JP7710219B2 - Object movement assist device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for assisting in the movement (transportation) of objects placed on parts of game machine islands or tables. In particular, the present invention relates to a device that can assist in the replacement, transport, and serving of ball boxes, medal boxes, food, and the like placed on plate-like bodies such as counters installed in game arcades and restaurants, i.e., trays and shelves of game machine islands, and the decks of tables and counters.

Conventionally, in amusement parlors, structures called gaming machine islands are constructed in which gaming machines such as pachinko machines are installed. Some gaming machine islands on which pachinko machines are installed are provided with so-called trays. One such gaming machine island is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The tray is a flat plate-like part that is provided on the underside of the pachinko machine and juts outward, on which the ball box (game medium storage box) is placed. That is, when a player plays a game using a pachinko machine, the ball box is placed on the tray and the game is played with the ball box positioned on the underside of the pachinko machine. Then, when a player operates the pachinko machine with game balls accumulated in the lower tray, game balls (pachinko balls) are supplied from the lower tray to the ball box.

If a player wins many prize balls, and balls continue to be supplied from the lower tray to the ball box, the ball box may contain the maximum amount of balls that it can hold. In such a case, the player calls an arcade employee to replace the ball box. That is, the ball box containing many balls is moved from under the pachinko machine to another location, and another empty ball box is placed under the pachinko machine. The ball box moved from under the pachinko machine is placed in an appropriate location, such as on the floor of the arcade.

Patent Document 2 also discloses a gaming machine island (hereinafter also referred to as a slot island) on which slot machines are installed. In one of the slot islands disclosed in Patent Document 2, a medal box (game medium storage box) is placed on a top panel portion, which is a part of the slot island. In another slot island disclosed in Patent Document 2, a shelf-like storage section capable of storing medal boxes is provided between the slot machine and the curtain board, and the medal box is placed on the bottom part (shelf part) of the storage section. In such cases, the medal box placed on the top panel portion or storage section may be moved to another location, such as on the floor of the game center. In other words, an employee of the game center may pull the medal box out from the top panel portion or shelf portion toward the front and carry it as is.

Incidentally, as a measure against the recent spread of novel infectious diseases, partitions have been installed at each seat at tables and counters in restaurants, creating private room-like spaces (small spaces for each customer). When restaurant employees serve food, they slide the tray or meal with the food on it in front of the customer through the gap between the partition and the customer, and place it on the table or counter in front of the customer. Similarly, when removing the tray or meal while a customer is still seated at a table, they also carry the meal to the person in front of them through the gap between the partition and the customer.

JP 2015-198869 A JP 2017-038662 A

In both the ball box replacement and food serving tasks described above, when workers move items placed on counters (game media storage boxes, food trays, etc.), they must move them in a way that avoids customers, which is difficult to do. Also, when transporting medal boxes, the work must be done in a way that does not interfere with customers' games, so workers must carry the medal boxes while standing away from the front of them, which is difficult to do.
In view of the above, there has been a demand for a device (facility) that can facilitate the task of moving items placed on counters.

Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to provide an object movement assistance device that can facilitate the task of moving objects placed on counters.

The invention described in claim 1 for solving the above problem is a placement object movement assistance device that is interposed between a fixed object and a placement object and moves the placement object while the placement object is placed thereon, the device having a fixed member that is fixed to the fixed object and a placement member on which the placement object can be placed, the placement member moves relative to the fixed member, and the placement member can change its position between a first position and a second position by moving the placement member, the second position being a position in which an area of an overlapping portion between the placement member and the fixed member in a plan view is smaller than the first position, and a part of the placement member is pulled out further forward than the first position, and in a plan view When a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction is defined as a first direction and the front-rear direction is defined as a second direction, the second posture is a posture in which the loading plate portion extends cantilever-like in a direction inclined toward the first direction and the second direction in a planar view, and when the tip end portion of the loading plate portion in the extension direction in the second posture is defined as one side end portion and the base end portion in the opposite direction is defined as the other side end portion, when changing posture from the first posture to the second posture, the tip end portion moves so that the distance moved in the first direction is smaller than that of the other side end portion, and the tip end portion moves so that the distance moved in the second direction is greater than that of the other side end portion.This is a loaded object movement assistance device characterized in that

According to the present invention, by fixing a fixing member to a counter or the like and placing an object to be placed on the mounting member, such as a ball box, and then moving it, the object to be placed can be moved to a position that is easy to work on, thereby facilitating the work of moving the object to be placed.
Here, it is preferable that such a device does not get in the way of customers and the like when the worker is not working. It is also preferable that it is as inconspicuous as possible so as not to make customers and the like feel uncomfortable. According to the present invention, when the worker is not working to move the placement object, it is possible to arrange it in a small and compact state by arranging the overlapping portion of the placement member and the fixing member to be large. In other words, it is possible to arrange it in an inconspicuous state that does not get in the way of people.

