JP4046635B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, a plurality of reels on which symbols are arranged are rotated and displayed, and a winning is determined based on a combination of symbols appearing when rotation of all reels is stopped by a player's reel stop button operation. The present invention relates to a gaming machine represented by a slot machine in which payout is performed.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A gaming machine represented by a conventional slot machine is arranged at the upper part in the integrally formed case, three rotating reels having symbols arranged on the outer periphery, a stepping motor for driving these reels, and an outer periphery. A reel unit made up of a lamp or LED (hereinafter referred to as a backlight), which is provided inside each reel and irradiates each symbol from the back, is stored so that the player can easily see the symbol while playing the symbol. The game control board and the effect control board are attached in the vicinity of the reel unit.
[0003]
In addition, a display window is provided at a position corresponding to the reel unit at the upper portion of the front door that is openably and closably attached to the housing, and further, a lottery determined by a lottery process using a random number inside the gaming machine. A display lamp or notification lamp for informing the player of the result, a speaker, and a display panel showing a winning payout are attached.
[0004]
A medal hopper having a medal payout function, a medal collection box, a power supply unit for driving the gaming machine, and the like are accommodated using a space in a lower part in the gaming machine housing. In addition, a medal slot, a start button, a plurality of reel stop buttons, a plurality of bet switches, etc. are provided at the center of the front door as devices for the player to advance the game. A lower panel that visually designs the machine type, and a medal tray etc. are attached below it.
[0005]
When the player inserts a medal into the medal slot and operates the start lever, each reel starts rotating and the game starts. When the reels start rotating all at once, the symbols are moved and displayed on the display window.
[0006]
When the player sequentially operates the three stop buttons corresponding to each reel while looking at the symbols that are moved and displayed, each reel stops and any symbol stops on the active line. Five effective lines are provided. As the number of inserted medals increases to 1, 2, and 3, the number of effective lines increases to 1, 3, and 5. As a result, when a predetermined symbol combination is aligned on a valid line, a prize is won and a medal is paid out.
[0007]
When the internal winning of the winning combination is expected as described above, the player operates the stop button to stop the symbol corresponding to the winning combination on the valid line. If the symbols corresponding to the winning combination can be arranged on the activated line, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination can be paid out. Also, if the symbols corresponding to the combination cannot be prepared, the inserted medal is lost.
[0008]
The housing of a conventional gaming machine is composed of an integrally formed frame body and an integrated front door whose other side edge is pivoted so that the one side edge can be opened and closed. Yes. The inside of the frame is partitioned by a partition plate, and a reel unit is mounted thereon, and a game control board and an effect control board are attached to the inner wall surface of the upper part of the frame body or the upper part of the inner surface of the front door. On the other hand, a medal hopper, a medal recovery box, a power supply unit, and the like are accommodated in the space below the partition plate.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In recent years, a wide variety of gaming machines have been developed and the needs of players have diversified, so the life cycle per model has been shortened, and in order to attract players' interest, gaming machines Must be replaced with a new model in a short period of time. However, in the conventional gaming machine, there is a problem that the carrying work of the gaming machine, the installation of the gaming machine, the wiring process, and the like occur, and the hall manager is burdened with the working time, the working cost, and the working amount.
[0010]
In addition, there is a problem that a fraudulent board called a back rom can be attached or other various fraud control devices can be easily attached at the time of such model replacement work.
[0011]
Therefore, a gaming machine having a mounting unit capable of integrally attaching / detaching the symbol rotating unit, the control unit, and the symbol display panel to / from the opening formed in the door body is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3126812. . Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-10384 discloses a gaming machine in which a unit in which a variable display device, a game control unit, and an effect control unit are assembled together is replaceably mounted.
[0012]
However, in the technologies disclosed in the above two publications, an opening is formed in the frame of the integrally formed casing, and only the mounting unit (or replacement unit) housed in the upper space inside is removable. However, at the time of replacement work, first, the devices housed in the upper part of the housing, for example, the wiring of the control board, the external concentration terminal board and the switches, and the housing are housed in the lower part of the housing. Wiring with a power supply unit, medal hopper, etc. had to be attached and detached manually, and there was a problem that it was troublesome.
