JP4444895B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  In the present invention, various devices and devices necessary for playing games are housed in a box-shaped housing whose front is opened, and the front door that opens and closes the opening of the housing The present invention relates to a gaming machine in which a casing is rotatably provided.

Conventionally, various gaming machines such as slot machines have been used to provide entertainment for people. For example, a slot machine is provided with a plurality of rotating reels on which a plurality of types of symbols are written and rotatably driven, and a plurality of types of symbols provided on the plurality of rotating reels are combined in a predetermined combination. The game is arranged to be performed by the player, thereby providing entertainment.
Such a slot machine includes a box-shaped housing having an opening on the front side and a front door for opening and closing the opening on the front side. And inside the housing, a reel unit having the above-mentioned rotating reel, a hopper unit for paying out a game medal to the player, and a control device for controlling the operation of the reel unit and the hopper unit, etc. Etc. are stored.

Here, the front door is provided with a medal tray for receiving medals paid out by the hopper unit to the player, and a considerable amount of medals can be stored on the medal tray.
Further, the front door is provided with buttons and levers operated by the player, a slot into which medals are inserted, a decorative panel, and the like to provide a game, so that the weight tends to increase.
Such a front door has a left or right side edge attached to the housing via a hinge. Accordingly, the front door can be rotated within a predetermined angle range, and is supported by the housing in a cantilever state (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-143678 A

In the gaming machine as described above, a medal tray for receiving a medal paid out to a player is provided on the front door.When the medal is full on the medal plate, the front door is opened when the front door is opened. A large load concentrates on the hinge attached to the housing. For this reason, when operating for business in an amusement hall, etc., the front door may be forced to open in a heavy load state where medals are full in the medal plate, and opening and closing in this heavy load state is frequent. If it is repeated, there is a problem that the hinge is deformed and the opened front door may be inclined.
Accordingly, each invention described in each claim has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and the object is to open and close the heavy load front door. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine in which a load load of a hinge that supports a front door is reduced.

Each invention described in each claim is made to achieve the above-mentioned object. The features of each invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings.
In addition, a code | symbol shows the code | symbol used in embodiment of this invention, and does not limit the technical scope of this invention.
(Claim 1)
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 1 is characterized by the following points.
That is, the invention described in claim 1
It is a gaming machine (1) in which various devices and devices necessary for playing a game are housed in a housing (10) formed in a box shape and having an opening (11) on the front surface. A front door (40) for closing the opening (11) formed on the front surface of the housing (10), and provided on the housing (10), either on the left or right of the front door (40). A hinge (17) that cantilever-supports one side edge, and includes an elongated casing arm (71) and a door arm (72), and these casing arm (71) and door arm ( 72) are coupled to each other so that they can be pivoted and can be bent at the coupled portion, and the other end of the casing arm (71) is pivotally coupled to the casing (10). And an auxiliary arm (70) having the other end of the door arm (72) rotatably coupled to the front door (40), and the auxiliary arm (70) includes the front door ( 40) is fully closed As the housing arm (71) and the door arm (72) are folded and the front door (40) is opened, the housing arm (71) and the door arm (72) gradually expand. When the front door (40) is in a fully open state, the front door (40) is extended linearly, and the auxiliary arm (70) has a fully open angle position and a fully closed angle position of the front door (40). A fixing mechanism (80) is provided for fixing the front door (40) at a predetermined rotational angle position between the door arm (72) of the auxiliary arm (70) and the fixing mechanism (80). ) And the slit (81) that extends along the longitudinal direction and penetrates in the thickness direction, the width of one inner surface of the slit (81) at a position corresponding to the rotational angle position in the slit (81). Recesses (82, 83) recessed in the direction and one end of the recess (82, 83) is rotatably attached to the housing arm (71), and the other end is inserted into the slit (81) of the door arm (72). The bar-shaped lock arm (84) that is passed through, and urged to press the lock arm (84) toward the inner surface of the slit (81) provided with the recesses (82, 83), A spring (85) for locking the front end of the lock arm (84) to the recess (82, 83) when the front door (40) is opened at the rotational angle position, and the housing arm ( 71) and a pivot shaft (86) that rotatably couples one end of the door arm (72) to each other, the housing arm (71) and the door arm (72) are linearly extended. A C-shaped fitting fixing part (86A) for fitting a part of the lock arm (84) inside is provided, and a part of the locking arm (84) is provided inside the fitting fixing part (86A). When fitted, the housing arm (71) and the door arm (72) are maintained in a linearly extended state against the biasing force of the spring (85). And

(Claim 2)
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1, and has the following characteristic points.
That is, the invention according to claim 2
Two auxiliary arms (70) are provided, and one of the auxiliary arms (70) has the other end of the door arm (72) coupled to the upper end portion of the front door (40), At the upper end portion of the door (40), a part of the load is transmitted to the housing (10), and the other auxiliary arm (70) has the other end of the door arm (72) at the front door (40). A part of the load is transmitted to the casing (10) at the lower end portion of the front door (40).
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 1 or 2, and has the following characteristic points.

