JP4363513B2 - 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 consisting of a lamp or LED (hereinafter referred to as a backlight) that illuminates each symbol from the back is housed so that it can be easily seen by the player while playing the symbol. The 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 body 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 inner side 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]
In the game hall, a plurality of gaming islands in which a plurality of these gaming machines and medal lending machines are arranged in parallel are arranged in a plurality of rows, and a medal supply line is provided above each row of gaming machines and a medal collection line is provided below. And a medal supply system that controls the medal supply control device to supply medals from the medal supply line to the medal hopper of the gaming machine and the medal lending machine.
[0010]
[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 above conventional gaming machine, in the replacement work of the gaming machine, in addition to the installation of the gaming machine, wiring processing, etc., it is necessary to perform the mounting and detaching work of the medal replenishment chute fixed to the rear surface of the gaming machine. There is a problem that it becomes a burden on the work time, work cost, and work amount for the person.
[0011]
Therefore, the lower end of the chute is connected to the medal body introduction metal fitting at the rear of the gaming machine, and when removing the gaming machine for adjustment or replacement, the gaming machine is taken together with the chute by removing the upper end of the chute from the discharge opening side. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-42252 discloses a structure that can be taken out. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-102425 discloses a technique in which the other end of the bellows (shoot) is penetrated from the rear surface of the game machine and positioned above the medal hopper to replenish medals from the medal supply line. ing.
[0012]
However, since the technique disclosed in the above publication attaches the medal replenishment chute to the rear surface of the integrally formed case, the task of attaching and detaching the medal replenishment chute from the gaming machine when replacing the gaming machine Occurred and was troublesome.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, a gaming machine according to the present invention includes an upper unit and a lower unit, and the upper and lower units are arranged in two stages by a connecting mechanism provided in a space formed between the upper unit and the lower unit. In a gaming machine that is separable and in which at least a medal hopper is accommodated in the lower unit, a back plate of the lower unit has a mounting plate standing above the lower unit, and the mounting plate A medal replenishment chute coupling member is fixed to the replenishment chute coupling pipe connected to an attachment hole penetrating the rear plate of the lower unit at a lower end thereof, and is fixed via the medal replenishment chute coupling member. The medals fall from the outside to the medal hopper .
[0014]
In addition, the upper unit is attached to the reel unit, the upper frame body that houses at least one of the game control means and the effect control means, and the upper frame body so as to be freely opened and closed, a display panel, an effect display unit, It consists of an upper door provided with at least one of a display lamp and a speaker.
[0015]
Further, the lower unit includes a lower frame for storing at least one of a medal hopper, a power supply box, a concentration terminal board, and a medal collection box, a medal slot, a start lever, at least one stop button, a plurality of bet switches, It consists of a lowering door provided with at least one of a settlement button and a lower panel.
[0016]
The connection mechanism provided in the space formed between the upper unit and the lower unit is at least one of an upper partition plate, a lower partition plate, a connector connection portion, a slide restraining portion, a rail portion, and an upper unit stopper. It is characterized by having.
[0017]
The lower unit includes a back plate having an attachment hole for attaching a medal supply chute connecting member, and the medal supply chute connecting member is fixed to the lower unit.
[0018]
According to this configuration, when changing the model of the gaming machine, it is only necessary to replace the entire upper unit without removing and attaching the medal replenishment chute. Therefore, easy work is possible and work efficiency can be improved.
[0019]
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.
[0020]
Furthermore, since the medal supply chute connecting member is fixed to the lower unit side and does not affect the attachment / detachment of the upper unit, it is possible to reduce the burden of the replacement work of the gaming machine.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gaming machine frame according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a connecting member and a lower unit of a medal replenishment chute which is a main part of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a connecting member and a lower unit of a medal replenishment chute which is a main part of the present invention.
[0022]
The configuration of the slot machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The slot machine main body 1 has both left and right end portions by connecting and fixing knobs 6a and 6b, which are fastening members, with upper and lower partition plates 4 and 5 sandwiched between the upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 together with the frame of the housing. Is fixed. An upper front door (not shown) is attached to the upper unit 2, and a front panel (not shown) is fitted in the central portion of the upper door, and three partially transparent display windows (see FIG. 3 reels (not shown) arranged in parallel inside the slot machine 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.
[0023]
Each reel is configured as a reel unit (not shown), and a stepping motor (not shown), which is a part of reel driving means, is connected to each reel, and each reel is rotated by driving the stepping motor. Each reel is moved and displayed in each display window. Three lamp cases (not shown) are provided inside each reel 7, 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.
[0024]
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.
[0025]
The number of valid lines is set by pressing the BET switch (not shown) when the number of medals inserted from the medal slot 17 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.
[0026]
Side lamps (not shown) and side speakers (not shown) are provided on both sides of the front panel, an upper lamp (not shown) is provided above, and a liquid crystal display unit (not shown) is provided above the display window. Is provided. 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.