[0013]
Furthermore, a work space is required when attaching / detaching only the replacement unit to / from the gaming machine body with the front door open, and careful work is required during the work, taking into account the unit's durability. Therefore, there is a problem that the working time tends to be long.
[0014]
Further, since it has only a simple locking mechanism, there is a problem that the stability and security at the time of mounting the unit remain uneasy.
[0015]
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the object thereof is to realize an easy game machine replacement work, and to reduce the work cost and to be excellent in stability and safety. It is to provide a gaming machine having a structure.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, a winning unit is awarded according to a combination of a reel unit having a plurality of reels having symbols arranged on the outer periphery and the symbols when the plurality of reels are individually rotated and stopped. And a lower part forming an upper partition plate forming the bottom face of the upper unit and a lower part forming the upper face of the lower unit In the gaming machine formed to be separable into two stages together with the housing by engaging and sliding the rail member attached to the partition plate,
Engagement of the rail member between the rail members of the upper unit lower portion is brought into contact with the lower unit upper unit side plates inside of the rail members as well as to slidably said lower partition plate and the upper partition plate Forming a space portion having an upper connector fixing portion and a lower connector fixing portion, wherein the upper connector fixing portion and the lower connector fixing portion are formed by the upper unit and the lower connector fixing portion. A gaming machine that is automatically attached and detached in conjunction with a sliding motion with the unit.
[0017]
According to this configuration, when changing the model of the gaming machine, it is only necessary to replace the entire upper unit, and there is no need to consider caring, open space of the front door, or work space. It is possible and work efficiency can be improved.
[0018]
In addition, all the devices that need to be changed due to model replacement work are stored in the upper unit, and the lower unit stores devices that can be shared with other models. The work cost can be reduced.
[0019]
Further, according to the present configuration, the upper partition plate and the lower partition plate are provided, so that when the upper unit is mounted on the lower unit, the bottom structure of the upper unit and the lower unit top surface structure are connected, and the upper and lower units Bonding between each other can be further stabilized. Further, the upper and lower units slide with each other by rail members provided at both ends, and the replacement work can be performed more easily.
[0020]
Furthermore, according to this configuration, the wiring of the upper unit is housed in the upper connector fixing portion provided in the upper partition plate, and is connected to the lower connector fixing portion provided in the lower partition plate of the lower unit. Yes. For this reason, it is also possible to attach and detach wiring in a lump when attaching and detaching the upper and lower units.
[0021]
In addition, it is possible to work with the front door of the upper unit closed, and since the devices stored in the upper unit are not exposed to the outside, security associated with the model change work can be improved.
[0022]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of an upper unit (a) and a lower unit (b) showing an internal structure when a front door of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention is removed, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the upper unit (a) and the lower unit (b) which show the internal structure of the state which attached the front door. 3 is a partial perspective view showing the structure of the connecting mechanism of the upper and lower units according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0023]
With reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2 , the structure of the slot machine as a representative of the game machine by this invention is demonstrated. The slot machine main body 1 is separated into the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 together with the frame of the housing. An upper front door 4 is attached to the upper unit 2, and a front panel (not shown) is fitted in the center of the upper door 4, and three partially transparent display windows (not shown) The three reels 5 arranged in parallel in the slot machine main body can be observed. For example, 21 symbols are arranged at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of each reel, and the symbols are composed of a big bonus (BB) symbol, a regular bonus (RB) symbol, a small role symbol, a replay symbol, etc. Each reel has a different symbol arrangement.
[0024]
The reel 5 is configured as a reel unit 6, and a stepping motor 7 that is a part of reel driving means is connected to each reel, and each reel is rotated by driving the stepping motor, and each reel is displayed in each display window. Move and display the reels. Three lamp cases 8 are provided inside each reel 5, and a backlight (not shown) is attached in each lamp case. Each backlight is individually controlled to light through a lamp driving circuit (not shown), and three symbols can be illuminated from the back for each reel.
[0025]
A total of five lines are displayed on the display window of the front panel, with three effective lines in the horizontal direction and two in the diagonal direction. Each reel stops sequentially, and when a specific symbol is arranged on any one of the effective lines, a winning is won and a predetermined medal is paid out.