That is, arm extension detecting means (7) for detecting that the auxiliary arm (70) is in a substantially linear state, and that the auxiliary arm (70) is in a substantially linear state. When the arm extension detecting means (7) has not detected, the setting change operation for the winning probability in the game is invalidated, and the arm extension detection means that the auxiliary arm (70) is extended substantially linearly. When the means (7) detects, setting change permission means (91) for performing change control for enabling the setting change operation for the winning probability in the game is provided.
(Claim 4)
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 4 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3 described above, and has the following characteristic points.

  That is, the invention according to claim 4 detects that the hopper unit (5) for paying out a medal, which is a game medium in the game, to the player and the auxiliary arm (70) are in a substantially linearly extended state. When the arm extension detecting means (7) does not detect that the arm extension detecting means (7) and the auxiliary arm (70) are extended substantially linearly, the hopper unit (5) The arm extension detecting means (7) detects that the manual operation for forcibly discharging the medal stored inside is invalidated and the auxiliary arm (70) is in a state of being extended substantially linearly. In some cases, hopper manual operation permission means (92) for performing operation control for enabling manual operation for forcibly discharging medals stored in the hopper unit (5) is provided. To do.

(Claim 5)
(Feature point)
The invention described in claim 5 is the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4 described above, and has the following characteristic points.
That is, in the invention according to claim 5, the front door (40) includes an upper door (30) that covers an upper side of the opening (11) of the housing (10), and a lower side of the opening (11). The lower door (40) is divided into two, and the lower door (40) receives a medal tray (42) for receiving and accumulating medals as game media paid out to the player in the game. The auxiliary arm (70) is characterized in that the other end of the door arm (72) is coupled to the lower door (40).

(Effect of Claim 1)
The present invention configured as described above has the following effects.
That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an auxiliary arm having one end rotatably connected to the housing and the other end rotatably connected to the front door is provided, and the front door is enclosed by the auxiliary arm. Since it is connected to the body and receives a part of the load of the front door, the load load of the hinge supporting the front door can be reduced when the front door in the heavy load state is opened and closed.
Here, as the auxiliary arm, the case arm and the door arm are connected to each other so as to be pivotable, and a bending part is adopted at the middle part. When the front door is closed, the auxiliary arm is folded inside the case, and the front door When the arm is opened, the auxiliary arm is unfolded and extends in a straight line, so that a part of the load on the front door is transmitted to the housing. The front door can be opened and closed without any hindrance, and can be handled in the same manner as conventional gaming machines when performing maintenance work and the like.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the fixing mechanism for fixing the front door is provided at an intermediate angular position from the fully open position to the fully closed position of the front door, the front door is provided for maintenance work or the like. The load on the front door is not limited to when it is fully opened for a long time, for example, when the front door is opened to an intermediate angular position, such as when a medal is supplied to the hopper unit during play. In addition to being distributed, the load on the hinge can be reduced.

(Effect of claim 2)
According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the following effect is obtained.
That is, according to the invention described in claim 2, two auxiliary arms are provided in the housing, and these auxiliary arms are added to support the front door, the number of places supporting the front door is increased, and the load on the front door is increased. Since the dispersion is further promoted, the load on the hinge can be further reduced.
In addition, the two auxiliary arms are connected to the upper and lower ends of the front door, respectively, and the upper and lower ends of the front door are supported by the two auxiliary arms, respectively. Since the posture becomes unstable, it is possible to prevent the load from being biased toward one hinge. From this point as well, the load on the hinge can be further reduced.

(Effect of claim 3)
According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the following effect can be obtained.
That is, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the arm extension detecting means for detecting that the auxiliary arm is extended substantially linearly is provided, and the winning probability is determined only when the auxiliary arm is extended substantially linearly. The setting change operation can be performed.In other words, if the front door is fully open and the auxiliary arm is not substantially linear, the setting change operation for the winning probability is not effective. Even if the setting change operation is performed with the front door closed, or the setting change operation is performed with an elongated instrument such as a wire with the front door closed, these operations are invalidated. , Cheating can be prevented in advance.

(Effect of claim 4)
According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 3, the following effect is obtained.
That is, according to the invention described in claim 4, arm extension detecting means for detecting that the auxiliary arm is extended substantially linearly is provided, and only when the auxiliary arm is extended substantially linearly, Manual operation can be performed, in other words, if the front door is fully open and the auxiliary arm is not substantially linear, manual operation of the hopper unit is not effective, so the front door is opened slightly. Even if the hopper unit is operated manually with the front door closed, or when the front door is closed and the hopper unit is manually operated with an elongated instrument such as a wire, these operations are all invalidated. As a result, fraudulent acts can be prevented in advance. On the other hand, if the front door is fully opened, the hopper unit can be driven manually, and the medals in the hopper unit can be forcibly discharged. Thereby, when the inside of a hopper unit must be emptied in order to perform maintenance work etc., the operation | work which empties the inside of a hopper unit can be performed easily and rapidly.

(Effect of Claim 5)
According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, the following effect is obtained.
That is, according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the auxiliary arm is coupled to the lower door provided with the medal tray, and the load of the lower door is transmitted to the housing also by the auxiliary arm. Even if the lower door is opened with a large amount of medals accumulated and the entire lower door is quite heavy, the load on the lower door is also distributed to the auxiliary arm, reducing the load on the hinge and deforming the hinge. This can prevent the pivoting posture of the lower door from being significantly inclined.