In the object movement assistance device of the present invention, it is more preferable that the fixing member has a flat base plate portion, the placement member has a flat placement plate portion on which the object to be placed is placed, and the second posture is a posture in which a portion of the placement plate portion is located above the base plate portion and the placement plate portion extends in a cantilever manner relative to the base plate portion .

The invention described in claim 2 is the object movement assistance device described in claim 1, characterized in that the second posture is a posture in which a part of the mounting member is located above the fixed member, and the part located above the fixed member is a part located toward the base end rather than the center in the extension direction of the mounting member.
The invention described in claim 3 is a placed object movement assistance device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it has a handle member, and when the handle member is moved horizontally in a straight line while in the first position, the placement plate portion slides horizontally and rotates to change position, and transitions to the second position.
A related invention of the present invention is that, in the above-mentioned object movement assistance device, the placement member has a flat placement plate portion on which the object to be placed is placed, and when the placement member is in the first position, by moving a part of the placement member horizontally in a straight line, the placement plate portion rotates while sliding horizontally to change position and transition to the second position .

This configuration makes it easier for the worker to change the position of the object movement assistance device.

The invention described in claim 4 is a device for assisting the movement of a placed object as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that one and the other of the fixed member and the placing member are provided with a sliding piece portion and a guide groove portion which are engageable with each other, the sliding piece portion is engaged with the guide groove portion in a rotatable state, is capable of sliding along the guide groove portion, and is rotatable at each portion within the guide groove portion, and the sliding piece portion is movable from a position closer to one end than the center of the fixed member in the first direction to a position closer to the other end .

With this configuration, when changing the position of the object movement assistance device, it is possible to change the position of the placement member after sliding it, to change the position and then slide it, or to change the position and then slide it. In other words, a simple structure allows for various position changes.

The invention described in claim 5 is a mounted object movement assist device that is fixed to a gaming machine island and moves a gaming media housing box while it is placed thereon, the mounted object movement assist device having a fixed member that is fixed to a part of the gaming machine island and a mounting member on which the gaming media housing box can be placed, the mounting member moves relative to the fixed member, and the mounting member can change its position between a first position and a second position by moving the mounting member, the second position being a position in which the mounting member protrudes further forward from the gaming machine island than the first position, and when a direction perpendicular to a front-rear direction in a plan view is defined as a first direction and the front-rear direction is defined as a second direction, The second posture is a posture in which, when viewed in a plane, the loading plate portion extends in a cantilevered manner toward a direction inclined toward the first direction and the second direction, and when the tip end portion of the loading plate portion in the extension direction in the second posture is defined as one side end portion and the base end portion in the opposite direction is defined as the other side end portion, when changing posture from the first posture to the second posture, the tip end portion moves so that the distance moved in the first direction is smaller than that of the other side end portion, and the tip end portion moves so that the distance moved in the second direction is greater than that of the other side end portion.This is a loading object movement assistance device characterized in that

The object movement assistance device of the present invention can also facilitate the replacement and transportation of ball boxes and medal boxes in game arcades. When game arcade employees are not moving game media storage boxes, they can be positioned in an inconspicuous manner that does not get in the way of players.

The present invention provides an object movement assistance device that can facilitate the task of moving objects placed on counters.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing the auxiliary device of this embodiment, in which (a) shows the auxiliary device attached to the tray of the gaming machine island in a basic position, and (b) shows the auxiliary device attached to the tray of the gaming machine island in a withdrawn position, and (c) shows the auxiliary device and ball box in an enlarged view. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the auxiliary device of FIG. 1; 3A is a perspective view of the slide piece shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the slide piece shown in FIG. 2 from below, and FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the upper base plate portion of FIG. 2, FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the upper base plate portion of FIG. 2 from below, and FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the upper base plate portion of FIG. 2 . 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the lower base plate portion of FIG. 2, in which FIG. 3A is a perspective view and FIG. 1(a) is a cross-sectional view showing the auxiliary device, the gaming machine, and the gaming machine island shown in FIG. 4A to 4C are explanatory diagrams showing how the auxiliary device in FIG. 1 changes its position from a basic position to a pulled-out position, in which the position is changed in the order of (a) to (c). 9A to 9C are explanatory diagrams showing a schematic diagram of the positional relationship between the slide piece portion and the fixed base member of the auxiliary device shown in FIG. 8 (a) to (c), where (a) to (c) correspond to (a) to (c) in FIG. 8, respectively.