[0026]
The number of valid lines is set by pressing the BET switch (not shown) when the number of medals inserted from the medal slot 9 or when a medal is credited on the credit medal display section (not shown). The effective number varies depending on the number of inserted medals. The BET display lamp (not shown) has, for example, numbers “1”, “2”, “3” indicating the number of effective lines arranged vertically or horizontally, and when one medal is inserted, The number “1” of the BET display lamp is lit, one effective line is displayed, and when two medals are inserted, the number “2” is lit and three effective lines are displayed. When three medals are inserted, the number “3” lights up and all five valid lines are displayed.
[0027]
Side lamps (not shown) and side speakers (not shown) are provided on both sides of the front panel, an upper lamp 10 is provided above, and a liquid crystal display (not shown) is provided above the display window. Yes. These are controlled via each drive circuit and output general winning notifications during the game, sound effects of machine operations, sound effects, etc., and display means for notifying the player of the results of various internal lotteries Is configured. In addition, in addition to the display means described above, a separate notification display unit may be separately provided for notification of internal winning during the game, and may be performed there.
[0028]
The game control board 14 attached to the back wall in the upper unit 2 stores a game sequence program executed by the slot machine, and controls the progress of the entire game. A match table and a winning probability table are stored. A random number is generated for each game at a predetermined timing from a random number generator, and the presence or absence of winning is determined by referring to each table based on the random number. In the case of, a dividend corresponding to the winning combination is paid out.
[0029]
The game control board has an input port and an output port, a medal sensor, a clock generation circuit, a start lever, first, second and third reel indexes, and a stop button, first, third and third reels. Peripheral devices such as first, second, third reel display, medal block solenoid, start lever LED, and three BET display lamps are electrically connected. Each reel 5 is connected to the reel motor 7 coaxially, and rotates each reel at a constant step angle. The reel index detects a reset pulse generated every time each reel makes one rotation, counts the rotation angle from the predetermined reference position as the rotation position of the reel, and inputs the count value to the game control means. Also, it is mainly composed of a transmission timing control circuit and a data transmission circuit for transmitting data to the production control board, and outputs a data output timing information signal to the transmission timing control circuit according to the game situation. After temporarily storing the output timing information signal, it is output to the data input circuit of the sub-control unit.
[0030]
On the other hand, the effect control board 15 attached to the left side wall in the upper unit 2 includes a CPU, a sound LSI, a data input circuit, a clock generation circuit, a control ROM, a RAM, a sound ROM, an amplifier circuit, etc., and a liquid crystal A (dot) display device, an upper lamp, a side lamp (not shown), a reel backlight (not shown), a speaker (not shown), and the like are connected.
[0031]
On the upper part of the lower front door 11 of the lower unit 3, a start lever 12 and a plurality of stop buttons (not shown) which are variable display starting means for rotating each reel 5, a bet switch (not shown), A settlement button (not shown) is provided, and a lower panel (not shown) is fitted in the center front.
[0032]
Further, the lower unit 3 is discharged from a lower front door 11 through a return port (not shown) for returning inserted medals and a medal payout port (not shown) for paying out medals obtained at the time of winning. A medal tray 13 for storing medals is provided.
[0033]
Inside the lower unit 3, a medal hopper 16, a medal collection box 17 and a power supply unit 18, and an external concentration terminal plate 19 are attached.
[0034]
Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the structure of the connection mechanism of the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The outer frame body of the upper unit is formed in a downward convex shape, and the side plate 22 is attached vertically downward from the left and right end edges of the top plate 20, the back plate 21, and the top plate. The lower parts of the side plates are extended slightly inside the rail width to secure the space for mounting the rails, and when the upper unit is stacked on the lower unit, It has a leg portion 23 that is in contact with and supports both end portions.
[0035]
The upper rail member 24 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, is formed slightly shorter than the length in the longitudinal direction of the leg, and is attached to the positions of the rear side of the leg outer side on both sides by screws. ing. The length and the mounting position of the rail member may be changed according to the size of the upper unit stopper 25 and the mounting position.
