JP4433170B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine, and more particularly to a rail cover of a guide rail such as a pachinko machine.

A gaming board such as a pachinko machine may be provided with a rail cover so as to cover the ball guide path in the vicinity of the starting end of the guide rail. The rail cover serves to prevent the ball from hitting the glass due to the impact of the foul ball (falling ball) and the launch ball colliding. Normally, when playing a game, the rail cover is held upright and perpendicular to the rail surface. On the other hand, when cleaning the rail surface, the rail cover is removed or the rail cover made of a flexible material is bent. The rail surface is peeked out.
In addition, the following patent documents 1-7 are disclosed as a related prior art.

Japanese Patent Publication No.59-7464 Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 61-41586 Japanese Utility Model Publication No.59-15663 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-52543 Japanese Patent No. 2939199 JP 2000-325573 A JP 2003-88626 A

However, such a conventional rail cover is troublesome to attach once the rail cover is removed. Further, when the rail cover is bent, the rail cover tends to be an obstacle during cleaning.
The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to provide a gaming machine in which a rail cover can be easily opened and closed and a guide rail can be easily cleaned.

[First invention]
In order to solve the above problems, the gaming machine of the present invention (first invention) is a gaming machine having a rail cover covering the ball guide path in the vicinity of the guide rail starting end of the gaming board.
The rail cover is pivotally supported so as to be openable and closable toward the front side of the game board, and a locking claw for restricting the opening and closing angle of the rail cover is provided in the vicinity of the opening and closing shaft of the rail cover. .

  According to such a configuration, since the rail cover is supported to be openable and closable toward the front side of the game board, the rail cover can be easily opened and closed simply by pulling or pushing the rail cover in the front-rear direction. Moreover, since the opening angle of the rail cover can be kept constant by the locking claw, the rail cover is less likely to get in the way when cleaning the rail surface.

[Second invention]
The gaming machine of the present invention (second invention) is characterized in that the guide rail is formed of a synthetic resin rail unit, and the rail cover is detachably supported by the rail unit.

  Patent Documents 2, 5 and 7 disclose a gaming machine having a configuration in which a rail cover is attached to a component other than a game board (such as a glass frame) and the rail cover is opened and closed. In such a gaming machine, the guide rail can be easily cleaned by opening the rail cover during cleaning. However, if the rail cover is attached to a component other than the game board, the rail cover is attached to the side of the ball guide path near the start of the guide rail because the rail cover and the game board are attached separately. It may be difficult to position. Moreover, it may be difficult to secure a mounting space for the rail cover.

  According to the configuration of the present invention (second invention), since the guide rail is formed by the rail unit made of synthetic resin, the shaft support portion of the rail cover can be easily formed by, for example, injection molding. Further, since the shaft support portion of the rail cover is provided on the guide rail itself, the rail cover can be easily and accurately attached near the start end of the guide rail and at the side position of the ball guide path.

[Third invention]
A gaming machine according to the present invention (third invention) includes the locking claw that regulates an opening / closing angle of the rail cover, and the locking claw is perpendicular to a vertical direction when the rail cover is in an open state. The rail cover is supported so as to form an acute angle downward.

  According to such a configuration, even if the rail cover is opened and forgotten, it is impossible to push the front of the rail cover toward the game board with other components such as a glass frame that covers the game board. Without applying extra force, the rail cover can be returned to its original standing state. As a result, the guide rail can be cleaned with ease and the gaming machine can be easily managed.

[Fourth Invention]
In the gaming machine of the present invention (fourth invention), a spring plate is provided on the rail cover, the locking claw is formed at the tip of the spring plate, and the locking claw is used to switch the opening and closing of the rail cover. It is characterized by bending the spring plate.

According to such a configuration, when the rail cover is switched from the standing state (closed state) to the open state, the locking claws temporarily bend the spring plate. That is, when the spring plate is once bent and opened, the standing state (closed state) and the open state are switched to each other. Thus, the rail cover is not held at a halfway position, and the opening / closing operation is facilitated.
As described above, even when the front surface of the rail cover is pushed back with a glass frame or the like to return to the original standing state, when the front surface of the rail cover is pushed to a predetermined angle, the spring plate is bent once and then released. Immediately switches to the standing state. And it can be stabilized in a standing state with a latching claw.

