JP7763481B2 - trolley - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hand-pushed cart that is primarily used in gaming parlors to transport pachinko gaming machines (in this application, pachinko gaming machines may be simply referred to as "gaming machines").

Pachinko machines are installed in the halls of amusement parlors on structures commonly known as islands. Before being installed on the islands, the machines are first delivered from, for example, the machine manufacturer to a warehouse, for example, at the parlor. Naturally, not just one machine is delivered to the warehouse, but multiple machines, often quite a number. The machines delivered to the warehouse are then transported from the warehouse to the hall where the island is located.
Similarly, there is a lot of work involved in removing gaming machines that have been used in the hall from the islands and transporting them to a warehouse outside the hall.
In recent years, in order to keep players entertained, it has become common to change the locations of the many gaming machines in a hall. This replacement of gaming machines may or may not be done at the same time as the installation of new gaming machines. In either case, the replacement of gaming machines also requires the transportation of the gaming machines.
As described above, there are many situations where gaming machines must be transported, and the number of situations where gaming machines must be transported is increasing every year.
A heavy gaming machine can weigh more than 60 kg. In particular, when gaming machines are replaced, the number of gaming machines to be moved ranges from several hundred to, in some cases, more than one thousand.
Considering these circumstances, it is hard on workers to transport heavy gaming machines without using tools. As is well known, when transporting heavy objects, for example, hand-pushed carts are used. Carts are also used to transport gaming machines, and their importance is increasing year by year.

When a gaming machine is attached to an island, it is attached to a member commonly called a "frame" and then detached from the island. Figure 1 shows a gaming machine 300 attached to a frame 500, and a gaming machine 300 attached to the frame 500 attached to an island 400.
In Figure 1, the frame 500 is shown shaded. The frame 500 is a frame-like member consisting of four plates positioned above, below, left, and right, surrounding the gaming machine 300 from the top, bottom, left, and right when viewed from the front. The gaming machine 300 is attached to the frame 500 in a known or well-known manner. The gaming machine 300 is attached to the frame 500 in a manner that will be described later, and is usually done with a single touch.
Of the four boards constituting the frame 500, the thickness of the top and bottom boards is typically significantly thinner than the thickness of the bottom board (frame bottom board 501). The thickness of the top and bottom boards is typically 5 mm to 21 mm, depending on the material (metal or wood), while the thickness of the frame bottom board 501 is typically 50 mm to 75 mm. In other words, when attached to the frame 500, the gaming machine 300 is suspended above the frame by the thickness of the frame bottom board 501.
Furthermore, the frame 500 and the gaming machine 300 attached to the frame 500 have a relationship similar to that of a door frame and a door, and just as a door can be opened and closed relative to the door frame to which it is hinged, the gaming machine 300 can be opened and closed relative to the frame 500 to which it is hinged. Figure 18 shows how the gaming machine 300 opens and closes relative to the frame 500. In Figure 18(A), the gaming machine 300 is closed relative to the frame 500, and in Figure 18(B), the gaming machine 300 is open relative to the frame 500. Note that the gaming machine 300 can be opened and closed relative to the frame 500 regardless of whether the frame 500 is attached to the island 400 or not.
18(B) are provided on the top and bottom of the left side of the frame 500. Hinge fittings 502, which are fittings for hinge connection to the gaming machine 300, are provided. Axles (not shown) provided on the top and bottom of the gaming machine 300 can be connected to the top and bottom hinge fittings 502 with a single touch, and the upper hinge fitting is provided with a mechanism that can release the hinge connection between the gaming machine 300 and the frame 500 with a single touch. In other words, the gaming machine 300 can be attached to and detached from the frame 500 with a single touch.
The configuration of the frame 500 and the relationship between the gaming machine 300 and the frame 500 described in this paragraph have become de facto standards and are adopted in most frames 500 and gaming machines 300.

There are two methods for attaching the gaming machine 300 to the island 400 via the frame 500 as described above.
First, a traditional mounting method will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 19(A). In this mounting method, a frame 500 with a gaming machine 300 mounted thereon is placed on a lower plate 401, which is a horizontal plate included in an island 400. At this time, an upper plate 402, which is a horizontal plate included in the frame 500, is located immediately above the upper plate of the frame 500. The frame 500 is fixed to the island 400 by driving nails 503 (or screws) from the underside of the upper plate included in the frame 500 to the upper plate 402, and as a result, the gaming machine 300 is fixed to the island 400 via the frame 500. When driving the nails 503, the gaming machine 300 is opened relative to the frame 500 so that the gaming machine 300 does not get in the way, and then the work is performed.
Next, the mounting method that the present applicant is promoting will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 19(B) and (C). In this mounting method, a frame 500 with a gaming machine 300 mounted thereon is placed on a lower plate 401. The upper plate 402, a horizontal plate included in the island 400, is positioned immediately above the upper plate of the frame 500. A mounting device 510 is disposed at an appropriate position on the upper plate 402, for example, on the upper plate 402. The mounting device 510 includes a movable member 511 that passes through the upper plate 402 and can move up and down. When the movable member 511 is in the upper position, it does not contact the upper plate of the frame 500 (FIG. 19(B)). However, when the movable member 511 is in the lower position, it presses against the upper plate of the frame 500 from above (FIG. 19(C)). By moving the movable member 511 to the lower position, the frame 500 is sandwiched between the lower surface of the movable member 511 and the upper surface of the lower plate 401. This fixes the frame 500 to the island 400, and as a result, the gaming machine 300 is fixed to the island 400 via the frame 500.