[0036]
The upper partition plate 26 that forms the bottom surface of the upper unit 2 is, for example, a metal processed plate, and is an upper extension in which a bottom surface portion 27 and a rear edge portion of the bottom surface portion extend vertically upward. And a lower extending portion 29 in which the front side and both side edge ends extend vertically downward. The upper partition plate is screwed and fixed to the upper unit outer frame through the upper extending portion and the lower extending portions on both side edges. The material of the upper partition plate is not limited to the above, but can be attached and held with a reel unit, and has a strength that can withstand the attaching and detaching operations of the upper and lower units, for example, wooden or hard It is also possible to use a resin or the like.
[0037]
A space corresponding to the height of the downwardly extending portion is formed on the back side of the upper partition plate. At the center of the upper partition plate, horizontally long holes 30 and 31 cut in the longitudinal direction are provided in two rows at appropriate intervals. Two connector fixing portions 32 and 33 are provided in the back surface space between these two horizontally long holes, and a male connector is attached to each.
[0038]
When the connection state of the connector is confirmed after the upper and lower units are mounted, the reel unit fixed to the front side lower extension portion of the upper partition plate can be removed and visually recognized from the horizontally long holes 30 and 31.
[0039]
The right connector 32 converges the wiring from the external concentration terminal board 19 attached to the lower unit 3 and connects to the game control board 14 above the upper unit 2, and the left connector 33 is accommodated in the lower unit 3. The wiring from the power supply unit 18 is connected to the game control board 14. The wirings 34 and 35 on the back side of the upper partition plate are held by metal holding members (not shown) at appropriate positions so as not to loosen downward. The wiring to the main board is drawn out to the left and right sides in the upper unit 2 through the longitudinal elongated holes 36 and 37 provided at the upper partition plate side ends, respectively, and connected to the game control board 14.
[0040]
At the center of the front side of the upper partition plate 26, a plate-shaped grip 38 for pulling out the upper unit when the upper unit is replaced is provided. Next to the left and right vertical elongated holes 36 and 37, upper mounting holes 39 and 40 for connecting and fixing knobs 44 and 45 are provided, respectively, for overlapping and fixing the upper unit and the lower unit. In addition, a plurality of screw holes 41 for fixing the reel unit are formed in the front side lower extension portion. Furthermore, the substantially elliptical holes 42 and 43 at both left and right end portions are screw holes for sealing the left and right connecting portions by the connection fixing knobs 44 and 45.
[0041]
On the other hand, the wooden lower partition plate 46 that forms the upper surface of the lower unit is attached slightly below the upper surface end of the lower unit, corresponding to the height of the legs 23 of the upper unit. Therefore, the leg part 23 of the upper unit is fitted to the lower unit, and the lower part of the upper unit is embedded in the lower unit, preventing a shift in the left and right direction and rearward after the upper and lower units are mounted, and a stable connected state. Can keep.
[0042]
A lower connector fixing member 49 having two female connectors 47 and 48 and lower rail members 50 and 51 are disposed on both left and right ends, respectively, on the back side of the center on the lower partition plate. A long and thin metal slide restraining member 52 having left and right ends extending upward is attached between the lower rail member 49 and the front side of 49. In addition, circular wiring holes 53 and 54 are formed on both outer sides of the lower connector fixing member 49, respectively.
[0043]
The wiring 55 from the external concentrated terminal board is connected to the right connector 47 through the right wiring hole 53, and the wiring 56 from the power supply unit 18 is connected to the left connector 48 through the left wiring hole 54. .
[0044]
In the mounting operation of the upper unit and the lower unit, when the upper unit is placed on the lower unit and is slid along the rails at both ends, the front lower extension portion 29 of the upper partition plate is attached to the slide restraining member 52. Abuts and stops at a predetermined position, functions to set the connection position between units, and reduces the impact when sliding and abuts to protect the equipment stored in both the upper and lower units can do. In particular, the sliding operation of the upper and lower units can prevent damage due to direct impact on the left and right connectors that are automatically attached and detached.
[0045]
Furthermore, a stopper hole 57 is provided at the front side end of the right lower rail member. From this stopper hole, the protruding piece 58 of the upper unit stopper member 25 protrudes when the upper unit is mounted, and has a function of preventing the upper unit from sliding out.
[0046]
Also, lower mounting holes 59 and 60 are formed at positions corresponding to upper mounting holes 39 and 40 for connecting and fixing knobs provided on the upper partition plate of the upper unit at the left and right edge portions of the lower partition plate, respectively. The upper and lower units are connected and fixed by connecting and fixing knobs 44 and 45.
