comprising a gaming medium tray 23 having a front wall 44 inclined forward and inclined at the lower front portion of the gaming machine body 1 and receiving a gaming medium discharged from the gaming medium outlet 22. The inclination angle of the inner surface of the front wall 44 that becomes the scraping portion 45 when the game medium in the game medium tray 23 is scraped forward or the portion that becomes the insertion portion when the hand is inserted into the game medium tray 23. Is made smaller than the inclination angle of the inner surface of the other part of the front wall 44.

  In another gaming machine according to the present invention, a gaming machine main body 1 is provided with a medal tray 23 having a front wall 44 inclined upward and receiving a gaming medal discharged from the medal discharging port 22 at the lower front side. The inclination angle of the inner surface of the portion that becomes the scraping portion 45 when the game medal in the medal tray 23 on the front wall 44 is scraped forward is made smaller than the inclination angle of the inner surface of the other portion of the front wall 44. Is.

  The present invention has an advantage that the game medium in the game medium tray 23 can be scraped out or the hand can be easily inserted into the game medium tray 23 and can be easily and inexpensively implemented with a simple structure.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 illustrate a first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied as a slot machine. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a gaming machine body, which includes a housing 2 and a front panel 3 disposed on the front side of the housing 2. The housing 2 is formed in a box shape whose front side is open, and a front panel 3 is mounted so as to close the front side so as to be freely opened and closed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a display reel unit 5 having a plurality of (for example, three) symbol display reels 4 in the left and right direction is provided in the housing 2, and a medal payout means 6 and medal assistant are provided in the lower part. A case 7 and a power supply board case 8 are provided, and a main control board case 9 containing a main control board is provided in the middle in the vertical direction. The display reel unit 5 is detachably mounted on the intermediate shelf 10 of the housing 2, and the display reel unit 5 constitutes a second game symbol display means capable of displaying a plurality of game symbols in a variable manner. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the medal payout means 6 includes a medal hopper 11 that stores medals for payout, a medal payout unit 12 that pays out medals in the medal hopper 11, and medals that overflow from the medal hopper 11 as a medal auxiliary case. The surplus medal discharge port 13 and the like to be discharged on the 7 side are provided and detachably mounted on the bottom plate 14.

  The front panel 3 includes a panel body 15 constituting a skeleton body, and the panel body 15 is attached to the housing 2 via a pair of upper and lower hinges (not shown) on the left and right ends. The front panel 3 has a first display window 16, a second display window 17, and a pair of left and right upper speakers 18 disposed on the upper side thereof, and an upper operation panel section 19, a front operation panel section 20, and a front cover 21 in the middle section. Further, a medal discharge port 22, a medal tray 23, an ashtray 24, and a pair of left and right lower speakers 25 are disposed in the lower part.

  The second display window 17 is formed in a rectangular shape corresponding to the symbol display reel 4 on the housing 2 side, and the player can visually recognize the symbol display reel 4 from the front side through the second display window 17. is there. The first display window 16 is formed on the upper side of the second display window 17 corresponding to the liquid crystal display unit 26 (see FIG. 3) mounted on the back side of the front panel 3, and the player can use the first display window 16. 16, the display screen of the liquid crystal display unit 26 can be viewed from the front side. A display reel unit may be provided instead of the liquid crystal display unit 26.

  The upper operation panel 19 is provided with a bet button 27, a max bet button 28, and a cancel button 29 on one end side in the left-right direction, and a medal insertion slot 30 into which a medal as a game medium can be inserted on the other end side. It has been.

  The front operation panel 20 is jammed in a start lever 31 for starting rotation of the symbol display reel 4, a stop button 32 for individually stopping the rotating symbol display reel 4, and a medal slot 30. A return button 33 and the like for returning a medal are provided.

  The panel body 15 has a rectangular shape corresponding to the front panel 3, and on the back side, as shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the speakers 18, 25, the liquid crystal display unit 26, etc., medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 30 The medal selection means 35 for selecting the authenticity of the medals, the medal chute 36 for guiding the genuine medals that have passed through the medal selection means 35 to the medal hopper 11, the fake medals eliminated by the medal selection means 35, and the payment by the medal payout means 6 A medal guidance passage 37 and the like for guiding the issued medals from the medal discharge port 22 to the medal tray 23 are provided.