Patent Publication No. 2018-122833 Patent Publication No. 2018-122058 Patent Publication No. 2018-122059 Patent Publication No. 2015-173924

Consider the case where the gaming machine 300 attached to the island 400 is placed on a cart.
When the gaming machine 300 is attached to the island 400 using an attachment method using an attachment device that the applicant is promoting, the movable member 511 of the attachment device 510 can be moved to the upper position to release the frame 500 from its attachment to the island 400, and the gaming machine 300 can be placed on the platform of the cart together with the frame 500 without being removed from the frame 500.
When the gaming machine 300 is attached to the island 400 using the traditional attachment method using nails 503, the gaming machine 300 can be placed on a cart together with the frame 500 or temporarily removed from the frame 500. When loading the gaming machine 300 together with the frame 500 onto a cart, the gaming machine 300 is opened relative to the frame 500, the nails 503 are removed in that state, and the gaming machine 300 together with the frame 500 is loaded onto the cart. On the other hand, when temporarily removing the gaming machine 300 from the frame 500 and loading it onto a cart, the gaming machine 300 is removed from the frame 500 with a one-touch operation, the gaming machine 300 is loaded onto the cart, and the nails 503 are removed without the gaming machine 300 present. The frame 500 removed from the island 400 may also be loaded onto a cart together with the gaming machine 300. When the applicant compared the two methods of operation, he found that it was faster to remove the gaming machine 300 from the frame 500, place it on a cart, and then remove the frame 500 from the island. This is because if the work of removing the nails 503 was performed with the gaming machine 300 still attached to the frame 500, even though it was in an open state relative to the frame 500, the gaming machine 300 would get in the way of the work.
Taking these factors into consideration, when removing the gaming machine 300 from the island 400, if the gaming machine 300 is attached to the island 400 using the attachment method using the attachment device 510, it is best to place the gaming machine 300 together with the frame 500 on the loading platform of the cart, and if the gaming machine 300 is attached to the island 400 using the traditional attachment method using nails 503, it is best to first remove the gaming machine 300 from the frame 500 and then place the gaming machine 300 alone on the loading platform of the cart.

However, after various trial and error efforts, the applicant found that it would be difficult to use a single cart to both remove the gaming machine 300 from the island 400 and place it on the platform of the cart together with the frame 500, and to remove it from the frame 500 and place it on the platform.
This is because when transferring the gaming machine 300 to the platform of a cart, the height of the platform of the cart that should be set differs depending on whether the entire frame 500 is transferred to the platform of the cart or whether the gaming machine 300 is removed from the frame 500 and transferred to the platform of the cart by itself.
As described above, the thickness of the frame bottom plate 501 of the frame 500 to which the gaming machine 300 is attached may be 50 mm or more in some cases. Therefore, if the height of the upper surface of the loading platform is set to the height of the upper surface of the frame bottom plate 501, the gaming machine 300 removed from the frame 500 can be easily transferred to the upper surface of the loading platform by simply shifting the gaming machine 300 from above the frame bottom plate 501 onto the loading platform of the dolly, but in order to transfer the gaming machine 300 together with the frame 500 onto the loading platform of the dolly, the gaming machine 300 together with the frame 500 must be lifted by the thickness of the frame bottom plate 501. On the other hand, if the height of the upper surface of the loading platform is set to the height of the lower surface of the frame lower plate 501 (i.e., the upper surface of the lower plate 401), the task of transferring the gaming machine 300 together with the frame 500 onto the loading platform of the cart can be easily performed by simply shifting the gaming machine 300 from the lower plate 401 onto the loading platform of the cart. However, in order to transfer a single gaming machine 300 that has been removed from the frame 500 onto the loading platform of the cart, the single gaming machine 300 must be dropped onto the loading platform of the cart by the height of the frame lower plate 501 of the frame 500, or an operator must gently place the gaming machine 300 on top of it so as not to cause any impact from the fall.
In other words, regardless of which height of the platform of the cart is adopted, if an attempt is made to accommodate either of the two mounting methods for the gaming machines 300 to the island 400 described above, the worker will be forced to do the "work" of filling in the height difference between the frame bottom plate 501 of the frame 500, which is inevitably generated in principle between the two mounting methods. Forcing the worker to do such work is extremely harsh, considering that the gaming machines 300 may weigh more than 60 kg and that there are a large number of gaming machines 300.
It is common for the two above-mentioned mounting methods for the gaming machines 300 to be mixed in one hall to be used on the island 400. If a cart exists that allows for the quick transfer of gaming machines from the island 400 to the cart regardless of which of the above-mentioned mounting methods is used, it will be possible to efficiently perform the frequent task of changing gaming machines in the hall.
Furthermore, if the cart is capable of doing this, it will be possible to efficiently perform the work of replacing gaming machines using the same cart, whether in a hall where all of the gaming machines 300 are attached to the islands 400 using the traditional method of using nails 503, or in a hall where all of the gaming machines 300 are attached to the islands 400 using the attachment device 510. This, of course, means that it is more cost-effective than manufacturing two types of carts.
However, there are currently no trolleys that can do this.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a cart that allows operators to quickly and easily transfer gaming machines from the island to the cart, regardless of which of the two mounting methods described above is used to mount the gaming machines on the island.

The bogie of the present invention for solving the above problems is as follows.
The present invention is a cart having a plate-shaped loading platform with a horizontal upper surface located at a height approximately corresponding to the height of the upper surface of the lower plate of an island on which an amusement machine is placed, and on which the amusement machine is attached via a frame, and casters provided below the loading platform.
The cart is provided with a base member, which is a plate-like member that can withstand the weight of the gaming machine and has a thickness that roughly corresponds to the thickness of the lower frame plate among the top, bottom, left and right plates that make up the frame, and the base member can be removably fixed to the top surface of the loading platform.

What makes this cart different from conventional carts is that it is equipped with a base member whose thickness roughly corresponds to the thickness of the bottom plate of the frame used to mount the gaming machine on the island. The base member can be detachably fixed to the top surface of the gaming machine's platform.
When a gaming machine is mounted on an island using, for example, the mounting device described in the Background Art section, as described above, when transferring the gaming machine mounted on the island to a cart, it is preferable to place the gaming machine together with its frame on the platform of the cart. In this case, a base member is not fixed to the platform. In other words, no base member is used. When the platform of the cart is brought close to the island, the top surface of the platform is at approximately the same height as the top surface of the lower plate on which the gaming machine is placed on the island (i.e., the lower surface of the frame lower plate of the frame). Therefore, it is easy to transfer the gaming machine together with its frame from the lower plate of the island to the top surface of the platform of the cart, where the difference in height between the top surface of the lower plate is negligible, if any.
If the gaming machine is attached to the island using, for example, nails rather than the mounting device described in the Background Art section, when transferring the gaming machine attached to the island to a cart, as described above, it is preferable to remove the gaming machine from the frame and place it on the platform of the cart. In this case, a base member is attached to the platform. In other words, a base member is used. When the platform of the cart is brought close to the island, the top surface of the base member is at approximately the same height as the top surface of the frame bottom plate of the frame used to attach the gaming machine to the island. Therefore, it is easy to transfer the gaming machine that has been removed from the frame (and in most cases, removing the gaming machine from the frame can be done with a single touch) from the frame bottom plate of the island to the top surface of the base member attached to the cart, where the height difference from the top surface of the frame bottom plate is negligible, if any.
In other words, by appropriately selecting whether or not to use a base member, or whether or not to attach the base member to the loading platform, it becomes possible for the worker to quickly and easily transfer the gaming machine from the island to the cart, regardless of which of the two attachment methods described in detail in the background art section is used as the method of attaching the gaming machine to the island.