Hereinafter, an embodiment which is the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Explanation of drawings)
1 to 10 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an entire slot machine as a gaming machine according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the slot machine according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a slot machine according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the slot machine according to the present embodiment with the front door partially opened, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the slot machine according to the present embodiment. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the front door in an open state, FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the front door in a closed state showing the main part of the present embodiment, and FIGS. 7A to 7C are front doors showing the main part of the present embodiment. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the fitting and fixing portion according to this embodiment, FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the arm extension detecting means according to this embodiment, and FIG. 10 is this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the control means which concerns on a form.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the slot machine 1 according to the present embodiment is formed in a box shape as a casing of the slot machine 1, and a main body cabinet in which an opening 11 serving as an opening is formed on the front side. 10, an exchange unit 2, which will be described later, which is detachably provided inside the main body cabinet 10, and a front door 3 which is rotatably provided on the main body cabinet 10 to open and close the opening 11 of the main body cabinet 10. It has become.
Among these, the front door 3 includes an upper front door 30 as an upper door that covers the upper half of the opening 11 so that it can be opened and closed, and a lower front door 40 as a lower door that covers the lower half of the opening 11 so that it can be opened and closed. Divided into two, only the lower front door 40 can be opened and closed while the upper front door 30 is closed.

(Main body cabinet 10)
The main body cabinet 10 stores various devices and devices necessary for playing the slot machine 1. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the main body cabinet 10 includes a bottom plate 12 disposed at the bottom, a pair of side plates 13 disposed on both sides, a top plate 14 disposed on the top, and a back disposed on the back side. A housing having a plate 15. An intermediate plate 16 that extends horizontally between the pair of side plates 13 is provided at a substantially central portion in the height direction of the main body cabinet 10.
The inside of the main body cabinet 10 is divided into upper and lower parts by an intermediate plate 16, and in the space above the intermediate plate 16, an exchange unit 2 which is a main part for playing a game unique to the slot machine 1 is stored. It has come to be. On the other hand, the power supply device 4 and the hopper unit 5 are accommodated in the space below the intermediate plate 16.

Here, the power supply device 4 supplies power to the entire slot machine 1. On the front face of the power supply device 4 are a power switch 4A for performing an operation of turning on and off the power supply to the slot machine 1, and a push button switch 4B as a setting change switch operated to change the setting of the winning probability. And a keyhole 4C into which a setting change key for enabling the setting change operation by the push button switch 4B is inserted. Among these, the keyhole 4C is formed in a cylinder lock type rotary switch 4D not shown in FIGS.
The hopper unit 5 includes a container that can store a large number of medals, which are game media in the game of the slot machine 1, and when the player wins a game, a medal of a quantity corresponding to the winning combination is played from the container. To be paid to the person. On the front surface of the hopper unit 5, there is provided a manual payout switch 5A that causes the hopper unit 5 to perform a payout operation of medals only when being pressed.

Further, the power supply device 4 and the hopper unit 5 can be used in common for different replacement units 2. In other words, when the replacement unit 2 is replaced with another type of replacement unit 2, the power supply device 4 and the hopper unit 5 do not need to be replaced with another one.
(Exchange unit 2)
The exchange unit 2 includes a frame 21 as a support for installing or fixing various components, a reel unit 22 fixed inside the main body cabinet 10, and a substrate unit on which various electronic circuits are formed. And 23.

The reel unit 22 includes a plurality of rotating reels 24 that display a plurality of symbols around them, and a drive motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the rotating reels 24.
The board unit 23 includes a main board (not shown) for controlling the gaming operation and the like of the slot machine 1, a sub board (not shown) for performing various effects, and a rectangular parallelepiped case that houses the main board and the sub board. It is equipped with.
The main board of the board unit 23 is provided with an LSI chip constituting a microcomputer, thereby forming a control means 8 not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for controlling the game of the slot machine 1. Has been. The control means 8 is provided with control processing means for performing various control processes by installing various software, for example, a setting change permission means for permitting change of the winning probability in the game.

Further, on the inner surface of each side plate 13 provided in the main body cabinet 10, a fixing metal fitting 6 capable of locking the frame body 21 of the replacement unit 2 is provided. The exchange unit 2 is placed on the middle plate 16 of the main body cabinet 10 and is held and fixed inside the main body cabinet 10 by being locked to the fixing bracket 6 in this state.
The fixing bracket 6 is unlocked from the replacement unit 2 by a predetermined operation. The exchange unit 2 can be detached from the main body cabinet 10 and separated when the locking by the fixing bracket 6 is released.
The frame 21 of the replacement unit 2 is provided with a rotation support portion 25 that rotatably supports the upper front door 30. Thereby, the exchange unit 2 can be attached to and detached from the main body cabinet 10 with the upper front door 30 attached.