Hereinafter, the object movement assisting device 1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the assisting device 1) according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the up-down direction will be described based on the state in FIG. 1.
The longitudinal direction of the tray 4 on which the auxiliary device 1 is attached is defined as the first direction (horizontal direction), and the direction perpendicular to the first direction in a plan view is defined as the second direction. That is, the first direction is also the left-right direction, with the left side as viewed from the customer being the left side and the right side being the right side. The second direction is also the depth direction (front-rear direction), with the customer side being the front side and the opposite side being the rear side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the auxiliary device 1 of this embodiment is a ball box exchange auxiliary device that is attached to the tray 4 (fixed object) of the gaming machine island 3 on which the gaming machine 2 is installed. The gaming machine 2 is a pachinko machine, a pinball gaming machine that allows games to be played using gaming balls (gaming media). The tray 4 is a part of the gaming machine island 3, a flat plate-like part extending horizontally, and is a part that protrudes (projects) from the inside to the outside of the gaming machine island 3. In other words, the tray 4 is a plate-like body, and various objects can be placed on the upper surface 4a, and it has an outer side portion 4b that forms a side located at the protruding end side and the front end. In other words, the outer side portion 4b is the side that faces the operator side or the player side, which changes the posture of the auxiliary device 1 (described in detail later).

The assist device 1 can change its position between a first basic position (ball recovery position, see Fig. 1(a)) and a second withdrawal position (avoidance position, see Fig. 1(b)).

As shown in FIG. 1, the auxiliary device 1 has a mounting member 10 on which a ball box 5 (a mounting object) can be placed, and a fixed member 11. The mounting member 10 is assembled so that it can move relative to the fixed member 11 (more details will be described later).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the auxiliary device 1 comprises a mounting table main body 20, a sliding piece 21, an upper base plate 22, and a lower base plate 23 (substrate). The mounting member 10 is formed by fixing the sliding piece 21 to the back side (lower side) of the mounting table main body 20, and the fixing member 11 is formed by overlapping the upper base plate 22 and the lower base plate 23.

The mounting base main body 20 has a base plate portion 30 (mounting plate portion) that is a generally rectangular flat plate in plan view, a hanging plate portion 31 that is a vertical plate extending downward from the base plate portion 30, and a base protrusion portion 32. The base plate portion 30 and the hanging plate portion 31 are continuous in a generally L-shape. Specifically, the hanging plate portion 31 is continuous with a part of the edge portion of the base plate portion 30, where a side 30a, which is one of the four sides in plan view, is located. Side 30a is longer than the hanging plate portion 31, and a missing portion 33 is formed in the part adjacent to the hanging plate portion 31.

The base plate portion 30 has multiple mounting holes 34 for mounting the slide piece portion 21.

A generally spherical handle member 35 is attached to the hanging plate portion 31 via a temporary fastening element. The handle member 35 forms a knob portion that is operated when changing the position of the assisting device 1.
Here, the "temporary fastening element" is a type of fastening element that can be fastened and released, such as a screw, a bolt, etc. In this embodiment, a screw is used as the temporary fastening element. The same applies below.

The platform protrusion 32 is a roughly rectangular parallelepiped part, and is located above the top surface of the platform plate 30. This platform protrusion 32 functions as a stopper that prevents the ball box 5 from accidentally falling off.

As shown in FIG. 3, the slide piece 21 is formed by attaching multiple (two in this embodiment) roller members 41 to a main body 40, which is a disk-shaped member. Also, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the main body 40 has a step portion 45 formed by a disk-shaped upper portion 40a and a lower portion 40b of different diameters.

The main body 40 is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 46. The mounting holes 46 are holes that penetrate the main body 40 (upper part 40a and lower part 40b). The lower surface (back surface) of the main body 40 is provided with roller placement holes 47, which are bottomed holes recessed upward.

The roller member 41 is a roughly short cylindrical member, and is a rotating body that can rotate around a vertically extending axis. As shown in Figures 3(b) and 3(c), the roller member 41 is attached with a portion positioned inside the roller arrangement hole 47 and a portion positioned outside the roller arrangement hole 47 (below the roller arrangement hole 47).