The trolley has a front and rear direction that corresponds to the front and rear orientation of the gaming machine in the gaming machine body that is planned when it is placed on the loading platform, and the base member may be configured to extend forward from the loading platform when fixed to the top surface of the loading platform.
If the base member is configured to protrude from the front side of the loading platform when viewed from above when fixed to the loading platform, the following advantages are obtained.
Directly below the bottom plate of the island is a front plate. The front plate is a horizontal plate on which an ashtray can be attached or which serves as a place for a cash box. If the base member fixed to the loading platform protrudes forward from the loading platform, the front end of the base member can be positioned above the front plate when the gaming machine is moved closer to the island. In this way, when moving a gaming machine removed from the frame onto the base member, the gaming machine can be moved from the bottom plate of the frame onto the base member by simply dropping it slightly from the bottom plate of the frame onto the base member.
If the base member does not extend beyond the front of the loading platform, the worker must lift the gaming machine to clear the front plate in order to move it from the frame bottom plate onto the base member. This difference has a significant impact on work efficiency.
Furthermore, because the base member protrudes from the front of the platform, the orientation of the gaming machines placed on the platform will naturally align with the front and rear of the cart. This is advantageous, for example, when the cart has a mechanism for fixing the gaming machines, as it allows the gaming machines placed on the platform to be oriented in the desired direction relative to the cart.
For example, the loading platform may be generally rectangular in plan view, and two opposing sides of the loading platform may be located at the front and rear of the gaming machine. In this case, the base member may be generally rectangular in plan view, and two opposing sides of the base member may be located at the front and rear of the gaming machine.

A plate-like slide plate may be provided on the base member, the slide plate being slidable relative to the base member and having a thickness thinner than that of the base member.
As described above, a gaming machine removed from its frame may be placed on a base member fixed to a loading platform. The gaming machine placed on the loading platform via the base member may not always be positioned appropriately relative to the loading platform. In such cases, the gaming machine must be adjusted to its position relative to the loading platform by sliding it on the base member, which requires a large amount of force due to the gaming machine's weight. If a sliding plate that can slide relative to the base member is provided on the base member, the coefficient of friction between the base member and the sliding plate can be made smaller than the coefficient of friction between the gaming machine and the base member (for example, by selecting appropriate materials for the base member and the sliding plate, or by coating at least one of the contact portions of the base member and the sliding plate with a material such as fluororesin that reduces the coefficient of friction), thereby enabling the gaming machine and the sliding plate to be easily moved on the base member.

As described above, the carriage may have a predetermined front-to-back orientation corresponding to the intended front-to-back orientation of the gaming machine in the gaming machine body when it is placed on the loading platform. In this case, a plate-shaped slide plate may be provided on the base member, which is slidable laterally relative to the base member and has a thickness thinner than that of the base member. In this way, the gaming machine can be slid laterally on the base member. Since a gaming machine transferred from a frame bottom plate of a frame attached to an island onto the base member is usually initially placed on the lateral edge of the loading platform or the base member, making the slide plate movable laterally relative to the base member is useful for moving the gaming machine to an appropriate position closer to the center of the base member.
As described above, the carriage has a predetermined front-to-rear direction corresponding to the expected front-to-rear orientation of the gaming machine in the gaming machine body when it is placed on the loading platform, and a locking portion may be provided near the rear end of the upper surface of the base member that locks onto the back of the gaming machine placed on the base member to prevent the gaming machine from moving further rearward. This prevents the gaming machine from moving too far rearward when sliding on the base member and pushing it rearward. In other words, the presence of the locking portion makes it possible to position the gaming machine in the front-to-rear direction relative to the loading platform simply by pushing the gaming machine rearward, preventing the gaming machine from falling off the base member rearward.
The cart may have a predetermined front-to-back orientation corresponding to the intended front-to-back orientation of the gaming machine in the gaming machine body when it is placed on the loading platform. In this case, a locking portion may be provided near the rear end of the upper surface of the slide plate, which locks onto the back of the gaming machine placed on the base member to prevent the gaming machine from moving further rearward. If a slide member is present instead of a base member, the locking portion may be provided on the slide member. The effect is the same as when a locking portion is provided on the base member.

The height of the upper surface of the loading platform from the casters may be adjustable.
Depending on the hall, there may be slight differences in the height from the floor to the top of the island's lower plate due to factors such as the island's construction and whether the floor is carpeted. Making the height of the loading platform variable helps to make the height of the loading platform's upper surface match the height of the island's lower plate's upper surface. However, the height of the loading platform's upper surface may not be changed continuously, but may be changed in steps, for example, in increments of a few millimeters or a few centimeters.
The height of the upper surface of the base member from the upper surface of the loading platform may be variable. The thickness of the frame bottom plate of the frame may vary slightly depending on the island or the hall. By making the height of the upper surface of the base member variable and allowing the base member to be detachably fixed to the loading platform, the height of the upper surface of the base member can be adjusted to match the height of the upper surface of the frame bottom plate of the frame. The change in height of the upper surface of the base member does not have to be continuous, but may be in steps of, for example, several millimeters to several centimeters.
By making the height of both the top surface of the base member and the top surface of the loading platform variable, it is possible to achieve both the adjustment of the height of the top surface of the loading platform to the height of the top surface of the bottom plate of the island and the adjustment of the height of the top surface of the base member to the height of the top surface of the bottom plate of the frame.