(Lower front door 40)
As shown in FIG. 2, the lower front door 40 is rotatably supported at one edge by a rotation support portion 17 provided on a side plate 13 disposed on the left side of the main body cabinet 10 in FIG. The other end edge side is a door that can be locked by a locking mechanism (not shown). Here, of the left and right side edges of the lower front door 40 which is a part of the front door 3, the rotation support section 17 cantileverably supports the left side of the front surface (the right side in FIG. 2). It has become a hinge.
In addition, the lower front door 40 has a depth dimension, in other words, a thickness larger than that of the upper front door 30, and thereby the front surface protrudes forward from the front surface of the upper front door 30. For this reason, the upper surface of the lower front door 40 is a substantially horizontal plane that protrudes horizontally from the front surface of the upper front door 30. A portion in the vicinity of the upper surface of the lower front door 40 serves as an operation unit 50 for performing a game operation of the slot machine 1.

Returning to FIG. 1, from the right side in FIG. 1, a key hole 51 into which a key for locking the lower front door 40 is inserted and a medal insertion slot 52 into which a medal, which is a gaming medium, is inserted. A stop switch 53 for stopping the rotation of the rotary reel 24, a bet switch 54 for setting the number of medals placed in the game among the medals inserted into the medal slot 52, and starting the rotation of the rotary reel 24 A start switch 55 is provided.
Below the operation unit 50, there is provided a lower panel 60 for clearly displaying a mark composed of at least one of characters and drawings, for example, the model name of the slot machine 1. On the back side of the lower panel 60, a backlight device (not shown) that illuminates the lower panel 60 from the rear is provided. Further, below the lower panel 60, a medal tray 42 for storing medals paid out to the player in the game of the slot machine 1 is provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a medal selector 43 for determining the authenticity of the medal is provided on the back surface of the lower front door 40 while guiding the medal inserted into the medal insertion slot 52. Furthermore, speakers 44 for outputting various sounds are provided in the vicinity of the left and right corners below the lower front door 40.
(Upper front door 30)
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper front door 30 is rotatably supported at one end edge side by the rotation support portion 25 provided on the frame body 21 and the other end edge side is provided by a locking mechanism (not shown). It is a door that can be locked. Here, of the left and right side edges of the upper front door 30 that is a part of the front door 3, the rotation support unit 25 cantileverably supports the left side of the front face (left side in FIG. 2). It has become a hinge.

Further, a symbol display window 32 is provided at a substantially central portion of the upper front door 30 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for showing the symbol of the rotary reel 24 to the player.
Above the symbol display window 32, as shown in FIG. 1, a decorative illumination portion 33 extending in an inverted U shape so as to cover the symbol display window 32 is provided. A display device 34 for displaying the above is provided.
Among these, the decorative illumination unit 33 is configured to include various light sources such as an incandescent lamp and a light emitting diode, and the light source is turned on or blinked for winning notification or production.
In the present embodiment, a display device that includes a 7-segment light emitting diode and can display numbers is used as the display device 34. However, when a sufficient display area can be secured, numbers and characters are used. In addition, a display device using a liquid crystal panel or a CRT that can display an image can also be used.

(Auxiliary arm)
Here, the rotation support portion 17 described above transmits the load of the lower front door 40 which is a part of the front door 3 to the main body cabinet 10. The main body cabinet 10 can transmit a part of the load of the lower front door 40 which is a part of the front door 3 to the main body cabinet 10 in order to assist the load support of the rotation support portion 17. An auxiliary arm 70 is provided.
That is, the main cabinet 10 is provided with two auxiliary arms 70 as shown in FIG.
Of these two auxiliary arms 70, the auxiliary arm 70 arranged at the upper side has one end coupled to the main body cabinet 10 side and the other end coupled to the upper end portion of the lower front door 40, and the upper end portion of the lower front door 40. In FIG. 4, a part of the load is transmitted to the main body cabinet 10.

On the other hand, the auxiliary arm 70 disposed below has one end coupled to the main body cabinet 10 side, the other end coupled to the lower end portion of the lower front door 40, and a part of the load at the lower end portion of the lower front door 40. Is transmitted to the main body cabinet 10.
Each of the auxiliary arms 70 includes an elongated casing arm 71 and a door arm 72, and one ends of the casing arm 71 and the door arm 72 are coupled to each other so as to be rotatable. It is possible to bend at the part. The housing arm 71 is smaller in length than the door arm 72.
In such an auxiliary arm 70, the other end of the housing arm 71 is rotatably connected to the main body cabinet 10, and the other end of the door arm 72 is rotatably connected to the lower front door 40.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the auxiliary arm 70 is in a folded state when the lower front door 40 is closed, and is drawn into the main body cabinet 10.
Note that the other end of the housing arm 71 of the auxiliary arm 70 disposed above is coupled to the intermediate plate 16. The intermediate plate 16 is provided with a recess 16A for accommodating the auxiliary arm 70 in a folded state. Thereby, the auxiliary arm 70 does not protrude upward from the upper surface of the intermediate plate 16, and the auxiliary arm 70 does not become an obstacle when the replacement unit 2 is put in and out.
On the other hand, the other end of the housing arm 71 of the auxiliary arm 70 disposed below is coupled to the bottom plate 12. The bottom plate 12 is provided with a concave portion 12A for accommodating the auxiliary arm 70 in a folded state, similarly to the middle plate 16. Thereby, the auxiliary arm 70 does not protrude upward from the upper surface of the bottom plate 12, and the auxiliary arm 70 does not become an obstacle when the power supply device 4 and the hopper unit 5 are put in and out.