The roller member 41 of this embodiment is attached to the main body 40 via a screw and rotates around the shaft of the screw as the rotation axis. The tip of the screw is inserted into the top surface (bottom surface) of the roller arrangement hole 47. A washer member 48 (washer) is attached between the top surface of the roller arrangement hole 47 and the top surface of the roller member 41.

As shown in FIG. 4, the upper base plate portion 22 is a member that is generally rectangular in plan view and has a thickness in the vertical direction, and has a main body portion 50 (substrate portion) and a thin-walled portion 51. The main body portion 50 is formed with an upper guide groove portion 52 (guide groove portion), which is a first guide groove, and a plurality of mounting holes 53.

The thin-walled portion 51 is a flat portion that is thinner than the main body portion 50 and extends cantilever-like from the edge of the main body portion 50. The upper surfaces of the main body portion 50 and the thin-walled portion 51 are on the same plane, and their lower surfaces are continuous with each other via a step.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), the upper guide groove portion 52 is a stepped groove formed including a lower first groove portion 60 and an upper second groove portion 61 (upside down in FIG. 4(b)). The first groove portion 60 is a long hole-shaped groove with a bottom formed on the lower surface of the upper base plate portion 22 and recessed upward. The second groove portion 61 is a long hole-shaped groove provided on the bottom of the first groove portion 60. The second groove portion 61 also penetrates from the bottom surface 60a of the first groove portion 60 to the upper surface of the upper base plate portion 22.

At this time, in a plan view of the upper base plate portion 22 seen from below, the entire second groove portion 61 is located inside the first groove portion 60. Specifically, the upper opening 52a of the upper guide groove portion 52 formed on the upper surface of the upper base plate portion 22 and the lower opening 52b formed on the lower surface are approximately similar in shape in the same plan view. In addition, the bottom surface 60a is continuous in annular shape in the same plan view.

Here, the longitudinal direction of the upper base plate portion 22 is also the longitudinal direction of the fixing member 11 (see FIG. 1(b)), which is also the first direction described above. In addition, the transverse direction of the upper base plate portion 22 is also the second direction described above.

As shown in FIG. 5, the upper guide groove portion 52 has a first portion 70 and a second portion 71 in order from one end side in the extension direction, and these are formed continuously. The first portion 70 is a portion that extends linearly along the first direction (left-right direction in FIG. 5). The second portion 71 is a portion that extends in a direction inclined with respect to the first direction and the second direction in a plan view (the left front side, the left lower side in FIG. 5). And, the portion of the upper guide groove portion 52 where the first portion 70 and the second portion 71 are continuous is a portion that extends while bending or curving, and in this embodiment, it is a portion that extends while curving gently. In other words, the upper guide groove portion 52 has a portion that extends gently in an arc shape in a plan view (a portion that extends in an arc-shaped trajectory).

As shown in FIG. 4(c), the mounting hole portion 53 is a hole (screw hole) that has a portion for accommodating the head of a screw or the like and a portion for accommodating the shaft portion.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lower base plate portion 23 is a member that has a generally rectangular flat plate shape in a plan view and has a thickness in the vertical direction, and is formed with a lower guide groove portion 65, which is a second guide groove portion, and multiple mounting holes 66.

The lower guide groove portion 65 is a groove group consisting of multiple grooves (two grooves in this embodiment) spaced apart, and has a first guide groove 65a and a second guide groove 65b. The first guide groove 65a and the second guide groove 65b are both elongated grooves that penetrate the lower base plate portion 23 in the thickness direction.

The first guide groove 65a and the second guide groove 65b have different longitudinal lengths and extension directions. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 6(b). The longitudinal direction of the lower base plate portion 23 is the first direction (left-right direction) described above, and the lateral direction is the second direction described above. In the following description, one side (the rear side) in the second direction will be referred to as the upper side (the upper side in FIG. 6(b)) and the other side (the front side) will be referred to as the lower side (the lower side in FIG. 6(b)) as necessary.

6B, the first guide groove 65a is longer than the second guide groove 65b. The right end of the first guide groove 65a is located to the left of the right end of the second guide groove 65b, and the left end of the first guide groove 65a is located to the left of the left end of the second guide groove 65b.
Moreover, most of the first guide groove 65a is located above the second guide groove 65b. Specifically, a part of the portion of the first guide groove 65a located to the left of the left end of the second guide groove 65b is located below the upper end of the second guide groove 65b, and the other part is located above the upper end of the second guide groove 65b.