1 is a perspective view of an island to which an amusement machine can be attached using a cart according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a truck according to an embodiment is viewed from the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the carriage according to the embodiment as viewed from the rear. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the upper end of the pillar for explaining the relationship between the pillar and the upper member in the bogie shown in FIG. 2 and the principle of up and down movement of the upper member relative to the pillar. FIG. FIG. (A) is a rear view of the protruding body when the locking mechanism is OFF, (B) is a front view of the protruding body when the locking mechanism is OFF, (C) is a rear view of the protruding body when the locking mechanism is ON, and (D) is a front view of the protruding body when the locking mechanism is ON. 1 is a perspective view showing a gaming machine mounted on a cart according to one embodiment, as viewed from the front. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the gaming machine mounted on a cart according to one embodiment, as viewed from the rear. FIG. FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the rod-shaped body and its surroundings for explaining how to use the rod-shaped body in the dolly according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective side view showing the vicinity of the tip of the bridge plate when the bogie of the embodiment is in use. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the base end of the rod-shaped body in one embodiment. (A) Front view, (B) Plan view, and (C) Right side view of the base member and its related parts. 10A and 10B are perspective views from above and below, respectively, of the base member and its associated components when a slide plate (described later) is positioned at the left position. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the carriage with the base member and its associated components attached and the slide member positioned at the left position, as viewed from the front. 10A and 10B are perspective views from above and below, respectively, of the base member and its associated components when the slide plate described later is positioned at the right position. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the carriage with the base member and its associated parts attached and the slide member positioned to the right, as viewed from the front. A perspective view showing how a single gaming machine is moved from a frame attached to an island onto the platform of a cart. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the open and closed states of the gaming machine relative to the frame. FIG. FIG. 10 is a front view illustrating a method of attaching the frame to the island.

Below, a preferred embodiment of the cart of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, a brief description will be given of the structure of the island in this embodiment with the gaming machines attached thereto and transported by the carts described later.
1, the gaming machine is designated by 300. In this embodiment, the gaming machine 300 is a pachinko gaming machine. The gaming machine 300 is attached to an island, which will be described later.
The gaming machine 300 itself, which is a pachinko gaming machine, is very common and is usually commercially available. There are no particular features about the gaming machine 300, so further explanation will be omitted. Below the gaming machine 300, there are generally trays for receiving balls, consisting of an upper tray and a lower tray, and a handle used to operate the balls, but these are not related to the present invention and are well known, so they are not shown in the illustration.
The gaming machine 300 is fixed inside a rectangular member called a frame 500. The frame 500 is often made of wood, but is not limited to this, and is made of metal in this embodiment. The frame 500 is made up of four boards, assembled in a picture frame shape or rectangle, with the width of each board forming the four sides when viewed from the front and the depth direction of the boards. The gaming machine 300 is fitted into the rectangular space inside. Of the four boards that make up the frame 500, the lower frame board 501 is significantly thicker than the other boards located above, to the left, and to the right. The thickness of the upper and left boards is typically 5 mm to 21 mm, while the thickness of the lower frame board 501 is typically 50 mm to 75 mm.
The gaming machine 300 is fixed to the frame 500 by a known or well-known method, that is, as already explained in the Background Art section, by using hinge fittings 502 (see Figures 17 and 18(B)) provided on the frame 500. The gaming machine 300 can be attached to and detached from the frame 500 with a single touch thanks to a known or well-known device provided on the hinge fittings 502. Also, as already mentioned, the gaming machine 300 can be rotated relative to the frame 500 via the hinge fittings 502 between a closed state (Figure 18(A)) and an open state (Figure 18(B)).
The combination of the integrated gaming machine 300 and frame 500 may be hereinafter referred to as the "gaming machine body." Generally, the gaming machine 300 is fitted into and fixed to the frame 500 before being shipped from the manufacturer to the gaming facility, and this embodiment follows that example.

In a pachinko parlor, the gaming machines 300 are usually fixed to a structure called an island 400. The island 400 may be made of metal, but is often made of wood, and is structured so that a large number of gaming machines 300 can be installed in parallel.
Other equipment that may be installed on the island 400 as needed include a ball lending machine that lends gaming balls to workers, a call lamp that notifies workers and hall staff of the status of the gaming machine 300, and a ball circulation mechanism that supplies balls to the ball lending machine and gaming machine 300 and also collects lost balls from the gaming machine 300 and circulates the balls, but these are not shown in the figures.
The gaming machine 300 fixed to the frame 500 is attached to the island 400 together with the frame 500. With the gaming machine 300 fixed to the frame 500, the frame 500 is fixed to the island 400, thereby fixing the gaming machine 300 to the island 400.
The island 400 has a horizontal bottom plate 401 on which the frame 500 is placed, and an upper plate 402 parallel to the bottom plate 401, located above the frame 500. The frame 500 is fixed to the island 400 while placed on the bottom plate 401. The frame 500 is fixed to the island 400 by one of two methods described in the Background Art section. That is, the frame 500 is fixed to the island 400 by either the traditional attachment method using nails 503 ( FIG. 19(A) ) or the attachment method using an attachment device 510 ( FIGS. 19(B) and (C) ). There are cases where the frame bottom plate 501 of the frame 500 is fixed to the bottom plate 401 of the island 400, but a description of this will be omitted here.
A front plate 403 is located directly below the lower plate 401 of the island 400. The front plate 403 is a plate of a predetermined thickness whose upper surface abuts against the lower surface of the lower plate 401, and protrudes slightly forward from the lower plate 401. An ashtray is generally attached to the front plate 403, or a cash box storage area is provided for placing a cash box.

The cart of this embodiment is used when transporting a gaming machine 300 (more precisely, a gaming machine 300 fixed to a frame 500) from, for example, a warehouse to the front of an island 400 and attaching it to the island 400, or when removing a gaming machine 300 that has been attached to the island 400 from the island 400 and transporting it to another part of the island 400 (or another island 400) or to a warehouse, etc.

The configuration of the carriage 100 will be described.
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the cart 100 as seen diagonally from the front, and Fig. 3 shows a perspective view as seen diagonally from the rear. The front and rear of the cart 100 are determined based on the front and rear of the gaming machines 300 loaded on the cart 100. The front side in Fig. 2 is the front side, and the back side in Fig. 3 is the rear side.
Unless otherwise specified, the base member of the present application is not depicted in any of the drawings, including Figures 2 and 3. The dolly 100 without the base member is used to transport the gaming machine 300 (or gaming machine body) integrated with the frame 500 on a loading platform, which will be described later.

Unless otherwise specified, the carriage 100 is basically made of metal.
The bogie 100 includes a base 110. The base 110 supports the bogie 100 and is configured to stably support the bogie 100. In this embodiment, although not limited thereto, the base 110 is a member assembled in a U-shape in a plan view with an open front. Casters 111 are provided below the base 110 to allow the base 110, and therefore the bogie 100, to smoothly run on the floor. The casters 111 are publicly known or well-known rotatable wheels. A portion of the casters 111 is made of rubber or resin. As is widely known, the casters 111 are attached to the base 110 via a rotation axis so as to be rotatable 360° in a plan view, allowing the direction of travel of the bogie 100 to be changed.