[0047]
【The invention's effect】
This configuration is characterized in that the gaming machine is separated into an upper unit and a lower unit in order to improve the working time and work efficiency associated with the replacement work of gaming machines. In the upper unit, a reel unit that must be replaced in accordance with the change of the gaming machine, an upper frame housing at least one of the game control means and the effect control means, and an openable and closable attachment to the upper frame, An upper door with at least one of a display panel, a production display unit, a display lamp, and a speaker is integrated, and the lower unit has a medal hopper, power box, and external concentration terminal that can be used in common among different models. A lower frame that houses at least one of a plate and a medal collection box, and a lower door that includes at least one of a medal slot, a start lever, at least one stop button, a plurality of bet switches, a settlement button, and a lower panel. is doing. Therefore, in the replacement operation of the gaming machine, the upper unit can be integrally attached and detached while maintaining the box shape, so that damage to the equipment stored can be reduced, and the operation can be performed easily and quickly. In addition, the equipment configuration provided in the upper frame, the upper door, the lower frame, and the lower door is not limited to the above. For example, the production control board may be attached to the back side of the upper door. Then, it is also possible to accommodate the external concentration terminal board accommodated in the lower unit in the upper unit.
[0048]
In addition, the upper unit and the lower unit are connected and fixed by a connecting and fixing knob, and each wiring of the device stored in the upper part and the device stored in the lower part is connected to the upper partition plate and the lower part constituting the connecting mechanism. A connector is fixedly housed in a space formed between the partition plates. Therefore, the connector can be automatically attached / detached with the sliding operation of the upper unit during the attaching / detaching operation of the upper and lower units.
[0049]
Furthermore, a rail member is provided for assisting the attaching / detaching operation of the upper and lower units, and a slide restraining member is attached to alleviate the impact at the time of mounting. In addition, an upper unit stopper that prevents the upper unit from sliding forward is provided, and a sealing mechanism can be attached to the connecting portion of the upper and lower units. Therefore, unauthorized access by a third party can be prevented, and a gaming machine that realizes safety and ease during replacement work can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of an upper unit (a) and a lower unit (b) showing an internal structure when a front door of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention is removed.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the upper unit (a) and the lower unit (b) showing the internal structure of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention with the front door attached.
3 is a partial perspective view showing the structure of a connecting mechanism of the upper and lower units according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game machine 2 ... Upper unit 3 ... Lower unit 4 ... Upper front door 5 ... Reel 6 ... Reel unit 7 ... Stepping motor 8 ... Reel lamp case 9 ... Medal slot 10 ... Upper lamp 11 ... Lower front door 12 ... Start Lever 13 ... Medal tray 14 ... Main control board 15 ... Production control board 16 ... Medal hopper 17 ... Medal collection box 18 ... Power supply unit 19 ... External concentration terminal plate 24 ... Upper rail member 26 ... Upper partition plate 28 ... Upper extension 29 ... Lower extending portion 30, 31 ... Connector long hole 36, 37 ... Upper wiring long hole 39, 40 ... Connection fixing knob upper mounting hole 44, 45 ... Connection fixing knob 49 ... Lower connector fixing member 50, 51 ... Lower rail member 52 ... Slide restraining member 59, 60 ... Lower mounting hole for connecting and fixing knob

Claims (1)

A reel unit having a plurality of reels with symbols arranged on the outer periphery; a game control means for individually rotating the plurality of reels and paying out a winning combination according to the combination of the symbols when stopped; and the game control Effect control means for performing effects related to the progress of the game by means, and engaging the rail member mounted on the upper partition plate forming the bottom surface of the upper unit and the lower partition plate forming the upper surface of the lower unit In the gaming machine formed so that it can be separated into two stages together with the case by sliding,
Engagement of the rail member between the rail members of the upper unit lower portion is brought into contact with the lower unit upper unit side plates inside of the rail members as well as to slidably said lower partition plate and the upper partition plate and upper connector fixing portion has a height greater than the height of the parts and forms a space portion which is disposed the lower connector fixing portion, the upper connector fixing portion and the lower connector fixing portion, the said upper unit lower A gaming machine that is automatically attached and detached in conjunction with a sliding motion with the unit.

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