The first guide groove 65a has, in order from the right side, a first portion 75, a second portion 76, and a third portion 77. The first portion 75 and the third portion 77 are all portions that extend linearly toward the lower left side. In other words, they extend in an oblique direction, that is, in a direction that is inclined with respect to the up-down direction and the left-right direction in a plan view.
Here, the extending direction of the first portion 75 and the extending direction of the third portion 77 are both inclined with respect to the left-right direction in a plan view, but the inclination angles are different. The extending direction of the third portion 77 is inclined with respect to the left-right direction by a larger amount.
That is, the first guide groove 65a extends diagonally (to the lower left) at the first portion 75, then bends gently at the second portion 76, and extends diagonally (to the lower left) at the third portion 77. The lengths in the extending direction become longer in the order of the first portion 75, the second portion 76, and the third portion 77.

The second guide groove 65b has, in order from the right side, a first portion 80, a second portion 81, and a third portion 82. The first portion 80 extends toward the upper left side. The third portion 82 extends diagonally toward the lower left side.
That is, the second guide groove 65b extends in an oblique direction (upper left side) at the first portion 80, and then bends gently and extends in an arch shape at the second portion 81. The first portion 80 is longer in the extension direction than the third portion 82, and the third portion 82 is longer in the extension direction than the second portion 81.

The mounting hole 66 is a screw hole for connecting the lower base plate 23 and the upper base plate 22 with a screw.

Next, we will explain the assembly structure of the auxiliary device 1 and the procedure for attaching it to the tray 4.

First, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7, the slide piece 21 is positioned above the lower base plate 23. At this time, the two roller members 41 (see Fig. 3(b)) of the slide piece 21 are inserted inside the first guide groove 65a and the second guide groove 65b, respectively. That is, each of the multiple roller members 41 is inserted into the groove portions belonging to the lower guide groove portion 65, and these are engaged. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, a part of the roller member 41 that is located below the bottom surface of the main body 40 is inserted into the groove portion (second guide groove 65b). Then, the outer peripheral surface of the roller member 41 and the inner peripheral surface of the groove portion are in contact with each other.

Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper base plate portion 22 is positioned above the lower base plate portion 23, and the main body portion 40 of the slide piece portion 21 is inserted into the upper guide groove portion 52 so that they are engaged with each other.

Specifically, the lower part 40b of the main body part 40 is disposed inside the first groove part 60, which is the lower part of the upper guide groove part 52, and the upper part 40a of the main body part 40 is disposed inside the second groove part 61, which is the upper part. At this time, the upper surface of the main body part 40 and the upper surface of the upper base plate part 22 are at the same height (approximately the same height). Then, by positioning the upper surface of the lower part 40b below the bottom surface 60a (upper surface) of the first groove part 60, the upward movement of the slide piece part 21 is restricted.

Here, by overlapping the lower base plate portion 23 and the upper base plate portion 22, the mounting holes 53, 66 (see FIG. 2) formed in each of them overlap, forming a communication hole. Then, by inserting a screw (temporary fastening element) into this communication hole on the tray 4, the lower base plate portion 23 and the upper base plate portion 22 (fixing member 11) are fixed to the tray 4. In other words, with the sliding piece portion 21 sandwiched between the lower base plate portion 23 and the upper base plate portion 22, the fixing member 11 is placed on the upper surface 4a of the tray 4 and fixed to the tray 4.
At this time, two flat plate-like members (base plate members) consisting of the main body 50 of the upper base plate 22 and the lower base plate 23 are arranged one on top of the other to form a single thick flat board portion. The lower portion 40b of the main body 40 of the slide piece 21 is positioned inside the board portion.

When the fixing member 11 is formed, the entire lower guide groove portion 65 is located inside the upper guide groove portion 52 in a plan view (see FIG. 9).

Next, the mounting holes 34, 46 (see Figure 2) formed in the mounting base main body 20 and the sliding piece 21, respectively, are overlapped to form a communicating hole, and a screw (temporary fastening element) is inserted into this communicating hole, thereby fixing the mounting base main body 20 and the sliding piece 21 together, and the mounting member 10 is formed.
This completes the assembly of the auxiliary device 1 and its attachment to the tray 4.

Next, we will explain the procedure for transitioning the auxiliary device 1 from the basic position to the extended position.

