JP2009112690A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of facilitating a transfer of tokens from a token tray to a token storage box. <P>SOLUTION: This game machine is formed with an opening part 631 to be opened in an area from the upper edge part to a substantially bottom part 63a of the token tray 63, an opening/closing door 632 is configured to openingly/closingly move according to the side cross sectional shape of the opening part 631, and the opening/closing door 632 is bendably formed to be inserted/pulled out relative to the token tray 63 according to the opening/closing movement. The opening/closing door 632 is constantly urged toward the fully closed position by a coil spring 635 having a predetermined urging force so as to prevent the improper lowering of the opening/closing door 632, and is provided with an alternate operation part 636 for fixing the opening/closing door 632 at a substantially fully opened position, between the token tray 63 and the opening/closing door 632. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a slot machine, and more particularly to a gaming machine provided with an open / close door for transferring a gaming medal from a medal tray to a medal receiving box (so-called dollar box).

For example, a slot machine that rotates and stops a plurality of spinning reels on which symbols are drawn according to a player's operation and pays out game medals (hereinafter referred to as medals) according to the aligned symbols. Therefore, it was necessary to transfer medals that seemed to overflow from the medal tray during the game (for example, when hitting a big bonus continuously) or medals accumulated in the medal tray at the end of the game to the medal storage box. .
Traditionally, the transfer of medals took time because the medal storage box held with one hand was placed on the medal tray while the medal tray medal was transferred to the medal storage box with the other hand. I sometimes dropped a medal on the floor.
In view of this, a slot machine has been proposed in which the medal tray is provided with an opening / closing door for discharging a medal that can lock the medal receiving box (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

  That is, in the slot machine (10) disclosed in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 6, a medal discharging unit (38) is provided on the front plate (37) of the medal tray (31). The opening and closing plate (39) that opens and closes the discharge portion (38) in the up and down direction, and a leaf spring (40) that constantly urges the opening and closing plate (39) upward, and the medal storage box (D) And a projecting piece (41) for locking the edge of the opening / closing plate (39) .When the medal receiving box (D) is held by the projecting piece (41), the opening / closing plate is caused by the weight of the medal tray (31). By lowering (39) so that a medal discharge path appears, it is possible to transfer medals with both hands.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-211156 (FIGS. 2 to 4)

By the way, in the opening / closing plate (39) provided in the slot machine (10) described above, even if the empty medal receiving box (D) is locked to the projecting piece (41), it is lowered and the medal is discharged. A road appears. Therefore, even if the player does not intend to lower the opening / closing plate (39), the player may inadvertently lower the opening / closing plate (39) and drop a medal from there.
Since the medal storage box (D) close to the empty state is light, it is necessary to apply a downward force to the medal storage box (D) in order to fully open the opening / closing plate (39).
Furthermore, the player's body may hit the projecting piece (41), which may interfere with the game.
Furthermore, a receiving groove (51) for receiving an entry piece (53) forming the lower part of the opening / closing plate (39) is formed below the discharge part (38). For this reason, since the opening / closing range of the opening / closing plate (39) is narrow and the mounting position of the medal receiving box (D) is higher than the bottom of the medal tray (31), the medals accumulated at the bottom of the medal tray (31) It had to be scraped towards the medal box (D).

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that can more easily transfer medals from a medal tray to a medal storage box.

To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an open / close door that opens and closes a medal discharge opening provided in the medal tray so as to transfer a game medal from the medal tray to the medal receiving box. In a gaming machine equipped with
The opening is formed so as to open a range from the upper edge to the bottom of the medal tray, the opening / closing door is opened / closed according to a side sectional shape of the opening, and the opening / closing movement is performed according to the opening / closing movement. The opening / closing door is formed to be bendable so as to be inserted into and removed from a medal tray, and the opening / closing door is always urged toward the fully closed position by an urging means having a predetermined urging force, and the opening / closing door is An operation part for fixing at an almost fully open position is provided between the medal tray and the opening / closing door.

