JP4386440B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a slot machine.

  A gaming machine such as a slot machine allows a player to enjoy a game by inserting a predetermined number of medals (game media) into the gaming machine. The medals necessary for the game can be borrowed by a medal lending machine provided in the game hall, and the game can be started by inserting medals into the medal slot of a desired gaming machine.

  In order to detect the operation state of the operation unit such as a switch or a lever of the gaming machine, a sensor including a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit has been provided. An action part that moves when a switch, a lever, or the like is operated is provided, and the action part is configured to shield interruption light between the light emitting part and the light receiving part during operation.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-317491 "Switching device for operation handle for gaming machine" This prior art is swingably attached to the front panel of a gaming machine, and is normally urged toward a reference position by a return spring. And a reflecting plate provided at an end of the operation handle on the front panel side, a light emitting unit that emits light toward the reflecting plate, and a light receiving unit that receives light reflected from the reflecting plate. When the operation handle is at the reference position, the reflected light is incident on the light receiving unit, but when the operation handle is at the swing position, the reflected light is relatively An operation handle for a gaming machine is disclosed, wherein the operation handle is switched between an on state and an off state depending on a light receiving state of the light receiving unit.

  As in the prior art described above, it is common to use a photoelectric sensor in which light emission and light reception are integrated as a sensor used to detect operation of the operation unit of the gaming machine. Since the operation unit is provided on the door side of the gaming machine, it is necessary to provide power supply to the sensor and wiring for signal lines on the door side. There was a problem that the wiring for that increased. An increase in the wiring means that the manufacturing cost increases and the number of illegal acts increases, which is not preferable. It is possible to separate the light emitting part from the light receiving part, provide the light emitting part on the door side, and provide the light receiving part on the housing side, but even if arranged in this way, it is necessary to supply power to the light emitting part The above problem is not solved.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to simplify wiring and improve security in a gaming machine housing by applying a photoelectric sensor using a piezoelectric element technology that does not require a power source to the gaming machine.

  The gaming machine according to the present invention detects a housing, a door provided on the front surface of the housing, an operation unit provided on the door side including a stop button and a start button, and an operation state of the operation unit. In a gaming machine comprising a sensor and a control unit that detects an operation status of the operation unit based on an output of the sensor, the sensor is a piezoelectric element disposed at a position where pressure is applied by a button of the operation unit, A light-emitting unit that receives light from the piezoelectric element and emits light; and a light-receiving unit that is provided in the housing so as to face the light-emitting unit and receives light from the light-emitting unit. The operation state of the operation unit is detected based on the output of the light receiving unit.

Wherein the operation unit provided to be open closed about a hinge independently of the door, said to be able to close the operating unit with open door, in the state where the operation unit is closed, the button The light emitting unit and the light receiving unit may face each other so as to receive light from the light emitting unit that emits light with a current generated by the piezoelectric element depending on pressure during operation . Even when the door is open, the light receiving unit outputs a light reception signal by operating the operation unit in a closed state.

  You may make it provide the circuit which blocks | prevents the flow of the electric current from the said piezoelectric element to the said light emission part based on the signal from the said control part. The control unit controls the circuit to inhibit the light emitting unit from emitting light as necessary.

  According to this invention, since it is not necessary to supply power to the light emitting part provided in the operation part on the door side, the light emitting part / light receiving part of the sensor for detecting the operation are separately arranged on the door side and the housing side. Sometimes it is possible to eliminate wiring from the housing side to the door side for the sensor. Eliminating the wiring also has the effect of preventing fraud.

  A gaming machine (slot machine) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of the slot machine with the front door closed, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the slot machine with the front door opened 180 degrees.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 100 denotes a slot machine. As shown in FIG. 1, the slot machine 100 can be opened and closed by a hinge or the like on the slot machine main body 120 and one side of the front surface of the slot machine main body 120. And a front door 130 attached thereto. As shown in FIG. 1, a game display unit 131 is provided substantially in the center of the front door 130, and a medal insertion slot 132 for a player to insert medals is provided at the lower right corner of the game display unit 131. Provided below the medal insertion slot 132 is a reject button 133 for forcibly discharging a clogged medal inserted from the medal insertion slot 132 to the outside of the slot machine 100.

  Further, a start button 134 for starting a game is provided at the lower left of the game display unit 131, and three stop buttons 140 are provided corresponding to the three reels. A start button 134 and a stop button 140 are provided on the operation unit 202. As will be described later, the portion of the operation unit 202 can be opened and closed independently of other portions of the front door 130. A medal payout port 135 is provided at the center of the lower end of the front door.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the slot machine main body 120 is fixed to the inner bottom surface, stores a plurality of medals therein, and stores the stored medals at a payout port 135 provided on the front surface of the front door 130. A hopper device 121 for paying out the sheets one by one is installed. An upper portion of the hopper device 121 is provided with a hopper tank 122 that opens upward and stores a plurality of medals therein. Inside the slot machine main body 120, a reel unit 203 including three rotating reels is installed at a position where the game display unit 131 comes when the front door 130 is closed. A power supply unit 205 is provided between the upper hopper unit 121 and the reel unit 203.

