JP4804947B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine that uses a game medium such as a medal to play a game, and particularly relates to a gaming machine that allows a large amount of medals to be stored in a tray of the game medium.

  Conventionally, as a gaming machine using a game medium such as a medal, for example, a slot machine or the like has been provided, and at the bottom of the slot machine, a game medium such as a medal paid out from a payout outlet is received and stored. A saucer is provided.

As a technique for improving the tray, a gaming machine has been proposed in which small items such as banknotes, coins, and prepaid cards are held by providing a small groove in the tray for storing game media (for example, patents). Reference 1).
JP 2003-305156 A

  By the way, since the player of the slot machine tends to store as many medals as possible in the tray, it is considered desirable for the player to increase the amount of medals stored in the tray as much as possible.

  For example, according to the gaming machine 10 described in Patent Document 1, the upper end of the medal is set higher than the upper end of the side plate 83 of the tray 80 by storing the medal in a small accessory groove 90 (see FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1). Therefore, the medal storage amount of the tray 80 can be increased in the game process.

  However, the structure of the accessory groove 90 described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that dust tends to accumulate in the groove and is difficult to clean. In addition, if the medal inserted in the accessory groove 90 is forcibly moved in the front-rear direction (direction orthogonal to the groove), the accessory groove 90 may be damaged, which may be tampered with by the player. Is done.

  Therefore, the present invention can increase the amount of stored medals by placing medals upright around the saucer, and improving the durability and maintainability by devising the shape of the part where the medals are placed. The purpose is to provide a machine.

The invention according to claim 1 has been made to solve the above problems,
A gaming machine comprising a payout outlet for paying out medals used in a game, and a saucer for receiving and storing medals paid out from the payout exit, wherein the saucer is provided from a bottom plate and a periphery of the bottom plate. The side plate can be placed in a state where medals are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction on the inner peripheral side thereof, and the side plate includes a standing wall and a bottom surface. have a medal mount constituting the L-shaped cross section with a bottom surface,
The medal placement part is in a positional relationship in which the medals placed in the medal placement part formed in the upper stage are locked by the medals placed in the medal placement part formed in the lower stage. It is characterized by being formed in a step shape over the side plate in the vertical direction .

The invention according to claim 2, in succession in the longitudinal direction of the medal mount, in which so as to form a housing portion forming the arcuate said bottom surface is to correspond to the outer peripheral shape of the medal.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since medals can be stood and placed around the saucer, the medals function as a side plate of the saucer, and the medal storage amount of the saucer can be increased. In this case, the medals placed upright on the medal placement portion having the L-shaped section or the substantially L-shaped cross section are less likely to fall inward by the medals stored in the tray. In addition, when the medal stored in the tray is taken out, the medal placed on the medal placement unit falls into the saucer, so that the player takes away the medal in the tray at the end of the game. In this case, there is an effect that the medals placed on the medal placement unit can be easily collected.
In addition, a plurality of medal placement units are formed in a stepped manner in the vertical direction of the side plate, and medals arranged in the medal placement unit formed in the upper stage by medals arranged in the medal placement unit formed in the lower stage Since the positions of the medals arranged in each stage are balanced with each other, the positions of the medals arranged in each stage are balanced. That is, since the height as the side plate can be increased by placing a large number of medals standing in the tray, a large amount of medals can be stored.

  Furthermore, even when compared with the medal placement portion configured with a U-shaped groove described in Patent Document 1, the groove is not damaged by a player's mischief, and the durability can be increased. Play.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the medal placement portion is formed with an arcuate storage portion whose bottom surface corresponds to the outer peripheral shape of the medal, and is continuously formed in the longitudinal direction. The medals can be placed side by side easily.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a configuration of a slot machine as a gaming machine according to the present embodiment.

  A gaming machine (slot machine) 1 has a hinge on the left side, and includes a front frame 2 that can be opened and closed in a single-opening manner around the hinge.

  An opening window 3 is provided at the center of the front frame 2. The opening window 3 is closed by a clear member (decorative panel) 4 attached from the back. The clear member 4 is made of a transparent resin such as a transparent plastic plate, and is decorated (not shown) by silk screen printing or pasting a printed film. In particular, on the upper part of the clear member 4, symbols such as a combination of a game method and winning symbols are given by decoration. In addition, the clear member 4 has a region that is not decorated in part (or a region that is decorated with colorless and transparent decoration), and the region can visually recognize the back side of the opening window 3 from the front. A display window is formed.