According to the gaming machine of claim 1, when the open / close door that closes the opening is pushed down to the bottom, an opening from the upper edge to the bottom of the medal tray, that is, a medal discharge path appears. The opening / closing door is maintained in the fully opened state without pressing the opening / closing door. When the open / close door is pushed down to the bottom again, the open / close door returns to the original state in which the opening was closed. As a result, the medal can be easily transferred from the medal tray to the medal storage box. Further, it is not necessary to scrape the medals accumulated on the bottom of the medal tray upward.
In addition, the opening / closing door is constantly urged toward the fully closed position by an urging means having a predetermined urging force so as not to inadvertently descend, so the player intends to transfer medals. The medal discharge path will not appear when not.

  According to the gaming machine of the present invention, when the door is lowered to the lowest position, the medal discharge path from the upper edge to the bottom of the medal tray appears, and the door is fully opened without pressing the door. An operation unit for maintaining the state is provided. Thereby, a gaming machine capable of easily transferring medals from the medal tray to the medal storage box is realized.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a slot machine (pachislot machine) as an example. FIG. 1 is a front view of the slot machine, and FIG. 2 is a view showing an internal structure of the slot machine with the front door opened. It should be noted that “left” and “right” follow the direction seen from the player.

  First, the configuration of the slot machine will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the slot machine 1 includes a rectangular box body (so-called cabinet, shown in FIG. 2) 2 having an open front surface, and slide hinges 3 and 3 connected to the housing 2. And a right-opening (left hinge) front door (so-called front mask) 4 attached so as to be openable and closable.

As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 2 includes a wooden upper plate portion 2a, left and right side plate portions 2b and 2c, a bottom plate portion 2d, and a back plate portion 2e.
A main control board 20 on which electronic components such as a CPU (microcomputer), ROM, and RAM for centrally controlling the main operation of the slot machine 1 are mounted on the upper portion of the back plate portion 2e in the housing 2 is made of a transparent synthetic resin. It is attached in a state of being internally sealed in the substrate case 21.

  Also, an external output for outputting predetermined information data (for example, jackpot, payout number, etc.) from the slot machine 1 to the hall computer (not shown) is provided on the upper part of the right side plate 2c in the housing 2. An external concentrated terminal board 22 having terminals is attached.

  In the center of the housing 2, a reel unit 100 that constitutes a variable display device including the spinning reels 101a, 101b, and 101c is disposed. The reel unit 100 is placed on the upper surface of a metal frame plate portion 2f supported by the left and right side plate portions 2b and 2c and the back plate portion 2e, and the front door 4 faces the housing 2 side. When closed, the spinning reels 101a, 101b, and 101c on which identification information by a plurality of types of symbols and numbers are drawn are positioned in the display window 51 of the panel surface 50 of the front door 4.

  The spinning reels 101a, 101b, and 101c are driven to rotate by a stepping motor built in each reel, and a spinning drum that sends a four-phase drive pulse signal to the stepping motor is provided on the upper surface of the reel unit 100. An apparatus substrate 23 is attached and fixed. The main control board 20 sends rotation drive (excitation) pulse data to the rotation apparatus board 23, so that rotation, braking, and stop of the rotation reels 101a, 101b, and 101c are controlled. Yes.

  At the lower side of the reel unit 100, that is, at the center of the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 2d in the housing 2, game medals (hereinafter referred to as medals) thrown into the housing 2 are temporarily stored and paid as necessary. A hopper device 24 as a medal payout device is attached. On the right side of the hopper device 24, a sub-tank 25 for receiving medals overflowing from the hopper device 24 is disposed, and on the left side of the hopper device 24 is connected to a power outlet (AC24V) of the game island. The power supply device 26 as the output power generation means is arranged in a grounded state.

Next, the external configuration of the front door 4 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the front side of the front door 4 is integrally formed of hard plastic as a so-called decorative board designed to enhance the visual effect as a “front panel portion” facing the player. Therefore, the upper panel part 5, the lower panel part 6, and the console 7 are substantially divided.

  A panel surface 50 is provided at the center of the upper panel portion 5. A substantially rectangular transparent display window 51 is provided substantially at the center of the panel surface 50, and the player can pass through the display window 51 and the three reel units 100 provided in the housing 2. The spinning reels 101a, 101b, and 101c can be visually observed.

  On the upper part and the left and right side parts of the upper panel part 5, there are provided an illumination effect device 52 and effect illumination parts 53a to 53h as illumination means incorporating a light source such as a fluorescent lamp or a high-intensity light emitting diode inside the lens panel. Has been. The lighting effects device 52 and the lighting units 53a to 53h for lighting are turned on or blinking according to the progress of the game, thereby enhancing the visual effect in the game. Further, the lighting effect device 52 as the lighting means functions as a means for notifying the gaming state of the slot machine 1.