When the lower front door 40 is opened, the auxiliary arm 70 approaches from the inside of the main body cabinet 10 as shown in FIG. 4, and when the lower front door 40 reaches a predetermined angular position, a fixing mechanism 80 described later is provided. Thus, a part of the load of the lower front door 40 can be transmitted to the main body cabinet 10.
Further, when the lower front door 40 is fully opened, the auxiliary arm 70 expands the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 and extends substantially linearly as shown in FIG. In addition, a part of the load of the lower front door 40 can be transmitted to the main body cabinet 10.
In addition, when the lower front door 40 is fully closed, the auxiliary arm 70 is folded into a compact state by folding the casing arm 71 and the door arm 72 as shown in FIG. It can be easily stored inside the main body cabinet 10.

As shown in FIG. 6, the auxiliary arm 70 is configured such that the lower front door 40 is moved to a predetermined rotation angle position between the fully open angle position and the fully closed angle position of the lower front door 40, for example, a 45 degree position or a 60 degree position. It has the fixing mechanism 80 for fixing. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the door arm 72 of the auxiliary arm 70 is provided with a slit 81 extending in the longitudinal direction and penetrating the members constituting the door arm 72 in the thickness direction. Yes.
In the middle portion of the slit 81 in the longitudinal direction, there are provided recesses 82 and 83 in which one inner surface is recessed in the width direction. These recesses 82 and 83 are respectively provided at positions corresponding to the rotation angle positions set for fixing the lower front door 40.

On the other hand, one end of a slender bar-like lock arm 84 is attached to the housing arm 71 of the auxiliary arm 70 so as to be rotatable around an intermediate portion of the housing arm 71. Also, a torsion spring 85 for urging the lock arm 84 to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 6 is wound around one end of the lock arm 84 attached to the housing arm 71. Yes.
A portion on the other end side of the lock arm 84 has a hook shape bent at a substantially right angle, and the tip of the hook shape is inserted into the slit 81 of the door arm 72. The hook-shaped tip of the lock arm 84 inserted through the slit 81 is placed on the inner surface of the slit 81 where the recesses 82 and 83 are provided, because the entire lock arm 84 is biased by the torsion spring 85. It is in a state where it is always pressed toward.

Further, the rotation shaft 86 that rotatably couples one end of the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 to each other is provided with a side C-shaped fitting fixing portion 86A for fitting the lock arm 84 therein. Yes. The fitting and fixing portion 86A will be described in detail later.
In the above, the fixing mechanism 80 that fixes the lower front door 40 at a predetermined rotation angle position includes the slit 81, the recesses 82 and 83, the lock arm 84, and the torsion spring 85 described above. .
Here, when the rotation of the lower front door 40 is started from the fully closed angle position toward the fully opened angle position, the hook-shaped tip of the lock arm 84 is guided by the slit 81, and the housing arm starts from the lower front door 40 side. It moves relative to the 71 side.

Further, the lower front door 40 starts to rotate toward the fully open angle position, and as shown in FIG. 7A, a predetermined rotation angle position, for example, a position where the rotation angle θ is 45 degrees. When it reaches, the hooked end of the lock arm 84 is engaged with the recess 82 of the slit 81, and the fixing mechanism 80 fixes the lower front door 40 to the rotation angle position (45 degree position).
Further, when the lower front door 40 rotates toward the fully open angle position and reaches a position where the next predetermined rotation angle position, for example, the rotation angle θ becomes 60 degrees, as shown in FIG. 7B. In this case, the hooked end of the lock arm 84 is locked to the recess 83 of the slit 81, and the fixing mechanism 80 fixes the lower front door 40 to the rotation angle position (60 degree position).

As described above, in a state where the fixing mechanism 80 fixes the lower front door 40 at the predetermined rotation angle position, both the auxiliary arm 70 and the fixing mechanism 80 are configured to partially transfer the load of the lower front door 40 to the main body. A load transmission function for transmitting to the cabinet 10 is exhibited.
As shown in FIG. 7C, when the lower front door 40 reaches a fully open angle position, for example, a position where the rotation angle θ is 90 degrees, the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 of the auxiliary arm 70 are moved. It is designed to extend in a straight line.
Here, the fitting and fixing portion 86A provided on the rotation shaft 86 of the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 has a C-shaped side surface as shown in FIG. The fitting fixing portion 86A has a C-shaped opening that can be expanded by elastic deformation. As a result, the opening of the fitting fixing portion 86A is enlarged by the lock arm 84 immediately before the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 extend linearly, and the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 are linearized. When fully extended, the lock arm 84 enters the inside of the fitting fixing portion 86A and is fixed.

Further, even if the urging force of the torsion spring 85 that urges the lock arm 84 acts as a force to bend the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72, it acts on the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72. The fitting fixing portion 86A maintains the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 in a linearly extended state against the urging force of the torsion spring 85.
When the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 of the auxiliary arm 70 are linearly extended, the auxiliary arm 70 moves the lower front door 40 to the rotation angle position (90 degree position) as shown in FIG. It is supposed to be fixed to. Thus, in a state where the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 are linear and the lower front door 40 is fixed at a predetermined rotational angle position, the auxiliary arm 70 of the auxiliary arm 70 and the fixing mechanism 80 However, the fixing mechanism 80 is not involved in the load transmission.