[0027]
A game control board (not shown) attached to the inside of the back plate of the upper unit 2 stores a game sequence program executed by the slot machine, and controls the progress of the entire game. A design table, a winning combination table, a winning probability table, etc. are stored, and a random number is generated for each game at a predetermined timing from a random number generator. Presence / absence is determined, and in the case of winning, a dividend corresponding to the winning combination is paid out.
[0028]
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 is coaxially connected to the reel motor, 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.
[0029]
On the other hand, an effect control board (not shown) 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, and the like. And a liquid crystal (dot) display device, an upper lamp, a side lamp, a reel backlight, a speaker, and the like are connected thereto.
[0030]
On the upper part of the lower door 18 on the front of the lower unit 3, a start lever 19 that is variable display starting means for rotating each reel 7, a plurality of stop buttons (not shown), a bet switch (not shown), A clearing button (not shown) is provided, and a lower panel (not shown) is fitted in the center front.
[0031]
Further, in the lower part of the lower door, in order to store medals discharged from a return port (not shown) for returning inserted medals and a medal payout outlet (not shown) for paying out medals obtained at the time of winning a prize. The medal tray 20 is provided.
[0032]
Inside the lower unit 3, a medal hopper 21, a medal recovery box (not shown), a power supply unit (not shown), and an external concentration terminal plate (not shown) are attached.
[0033]
The outer frame of the upper unit is formed in a downwardly convex shape, and side plates 9a and 9b are attached vertically downward from the upper and lower plates 7, the rear plate 8, and the left and right edges of the upper plate. The lower portions of the side plates are extended slightly inward from the rail width to secure a space for mounting the rails, and when the upper unit is stacked on the lower unit, Leg portions 10a and 10b which are in contact with and support both end portions of the upper unit, and the peripheral portion constituting the bottom surface of the upper unit and the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the lower unit come into contact with each other and overlap each other. .
[0034]
The metallic upper rails 11a and 11b have a substantially U-shaped cross section, are formed slightly shorter than the length in the longitudinal direction of the leg, and are screwed to the positions of the rear side of the leg outer surface on both sides. Installed by each. The length and mounting position of the rail member may be changed depending on the size of the upper unit stopper 27 and the mounting position.
[0035]
The upper partition plate 4 forming the bottom surface of the upper unit 2 is, for example, a metal processed plate, and an upper extending portion in which a bottom surface portion and a rear edge portion of the bottom surface portion extend vertically upward. And the front side and both side edge edge part have the downward extension part extended in the perpendicular downward direction. 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. Further, the lower extension portion in which the front side and both edge ends of the bottom portion extend vertically downward forms a space portion with the lower partition plate 5 when the upper and lower units are attached to each other. It has become.
[0036]
In the central portion of the upper partition plate, horizontally elongated holes cut in the longitudinal direction are provided in two rows at an appropriate interval, and in the back space between these two horizontally elongated holes, two male types are provided. A connector 28a is attached. Further, a female connector 28b is attached to the center back side of the lower partition plate at a position corresponding to the male connector attached to the upper partition plate. These two connectors connect the wiring from the external concentration terminal board (not shown) and the power supply unit (not shown) housed in the lower unit 3 to a game control board (not shown) attached to the upper unit. Each connector is connected to each other, and constitutes a connector connecting portion that can be disconnected by attaching and detaching a male connector provided on the upper partition plate and a female connector of the lower partition plate. Therefore, the wiring on the upper unit side and the wiring on the lower unit side can be automatically attached / detached with the sliding operation of the upper unit in the attaching / detaching operation of the upper unit and the lower unit.
[0037]
The material of the upper partition plate and the upper and lower rails is not limited to the above, and a material that can hold the reel unit attached and has a strength that can withstand the attaching and detaching operations of the upper and lower units, for example, wooden Alternatively, it is possible to use hard resin or the like.
[0038]
On the other hand, the lower unit 3 includes a back plate 12, a bottom plate 13, side plates 14a and 14b, and a wooden lower partition plate 5 forming an upper surface, and corresponds to the height of the legs 10a and 10b of the upper unit. It is attached slightly below the top edge of the unit. Therefore, the legs 10a and 19b of the upper unit are 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 mounting the upper and lower units, and stable. The connected state can be maintained.
[0039]
Note that the method of attaching the upper rail is not limited to the above, and the frame of the upper unit 2 is formed in a downward U-shape, and an L-shape is formed along the longitudinal direction of the upper end portion of the upper rail. The extending portion may be provided integrally, and the vertical surface thereof and the lower portions of the side surface plates 9a and 9b of the upper unit may be joined respectively.
[0040]
An attachment hole 22 for attaching a medal replenishment chute connecting member is provided through the upper portion of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the back plate 12 of the lower unit 3. The position of the mounting hole 22 is not limited to the present embodiment, and can be changed depending on the position and size of the medal hopper provided in the lower unit. Preferably have a positional relationship so that the hopper can drop onto the hopper, and the outlet 26 is configured to reach an appropriate position within the upper surface opening of the hopper.