[Fifth Invention]
A gaming machine according to the present invention (fifth invention) is provided with the spring plate on the rail cover, wherein the rail cover is formed of an elastically deformable material, and the spring plate is formed of the rail cover. It is characterized by being provided between a pair of open slits cut into the end of the plate surface.

  According to such a configuration, since the spring plate is formed on the plate surface of the rail cover, it is not necessary to provide a plate material dedicated to the spring plate on the rail cover. That is, by forming an open slit on the plate surface of the rail cover, a part of the rail cover can be used as a spring plate. Thereby, the manufacturing cost of a rail cover can be held down.

[Sixth Invention]
The gaming machine of the present invention (sixth invention) includes a glass frame provided on the front side of the gaming board so as to be openable and closable, and when the glass frame is closed to the gaming board side on the back side of the glass frame. A cushioning material is provided to push the rail cover in the open state.

  According to such a configuration, even if the rail cover is forgotten to be closed after cleaning the guide rail, when the glass frame is closed on the front of the game board, the rail cover can be pushed back to the original standing state by the cushioning material. . As a result, damage and deterioration of the glass frame and the rail cover can be prevented.

[First to sixth inventions]
The present invention (first to sixth inventions) can be applied to various gaming machines having guide rails for game balls. For example, it is effective when applied to a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, an arrangement ball machine, or a sparrow ball game machine.
The present invention (first to sixth inventions) may be applied alone as necessary, or may be applied in combination with each other. Further, other inventions described in this specification may be combined.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the gaming machine 10, a main body frame 13 and a glass frame 14 are attached to an outer frame 12. A game board 15 is detachably attached to a front opening formed in the main body frame 13. The main body frame 13 and the glass frame 14 are opened and closed to the front side of the gaming machine 10 by a hinge 16.

  Below the game board 15, a handle 17 for launching a game ball is provided. When the handle 17 is operated, a game ball is launched to the launch rail 18 and is released to the game area P of the game board 15 through the ball guide path L between the outer rail 15a and the inner rail 15b.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the game area P is provided with a guide nail (not shown) that regulates the falling direction of the game ball, and a symbol display device 30 that displays a variation of the lottery symbol between these guide nails, A start port 27 for starting the variation display of the lottery symbols, a general winning port 28, an attacker device 29 that opens and closes at the time of a big hit and promotes winning of a game ball, and the like are arranged.

  The game board 15 includes a base plate 21 made of a plate material such as veneer and a rail unit 22 made of a plastic molding material. A game area P is partitioned into a portion of the board surface of the game board 15 surrounded by the rail unit 22. On the board surface of the game area P, decorative prints that excite games such as symbols, characters, characters, and backgrounds are applied. The player views the game area P through the glass frame 14 (see FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rail unit 22 includes an outer rail unit 22A, an intermediate rail unit 22B, and an inner rail unit 22C. Corner decorations that cover the four corners of the base plate 12 are integrally formed outside the game area P of each of the rail units 22A to 22C.

The outer rail unit 22A passes from the vicinity of the outer rail start end to the upper end of the game board 15 through the left end of the game board 15, and extends to the vicinity of the outer rail end (see FIG. 4). The intermediate rail unit 22B extends downward from the vicinity of the outer rail end through the right end of the game board 15 and extends to the vicinity of the lower center of the game board 14 (see FIG. 7). The inner rail unit 22C extends upward from the vicinity of the lower center of the game board 14 along the inner side surface of the outer rail unit 21 (see FIG. 7).
As shown in FIG. 3, the outer rail unit 22 </ b> A and the intermediate rail unit 22 </ b> B are connected by a connecting pin 25, while the intermediate rail unit 22 </ b> B and the inner rail unit 22 </ b> C are connected by a connecting screw 26. .

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, bosses 31a to 31f through which fixing screws are passed and press-fit pins 32a to 32d are formed on the back surface of the outer rail unit 22A at a predetermined interval.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, bosses 31g to 31i through which fixing screws are passed and press-fit pins 32e to 32h are formed on the back surfaces of the intermediate rail unit 22B and the inner rail unit 22C at predetermined intervals. Has been.
The rail units 22A to 22C and the base plate 21 are attached by aligning the bosses 31a to 31i and the press-fit pins 32a to 32h with the fixing holes formed in the base plate 21 in advance, and fixing screws and press-fit pins 32a. This is done by stopping at ~ 32h.