A pillar 120 is erected from the middle of each of the members extending in the front-to-rear direction on both sides of the base 110. Although not limited to this, the pillars 120 in this embodiment are made of rectangular or square pipes with a cross section. The distance between the two pillars 120 is approximately the same as the width of the frame 500 in the left-to-right direction, or slightly wider.
A long nut 123 having a threaded hole on its inner surface is fitted to the upper end portion of each of the columns 120 in the height direction. This results in an internally threaded hole (which may be a bottomed hole) being provided at the top end of each of the columns 120 along the length of the columns 120. A threaded portion of a bolt 124 having a head 124A with a larger diameter than the threaded portion is threaded onto the long nut 123 (see the cross-sectional view of the long nut 123 and bolt 124 in Figure 4). Although not shown, the upper surface of the head 124A of the bolt 124 has a recessed or protruding portion that can be engaged with a predetermined tool. In this embodiment, the predetermined tool is, but is not limited to, a hexagonal wrench 125, and the recessed or protruding portion is a hexagonal cross-sectional hole that engages with the hexagonal wrench 125.
The two pillars 120 are connected near their lower ends by a reinforcing plate 126 that maintains the upright position of the two pillars 120 .

The loading platform 131 is configured to include a base plate 131A and two bridge plates 131C.
The platform 131 is used to place the gaming machine 300 on. Taking into consideration that the height of the lower plate 401 of the island for pachinko gaming machines is approximately 60 cm from the floor, the height of the top surface of the platform 131 from the floor is set so that when the platform 131 moves up and down together with the upper member 133, it can move up and down within a range of at least 5 cm, preferably about 10 cm, and more preferably about 15 cm, centered at a height of 60 cm from the floor. Increasing the range of this up and down movement is useful for making the cart 100 compatible with not only pachinko gaming machines but also pachislot gaming machines.
The gaming machine 300 placed on the loading platform 131 can be moved together with the frame 500 onto the lower plate 401 of the island 400 as described below, and the gaming machine 300 placed on the lower plate 401 of the island 400 can be placed onto the loading platform 131 as described below. The loading platform 131 is configured to withstand the weight of the gaming machine 300 placed thereon. The base plate 131A described above plays a role in supporting the weight of the gaming machine 300.
The base plate 131A is a plate material that is generally rectangular in plan view, although it is not limited thereto. Its two long sides are located at the front and rear of the cart 100, respectively. Its width is slightly wider than the width of the gaming machine 300 (more precisely, the width of the frame 500 to which the gaming machine 300 is fixed), its length in the front-to-rear direction is greater than the length of the gaming machine 300 in the front-to-rear direction (more precisely, the length of the frame 500 to which the gaming machine 300 is fixed in the front-to-rear direction). Furthermore, its thickness is not limited thereto, but can be thinner than the thickness of the lower plate 401 attached to the island 400.

The bridge plate 131C is connected to the rear end of the base plate 131A. The bridge plate 131C is used to move the gaming machine 300, which is fitted into the frame 500 and placed on the base plate 131A, together with the frame 500 from the loading platform 131 to the lower plate 401 of the island 400 over the front plate 403 of the island 400, or from the lower plate 401 of the island 400 to the loading platform 131 over the front plate 403 of the island 400.
Both bridge plates 131C are elongated, rectangular plates in a plan view and have essentially the same configuration. As described below, the bridge plate 131C is long enough to span the portion of the front plate 403 that protrudes from the lower plate 401, in other words, longer than the length of the portion of the front plate 403 that protrudes from the lower plate 401. The bridge plate 131C is thinner than the thickness of a typical lower plate 401. The width of the bridge plate 131C is set to a level that allows the bridge plate 131C to have sufficient rigidity to withstand the weight of the gaming machine 300 and other components when the gaming machine 300 and the frame 500 are slid over the bridge plate 131C. In this embodiment, two bridge plates 131C are provided, one attached near each end of the base plate 131A in the width direction. This allows the two bridge plates 131C to support the frame 500 from below near each end of the width direction. The two bridge plates 131C are narrow and spaced apart in this manner to prevent the bridge plate 131C from interfering with obstacles such as an ashtray on the front plate 403 when the bridge plate 131C straddles the front plate 403 of the island 400. However, the number of bridge plates 131C does not need to be two, and can be three or more, as long as the frame 500 in which the gaming machine 300 is fitted can slide stably over it. Alternatively, if there is no need to avoid obstacles or if there is another way to avoid obstacles, the bridge plate 131C can be a single wide plate, for example, roughly the same width as the base plate 131A.
In this embodiment, both bridge plates 131C are hinged at their front ends to the rear ends of the base plate 131A near both widthwise ends by a known or well-known method (details not shown). This allows both bridge plates 131C to rotate about their base ends as axes between two positions: a use position where their upper surfaces can be aligned with the upper surface of the base plate 131A (although it is possible for the bridge plates 131C to be rotated to a position where they are inclined slightly rearward (toward the front plate 403) relative to the base plate 131A, but this is not limitative; in this embodiment, the bridge plates 131C can only be rotated downward to an angle where their upper surfaces are aligned with the upper surface of the base plate 131A); and a transport position where their rear ends are raised so that the above-mentioned surfaces that can be aligned with the upper surface of the base plate 131A are perpendicular to the upper surface of the base plate 131A. For example, the bridge plate 131C in Figures 2, 3, and 7 is in the use position, and the bridge plate 131C in Figure 8 is in the transport position. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment, the bridge plate 131C in the use position is manually moved to the transport position by an operator. The same is true in the reverse direction. In this embodiment, although not limited to this, the two bridge plates 131C can each independently take the use position and the transport position.
10, circular holes 131C2 and 131C3 of the same size are drilled near the ends of both bridge plates 131C, for example, in the center in the width direction, at positions corresponding to when the bridge plate 131C is in the use position in a plan view. A nut 131C4 with a threaded inner surface is fixed to a portion of the bridge plate 131C abutting the periphery of hole 131C3 at a position corresponding to holes 131C2 and 131C3 when the bridge plate 131C is in the use position in a plan view. A bolt 131C5 with a threaded outer surface is threadedly engaged with the nut 131C4. The head of the bolt 131C5 is exposed below the lower hole 131C3 in the bridge plate 131C. The bolt 131C5 has a concave/convex portion at its upper end that can be engaged with a predetermined jig, such as a hexagonal wrench 131C6, inserted through the upper hole 131C2 in the bridge plate 131C. This allows the bolt 131C5 to be moved up and down by rotating the hexagonal wrench 131C6.