  Three reels constituting a variable display device (variable display device) are arranged on the back surface of the opening window portion 3 so as to be rotatable. On the outer peripheral surface of each reel, a symbol row composed of a plurality of types of symbols (symbols) is written. The reels are driven by a reel motor and rotate independently of each other. In the gaming machine 1, a variable display game is played by the rotation of the reel. And a predetermined | prescribed game value is provided to a player by the stop result of a variable display becoming a predetermined display mode (predetermined symbol combination mode) on an active line.

  A display window (not shown) is provided at the approximate center of the clear member 4 for allowing the player to visually recognize a symbol that is displayed in a variable manner (variably displayed) by the rotation of the reel. When the reels stop, three symbols can be visually recognized from the display window on the outer peripheral surface of the reels. That is, a total of nine symbols can be visually recognized from the display window portion with the reel stopped.

  Further, a payout number display unit, a game progress display unit, and a credit number display unit made up of a 7-segment LED or a liquid crystal display are provided below the back of the opening window 3. And the display window part for visually recognizing these payout number display parts, game progress display parts, and credit number display parts is provided in the lower part of clear member 4.

  The payout number display unit displays a preset error code when an abnormality (for example, lack of medals or clogged medals) occurs in the number of medals paid out when the winning is confirmed or the operation of the gaming machine 1 To do. The game progress display section displays the remaining game in the assist (AT) state (the state of a winning flag such as a small role, the game state in which a specific stop order of reels is notified to the player), in the BB state or in the RB state. Displays the number of times. The credit number display unit displays the number of credits accumulated by the player's medal insertion operation.

  The tilt base 6 in front of the clear member 4 is provided with a medal insertion slot 7 for inserting a medal on the right side. When a medal is inserted into the medal insertion slot 7, the inserted medal is added as the number of bets. When the bet number reaches the maximum betable number (for example, 3), the number of inserted medals is not added to the bet number but added to the credit number. When the number of credits reaches a limit value (for example, 50), the inserted medals are discharged to the tray 8 provided at the bottom of the front frame 2 without being added to the number of credits. The tray 8 stores the medals discharged from the medal payout device (hopper) on the back side of the front frame 2 and discharged from the payout opening 5.

  The inclined platform 6 is provided with a bet button 9 for betting a maximum number of medals by a single pressing operation. When the bet button 9 is operated, for example, when no medal is bet, three medals are bet, and when only one medal is bet, two medals are bet. By using the bet button 9, a medal can be bet within the credit number without inserting a medal from the medal insertion slot 7.

  A quadrilateral decorative panel 10 is provided below the front frame 2. On the upper left side of the decorative panel 10, a credit settlement button 11 is provided for settlement of credits. The number of medals corresponding to the number of credits is discharged to the tray 8 by operating the credit check button 11, and at the same time, the display on the credit number display section is cleared to zero.

  A start lever 12 is provided on the right side of the credit check button 11 for starting the rotation of the reels all at once. On the right side of the start lever 12, reel stop buttons 13 to 15 for stopping the rotation of the reels and deriving a stop symbol are provided. When the reel stop buttons 13 to 15 are operated, the reels corresponding to the respective buttons stop rotating. If the bet number is 0, the start condition of the variable display game is not satisfied, and the reel does not rotate even if the start lever 12 is operated.

  A return button 16 is provided on the right side of the reel stop button 15. When the return button 16 is operated when a medal is jammed in the medal flow path (not shown) from the medal slot 7, the medal jammed in the flow path is returned to the tray 8.

  An upper decoration unit 17 is provided above the front frame 2. In the upper decoration unit 17, an auxiliary game is executed, and an effect display and information display related to a variable display game using reels are performed. The upper decoration unit 17 is controlled by a display control device (not shown) to change the display contents. It should be noted that the auxiliary game can inform the player that a specific winning flag has been established in the variable display game by deriving a specific result.