As shown in FIG. 5, the metal rail R is attached along the inner peripheral surface in the rail length direction of the outer rail unit 22A. The game ball rolls on the rail surface of the metal rail R, and the inner peripheral surface of the outer rail unit 22A does not touch the game ball directly.
Such a metal rail R is employed only for the outer rail unit 22A, and is not employed for the intermediate rail unit 22B and the inner rail unit 22C. That is, in the normal gaming state, the frequency of the game balls coming into contact with the rail surfaces of the intermediate rail unit 22B and the inner rail unit 22C is low. Therefore, in these units 22B and 22C, the resin molding surface (inner The peripheral surface) is used as it is as the rail surface of the game ball.

  As shown in FIG. 11, a rail cover 50 is attached near the rail start end of the outer rail unit 22A. The rail cover 50 is attached to the inner side of the glass frame 14 so as to cover the ball guide path L between the outer rail 15a and the inner rail 15b.

  Enlarged views of the rail cover 50 are shown in FIGS. The rail cover 50 is made of a transparent plastic material and extends in a strip shape along the arc-shaped rail surface of the metal rail R. Support shafts 51 and 51 are integrally formed at the lower end of the rail cover 50. The support shafts 51 and 51 are arranged so as to be aligned on the same axis, and the support shafts 51 and 51 are fitted to the bearings 54 and 54 (see FIG. 16) of the outer rail unit 22A to be rotated, whereby the rail cover. 50 opens and closes to the front side of the game board 15.

  At the lower end of the rail cover 50, a spring plate 52 is formed between two parallel open slits S (see FIGS. 12 and 14). The spring plate 52 is formed at the same time when the rail cover 50 made of an elastically deformable material such as plastic is integrally formed (such as injection molding). By setting the open slits S, S in the molding die in advance, the spring plate 52 can be easily formed in a single process. Further, the plate surface of the rail cover 50 can also be used as the spring plate 52.

  A locking claw 53 is formed at the tip of the spring plate 52 and in the vicinity of the opening / closing axis of the rail cover 50. The locking claw 53 is formed at the same time as the rail cover 50 is formed, like the spring plate 52. As shown in FIG. 17A, a bulging portion 53a is provided at the tip of the locking claw 53, and the inclined surfaces H1 and H2 are front and rear (left and right in FIG. 17) across the bulging portion 53a. Is formed. As described later, the opening / closing angle of the rail cover 50 is regulated by the inclination angles of the inclined surfaces H1 and H2.

  FIG. 16 shows a state where the rail cover 50 is removed from the outer rail unit 22A. Bearings 54 and 54 are arranged on the rail cover mounting portion of the outer rail unit 22 </ b> A corresponding to the support shafts 51 and 51 of the rail cover 50. The bearings 54 and 54 have a bottomed cylindrical shape and are aligned on the same axis.

When the rail cover 50 is attached to the outer rail unit 22A, the support shafts 51 and 51 of the rail cover 50 are abutted against the open cylinder ends of the bearings 54 and 54, and are shifted in the axial direction as they are. 51 is inserted. On the other hand, when removing the rail cover 50 from the outer rail unit 22A, the support shafts 51 and 51 can be easily detached from the bearings 54 and 54 by sliding the rail cover 50 in the opposite direction to that described above.
As described above, by using the support shafts 51 and 51 and the bearings 54 and 54, the rail cover 50 can be attached to and detached from the outer rail unit 22A very easily.
Since the rail cover 50 is directly attached to the bearings 54 of the outer rail unit 22A, the rail cover 50 can be easily positioned on the side of the ball guide path L, and the rail cover 50 is repeatedly opened and closed. But there is no worry that the mounting position will shift.

  A protrusion 55 is formed between the bearings 54 and 54. As shown in FIG. 17, the protrusion 55 has an inclined surface H0. When the rail cover 50 is attached to the outer rail unit 22A, the inclined surface H0 hits the locking claw 53 of the rail cover 50.