As shown in FIG. 9, an arm extension for detecting that the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly is provided in the vicinity of the rotation shaft 71A where one end of the housing arm 71 is rotatably coupled to the main body cabinet 10. A limit switch 7 is provided as detection means.
The limit switch 7 includes a roller lever 7A that can swing around a rotation shaft that is coaxially arranged with the rotation shaft 71A, and a spring (not shown) that urges the roller lever 7A counterclockwise. It has a biasing means and a contact (not shown) that opens and closes by swinging the roller lever 7A.
Such a limit switch 7 is arranged at a forward position where the roller lever 7A is most advanced in the counterclockwise direction by the urging force of the urging means when no external force is applied. In this state, the roller lever 7A is pressed by an external force, and when the roller lever 7A moves backward in the clockwise direction against the urging force of the urging means, the aforementioned contact is opened. On the other hand, the limit switch 7 is configured to close the contact point when the external force that presses the roller lever 7A is released and the roller lever 7A moves forward and reaches the original forward position.

Such a roller lever 7A of the limit switch 7 closes the above-mentioned contact and generates a predetermined electric signal only when the housing arm 71 and the door arm 72 of the auxiliary arm 70 extend substantially linearly. It has become.
That is, the casing arm 71 sets a range from the rotation angle position α corresponding to the fully closed position of the lower front door 40 to the rotation angle position β corresponding to the fully closed position of the lower front door 40 as a rotation stroke. It can be rotated within a range not exceeding the rotation stroke.
The roller lever 7A of the limit switch 7 is released from the pressing of the casing arm 71 until the casing arm 71 reaches the rotation angle position β, and before the casing arm 71 reaches the rotation angle position β. Is arranged on the lower side of the casing arm 71 so as to be continuously pressed by the casing arm 71.

As a result, when the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly, the limit switch 7 reaches the rotation angle position β, and the roller lever 7A is released from the pressing of the casing arm 71. Thus, it is detected that the auxiliary arm 70 has been extended substantially linearly, and a predetermined electrical signal is transmitted by closing the internal contact as a signal to that effect.
(Control means 8)
The electric signal sent from the limit switch 7 by the operation of the roller lever 7A is received by the control means 8 formed on the main substrate of the substrate unit 23. The control means 8 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The control means 8 controls gaming operations of the slot machine 1, and various control processes can be performed by installing various software in the microcomputer. For example, the control means 8 can perform processing required when manually changing the winning probability in the game of the slot machine 1 and processing required when manually operating the hopper unit 5 as necessary. It is like that.
As shown in FIG. 10, such a control means 8 includes a setting change permission means for enabling a setting change operation for the winning probability in the game, in addition to the game control processing means 93 for performing the control processing of the game operation. 91 and hopper manual operation permission means 92 that enables manual operation of the hopper unit are provided.

The game control processing means 93 performs an activation process for starting the rotating reel 24 and a lottery process for drawing whether or not the player has won in the current game in accordance with the operation of the start switch 55 by the player. In accordance with the result and the operation timing of the stop switch 53 by the player, a stop process for stopping the rotating reel 24 is performed, and the game operation proceeds.
The game control processing means 93 includes a reel unit driving device 94 having a power control element for adjusting the power supplied to the motor of the reel unit 22 and a power control for adjusting the power supplied to the motor of the hopper unit 5. A hopper unit driving device 95 having elements is electrically connected.

Thereby, the game control processing means 93 controls the respective operations of the reel unit 22 and the hopper unit 5 via the reel unit driving device 94 and the hopper unit driving device 95.
The setting change permission means 91 enables a setting change operation for the winning probability in the game only when the limit switch 7 detects that the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly.
That is, in the setting change permission means 91, the setting change operation by the push button switch 4B is made effective by the operation of the push button switch 4B for performing the setting change operation and the setting change key inserted into the keyhole 4C. The rotary switch 4D for performing the operation and the limit switch 7 for detecting that the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly are electrically connected.

The setting change permission means 91 sends a signal transmitted from each of the push button switch 4B and the rotary switch 4D to the game control processing means 93 only when a predetermined electrical signal is received from the limit switch 7. It has become. On the other hand, when the predetermined change signal is not received from the limit switch 7, the setting change permission unit 91 blocks the signal transmitted from each of the push button switch 4B and the rotary switch 4D and sends it to the game control processing unit 93. It is not sent.
By such setting change permission means 91, only when the limit switch 7 detects that the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly, the push button switch 4B is operated and inserted into the keyhole 4C. The operation of the setting change key is enabled, and the setting change operation for the winning probability in the game can be performed.

The hopper manual operation permission means 92 enables manual operation of the hopper unit 5 only when the limit switch 7 detects that the auxiliary arm 70 has been extended substantially linearly.
That is, the hopper manual operation permission means 92 includes a manual payout switch 5A for causing the hopper unit 5 to pay out medals by manual operation, and a limit switch 7 for detecting that the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly. And are electrically connected.
The hopper manual operation permission means 92 is configured to send a signal transmitted from the manual payout switch 5A to the game control processing means 93 only when a predetermined electrical signal is received from the limit switch 7. On the other hand, when the hopper manual operation permission means 92 does not receive a predetermined electrical signal from the limit switch 7, the hopper manual operation permission means 92 blocks the signal transmitted from the manual payout switch 5A and does not send it to the game control processing means 93. ing.