  A driver board case 38 containing the driver board is mounted on the back side of the liquid crystal display unit 26, and a control board case 39 containing an effect control board is mounted on the back side of the driver board case 38.

  The medal tray 23 is for receiving and storing medals guided through the medal outlet 22, and as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, through a decorative plate 41 made of metal or the like that comes into contact with the front surface of the panel body 15. And mounted on the panel body 15 and disposed at the lower front portion of the gaming machine main body 1. The medal discharge port 22 is formed in a rectangular shape so as to pass through the lower wall 15 a of the panel body 15 and the decorative plate 41, and a lower opening edge 22 a of the front end of the inclined guide surface 37 a is inclined forward and downward of the medal guide passage 37. Is almost the same.

  The medal tray 23 includes a side wall 42, a bottom wall 43, and a front wall 44 on both the left and right sides. Each side wall 42 is higher on the panel body 15 side, and a bottom wall 43 is provided between the left and right side walls 42. The bottom wall 43 has a substantially horizontal upper surface. In addition, a horizontally long metal plate 43 a is attached to the bottom wall 43 in the vicinity of the panel body 15, and the medal from the medal discharge port 22 is received by the metal plate 44.

  The front wall 44 is plate-shaped, and stands up diagonally forward from the front edge of the bottom wall 43 between the left and right side walls 42 so as to be slightly higher than the lower opening edge 22a of the medal discharge port 22, As a whole, it is inclined upward. The front wall 44 is curved in a gentle arc shape in plan view so that the central portion 45 in the left-right direction protrudes forward from the line segment connecting the left and right ends, and has an upper end compared to the radius on the lower end edge 44a side. The radius on the edge 44b side is small.

  The inner surface of the front wall 44 has an inclination angle α (an angle between the inner surface of the central portion 45 and the horizontal line) of the central portion 45 that is a scraping portion when scraping the medals in the medal tray 23 forward. The inclination angle is smaller than the inclination angle, and the inclination angle of the inner surface gradually increases from the central portion 45 to the left and right sides.

  It should be noted that the inner surfaces of the left and right ends of the front wall 44 are at an angle that is substantially vertical or nearly vertical so that it is slightly inclined forward. The upper end edge 44b of the front wall 44 has substantially the same height over substantially the entire range in the left-right direction, and a band-like bent edge 46 bent to the front side is formed on the upper end edge 44b over the entire length in the left-right direction. It is desirable that the inner surface of the front wall 44 on the lower edge 44a side is configured to have a curved surface that curves smoothly toward the upper surface of the bottom wall 43 so that medals are not caught during scraping.

  At the center of the front surface of the front wall 44, an engaging portion 47 that protrudes to the front side is provided. The engaging portion 47 is for engaging the edge of the receiving box from the lower side while being placed on the player's knee when scraping the medal in the medal tray 23. The upper wall 48 and the lower wall 49 are connected to each other. It is bent in an inverted L shape when viewed from the side, and is provided in a horizontally long shape on the front surface of the front wall 44 in the left-right direction. Closed walls 50 are integrally provided between the front wall 44 and the left and right ends of the upper wall 48 and the lower wall 49.

  The engaging portion 47 extends in the left-right direction from the central portion 45 of the front wall 44 to the left and right sides, and the front wall 44 can be reinforced by the engaging portion 47 and the bent edge 46 of the upper end edge 44b. it can.

  When scraping out the medal in the medal tray 23, the edge is hooked on the engaging portion 47 from the lower side with the receiving box placed on a predetermined place such as on the player's knee. As a result, the receiving box does not move unexpectedly and leaves the medal tray 23, and the medal scraped from the medal tray 23 can be prevented from spilling between the medal receiving tray 23 and the receiving box.

  When scraping out the medals, the medals in the medal tray 23 are gathered in the central part in the left-right direction, and the central part 45 with a small inclination angle α of the front wall 44 is used as a scraping part, and the hand is along the inner surface of the central part 45 Then just scrape it forward. In this case, since the inclination angle α of the inner surface of the central portion 45 serving as the scraping portion is smaller than the inclination angles of the inner surfaces on both the left and right sides, the conventional front wall 44 is merely inclined upward. Compared to the above, spilling of medals is reduced, and it can be easily scraped.