The loading platform 131 described above is indirectly connected to the pillars 120 by fixing both widthwise ends of its base plate 131A to the lower ends of two connecting plates 132 that extend vertically along the front surfaces of the two pillars 120. Both connecting plates 132 are thin plates that extend vertically. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment the width of the two connecting plates 132 is approximately the same as the width of the pillars 120. A connecting fitting 131D that is approximately L-shaped in plan view is used to secure the connecting plate 132 to the base plate 131A. Both the connecting fitting 131D and the connecting fitting 131D and the connecting plate 132 can be secured by known methods, such as screws or welding.

An upper member 133 is attached to the upper ends of both pillars 120. The above-mentioned connecting plate 132 is attached to the lower side of the upper member 133.
The two upper members 133 are attached to the upper ends of the pillars 120, and can be moved up and down relative to the pillars 120 and positioned at an appropriate height using a mechanism described below. This allows the two connecting plates 132 attached to the upper members 133 to also be moved up and down along the two pillars 120 and positioned at an appropriate height. As a result, the loading platform 131 and base plate 131A connected to the connecting plates 132 can also move up and down and can be fixed at an appropriate height.
Each of the two upper members 133 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and has a hole (not shown) on the front side that opens downward and is used to insert the upper end of the column 120. The horizontal cross section of the hole corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the column 120. A hole 133A, which may be, but is not limited to, a circle, is drilled in the upper surface of the upper member 133.
The upper member 133 is attached to the upper end of the pillar 120 by inserting the upper end of the pillar 120 into the above-mentioned hole in the upper member 133. Since the cross sections of both pillars 120 and the cross sections of the holes in both upper members 133 correspond to each other, the two upper members 133 are guided by the pillars 120 and can only move in the vertical direction. How this movement and the positioning of the height of the upper member 133 are performed will be explained using Figure 4.
As described above, long nuts 123 are fitted into the upper end portions of both columns 120 in the height direction, and bolts 124 are threadedly engaged with the long nuts 123. The heads 124A of the bolts 124 are positioned directly below the aforementioned holes 133A drilled in the upper surface of the upper member 133. The diameter of the heads 124A of the bolts 124 is larger than the diameter of the holes 133A in the upper member 133. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A , the plate having the holes 133A covering the upper side of the upper member 133 is supported from below by the heads 124A of the bolts 124. As a result, the upper member 133 is supported from below by the heads 124A of the bolts 124.
On the other hand, the tip of the hex wrench 125, which is the predetermined tool described above, can be inserted through the hole 133A provided in the upper member 133. The tip of the inserted hex wrench 125 can be inserted into the recessed or protruding portion (the hexagonal cross-section hole) provided in the head 124A of the bolt 124, thereby engaging the hex wrench 125 with the head 124A of the bolt 124 ( FIG. 4(B) ). Rotating the hex wrench 125 left or right in this state moves the bolt 124 up or down. This also moves the upper member 133, which is supported from below by the head 124A of the bolt 124, up or down. As a result, the vertical position (height position) of the upper member 133 can be changed and positioned at any desired height. FIG. 4(C) shows the case where the height position of the upper member 133 is lowered from the case shown in FIG. 4(A), but it is of course possible to raise the height position of the upper member 133 from the case shown in FIG. 4(A). In this embodiment, adjustment of the height position of the upper member 133 must be performed individually for each of the two upper members 133. However, if the difference in the height positions of the two upper members 133 becomes too large, there is a possibility that adverse effects such as distortion of the upper member 133 may occur. Therefore, when adjusting the height position of the upper member 133, care should be taken to ensure that the difference in the height positions of the two upper members 133 does not become too large.
The vertical movement of the upper member 133 relative to the column 120 and the positioning of its height position do not need to be performed using the bolts 124 as described above. Also, power generated by a power generating device such as a motor or hydraulic pump can be used to move the upper member 133. Also, in the above example, the movement of the upper member 133 causes the platform 131 and the upper member 133 to move in the same direction and the same distance in tandem, but it is also possible to move the platform 131 in the vertical direction without tandem with the movement of the upper member 133.
Considering that the upper member 133 moves up and down, the hole 133A into which the hex wrench is inserted should be located at a height of approximately 145 cm to 155 cm from the floor, so that the worker can easily turn the hex wrench.

Although not shown, a locking metal fitting is attached to the front surface of the upper member 133 provided at the upper end of each of the two pillars 120. The locking metal fitting is a metal fitting for detachably connecting to belt fittings 172 attached to both ends of the belt 171.
The belt 171 is a strip made of a flexible material, for example, a flexible and durable cloth, and in this embodiment has a uniform width along its entire length.
The length of the belt 171 is set so that, when the belt fittings 172 at both ends are detachably connected to the two locking fittings, the belt 171 abuts against the front (front of the gaming machine 300) of the gaming machine body (the combination of the gaming machine 300 and the frame 500) placed on the base plate 131A, and is tensioned enough to prevent the gaming machine body from tipping forward. The belt 171 may be provided with a buckle or other known or well-known means for adjusting the length, and may be stretchable to a degree that does not affect the gaming machine body's ability to prevent tipping forward. In any case, these measures enable the belt 171 to prevent the gaming machine body from tipping forward regardless of the shape and size of the gaming machine 300, which may be affected by, for example, the type and presence of decorations.
Furthermore, the belt 171 does not need to be configured so that at least one end thereof can be detachably fixed to at least one of the pillars 120 by a combination of the belt metal fittings 172 and the locking metal fittings. The end of the belt 172 that is intended to be attached to and detached from the pillar 120 can also be attached and detached to the pillar 120 using Velcro (trademark) or other hook-and-loop fasteners (not shown). For example, if a hook-and-loop fastener (not shown) attached to the pillar 120 and a hook-and-loop fastener attached over a certain length on one end of the belt 171 are detachably fastened to each other, the length of the belt 171 connecting the two pillars 120 (the length of the belt 171 that contributes to preventing the gaming machine from tipping forward) can be adjusted by determining which portion of the length of the hook-and-loop fastener on one end of the belt 171 is attached to and detached from the hook-and-loop fastener on the pillar 120, which effectively makes it possible to adjust the length of the belt 171.