  Below the lighting effect device 52, there are a pair of left and right effect sound emitting portions 54a and 54b incorporating speakers 42a and 42b (shown in FIG. 2) for generating sound effects related to the game, and a liquid crystal display effect device 55. It is arranged. The liquid crystal display effect device 55 is an effect device of the slot machine 1 formed by fitting a transparent hard plastic plate or the like, and mainly displays video and game (game) information related to game effects. It has become.

The lower panel portion 6 is provided with a panel 61 for displaying the design of the appearance character and the like so that the player can recognize the model type of the slot machine 1. Below the panel 61 are a medal payout outlet 62 for discharging medals at the time of winning a prize, a medal tray 63 for storing medals paid out from the medal payout outlet 62, and speakers 49a and 49b for generating effect sound (see FIG. 2). Production sound emitting sections 64a, 64b, etc. are provided.
Details of the medal tray 63 will be described later.

  In addition, on both the left and right sides of the panel 61, effect lighting units 66a and 66b that incorporate a light source such as a high-intensity light emitting diode are disposed inside the lens panel. The effect lighting units 66a and 66b, like the lighting effect device 52 and the effect lighting units 53a to 53h, are turned on or blinking according to the progress of the game so as to enhance the visual effect in the game. It has become.

  The console 7 is provided with a medal insertion portion 71 and bet buttons 72 and 73 on the upper surface side, and a start lever 74, stop buttons 75a, 75b and 75c, an adjustment button 76, an eject button on the front surface side. 77 and a keyhole 78 are provided.

The medal insertion portion 71 is integrally formed with a medal insertion slot for inserting medals bet on the game into the housing 2.
The bet buttons 72 and 73 are button switches for presenting the number of medals to bet on one game of the slot machine 1. That is, when the bet button 72 is pressed once at the start of the game, one medal is bet on the game from the stored medals, and when the bet button 73 is pressed once. Three medals are bet on the game. Therefore, the bet button 72 is called a “1 bet button”, and the bet button 73 is called a “max bet button” because a maximum number of medals can be bet.

The start lever 74 is a lever switch for instructing the rotation start of the reels 101a to 101c.
The stop buttons 75a, 75b, and 75c are button switches for instructing to stop the rotation of the reels 101a, 101b, and 101c rotated by the start lever 74, and are arranged in parallel corresponding to the arrangement of the reels. ing.
The settlement button 76 is a button switch for instructing the payout of medals bet on the game and instructing the payout of medals internally held by a medal credit means (not shown).

The eject button 77 is a button switch for discharging a clogged medal after the medal is inserted.
The key hole 78 is a key hole used when unlocking the front door 4. When the key is inserted into the key hole 78 and a predetermined operation is performed, the front door 4 can be opened. The front door 4 is automatically locked when it is closed to the housing 2 side.

Next, the back surface structure of the front door 4 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, a sub-control board 40 formed of an electric circuit board is made of a transparent hard synthetic resin at a position on the back side of the front door 4, that is, a back side of the liquid crystal display effect device 55. It is disposed in a state of being sealed by the substrate case 41. The sub-control board 40 controls the display of effect video by the liquid crystal display effect device 55, the effect effect illumination control using the illumination effect device 52 and the effect illumination units 53a to 53h, 66a, 66b, and the effect sound emitting unit 54a, Control mainly related to game effects such as effect sound effect control using 54b, 64a, and 64b is mainly performed. A pair of left and right speakers 42a and 42b are disposed on the left and right sides of the sub-control board 40, that is, on the back side of the effect sound emitting portions 54a and 54b.

  A cold cathode fluorescent lamp 43 for irradiating the outer peripheral surfaces of the reels 101a, 101b, and 101c to brightly display a pattern on the lower side of the sub-control board 40, that is, on the back side of the panel surface 50, and a cold cathode An inverter 44 for driving the fluorescent lamp 43 and a central control board 46 sealed with a central control board cover 45 made of transparent hard synthetic resin are attached in a united state.