1(a) and 8(a), when the auxiliary device 1 is in the basic position, the entire fixed member 11 is covered from above by the base plate portion 30. In other words, the entire fixed member 11 overlaps with the placement member 10 in a plan view. Also, as shown in FIG. 7, a part of the base plate portion 30, the thin portion 51 of the upper base plate portion 22, the hanging plate portion 31, and the handle member 35 are located outside (toward the front) the outer side portion 4b of the tray 4. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the long side of the base plate portion 30 and the long side of the fixed member 11 (the long sides of the upper base plate portion 22 and the lower base plate portion 23) in a plan view extend in the same direction. In other words, the longitudinal direction of the base plate portion 30 and the fixed member 11 is the same as the first direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 8).

As shown in Figure 8, in this embodiment, when the auxiliary device 1 is in the basic position, it is possible to transition to the extended position by grasping the handle member 35 and pulling it straight towards the user (downward in Figure 8).
That is, when changing the posture from the basic posture to the pulled-out posture, the handle member 35 is moved in a straight line from the back side to the front side. In other words, the handle member 35 is moved so that a part of the mounting member 10 in a plan view (for example, a central part of the handle member 35) is positioned on the same imaginary line extending in the depth direction in each of the basic posture, the posture-changing state, and the pulled-out posture.

When changing the position from the basic position to the pulled-out position, the mounting member 10 changes its position by rotating counterclockwise in a plan view while sliding horizontally. In other words, the relative movement (sliding movement) of the mounting member 10 with respect to the fixed member 11 and the change in position of the mounting member 10 are performed simultaneously. In this embodiment, the mounting member 10 changes its position by rotating around the sliding piece portion 21 as the rotation axis (see FIG. 9).

Specifically, when the auxiliary device 1 is in the basic posture, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the handle member 35 is located near one end of the auxiliary device 1 in the longitudinal direction (first direction), near the front end. The slide piece 21 is located near the other end of the longitudinal direction, near the center in the depth direction (see FIG. 9, etc.). In this state, when the handle member 35 is pulled toward the front, the slide piece 21 slides along the extension direction of the upper guide groove portion 52, as shown in FIG. 9. At this time, the two roller members 41 also move along the extension directions of the first guide groove 65a and the second guide groove 65b.

The slide piece 21 transitions from a state in which the main body 40 is engaged with one end of the upper guide groove 52 in the extension direction, through a state in which it is engaged with a midway point in the extension direction, to a state in which it is engaged with the other end. Furthermore, each of the two roller members 41 also transitions from a state in which it is engaged with one end of each of the first guide groove 65a and the second guide groove 65b in the extension direction, through a state in which it is engaged with a midway point in the extension direction, to a state in which it is engaged with the other end.

At this time, the two roller members 41 move along the first guide groove 65a and the second guide groove 65b, causing the sliding piece 21 to rotate as it slides along the extension direction of the upper guide groove portion 52. In other words, the sliding piece 21 is structured to be rotatable at each part within the upper guide groove portion 52 (within the movable range).

In other words, while the sliding piece 21 moves along the extension direction of the upper guide groove portion 52, the sliding piece 21 rotates horizontally. Then, the sliding piece 21 moves laterally (to the left) from the position in the basic posture, and then moves diagonally downward (to the left front side) until it reaches the other end of the extension direction, at which point the auxiliary device 1 assumes the pulled-out posture.

When the auxiliary device 1 is in the pulled-out position, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the longitudinal direction of the mounting member 10 is inclined, that is, inclined left-right and depth directions in a plan view (up-down directions in FIG. 8). At this time, the mounting member 10 is in a cantilevered state with respect to the fixed member 11 (supported cantilevered by the fixed member 11).

In other words, one end (part of the edge portion) in the longitudinal direction of the mounting member 10 becomes a free end, and the entire free end is located outside (on the near side) of the outer side surface portion 4b of the tray 4 and the near end portion of the fixed member 11 (see FIG. 1(b)). Specifically, the free end portion of the mounting member 10 is located outside of the outer side surface portion 4b of the tray 4 and the near end portion of the fixed member 11, and the base end portion located on the opposite side is located above the tray 4 and the fixed member 11.
More specifically, the majority of the mounting member 10 (more than 50 percent) in a planar view is located outside the outer side portion 4b and the front end of the fixed member 11, and does not overlap with the tray 4 or the fixed member 11.

As shown in FIG. 8, the distance in the first direction from the center of the handle member 35 to the center of the sliding piece 21 (see FIG. 9) in a plan view is defined as distance L1. At this time, distance L1 in the pulled-out position (see FIG. 8(c)) is shorter than distance L1 in the basic position (see FIG. 8(a)). In other words, when transitioning from the basic position to the pulled-out position, distance L1 becomes shorter as the transition progresses, and is shortest in the pulled-out position.