  On the back side of the operation unit 202, the back structure of the start button 134 and the stop button 140 protrudes. Inside the slot machine main body 120, a light receiving portion mounting portion 206 is provided at a position where the operation portion 202 of the front door 130 comes when the front door 130 is closed. The light receiving portion mounting portion 206 is provided with four light receiving portions PD for detecting the operation state of the start button 134 and the stop button 140. With the operation unit 202 closed, the back structures of the start button 134 and the stop button 140 are opposed to the light receiving unit PD (see FIG. 4).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the medal (coin) selector 1 is attached to the back side of the front door 130 on the back side of the medal slot 132 provided on the front surface of the front door 130. This medal selector 1 rolls the medal toward the hopper device 121 while detecting the passage of the medal inserted from the medal insertion slot 132, and has a different diameter medal or iron or iron whose outer diameter is different from the predetermined dimension. This is an apparatus for selecting and removing illegal medals made of an alloy and selecting and eliminating a predetermined number or more of medals that can be inserted per game.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a lead-out path 136 that covers the lower side and communicates with the payout port 135 of the front door 130 is provided below the medal selector 1. The medals distributed by the medal selector 1 are returned to the player from the payout port 135 via the derivation path 136.

  A player who wants to enjoy a game with a slot machine can first borrow a medal as a game medium from a medal lending machine (not shown) or the like, and insert a medal directly into the medal slot 132 of the medal slot device. A square window-like display window 131 facing the player side is formed at the center and upper part of the slot machine casing. In the center of the central display window, a symbol display window through which the symbols of the three rotating reels can be seen is formed. The start button 134 is a lever (button) positioned obliquely below the rotating reel, and starts driving the reel unit 203 on condition that a game medal is inserted. The reel unit 203 is stopped from driving by a stop switch 140. The reel unit is composed of three rotating reels. Each rotating reel includes a rotating drum made of a synthetic resin and a tape-like reel tape attached around the rotating drum. A plurality of (for example, 21) symbols are displayed on the outer peripheral surface of the reel tape.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the slot machine according to the embodiment of the invention.
In FIG. 3, reference numerals 200 and 201 denote a main board and a sub board, each incorporating a CPU, ROM and RAM, respectively. The main board 200 performs medal insertion, payout, reel control, winning process, and the like. The sub-board 201 performs processing such as effect display. An operation unit 202 includes switches such as a start switch 134, a stop switch 140, and a bet switch (not shown). A reel unit 203 includes three rotating reels. An effect display unit 204 includes a game display unit 131, internal illumination of a reel, a liquid crystal display device, a speaker, and the like. The effect display unit 204 notifies the winning combination and the pressing order. A power supply unit 205 supplies power to each unit. 121 is a hopper device for paying out stored medals one by one to a payout opening 135 provided on the front surface of the front door 130.

  The operation unit 202 is provided with a plurality of buttons 134 and 140, and since all the structures are the same, one of them is shown in FIG. The buttons of the operation unit 202 include a button action unit 20 that moves back and forth and / or left and right in response to a player's operation, a piezoelectric element 21 that is provided at an end of the button action unit 20 and receives pressure from the button during operation, and a piezoelectric element. A light emitting unit LED that is connected to the element 21 and emits light with a current generated when the piezoelectric element 21 receives pressure. The light receiving part PD provided in the light receiving part mounting part 206 receives the light of the light emitting part LED with the front door 130 closed (or with only the light receiving part mounting part 206 closed). The piezoelectric element 21, the light emitting unit LED, and the light receiving unit PD are sensors 10 that detect the operation state of the buttons.

  Piezoelectric elements have the ability to convert mechanical energy and electrical energy alternately. In the embodiment of the present invention, light is generated by taking out electrical energy using the property of converting the mechanical energy of the piezoelectric element into electrical energy. Specifically, a piezoelectric element and a light emitting diode (LED) that is lit using the energy are connected, and preferably configured integrally. By integrally forming both of them with a molding material, it is possible to compensate for weakness and improve environmental performance.

  When a piezoelectric element is used, it is not necessary to supply power to the light emitting unit, so that the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit can be easily separated and used. Since no wiring is required, manufacturing costs can be reduced and fraud can be prevented. As a specific usage method, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, it can be used as an alternative to a sensor normally used in a part operated by a person such as a stop button 140 and a start button 134.

  The structure will be described with reference to FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the operation unit 202 and the light receiving unit mounting unit 206, and FIG. 5B is a connection diagram of the piezoelectric element 21 and the light emitting unit LED. The action part 20 of the button is urged to the left side (player side) in FIG. When the player operates, the button action portion 20 is pushed out in the direction of the arrow, and the piezoelectric element 21 provided at the end of the button is struck. Due to the pressure, the piezoelectric element 21 generates electric power and makes the light emitting unit LED shine. The light L reaches the light receiving part PD through the opening. Since the output of the light receiving unit PD is connected to the main board 200, it can be detected that the button is operated on the main board 200. If the button action part 20 is made of a transparent member such as transparent plastic, the light from the light emitting part LED is also transmitted to the player side, so that the player can confirm that the button has been pressed by the light.