Only when the limit switch 7 detects that the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly by the hopper manual operation permission means 92, the operation of the manual payout switch 5A becomes effective, and the hopper is manually operated. The unit 5 can pay out medals.
According to this embodiment as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, an auxiliary arm 70 having one end rotatably connected to the main body cabinet 10 and the other end rotatably connected to the lower front door 40 is provided, and the lower front door 40 is connected to the main body cabinet 10 by the auxiliary arm 70. Since it is connected to receive a part of the load of the lower front door 40, it supports the lower front door 40 when the lower front door 40 under heavy load is opened or closed or when the lower front door 40 is left open It is possible to reduce the load applied to the rotating support portion 17 to be performed.

Here, as the auxiliary arm 70, a case arm 71 and a door arm 72 are coupled to each other so as to be pivotable, and a bending portion is adopted at an intermediate portion. When the lower front door 40 is closed, the auxiliary arm 70 is folded and the main body is folded. When the lower front door 40 is stored inside the cabinet 10 and the lower front door 40 is opened, the auxiliary arm 70 is unfolded and pushed out of the main body cabinet 10 to transmit a part of the load of the lower front door 40 to the main body cabinet 10. Therefore, even if the auxiliary arm 70 that bears a part of the load of the lower front door 40 is provided, there is no hindrance to the opening and closing operation of the lower front door 40. It can be handled in the same way as a machine.
In addition, since the recess 16A and the recess 12A for accommodating the auxiliary arm 70 are provided in the middle plate 16 and the bottom plate 12, respectively, the auxiliary arm 70 does not protrude upward from the upper surfaces of the middle plate 16 and the bottom plate 12, and can be replaced. When the unit 2, the power supply device 4 and the hopper unit 5 are taken in and out, the auxiliary arm 70 does not become an obstacle, and the convenience when the replacement unit 2, the power supply device 4 and the hopper unit 5 are taken in and out can be achieved.

  In addition, two auxiliary arms 70 are provided in the main body cabinet 10, and these auxiliary arms 70 are added to support the lower front door 40, increasing the number of places that support the lower front door 40, and distributing the load on the lower front door 40. As a result of the further propulsion, the load on the rotation support portion 17 can be further reduced, and the two auxiliary arms 70 are coupled to the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the lower front door 40, respectively. Since the upper end and the lower end of the lower front door 40 are supported respectively, the posture of the lower front door 40 during rotation can be stabilized and the posture becomes unstable. It is possible to prevent the load from being biased to 17, and also from this point, it is possible to further reduce the load applied to the rotation support portion 17.

In addition, when the lower front door 40 is fully closed, the auxiliary arm 70 that is folded in the main body cabinet 10 is extended substantially linearly when the lower front door 40 is fully opened. Therefore, even if the lower front door 40 is fully opened for a long time due to maintenance work etc., the auxiliary arm 70 that is extended in a substantially linear shape will surely receive a part of the load of the lower front door 40. Thus, it is possible to reduce the load applied to the rotation support portion 17 that supports the lower front door 40, and to suppress deformation of the rotation support portion 17 to a minimum.
Further, a limit switch 7 for detecting that the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly is provided. Only when the auxiliary arm 70 is extended substantially linearly, the operation for changing the winning probability or the operation of the hopper unit 5 is performed. Manual operation can be performed. In other words, if the lower front door 40 is fully opened and the auxiliary arm 70 is not substantially linear, the setting operation of winning probability and the manual operation of the hopper unit 5 are effective. Since the lower front door 40 is slightly opened and the setting change operation is performed or the hopper unit 5 is manually operated, the lower front door 40 is closed and the wire is closed. Even if a setting change operation is performed with an elongated instrument such as the above, or even when the hopper unit 5 is operated, all of these operations are invalidated, so that it is possible to prevent fraud.

In addition, if the lower front door 40 is fully opened, the hopper unit 5 can be driven manually, so that the medal in the hopper unit 5 can be forcibly discharged to the hopper unit 5 itself, and maintenance work, etc. When the inside of the hopper unit 5 has to be emptied in order to perform the above, the work of emptying the hopper unit 5 can be performed easily and quickly.
Furthermore, the auxiliary arm 70 is coupled to the lower front door 40 provided with the speaker 44 and the medal tray 42 so that the load of the lower front door 40 is transmitted to the main body cabinet 10 also by the auxiliary arm 70. Even if the lower front door 40 is opened with a large amount of medals accumulated in 42 and the lower front door 40 becomes quite heavy, the load on the lower front door 40 is distributed by the auxiliary arm 70, so that it is supported for rotation. The load on the portion 17 is reduced, and the deformation of the rotation support portion 17 can be suppressed, thereby preventing the rotation posture of the lower front door 40 from being significantly inclined.