The area of the portion of the mounting member 10 (base plate portion 30) that overlaps with the fixed member 11 in a planar view (hereinafter also referred to as the overlapping area) also becomes smaller as the position moves from the basic position to the pulled-out position. Note that in this embodiment, the overlapping area in the pulled-out position is 50 percent or less of the total area of the base plate portion 30 in a planar view.

When transitioning from the extended position to the basic position, the placement member 10 is moved in the opposite direction to when transitioning from the basic position to the extended position. In addition, the placement member 10 is rotated clockwise in a plan view to change the position.

By changing the position to the pulled-out position as described above, the placement member 10 can move sideways to avoid a player sitting in front of the gaming machine 2 (for example, a player sitting in a chair as shown in FIG. 1), and then move further forward, projecting diagonally from the tray 4 toward the front side to the side of the player. This means that even if an employee or other worker at the amusement facility changes the position of the auxiliary device 1, the player's play is not impeded.

In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 8(c), the structure is such that the hanging plate portion 31 does not contact the fixed member 11 or the tray plate 4 in the pulled-out position, but the present invention is not limited to this. The hanging plate portion 31 may be formed longer so that the hanging plate portion 31 contacts the fixed member 11 in the pulled-out position. Also, the upper base plate portion 22 may not have the thin portion 51 (see Fig. 7), so that the hanging plate portion 31 contacts the tray plate 4 in the pulled-out position.
With this configuration, when attempting to rotate mounting member 10 further counterclockwise in a plan view from the pulled-out position, hanging plate portion 31 functions as a stopper to prevent unnecessary rotation.

In the above embodiment, when changing the position between the basic position and the pulled-out position, the relative movement of the mounting member 10 with respect to the fixed member 11 and the change in position of the mounting member 10 are performed simultaneously. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The relative movement and the change in position may be performed sequentially. In other words, one may be performed before the other. Specifically, the mounting member 10 may be rotated to change the position and then slid, or the mounting member 10 may be slid and then changed in position.

In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the substrate portion of the fixing member 11 is formed by two flat plate-like members, that is, the main body portion 50 of the upper base plate portion 22 and the lower base plate portion 23. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the substrate portion of the fixing member 11 may be formed by a single flat plate-like member.
For example, a fixed member may be formed having an upper base plate portion 22 and no lower base plate portion 23. In this case, the slide piece portion 21 is structured not to have a roller member 41. Even in this case, the slide piece portion 21 is able to slide relative to the fixed member (substrate portion) and engages in a rotatable state. However, from the viewpoint of smoothly changing the position of the mounting member 10, it is preferable to have a configuration including the lower base plate portion 23 and the lower guide groove portion 65 as described above.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the upper base plate portion 22 and the lower base plate portion 23 are connected by screws and fixed to the tray 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the auxiliary device 1 may be assembled as a unit without the screws connecting the upper base plate portion 22 and the lower base plate portion 23 penetrating all the way to the tray 4. In this case, the auxiliary device 1 may be fixed to a fixing object such as the tray 4 by, for example, attaching double-sided tape to the bottom surface of the lower base plate portion 23.

Furthermore, the object to which the placed object movement assistance device of the present invention is fixed is not limited to the tray 4. For example, it may be fixed to the shelf portion (medal box shelf) of the slot island. In this case, it becomes possible to assist the work of lowering the medal boxes into the aisle. In addition, it may be fixed to a table or counter of a restaurant or the like. In this case, it becomes possible to move the tableware that customers have finished eating together with the placement member 10 near the employee on a partition board erected on the counter or a track that avoids the customers.
In these cases, fixing member 11 is fixed in a state in which it is placed on the upper surface of a plate-like object (such as a counter) that is the fixing target. Then, by changing the position to the pulled-out position, mounting member 10 is pulled outward beyond the front end (outer side surface) of the plate-like object and is in a state of extending in a cantilevered manner in the diagonal direction.

In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the mounting member 10 is provided with a slide piece portion 21 and the fixed member 11 is provided with a guide groove portion, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a guide groove portion may be provided on the mounting member, and a protruding slide piece may be provided on the fixed member. In addition, in the above embodiment, an example is described in which the mounting member 10 rotates counterclockwise in a plan view when changing from the basic position to the pull-out position, but the present invention is not limited to this. When changing to the pull-out position, the mounting member 10 may be structured to rotate clockwise in a plan view. For example, in the above example, the mounting member 10 is in a position that protrudes to the left of the player when in the pull-out position, but instead, the mounting member 10 may be structured to protrude to the right of the player. In addition, in the above embodiment, in the basic position, a portion of the mounting member 10 is located outside the outer side surface portion 4b of the tray 4, but instead, the entire mounting member 10 may be located above the upper surface 4a of the tray 4.