  A medal sorting device 47 is disposed at a position corresponding to the lower side of the medal insertion portion 71 on the back side of the console 7. The medal sorting device 47 is a device that determines and distributes the suitability of medals inserted from the medal insertion unit 71. Further, the medal sorting device 47 has a built-in medal sensor, and when a normal medal is inserted and the medal sensor detects the medal in a game standby state or the like, a signal indicating acceptance of medal insertion is sent to the central control board. 46 is sent out.

Further, the medal sorting device 47 has a plan view J extending from the back side to the front side for guiding the regular medals discharged from the right side surface of the medal sorting device 47 to the hopper device 24 provided in the housing 2. The letter-shaped guide member 48a, the guide member 48b for guiding the medal (or foreign matter) removed by the medal sorting device 47 to the medal payout port 63 below, and the medal discharged from the hopper device 24 to the medal payout port 63 The guide member 48c to guide is connected.
In addition, a pair of left and right speakers 49a and 49b are disposed at the lower part of the rear side of the front door 4, that is, the position corresponding to the back side of the sound emitting parts 64a and 64b for effects.

Next, the medal tray 63 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the medal tray in which the opening is closed by the opening / closing door in the example, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the medal tray in which the opening is opened by the opening / closing door in the example. FIGS. 4 and 4 are schematic views showing the structure of the open / close door in the same example, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic views for explaining the operation of the alternate operating portion.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the medal tray 63 transfers the medals from the medal tray 63 to the medal storage box D (see FIG. 6) on the front surface 63a facing the player. And an opening / closing door 632 that opens and closes the opening 631 by sliding and moving in the vertical direction of the opening 631.

More specifically, the opening 631 is cut out in an upward U shape so as to open a range from the upper edge of the medal tray 63 to the bottom 63b. The medal tray 63 facing the opening 631 from the left and right sides is formed with a pair of vertical left and right guide grooves 631a and 631a that support the left and right edges of the open / close door 632 in a slidable manner. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 4, the bottom 63 b of the medal tray 63 is formed with a hollow accommodating portion 63 b 1 that can accommodate the open / close door 632 in a flat plate shape. Guide grooves 631a are respectively extended on the left and right side portions of the accommodating portion 63b1. As a result, the open / close door 632 slides along the side cross-sectional shape of the medal tray 63 and, as shown in FIG. 3A, opens in the state where it is pulled out from the bottom 63b of the medal tray 63. The part 631 is closed, and as shown in FIG. 3B, an opening 631, that is, a medal discharge path appears when the medal tray 63 is housed in the bottom 63 b.
The upper portions of the guide grooves 631a and 631a are closed by an upper surface portion 63c of a medal tray that also serves as a stopper of the open / close door 632, as shown in FIG.

  The open / close door 632 is a shutter-type slide door, and is formed to be bendable so as to be accommodated in the bottom 63b of the medal tray 63 according to the opening / closing movement thereof. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a skin portion 632a formed of a soft synthetic resin and a back surface side of the skin portion 632a are provided at a predetermined interval, and the left and right side portions are the skin portion 632a. In addition, a plurality of guide members 632b having a T-shape in a side view that are inserted and supported so as to be slidable into the guide groove 631a are provided.

  Further, engaging members 633 and 634 are respectively inserted into both ends of the opening / closing door 632 in the longitudinal direction. A coil spring (pressing spring) 635 serving as an urging means is interposed between the accommodating portion 63b1 and the engaging member 634, and a predetermined urging force is provided so that the open / close door 632 does not descend as long as it is accidentally touched. Thus, the open / close door 632 is always urged in the closing direction.

The engaging member 633 is used when the player opens and closes the open / close door 632, and an operation for fixing the open / close door 632 at a substantially fully open position on the right side of the engaging member 633. A rotating cam 636a that forms a part of the alternate operating portion 636 as a portion is provided so as to be rotatable in a state of protruding to the right side. Notches 636a1 and 636a1 are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the rotating cam 636a.
The notch frame portion 636b with which the peripheral surface portion of the rotating cam 636a is in sliding contact constitutes the other side of the alternate operation portion 636 and is provided adjacent to the right side of the vertical guide groove 631a.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the notch frame portion 636b has a vertical surface portion 636b1 that moves up and down while the rotary cam 636a is in sliding contact with the upright state, and a downright rotary cam 636a that is lowered. In this case, the inclined surface portion 636b2 that rotates the rotating cam 636a in the clockwise direction in the drawing engages with the cutout portion 636a1 above the rotating cam 636a that rotates and rotates in the clockwise direction, and a second protrusion described later. The first protrusion 636b3 is further rotated clockwise so that the rotating cam 636a rotated clockwise by the portion 636b4 is in an upright state, and the upper notch 636a1 is engaged with the first protrusion 636b3. When the rotating cam 636a is lowered, the rotating cam 636a is joined to the lower surface of the rotating cam 636a to further rotate the rotating cam 636a in the clockwise direction. A second protrusion 636b4 that rotates, and a.