[0041]
In addition, left and right lower rail members 15a and 15b are attached to the left and right ends of the lower partition plate 5, and a slide inhibiting member 16 is attached along the longitudinal direction therebetween. The slide restraining member 33 has a substantially L-shaped cross section, and has a vertical portion extending in the vertical direction and a horizontal portion. The vertical portion may be provided with an appropriate length at both left and right end portions by cutting out the central portion, or may be integrally formed with a length equivalent to the horizontal portion. The horizontal portion is attached or screwed as a fixed portion to be attached to the lower partition plate 5.
[0042]
In the mounting operation of the upper unit and the lower unit, when the upper rails 11a and 11b are placed and slid on the lower rails 15a and 15b, the front side lower extension portion of the upper partition plate is appropriately mounted on the lower partition plate 5. Abuts against the vertical portion of the slide restraining member 16 attached to the position, stops at a predetermined position, functions to set the connecting position of the units, and reduces the impact when sliding and contacting. The devices housed in the upper and lower units can be protected.
[0043]
Further, upper insertion holes for connecting and fixing knobs 6a and 6b are respectively provided at the left and right end portions of the upper partition plate 4, and the left and right edge ends of the lower partition plate 5 correspond to the upper insertion holes. A lower insertion hole is formed at each position.
[0044]
The connecting and fixing knobs 6a and 6b each have a knob head and a shaft portion threaded at the tip, and penetrate the lower insertion hole and the upper insertion hole provided in the upper partition plate 4 from the lower side of the lower partition plate 5, respectively. The upper partition plate 4 and the lower partition plate 5 are sandwiched between the upper partition plate 4 and the bottom partition portion 4 by screwing.
[0045]
The medal supply chute connecting member 23 includes a supply chute connecting tube 24 and a mounting plate 25. The mounting plate 25 is screwed to the lower unit back plate 12, and the supply chute connecting tube 24 is connected to the mounting plate 25. Screws are fixed. The mounting plate 25 preferably has a size that is stable when the supply chute connecting tube 24 is fixed, corresponding to the size of the supply chute connecting tube.
[0046]
The lower end portion of the supply chute connecting pipe 24 passes through a mounting hole 22 penetrating the back plate 12 of the lower unit, and the medal discharge port 26 is drawn into the upper surface opening of the medal hopper 21 to an appropriate position. The replenished medals are arranged to fall into the medal hopper by their own weight. The upper end portion of the medal replenishment chute connecting pipe 24 has an opening for inserting a medal replenishment hose extending from the medal replenishment line.
[0047]
As described above, in this embodiment, the medal supply chute connecting member 23 is fixed to the lower unit, and the replacement operation of the gaming machine is performed only by attaching and detaching the upper unit. It is not necessary to attach or detach the supply chute from the gaming machine, and the burden of replacement work can be reduced.
[0048]
【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 checkout 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.
[0049]
In addition, the medal supply chute connecting member is fixed to the lower unit, and the replacement operation of the gaming machine is performed only by attaching / detaching the upper unit, so the medal supply chute needs to be attached / detached from the gaming machine. The burden of replacement work can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gaming machine frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a connecting member and a lower unit of a medal replenishment chute that is a main part of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a connecting member and a lower unit of a medal replenishment chute that is a main part of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game machine 2 ... Upper unit 3 ... Lower unit 4 ... Upper partition plate 5 ... Lower partition plate 6a, 6b ... Connection fixing knob 7 ... Upper unit upper surface plate 8 ... Upper unit rear plate 9a, 9b ... Upper unit side plate 10a DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10b ... Leg part 11a, 11b ... Upper rail 12 ... Lower unit back plate 13 ... Lower unit bottom plate 14a, 14b ... Lower unit side plate 15a, 15b ... Lower rail 17 ... Medal slot 18 ... Lower door 19 ... Start lever 20 ... Medal tray 21 ... Medal hopper 23 ... Medal replenishment chute connecting member 24 ... Connecting pipe 25 ... Mounting plate 26 ... Medal outlet 27 ... Upper unit stopper 28a ... Connector connecting part (male connector)
28b ... Connector connecting part (female connector)

Claims (1)

The upper unit and the lower unit are separated into the upper and lower stages by a connecting mechanism provided in a space formed between the upper unit and the lower unit, and the lower unit includes at least a medal hopper. In the gaming machine that stores the
The back plate of the lower unit has a mounting plate erected above the lower unit, and a lower end connected to the mounting hole that is attached to the mounting plate and extends through the back plate of the lower unit. A gaming machine characterized in that a medal supply chute connecting member constituted by a supply chute connecting tube is fixed, and a medal is dropped from the outside to the medal hopper through the medal supply chute connecting member.

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