In this embodiment, a protruding/recessed body 181 is attached to the front side of each of the pillars 120. The two protruding/recessed bodies 181 are provided on the two pillars 120 in a mirror image relationship, for example. Note that the protruding/recessed body 181 may be provided on only one of the pillars 120.
The protruding-recessed body 181 is a member that can move between a first position where it protrudes from the column 120 on which it is provided toward the other column 120, and a second position where it moves away from the other column 120. When the protruding-recessed body 181 is in the first position, the front surface of the protruding-recessed body 181 abuts against the rear surface (the rear surface of the frame 500) of the gaming machine body (the combination of the gaming machine 300 and the frame 500) placed on the base plate 131A, thereby preventing the gaming machine body from tipping backward. On the other hand, when the protruding-recessed body 181 is in the second position, the protruding-recessed body 181 does not abut against the rear surface of the frame 500, and does not abut against the frame 500.
The configuration and function of the protruding-recessed body 181 will be described using the perspective view of Fig. 5 and the front and rear views of Fig. 6. As described above, the protruding-recessed body 181 is movable between the first position and the second position, but is equipped with a locking mechanism that prevents the protruding-recessed body 181 from moving toward the first position when in the second position. Fig. 6(A) shows a rear view of the protruding-recessed body 181 when the locking mechanism is OFF (as viewed from the outside of the column 120), Fig. 6(B) shows a front view of the protruding-recessed body 181 when the locking mechanism is OFF (as viewed from the inside of the column 120), Fig. 6(C) shows a rear view of the protruding-recessed body 181 when the locking mechanism is ON, and Fig. 6(D) shows a front view of the protruding-recessed body 181 when the locking mechanism is ON.

The protruding body 181 is a rectangular prism-shaped metal member extending vertically and having a trapezoidal shape in a plan view. The protruding body 181 is hollow. In Figure 5, the protruding body 181 is in the first position. The surface at the back side hidden in Figure 5 is the surface that abuts against the rear surface of the frame 500 included in the gaming machine body, which is the locking surface referred to in the present invention. The locking surface 182 is shown in Figure 6. When viewed from above, the tip side of the protruding body 181 (left side of Figure 5) has a shape that appears to be cut by a straight line that is diagonal to the line connecting the front and rear directions of the cart 100. The vertical surface that includes this diagonal line as its side is the abutting surface 183. Due to the presence of the contact surface 183, when, for example, the gaming machine attached to the island 400 is loaded onto the loading platform 131 from the rear side of the loading platform 131, if the gaming machine is slid forward on the loading platform, the projecting body 181 will be pushed by the contact surface 183 that comes into contact with the frame 500 included in the gaming machine, and will naturally move from the first position to the second position. In other words, the projecting body 181 will move in the same way as a publicly known or well-known latch on a door.
The retractable body 181 is housed in a case body 184 that has the function of attaching the retractable body 181 to the pillar 120 while it is housed therein. The case body 184 has an internal space with a width corresponding to the vertical width of the retractable body 181, and the retractable body 181 is guided by the case body 184 and is able to move horizontally within the internal space. The case body 184 has ribs 187 that protrude upward and downward. The ribs 187 are used to secure the case body 184 to the pillar 120. Holes are drilled in the ribs 187, and the case body 184 can be secured to the pillar 120 by, for example, passing a screw through the hole and threading it into the pillar 120.
A first elastic body 186, which is an elastic body, but is not limited to a spring in this embodiment, more specifically a coil spring, is housed inside the case body 184. The first elastic body 186 always applies a force to the protruding/retracting body 181 housed in the case body 184 in the leftward direction in Fig. 5, in other words, in a direction that moves the protruding/retracting body 181 from the second position to the first position.

A rectangular hole 181A is drilled in the surface of the recessed body 181 facing the pillar 120, although this is not limited to this. The significance of this hole 181A will be described later.
A circular hole (not shown) is provided on the surface of the case body 184 that abuts against the surface opposite to the surface where the hole 181A of the protruding/recessed body 181 is formed, although this is not limited to this. This hole is for rotatably supporting a switch member (described later). The switch member 185 is configured to include a switch shaft 185A rotatably supported in the circular hole provided in the case body 184, a rectangular plate-shaped knob 185B (including but not limited to this) provided at the end of the switch shaft 185A on the back side of the case body 184 in FIG. 5, and a rectangular plate-shaped locking piece 185C (including but not limited to this) provided at the end on the opposite side of the switch shaft 185A.
The knob 185B is operated by an operator to rotate the switch member 185, and may be any knob that allows the operator to perform an appropriate operation to rotate the switch member 185 by gripping it or the like.
The locking piece 185C is used to limit, or lock, the movement of the recessed body 181. When viewed from the longitudinal extension of the switch shaft 185A, the locking piece 185C is attached to the switch shaft 185A so that it overlaps with the knob 185B. The knob 185B is rotatable between the vertical position shown in FIG. 6(B) and the horizontal position shown in FIG. 6(D). When the knob 185B is positioned in the vertical position, the locking piece 185C is in the vertical position shown in FIG. 6(A), and when the knob 185B is positioned in the horizontal position, the locking piece 185C is in the horizontal position shown in FIG. 6(C).
When the locking piece 185C is in the vertical position, the locking piece 185C does not come into contact with the edge of the rectangular hole 181A provided in the protruding-recessed body 181, regardless of whether the protruding-recessed body 181 is in the first position, the second position, or somewhere between them (FIG. 6A). Therefore, when the knob 185B and the locking piece 185C are in the vertical position, the protruding-recessed body 181 receives a force from the first elastic body 186 and always tries to be located in the first position, but when it receives an external force that resists the force from the first elastic body 186, it can move from the first position to the second position, and when the external force is removed, it naturally returns from the second position to the first position due to the biasing force from the first elastic body 186.
When the locking piece 185C is in a horizontal position, the tip of the locking piece 185C comes into contact with the right edge in Fig. 6(C) of the rectangular hole 181A provided in the protruding/retracting body 181. This prevents the protruding body 181 from protruding from the case body 184, restricting movement from the second position, i.e., locking the protruding body 181 in the second position.
By rotating the knob 185B from horizontal to vertical, the locking piece 185C is rotated from horizontal to vertical, and the protruding body 181 is unlocked and allowed to move between the first position and the second position.