  Speaker sound emitting portions 18 are provided on the upper left and right sides of the upper decoration unit 17. In addition, sound emitting portions 19 of the speakers are provided on the left and right sides of the tray 8 at the back position.

  Further, above the upper decoration unit 17, there is provided a decoration portion 20 made of a decoration lamp, LED, and the like. The decoration part 20 improves the interest of the game by lighting in various modes when the BB state or the RB state occurs. An ashtray 21 is provided on the left side of the tray 8.

  As described above, the slot machine 1 according to the present embodiment includes the payout opening 5 for paying out medals used in the game, and the tray 8 for receiving and storing the medals paid out from the payout opening 5. ing.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the tray 8 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the tray 8. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tray 8 includes a bottom plate 31 and a side plate 32 erected upward from the periphery of the bottom plate 31. Further, on the inner peripheral side of the side plate 32, a medal placement portion 33 that can be placed in a state where a plurality of medals are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction is provided on the side plate 32 so that the cross section is L-shaped. It is formed by cutting out the inside.

  Here, the width of the bottom surface 33b of the medal placement unit 33 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a width about the thickness of two medals. Further, it is desirable that the height of the standing wall 33a of the medal placement portion 33 is about half that of the medal. Thereby, the medal is unlikely to fall outside the tray 8 and the medal placed on the medal placement portion 33 can effectively function as a side plate, so that the medal can be placed in a stable state. The part 33 can be held.

  In the present embodiment, the entire surface of the bottom plate 31 of the tray 8 is covered with a transparent cover member 41, and an advertising medium 42 such as an advertisement plate is visible in the space formed by the bottom plate 31 and the cover member 41. It can be arranged as possible. Further, the advertisement medium 42 can be exchanged by detaching the cover member 41 from the tray 8. Further, the medal storage capacity of the tray 8 can be increased by removing the cover member 41.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the medal 50 is stored in the tray 8 of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, by placing the medal in a state where the medal is placed on the medal placement portion 33 formed on the side plate 32 (see FIG. 5), the upper end protrudes from the upper end of the side plate 32 of the tray 8, and this The medal 50 can be further stored by using the portion as a wall. At this time, the medal 50 placed upright on the medal placement unit 33 is not easily tilted inward by the medal 50 stored in the tray 8. That is, the medal 50 functions as the side plate 32 of the tray 8, and the medal storage amount of the tray 8 can be increased.

  Further, when the medal 50 stored in the tray 8 is taken out, the medal 50 placed on the medal placement portion 33 falls into the saucer, so that the medals in the tray 8 with the end of the game. Even when the player takes away 50, the medal 50 placed on the medal placement unit 33 can be easily collected.

  FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the medal placement unit 33 showing a modification of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, an arcuate storage portion 34 corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the medal is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction on the standing wall 33 a of the medal placement portion 33. As a result, it becomes easy to place medals closely on the medal placement unit 33, and the thickness of the standing wall 33a of the medal placement unit 33 is effectively used, so that the medal storage amount is further increased. be able to.

In addition, the standing wall 33a may be vertical or may be formed so as to tilt to the outside of the tray 8. If the standing wall 33a is vertical, there is an effect of preventing the medal on the medal placement portion 33 from sliding down into the tray 8 and if the standing wall 33a is tilted to the outside of the tray 8, the medal placement portion 33 is provided. since medals there is an effect of preventing the Komu fall within pan 8, Bayoi is to determine the angle of the upright walls 33a according to the application and situation.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, an arcuate storage portion 35 corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the medal may be formed on the bottom surface 33 b of the medal placement portion 33. Thereby, the medal can be stably placed in a state where the medal is placed on the medal placing portion 33, and even if the medal is not pressed by the medal stacked on the saucer 8, it is difficult for the medal to fall inside the saucer 8. In this case, the cross-sectional shape is L-shaped.

  FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a saucer 8 showing another modification of the first embodiment. In FIG. 8, the medal placement portion 33 is provided with a step portion 36 functioning as a locking portion for preventing the medal from sliding down inside the tray 8 over the longitudinal direction. Here, the height of the stepped portion 36 is a height that can be held by the medal placement portion 33 so that the lower end of the medal does not slip and fall into the tray 8, and is lower than the upper end of the side plate 32 and lower than the center of gravity of the medal. If it is low, it is not particularly limited. For example, it may be about several mm.