  In addition, since the inclination angle α of the central portion 45 of the front wall 44 only needs to be reduced, the structure is simple and the manufacture and the like are easy and can be carried out easily and inexpensively. In addition, the front wall 44 is inclined upward as a whole, and the inclination angle gradually changes from the left and right sides to the central portion 45 so that the inclination angle α of the central portion 45 is minimized. There is no problem of other objects being caught on the wall 44, and even when the engaging portion 47 is provided on the front surface of the front wall 44, the engaging portion 47 can be easily arranged.

  Further, the central portion 45 having a small inclination angle α is shifted to the left and right from the medal discharge port 22, and the portion corresponding to the medal discharge port 22 has a shape in which the inclination angle is large and abruptly rises away from the central portion 45. Therefore, there is no fear that the medals paid out from the medal discharge port 22 will fall over the front wall 44 to the front side.

  7 and 8 illustrate a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the upper surface 44c of the front wall 44 has a shape in which the central portion 45 is recessed in an arc shape, and the height of the central portion 45 of the front wall 44 is the lowest. The height gradually increases toward both ends. The height of the central portion 45 of the front wall 44 is higher than the lower opening edge 22 a of the medal discharge port 22. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  By making the upper surface 44c of the central portion 45 of the front wall 44 lower than the left and right sides in this way, even when the scraped medal exceeds the upper surface 44c of the front wall 44, the medals are distributed to the left and right sides. Can be prevented. Therefore, the medal can be scraped more easily.

  FIG. 9 illustrates a third embodiment of the present invention. 9A, the front wall 44 is bent at two intermediate bent portions 53, and the inclination angle α of the inner surface of the central portion (scratched portion) 45 between the bent portions 53 is reduced. In addition, the inclination angle of the inner surface gradually increases from each bent portion 53 to both ends of the front wall 44. Note that the upper end edge 44b of the front wall 44 has a central portion 45 between the bent portions 53 substantially parallel to the gaming machine main body 1, and both ends of the front wall 44 are bent backward from both ends of the central portion 45. .

  In FIG. 9B, the front wall 44 has a shape that is bent in two at the central bent portion 53, and the inclination angle α of the inner surface of the bent portion 53 at the central portion (scratched portion) 45 is reduced. In addition, the inclination angle of the inner surface gradually increases from the bent portion 53 to both ends of the front wall 44. Other configurations are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

  Thus, even when the front wall 44 of the medal tray 23 is bent at one or two bent portions 53 in the left-right direction, the inclination angle α of the inner surface of the central portion 45 serving as a scraped portion is reduced, and the central portion 45 The inner surface can be configured so that the inclination angle of the inner surface gradually increases toward the left and right sides. Also in this case, the medals in the medal tray 23 can be easily scraped. The front wall 44 may be bent at three or more locations. Further, instead of the bent portion 53 of the front wall 44, the portion may be formed in an arc shape in plan view.

  10-12 illustrate a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the front wall 44 is composed of an outer wall 51 and an inner wall 52 that are arranged at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction, and a bent edge 46 that integrally connects them on the upper end side. In addition, between the outer wall 51 and the inner wall 52, a plurality of ribs 55 are provided at predetermined intervals in the left-right direction integrally with the outer wall 51, the inner wall 52, and the bent edge 46.

  The outer wall 51 hangs substantially perpendicularly from the front end of the bent edge 46 and has a circular arc shape in plan view in which the central portion is curved in an arc shape toward the front side. The inner wall 52 has a circular arc shape in plan view in which the central portion 45 is curved in a circular arc shape toward the front side in substantially the same manner as the outer wall 51, but the inclination angle α of the inner surface of the central portion 45 is small, and gradually increases from the central portion 45 to both ends. The inclination angle of the inner surface is large. Further, the bent edge 46 forming the upper surface of the front wall 44 has a lower central portion 45 and gradually increases from the central portion 45 to both ends.

  The bottom wall 43 is connected to the lower end of the inner wall 52 of the front wall 44. The bottom wall 43 is provided with a concave portion 54 that is recessed in a spherical shape in the vicinity of the central portion 45 of the inner wall 52, and the upper surface of the bottom wall 43 gradually moves from the concave portion 54 to the left and right sides and the rear side. It becomes the inclined surface 54a which becomes high. The concave portion 54 of the bottom wall 43 is connected to the central portion 45 of the inner wall 52 of the front wall 44 via a smooth curved surface. On the bottom wall 43 side, a display 56 indicating the scraping position, direction, etc. is attached corresponding to the central portion 45 which is a scraping portion of the medal, such as “MEDAL” in the arrow.