In addition, since a fixing mechanism 80 is provided to fix the lower front door 40 at an intermediate angular position from the fully open to fully closed position of the lower front door 40, the lower front door 40 is fully opened for a long time for maintenance work etc. The load of the lower front door 40 is not limited to when the lower front door 40 is opened to an intermediate angular position, for example, when a medal is supplied to the hopper unit 5 during play. The auxiliary arm 70 is also added and dispersed, so that the load on the rotation support portion 17 can be reduced.
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, The deformation | transformation in the range which can achieve the objective of this invention, improvement, etc. are included.
In other words, the gaming machine is not limited to a separate slot machine in which the game charge part in charge of the game can be separated and replaced, but an integrated game machine in which only the game charge part in charge of the game cannot be exchanged But you can.

At this time, the front door is not limited to one divided into the upper front door and the lower front door, and may be formed as a single piece.
In addition, the gaming machine is not limited to a slot machine, and may be a gaming machine that performs other types of games, such as an arcade gaming machine with a setting change function that can change the winning probability setting. The present invention can be applied to any gaming machine provided with a heavy front door that may deform the hinge.

It is a front view showing the whole slot machine which is a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the slot machine according to the embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the front door closed state which shows the slot machine which concerns on the said embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the front door partial open state which shows the slot machine which concerns on the said embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the front door open state which shows the slot machine which concerns on the said embodiment. It is an enlarged plan view of the front door closed state which shows the principal part of the said embodiment. It is a top view from which the state of the front door which shows the principal part of the said embodiment differs. It is sectional drawing in the VIII-VIII line of FIG.7 (C). It is a top view which shows the arm expansion | extension detection means based on the said embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the control means which concerns on the said embodiment.

1 Slot machine as a gaming machine 5 Hopper unit 7 Limit switch as arm extension detection means
10 Main cabinet as a housing
11 Openings as openings
17 Rotating support as a hinge
30 Upper front door as upper door
40 Lower front door that is both front door and lower door
42 Medals
70 Auxiliary arm
71 Enclosure arm
72 Door arm
80 Fixing mechanism
91 Setting change permission means
92 Hopper manual operation permission means

Claims (5)

A gaming machine in which various devices and devices necessary for playing a game are housed inside a box formed in a box shape and having an opening formed on the front surface.
A front door for closing an opening formed in the front surface of the housing;
A hinge that is provided in the housing and cantileverably supports the left or right side edge of the front door;
The housing arm and the door arm are configured to include one end of the housing arm and the door arm so that the housing arm and the door arm can be turned to each other and bendable at the joined portion. And the other end of the door arm is rotatably coupled to the housing, and the other end of the door arm is pivotally coupled to the front door.
In the auxiliary arm, when the front door is fully closed, the housing arm and the door arm are folded, and the housing arm and the door arm gradually expand as the front door opens. And when the front door is fully opened, it is extended in a straight line ,
The auxiliary arm is provided with a fixing mechanism for fixing the front door at a predetermined rotation angle position between the fully open angle position and the fully closed angle position of the front door,
The fixing mechanism is
A slit extending in the longitudinal direction to the door arm of the auxiliary arm and penetrating in the thickness direction;
A recessed portion in which one inner surface of the slit is recessed in the width direction at a position corresponding to the rotational angle position in the slit;
A rod-shaped lock arm having one end rotatably attached to the housing arm and the other end inserted through the slit of the door arm;
The slit is urged so as to press the lock arm toward the inner surface of the slit where the recess is provided, and the front end of the lock arm is locked to the recess when the front door is opened at the rotational angle position. And a spring for
A part of the lock arm is fitted inside a pivot shaft that rotatably connects one end of the housing arm and the door arm when the housing arm and the door arm are linearly extended. C-shaped fitting fixing part to be combined is provided,
When a part of the lock arm is fitted inside the fitting fixing portion, the housing arm and the door arm are maintained in a linearly extended state against the biasing force of the spring. gaming machine characterized in that is.   Two auxiliary arms are provided, and one of the auxiliary arms has the other end of the door arm coupled to the upper end portion of the front door, and the upper end portion of the front door receives a part of the load. The other auxiliary arm is coupled to the lower end portion of the front door, and a part of the load is transmitted to the casing at the lower end portion of the front door. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is configured as described above. Arm extension detection means for detecting that the auxiliary arm is in a substantially linearly extended state;
When the arm extension detection means does not detect that the auxiliary arm is extended in a substantially straight line, the setting change operation for the winning probability in the game is invalidated, and the auxiliary arm is extended in a substantially straight line. Setting change permission means for performing change control to enable the setting change operation for the winning probability in the game when the arm extension detection means detects that the state has been made, The gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2. A hopper unit that pays out a medal, which is a game medium in the game, to the player;
Arm extension detection means for detecting that the auxiliary arm is in a substantially linearly extended state;
When the arm extension detection means does not detect that the auxiliary arm is extended in a substantially straight line, the manual operation for forcibly discharging the medal stored in the hopper unit is invalidated, When the arm extension detecting means detects that the auxiliary arm is extended substantially linearly, the manual operation for forcibly discharging the medal stored in the hopper unit is enabled. 4. A gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising hopper manual operation permission means for performing operation control. The front door is divided into an upper door that closes the upper side of the opening of the housing, and a lower door that closes the lower side of the opening,
The lower door is provided with a medal tray for receiving and accumulating medals, which are game media paid out to the player in the game,
The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the auxiliary arm has the other end of the door arm coupled to the lower door.

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