  Thereby, even if a large amount of medals are not stored in the tray 8, the medals can be stood and placed on the medal placement unit 33. Note that a groove is formed by the standing wall 33a of the medal placement portion 33 and the step portion 36, and dust is easily collected. However, since the depth of the groove is shallow, the groove can be easily cleaned. In addition, even if the player tries to tamper with the stepped portion 36 at the end of the medal, the stepped portion 36 has a low height, so that it is difficult to be damaged.

  Furthermore, if the corner of the stepped portion 36 is chamfered and rounded so that the surface of the standing wall 33a and the surface of the stepped portion 36 are smoothly continuous, it is easier to clean and less likely to be damaged by mischief. It becomes a structure.

  The structure of the tray 8 in FIG. 8 has a stepped portion 36 unlike the structure of the tray 8 in FIG. 3, but the height of the standing wall 33a is the stepped portion even in the structure of the tray 8 in FIG. Since it is much higher than the height of 36, the cross section of the tray 8 has a substantially L-shaped structure. Therefore, if the cross section of the tray 8 is L-shaped or substantially L-shaped, the medal placement portion 33 is easy to clean and must be structured to be not easily damaged by mischief.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing still another modification of the first embodiment. In FIG. 9, four-stage medal placement portions 33 </ b> A to 33 </ b> D are formed in a stepped shape along the vertical direction of the side plate 32. At this time, the positional relationship in which the medals placed on the medal placement part (for example, 33A) formed on the upper stage are locked by the medals placed on the medal placement part (for example, 33B) formed on the lower stage. It becomes.

  By configuring the medal placement unit 33 as shown in FIG. 9, the medals arranged in each stage are in a positional relationship in which the medals are placed in the tray 8 and can be stored in large quantities. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the height as the side plate can be increased by placing a large number of medals standing in a tray, so that a larger amount of medals can be stored.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the tray 8 according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the tray 8. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a partition wall 60 is provided between the payout port 5 and the side plate 32 having the medal placement portion 33, and discharged to the medal payout region 8 c formed between the partition wall 60 and the payout port 5. The configured medal is moved to the medal storage area 8a sandwiched between the partition wall 60 and the side plate 32 and stored. The partition wall 60 is made of the same material as that of the tray 8 and is, for example, a resin member such as a plastic plate.

  Specifically, the partition wall 60 is extended in a substantially L shape from the left end of the payout port 5, and the height of the portion 60 a located near the payout port 5 is set higher than the side plate 32 and opened. The height of the end 60 c is set to a height similar to the lower side of the medal payout opening 5. Thereby, the medals paid out from the payout opening 5 collide with the front partition wall 60b and are discharged to the medal payout area 8c, and are not directly discharged to the medal storage area 8a. Then, when the medals in the medal payout area 8c are moved to the open end 60c side of the partition wall 60, they are stored in the medal storage area 8a sandwiched between the partition wall 60 and the side plate 32 through the communication area 8b.

  Therefore, since the medal storage area 8a and the medal payout area 8c are configured to communicate with each other through the communication area 8b, the player can easily move the medal paid out from the payout exit 5 to the coin storage area 8a. By providing such a partition wall 60, even when a large amount of medals are stored in the tray 8, it is possible to prevent the stored medals from blocking the payout opening 5.

  FIG. 13 is a top view showing three forms of the tray 8 according to the second embodiment.

  FIG. 13A shows an embodiment in which the partition wall 60 is formed in an L shape. After the medals discharged from the payout port 5 collide with the partition wall 60, the medals are temporarily stored in the medal payout area 8c, and then moved to the medal storage area 8a through the communication area 8b.

  FIG. 13B shows an embodiment in which a portion 60 d where the medals discharged from the payout opening 5 of the partition wall 60 collide is formed obliquely. The medal is reflected by the portion 60d and guided to the communication area 8b via the medal payout area 8c. In addition, when a medal collides with the partition wall 60, vibration is transmitted to the pile of medals stacked in the medal storage area 8a, so that a gap between medals is naturally reduced, and a larger amount of medals can be stored.