  According to the configuration of FIG. 5, the light emitting unit / light receiving unit of the sensor for detecting the operation of the button can be separately arranged on the door side and the housing side, and wiring on the light emitting unit is unnecessary, so that the housing side It is possible to reduce the wiring from the door to the door side, and also obtain an effect of preventing fraud by reducing the wiring.

  In a game, the operation of a specific button may become invalid. In that case, it is preferable that the light emitting unit LED does not emit light even when the action portion 20 of the button is pressed. FIG. 6 shows an example of such a circuit. The photocoupler 23 is turned on by the output of the main substrate 200 so that the current of the piezoelectric element 21 is not transmitted to the light emitting unit LED.

  If the light emitting unit / light receiving unit of the sensor for detecting the operation of the button are arranged separately on the door side and the housing side, the button cannot be operated with the front door 130 opened during maintenance or the like. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the operation unit 202 is configured to be openable and closable independently from the other parts of the front door 130, and the button operation is performed by closing only the operation unit 202 during maintenance or the like. It is preferable if possible. FIG. 7 shows a state where the front door 130 is opened, and FIG. 8 shows a state where only the operation unit 202 is closed. The operation unit 202 is attached to the housing 120 with a hinge H different from the hinge H1 of the front door 130, and can be opened and closed independently. In other words, the light emitting portion mounting portion 206 is fixed to the housing 120 (similar to the case of FIG. 2). The operation unit 202 is a rectangular door member that rotates around the hinge H2, and buttons 134 and 140 are attached to the door member. The front door 130 is formed with an opening of approximately the same size as the operation portion 202. When the front door 130 is in a closed state, the operation portion 202 is stored in the opening, and the operation portion 202 and The provided buttons 134 and 140 are exposed to the outside. It is preferable to prevent a gap from being formed with the operation unit 202 when the front door 130 is closed. A lock mechanism (not shown) may be provided so that the operation unit 202 does not move to the housing side when the buttons 134 and 140 are pressed in a normal use state (game state). On the other hand, when the operation unit 202 is operated with the front door 130 of FIG. 8 opened, the operation unit 202 is moved to the light emitting unit attachment unit 206 so that the operation unit 202 does not move toward the front door 130 due to the reaction. You may make it provide the locking mechanism which is not shown in figure to fix.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

It is a front view of the slot machine which shows the state which closed the front door. It is a front view of the slot machine which shows the state which opened the front door 180 degree | times. FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the slot machine according to the embodiment of the invention. It is a top view of the state which opened the door of the slot machine which concerns on embodiment of invention. It is explanatory drawing of the button and its sensor which concern on embodiment of invention. It is an example of the connection circuit of the piezoelectric element which concerns on embodiment of an invention, and a light emitting element (The circuit which blocks | prevents the flow of the electric current from a piezoelectric element to a light emission part is included). It is a figure which shows the state which opened the door of the slot machine which concerns on embodiment of invention. FIG. 5 shows a state in which only a portion of the operation unit of the slot machine according to the embodiment of the invention is closed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Medal selector 10 Sensor 20 Button action part 21 Piezoelectric element 22 Spring 23 Photocoupler 100 Slot machine 120 Slot machine body 121 Hopper device 121a Medal payout sensor 122 Hopper tank 130 Front door 131 Game display part 132 Medal insertion port 133 Reject button 134 Start Button 135 Discharge port 136 Derivation path 140 Stop button 200 Main board 201 Sub board 202 Operation part 203 Reel unit 204 Effect display part 205 Power supply part 206 Light receiving part mounting part LED Light emitting part PD Light receiving part L Light H1, H2 Hinge

Claims (3)

  Based on a housing, a door provided on the front surface of the housing, an operation unit provided on the door including a stop button and a start button, a sensor for detecting an operation state of the operation unit, and an output of the sensor In a gaming machine including a control unit that detects an operation state of the operation unit, the sensor emits light by receiving a piezoelectric element disposed at a position to which pressure is applied by a button of the operation unit, and current from the piezoelectric element. And a light-receiving unit that is provided in the housing so as to face the light-emitting unit and receives light from the light-emitting unit, and the control unit is configured to perform the operation based on an output of the light-receiving unit. A gaming machine characterized by detecting an operation state of a part.   2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a circuit that blocks a current flow from the piezoelectric element to the light emitting unit based on a signal from the control unit. Provided to be open closed about a hinge to the operating unit independently of the door, to be able to close the operation unit in a state of opening the door,
When the operation unit is closed, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit face each other so as to receive light from the light emitting unit that emits light with a current generated by the piezoelectric element due to pressure when the button is operated. The gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above.

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