In the above embodiment, the portion where the first portion 70 and the second portion 71 are continuous is a portion that extends while gently curving. With this configuration, compared to a configuration in which the portion extends while bending, it is possible to move the mounting member 10 smoothly and without hindrance when changing the position between the basic position and the pulled-out position, i.e., when pulling out or returning the mounting member 10.
Furthermore, by forming the upper guide groove portion 52 as a groove portion having the first portion 70 and the second portion 71, when returning the mounting member 10 (when changing the position from the pulled-out position to the basic position), it becomes possible to move the mounting member 10 in an oblique direction including a lateral component by simply pushing the mounting member 10 toward the rear side with a lighter force. In other words, compared to a structure in which the upper guide groove portion is formed only of a portion extending in the first direction, it becomes possible to move the mounting member 10 in the lateral direction as well by simply pushing the mounting member 10 toward the rear side with a lighter force, thereby improving operability.

1 Placed object movement assistance device 2 Gaming machine 4 Tray (fixed object)
5 Ball box (object to be placed)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10: placement member 11: fixing member 21: slide piece portion 22: upper base plate portion 23: lower base plate portion (substrate portion)
30 Base plate portion (mounting plate portion)
50 Main body (substrate)
52 Upper guide groove portion (guide groove portion)

Claims (5)

A placement object movement assistance device that is interposed between a fixed object and a placement object and moves the placement object while it is placed thereon,
A fixing member that is fixed to the fixing object and a mounting member on which the mounting object can be mounted,
the placement member moves relative to the fixed member, and the placement member is capable of changing its position between a first position and a second position by moving the placement member;
the second posture is a posture in which an area of an overlapping portion between the placement member and the fixing member in a plan view is smaller than that of the first posture, and a part of the placement member is pulled out toward a front side more than that of the first posture,
When a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction in a plan view is defined as a first direction and the front-rear direction is defined as a second direction, the second posture is a posture in which the placement plate portion extends in a cantilever shape toward a direction inclined toward the first direction and the second direction in a plan view,
When the tip end portion of the loading plate portion in the extension direction in the second position is defined as one side end portion, and the base end portion in the opposite direction is defined as the other side end portion, when changing the position from the first position to the second position, the tip end portion moves so that the moving distance in the first direction is smaller than that of the other side end portion, and the tip end portion moves so that the moving distance in the second direction is greater than that of the other side end portion. The object movement assistance device according to claim 1, characterized in that the second position is a position in which a part of the mounting member is located above the fixed member, and the part located above the fixed member is a part located on the base end side of the center of the mounting member in the extension direction. A handle member is provided.
The object movement assistance device of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when the handle member is moved horizontally in a straight line while in the first position, the loading plate portion slides horizontally and rotates to change position, thereby transitioning to the second position. a slide piece portion and a guide groove portion that can be engaged with each other are provided on one of the fixing member and the placement member,
The slide piece portion is rotatably engaged with the guide groove portion, and is slidable along the guide groove portion and rotatable at each portion within the guide groove portion;
The object movement assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the slide piece portion is movable from a position closer to one end than the center of the fixed member in the first direction to a position closer to the other end. A placed object movement assist device that is fixed to a gaming machine island and moves a gaming medium storage box while being placed thereon,
A fixing member that is fixed to a part of the gaming machine island and a mounting member on which the gaming medium storage box can be mounted,
the placement member moves relative to the fixed member, and the placement member is capable of changing its position between a first position and a second position by moving the placement member;
The second position is a position in which the placement member protrudes forward from the gaming machine island more than the first position,
When a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction in a plan view is defined as a first direction and the front-rear direction is defined as a second direction, the second posture is a posture in which the placement plate portion extends in a cantilever shape toward a direction inclined toward the first direction and the second direction in a plan view,
When the tip end portion of the loading plate portion in the extension direction in the second position is defined as one side end portion, and the base end portion in the opposite direction is defined as the other side end portion, when changing the position from the first position to the second position, the tip end portion moves so that the moving distance in the first direction is smaller than that of the other side end portion, and the tip end portion moves so that the moving distance in the second direction is greater than that of the other side end portion.