  FIG. 13C shows an embodiment in which the portion 60e where the medals discharged from the payout port 5 of the partition wall 60 collide is formed in a streamline shape. Thereby, the medal discharged from the payout opening 5 is smoothly guided to the communication area 8b via the medal payout area 8c.

  In addition to the structure in which only one end of the partition wall 60 is opened to form the communication region 8b as in the present embodiment, several modifications can be considered.

  For example, a configuration in which the both ends of the partition wall 60 are not opened and the medal payout area 8c and the medal storage area 8a are completely separated can be considered. In this case, even if the medal storage amount in the medal storage area 8a increases, there is an advantage that the medal does not enter the medal payout area 8c. However, since the communication area 8b does not exist, when moving the medal, It is necessary to move the medal in the medal payout area 8c to the medal storage area 8a so as to exceed the partition wall 60.

  In addition, a configuration in which both end portions of the partition wall 60 are open to form two communication areas 8b, and the medal payout area 8c, the medal storage area 8a, and the two communication areas 8b are allowed to communicate with each other. In this case, although there is an advantage that the medals in the medal payout area 8c can be easily moved to the storage area 8a, the medal easily enters the medal payout area 8c when the medal storage amount in the medal storage area 8a increases.

  As described above, if a large amount of medals are stored over the entire area inside the tray 8, the medals are not discharged from the payout opening 5, and an error may occur. However, the partition wall 60 shown in the present embodiment. By providing, the clogging of medals can be prevented, which is very effective.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is illustrative in all points and is not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the invention but by the scope of claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of claims.

  For example, although three examples have been illustrated and described as the second embodiment, the form of the partition wall 60 is not limited to this, and may be any shape that can prevent the payout opening 5 from being blocked by a stored medal. Good.

  The present invention can be applied to a pachinko gaming machine using a gaming ball as a gaming medium, in addition to a slot machine gaming machine having a tray for storing gaming media such as medals.

It is an external perspective view showing a configuration of a slot machine as a gaming machine according to the present embodiment. It is an enlarged view of the saucer 8 vicinity which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the saucer 8 vicinity which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which medal was stored in the saucer 8 of 1st Embodiment. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the medal mounting part 33 which shows the state which stood and mounted the medal. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the medal mounting part 33 which shows one modification of 1st Embodiment. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the medal mounting 33 which shows the other modification of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the saucer 8 which shows the other modification of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the saucer 8 which shows the other modification of 1st Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which medal was stored in the saucer 8 shown in FIG. It is an enlarged view of the tray 8 vicinity which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the saucer 8 vicinity which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows three forms of the saucer 8 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 gaming machine (slot machine)
2 Front frame 3 Open window 4 Clear member (decoration panel)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Discharge exit 6 Inclined base part 7 Medal insertion slot 8 Receptacle 8a Medal storage area 8b Communication area 8c Medal payout area 9 Bet button 10 Cosmetic panel 11 Credit settlement button 12 Start lever 13, 14, 15 Reel stop button 16 Return button 17 Upper part Decorative units 18, 19 Speaker sound emitting unit 20 Decorative unit 21 Ashtray 31 Base plate 32 of receiving tray Side plate 33, 33A to 33D of receiving tray Medal placing portion 33a Standing wall 33b of medal placing portion Bottom surface 36 of medal placing portion Stepped portion 50 Medal

Claims (2)

A gaming machine comprising a payout outlet from which medals to be used for games are paid out, and a tray for receiving and storing medals paid out from the payout exit,
The saucer has a bottom plate and a side plate standing upward from the periphery of the bottom plate,
The side plate can be placed in a state where medals are erected in the longitudinal direction on the inner peripheral side thereof, and is composed of a standing wall and a bottom surface, and the standing wall and the bottom surface have an L-shaped cross-sectional shape. have a medal mount structure,
The medal placement part is in a positional relationship in which the medals placed in the medal placement part formed in the upper stage are locked by the medals placed in the medal placement part formed in the lower stage. A gaming machine, characterized in that it is formed in a step shape over the side plate in the vertical direction . Wherein the medal mount, housing portion forming the arcuate said bottom surface is to correspond to the outer peripheral shape of the medal game machine according to claim 1, characterized in that it is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction.

Images