  The operation of the alternate operation portion 636 will be described. When the engaging member 633 urged upward by the coil spring 635 is pushed toward the lowest bottom portion 63b, as shown in FIG. The rotating cam 636a in the state is lowered and then rotated in the clockwise direction in the drawing by the inclined surface portion 636b2. When the pushing of the engaging member 633 is stopped, the rotating cam 636a rises in an inclined state, and the upper notch 636a1 engages with the first protrusion 636b3 as shown in FIG. 5B. When the engaging member 633 is pushed again toward the bottom 63b, the notch 636a1 of the rotating cam 636a is detached from the first protrusion 636b3 and lowered in the same posture, and the second protrusion 636b4, the inclined surface 636b2 and Rotates in the clockwise direction in the figure. When the pushing of the engaging member 633 is stopped, the rotating cam 636a rises, further rotates in the clockwise direction in the drawing while slidingly contacting the first protrusion 636b3, and returns to the upright state along the vertical surface portion 636b1. To rise.

As described above, according to the slot machine 1, when the open / close door 632 that closes the opening 631 is pushed down to the bottom, the opening 631 extending from the upper edge of the medal tray 63 to the bottom 63b, that is, the medal discharge In addition to the appearance of the road, the alternate operation unit 636 keeps the open / close door 632 fully open without pressing the open / close door 632. When the opening / closing door 632 is pushed down to the bottom again, the opening / closing door 632 returns to the original state in which the opening 631 was closed. Thereby, it becomes possible to easily transfer medals from the medal tray 63 to the medal storage box D. Further, it is not necessary to scrape the medals accumulated on the bottom 63b of the medal tray 63 upward.
Further, the open / close door 632 is constantly urged toward the fully closed position by a coil spring 635 having a predetermined urging force so as not to inadvertently descend, so that the player intends to transfer medals. The medal discharge path will not appear when not.

The alternate operation portion 636 is provided between the engaging member 633 and the vertical guide groove 631a. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the engagement member 634 and the horizontal guide groove 631a You may make it provide in between.
Further, the alternate operation unit 636 is not limited to the rotary cam type, and for example, a heart-shaped cam type or a ratchet cam type may be used.

It is a front view of a slot machine. It is the front view which showed the internal structure of the slot machine in the state which open | released the front door. (A) is a perspective view of the medal tray in which the opening is closed by the open / close door in the same example, (b) is a perspective view of the medal tray in a state where the opening is opened by the open / close door in the same example. is there. It is the schematic diagram which showed the structure of the door in the example. (A), (b) is a schematic diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the alternate operation | movement part in the example. (A), (b), (c) is a figure for demonstrating the transfer of the medal in the conventional game machine.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Slot machine (game machine)
63 ... Medal tray 63a ... Front part 63b ... Bottom 63b1 ... Storage part 63c ... Upper part 631 ... Opening 631a ... Guide groove 632 ... Opening / closing door 635 ... Coil spring (biasing means)
636 ... Alternate operation unit (operation unit)
636a ... Rotating cam 636b ... Notch frame

Claims (1)

In a gaming machine comprising an opening and closing door for opening and closing a medal discharge opening provided in the medal tray so as to transfer a game medal from a medal tray to a medal receiving box,
The opening is formed so as to open a range from the upper edge to the bottom of the medal tray, the opening / closing door is opened / closed according to a side sectional shape of the opening, and the opening / closing movement is performed according to the opening / closing movement. The opening / closing door is formed to be bendable so as to be inserted into and removed from a medal tray, and the opening / closing door is always urged toward the fully closed position by an urging means having a predetermined urging force, and the opening / closing door is A gaming machine, characterized in that an operation portion for fixing at an almost fully open position is provided between the medal tray and the door.

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