In the normal gaming state, as shown in FIG. 17, the locking claw 53 has the inclined surface H1 close to the rail surface of the bulging portion 53a hitting the inclined surface H0 of the protrusion 55 so that the rail cover 50 is substantially perpendicular to the rail surface. Keep in good condition.
When the upper end portion of the rail cover 50 is held by hand and opened to the outside (left side in FIG. 17), the bulging portion 53a rotates while shifting so as to rise above the inclined surface H0 of the protrusion 55 as shown in FIG. The spring plate 52 is bent. When the rail cover 50 is opened to a certain angle, the contact surface between the bulging portion 53a and the projection 55 is switched, the bending of the spring plate 52 is released, and the inclined surface H2 on the opposite side of the bulging portion 53a is the projection 55. The opening angle of the rail cover 50 is held by hitting the inclined surface H0 (see FIG. 17C).

  Here, the opening angle of the rail cover 50 is set so that the angle θ formed with respect to the standing state (FIG. 17A) is less than 90 °, preferably about 45 to 80 °. That is, in the opened rail cover 50, the angle θ formed downward with respect to the vertical direction is an acute angle. As a result, even if the rail cover 50 is held fully open, the front surface of the rail cover 50 can be slightly seen from the front side (left side in FIG. 17) of the game board 15.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the rail cover 50 is pivotally supported by the support shaft 51 so as to be openable and closable toward the front side of the game board 15, so that the opening and closing operation is simplified. Further, since the opening / closing angle of the rail cover 50 is regulated by the locking claw 53, the rail surface can be easily cleaned with one hand while the rail cover 50 is opened.
In addition, by limiting the opening angle of the rail cover 50 to a range of less than 90 ° from the standing state, it is possible to cope with forgetting to close the rail cover 50. That is, in the above range, even if the glass frame 14 is tightened while the rail cover 50 is opened, the rail cover 50 is pushed on the back surface and returns to the standing state (FIG. 17A) due to the spring effect of the spring plate 52. As a result, maintenance of the gaming machine 10 can be performed with peace of mind.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, embodiment of this invention is not limited to this, You may involve the change of the structural part as needed. For example, in the embodiment described above, the rail cover 50 is attached to the outer rail unit 22A, but instead, the rail cover 50 may be attached to the inner rail unit 22C. In this case, bearings and protrusions are formed in the vicinity of the rail start end portion of the inner rail unit 22C. Further, the spring plate 52 of the rail cover 50 may be omitted, and a spring plate having the same action may be provided on the protrusion 55 of the outer rail unit 22A.
In the embodiment, the metal rail R made of metal is provided on the outer rail unit 22A. However, an end surface (inner peripheral surface) that partitions the game area P of the outer rail unit 22A may be used as it is as a rail surface. .

  Further, in a gaming machine that is attached to a position where the rail cover cannot be seen from the player side in a normal gaming state, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, it hits the rail cover 50 on the back surface of the glass frame 14. The buffer material 61 may be provided at the position. The buffer material 61 is made of, for example, rubber or soft resin (silicon or the like), and is attached to the back surface of the glass frame 14 with a seal or the like. The attachment position of the cushioning material 61 is set to a location where it first hits the rail cover 50 when the glass frame 14 is closed.

  According to such a configuration, even if the rail cover 50 is repeatedly pressed on the back surface of the glass frame 14, the rail cover 50 and the glass frame 14 are not directly in contact with each other. Moreover, if the buffer material 61 is replaced | exchanged, it can be made to return to a comfortable use state any number of times.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 20, a return portion 71 may be provided at the upper end of the rail cover 50. The return portion 71 may be provided so as to be continuous with the entire upper end of the rail cover 50, or may be provided only in a portion that hits the glass frame 14. The rising angle of the return portion 71 is set so that the angle θ2 formed with the plate surface of the rail cover 50 becomes an obtuse angle.

  According to such a configuration, when the rail cover 50 in the open state is pushed by the glass frame 14, the back surface of the glass frame 14 first hits the turning portion 71 and then contacts the front surface of the rail cover 50 to rotate the support shaft 51. That is, the pushing force of the glass frame 14 is smoothly transmitted to the rail cover 50 via the return portion 71. As a result, the opening angle of the rail cover 50 can be set larger, and the metal rail R can be easily cleaned.