  Thus, even when the front wall 44 has the outer wall 51 and the inner wall 52, the medal tray can be obtained by making the inclination angle α of the inner surface of the central portion 45 of the front wall 44 smaller than the inclination angle of the other inner surface. The medal in 23 can be easily scraped. Further, by providing a concave portion 54 continuous on the inner surface at the inclination angle α of the central portion 45 of the inner wall 52 via a smooth curved surface on the upper surface of the bottom wall 43 near the lower side of the central portion 45 of the inner wall 52, the medal is scraped. At this time, the medals can be easily collected to the concave portion 54 side, and the medal can be scraped out more easily. Moreover, by attaching a display 56 indicating the medal scraping position, direction, etc. to the bottom wall 43 side, the player can easily grasp the medal scraping position, direction, etc., and reduce the inclination angle α of the central portion 45. Convenience is further improved.

  As mentioned above, although each Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to this Example, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, in the embodiment, the central portion 45 of the front wall 44 is used as a medal scraping portion, and the inclination angle α of the inner surface of the central portion 45 is minimized, but the scraping portion needs to be the central portion 45 of the front wall 44. However, the intermediate portion of the front wall 44 in the left-right direction is sufficient.

  It is sufficient that the front wall 44 as a whole is inclined to the front side, and the left and right ends or both ends may be substantially vertical. In addition, when the thickness of the upper and lower portions of the front wall 44 in the front-rear direction is different, the shape of the inner surface may be set as described above. Further, although a slot machine using a game medal is illustrated, any game machine that uses a medal to play a game can be similarly applied to a game machine other than the slot machine.

  In each of the embodiments, the medal tray 23 of the slot machine that uses game medals has been described in detail. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to a game ball tray of a ball game machine that uses a game ball as a game medium. . In the case of a game ball tray, when the hand is inserted into the game ball tray instead of the medal scraping portion of the medal tray 23, the angle of the inner surface of the front wall near the insertion portion becomes a problem. The inclination angle α of the inner surface in a predetermined range centering on the part may be made smaller than that of the other part.

FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the slot machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the same housing | casing side. It is a rear view of the front panel. It is a front view of the same medal tray part. It is a plane sectional view of the medal tray part. It is an expanded sectional view of the medal tray part. It is a front view of the medal tray part concerning the 2nd example of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the medal tray part. (A) (B) is a plane sectional view of a medal saucer part of a medal saucer part concerning the 3rd example of the present invention. It is a partially broken front view of the medal tray part concerning the 4th example of the present invention.

It is a plane sectional view of the medal tray part. It is an expanded sectional view of the medal tray part.

Explanation of symbols

1 gaming machine body 22 medal outlet 23 medal tray 44 front wall 45 scraping part (central part, middle part)

Claims (5)

  A game having a game medium tray (23) that has a front wall (44) that is inclined forwardly and receives a game medium discharged from the game medium discharge port (22) at the lower front portion of the game machine body (1). In the machine, a hand is inserted into a part of the front wall (44) which becomes a scraping part (45) when the game medium in the game medium tray (23) is scraped forward, or into the game medium tray (23). A gaming machine, wherein an inclination angle of an inner surface of a portion serving as an insertion portion is smaller than an inclination angle of an inner surface of another portion of the front wall (44).   A gaming machine having a medal tray (23) having a front wall (44) that is inclined forwardly and receiving a gaming medal discharged from the medal discharge port (22) at a lower front portion of the gaming machine main body (1). The angle of inclination of the inner surface of the front wall (44) that becomes the scraping portion (45) when the game medal in the medal tray (23) is scraped forward is determined by the other angle of the front wall (44). A gaming machine characterized in that it is smaller than the inclination angle of the inner surface.   The scraped portion is located in an intermediate portion (45) in the left-right direction of the front wall (44), and the inclination angle of the inner surface gradually increases from the intermediate portion (45) toward both left and right sides. The gaming machine according to claim 2.   The gaming machine according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the scraping portion (45) is displaced from the medal discharge port (22) to one side in the left-right direction.   The height of the scraped portion (45) of the front wall (44) is lowered, and the height of the front wall (44) is gradually increased from the scraped portion (45) to the left and right ends. The gaming machine according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the gaming machine is characterized in that:

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