It is a perspective view showing a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the game board of the same gaming machine. It is a front view showing a rail unit of the game board. It is a front view which shows the outer rail unit of the rail unit. It is a rear view which shows the outer rail unit of the rail unit. It is a back perspective view showing the outer rail unit of the rail unit. It is a front view showing an intermediate rail unit and an inner rail unit of the rail unit. It is a rear view which shows the intermediate rail unit and inner rail unit of the rail unit. It is a perspective view which shows the intermediate | middle rail unit and inner rail unit of the rail unit. It is a side view showing an intermediate rail unit and an inner rail unit of the rail unit. It is a partial enlarged front view showing the vicinity of the guide rail start end of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a back perspective view which shows the rail cover of the same guide rail. It is a side view of the rail cover. It is a front view of the rail cover. It is a top view of the rail cover. It is the perspective view which shows the rail cover attachment part of a rail unit near the guide rail start end of the gaming machine. It is action explanatory drawing at the time of opening and closing the rail cover. It is a schematic cross section which shows the rail cover attachment part of the game machine by other embodiment of this invention. It is a model longitudinal cross-sectional view of the rail cover attachment part. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the rail cover attachment part of the game machine by other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Game machine 12 Outer frame 13 Main body frame 14 Glass frame 15 Game board 16 Hinge 21 Base board 22 Rail unit (guide rail)
22A Outer rail unit 22B Intermediate rail unit 22C Inner rail unit 25 Connecting pin 26 Connecting screw 31a to 31i Boss 32a to 32h Press-fit pin 50 Rail cover 51 Support shaft 52 Spring plate 53 Locking claw 54 Bearing 55 Projection 61 Buffering material 71 Return part H0, H1, H2 Inclined surface L Sphere guideway R Metal rail (guide rail)
S Open slit

Claims (1)

A game board 15 having a substantially circular game area P is detachably attached in a front opening of the main body frame 13 that is assembled to the outer frame 12 so as to be openable and closable. The game area P is placed on the front side of the main body frame 13. A gaming machine 10 is provided with a glass frame 14 having a glass plate that can be seen through in a cover state so as to be openable and closable. In

The game board 15 has an outer rail unit 22A that forms an arc-shaped peripheral portion along the circular shape of the game area P as a rail unit 22 of plastic molding material for forming the game area P on the front surface thereof. The intermediate rail unit 22B and the inner rail unit 22C are attached in a state where they are arranged and connected in a series of annular shapes, and then fly from the firing rail 18 between the outer rail unit 22A and the inner rail unit 22C. A ball guide path L for guiding the game ball toward the game area P is formed,

A metal rail capable of receiving and guiding a game ball that has jumped from the launch rail 18 and reaches the inside of the ball guide path L along an arc length range extending up and down the inclined lower end of the outer rail unit 22A. While R is attached in a circular arc state, a rail cover 50 that can cover the front opening surface of the ball guide path L along the front edge of the inclined lower end of the outer rail unit 22A is detachable and can be opened and closed. Is attached,

The rail cover 50 is formed of a transparent plastic molding material in the form of a single strip having an arc length along the metal rail R, and the outer rail unit 22A is inclined at two positions above and below its lower edge. coaxially with each other integrally formed with lateral inclined state in two, upper and lower bearings 54 and 54 formed in a removable and pin-shaped support shaft 51 capable of fitting rotatably against the Jo lower end And an elastically deformable spring plate 52 that can be engaged with the front edge of the lower end of the outer rail unit 22A is formed integrally with the lower edge of the center of the rail cover 50 between the support shafts 51, 51. And
By moving the rail cover 50 obliquely upward along the longitudinal direction of the metal rail R, the rail cover 50 is detached from the outer rail unit 22A due to the detachment of the support shafts 51, 51 and the bearings 54, 54. Configured to be separable,

Moreover, the rail cover 50 opens and closes the support shaft 51 and the bearing 54 in a state where the front end of the spring plate 52 is always engaged and held with the front edge of the lower end of the outer rail unit 22A. As a closed state position where the front opening surface of the ball guide path L can be covered in a standing state substantially parallel to the game area P of the game board 15 and a slanting displacement toward the glass plate side of the glass frame 14 And is held by an elastic force of the spring plate 52 so as to be switchable to an open state position where the front opening surface of the ball guide path L can be opened,
When the rail cover 50 is in the open state position, the rail cover 50 is made to resist the elastic force of the spring plate 52 on the back surface of the glass frame 14 by changing the glass frame 14 from the open state to the closed state. A gaming machine configured to push and switch the rail cover 50 to a closed position.

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