A rod-shaped body 191 is attached to the rear surface of the upper member 133 located at the top end of the left-hand column 120 in Figure 3. The rod-shaped body 191 is made of a thin square pipe in this embodiment, although not limited to this, and its length is set to be approximately equal to the distance between the two columns 120.
In this embodiment, although not limited to this, the rod-shaped body 191 is supported near its base end by a shaft 192 formed by a bolt that is fixed to the column 120 by screwing its tip into the column 120. The rod-shaped body 191 is able to rotate about the shaft 192, and is able to rotate at least between the position in which it hangs straight down as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and the approximately horizontal position in which its tip is located near the upper end of the column 120 on the side where the base end of the rod-shaped body 191 is not supported as shown in Figures 7 and 8.
An elongated hole 193, which is a hole for receiving the pivotal support of the shaft 192 described above, is drilled near the base end of the rod-shaped body 191 (see FIGS. 3 and 9). This elongated hole 193 has a certain length along the length of the rod-shaped body 191. The rod-shaped body 191 can not only rotate around the shaft 192 inserted into the elongated hole 193, but can also slide along the length of the rod-shaped body 191 by the length of the elongated hole 193 while being guided by the shaft 192.
At the tip of the rod-shaped body 191, a recess is provided whose depth is the length of the rod-shaped body 191, and more specifically, although not limited to this, in this embodiment, a groove 194 is provided which extends across the width of the rod-shaped body 191 (see Figure 3).
11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the internal configuration of rod-shaped body 191. A rotating plate 191X, which rotates together with rod-shaped body 191 and shaft 192, is fixed to shaft 192, which supports rod-shaped body 191. Furthermore, a partition plate 191Y, which divides the interior of rod-shaped body 191 into a distal end side and a proximal end side in the longitudinal direction, is provided inside rod-shaped body 191, distal to the portion of rod-shaped body 191 that is supported by shaft 192. A second elastic body 191Z, which is a compressed spring, is provided between rotating plate 191X and partition plate 191Y. This constantly applies a force from second elastic body 191Z to rod-shaped body 191 that slides toward the distal end.

A locking portion 197 for locking the rod-shaped body 191 is provided on the rear surface of the upper member 133 of the pillar 120 to which the rod-shaped body 191 is not attached. The locking portion 197 is a recess, or more specifically a protrusion that fits into the interior of the groove 194, and although not limited to this, in this embodiment it is, for example, a cylindrical rod. By inserting the locking portion 197, which is a rod, into the groove 194 at the tip of the rod-shaped body 191, the tip of the rod-shaped body 191 is locked near the top end of the pillar 120 on the opposite side to where the rod-shaped body 191 is attached.

A base member can be removably attached to the upper surface of the loading platform 131 (or base plate 131A) of the cart 100 described above.
The base member and its associated components will be described with reference to Figures 12 to 16.

12 shows three views of the base member 710 and its related parts, where Fig. 12(A) is a front view, Fig. 12(B) is a plan view, and Fig. 12(C) is a right side view.
13(A) and 13(B) show a perspective view from above and a perspective view from below, respectively, of the slide member and its related parts when the slide plate, described later, is positioned in the left position, described later. FIG. 14 shows a perspective view from the front of the carriage 100 to which the base member 710 and its related parts are attached when the slide plate is positioned in the left position, described later. FIG. 15(A) and 15(B) show a perspective view from above and a perspective view from below, respectively, of the slide member and its related parts when the slide plate is positioned in the right position, described later. FIG. 16 shows a perspective view from the front of the carriage 100 to which the base member 710 and its related parts are attached when the slide plate is positioned in the right position, described later.

The associated parts of the base member 710 include two angle irons 720 connected to either side of the base member 710 and a slide plate 740 that rests on the top surface of the base member 710 .
The base member 710 is a plate-like body that is rectangular in plan view. Although the term "plate-like body" is not limited to this, the base member 710 in this embodiment has an open bottom and is hollow. The thickness of the base member 710 roughly corresponds to the thickness of the frame bottom plate 501 of the frame 500, and is smaller than the thickness of a typical frame bottom plate 501. The base member 710 has sufficient rigidity to withstand the gaming machine 300 being placed on it.
A long hole 711, which is a rectangular hole extending in the left-right direction, is provided in the middle of the rectangular upper surface of the base member 710 in the front-to-rear direction of the base member 710 so as to penetrate through the plate that constitutes the upper surface of the base member 710. This long hole 711 is used to guide a slide plate 740 that slides on the base member 710 in a manner described below.
Two sets of three vertically aligned circular holes 712 are drilled on both sides of the base member 710. The vertical spacing between the aligned holes 712 is, for example, about 1 cm from center to center. These holes 712 are used to secure the base member 710 and the angle bar 720.

The angle member 720 is L-shaped when viewed from the front and has a predetermined length in the front-to-rear direction of the trolley 100. The angle member 720 has a horizontal portion 721 that is horizontal when attached to the trolley 100, and a vertical portion 722 that is vertical.
The horizontal portions 721 of the angle bars 720 are provided with two sets of four circular holes 723 aligned in a straight line in the front-to-rear direction. The four holes 723 in each set are spaced equally apart in the front-to-rear direction. These holes 723 are used to detachably attach the angle bars 720 to the platform 131 or base plate 131A of the cart 100.
Four screw holes (not shown) are drilled in the top surface of the loading platform 131 or base plate 131A, positioned at the vertices of an imaginary rectangle with sides parallel to the front edge of the base plate 131A. The screw holes are threaded. Two of the four screw holes are located the same distance from the front edge of the base plate 131A, and two are located the same distance further back from there. The distance between the two screw holes located the same distance from the base plate 131A roughly corresponds to the width of the base member 710 in the left-right direction.
When attaching the angle bar 720 to the loading platform 131, a screw 791 passing through two of two sets of four holes 723 provided in the horizontal portion 721 of the angle bar 720 is threaded into two screw holes aligned in the fore-and-aft direction of the base plate 131A ( FIG. 14 ). The fore-and-aft position of the angle bar 720 relative to the base plate 131A can be determined by selecting which of the two sets of four holes 723 (the front hole 723, the second hole 723, the third hole 723, or the rearmost hole 723) to pass the screw 791 through. In FIG. 14 , the rearmost hole 723 in each set of four holes 723 is selected as the hole 723 through which the screw 791 is passed, resulting in the angle bar 720 being positioned forward relative to the base plate 131A. In this way, the two angle members 720 are arranged so that their lengthwise directions are parallel to the left and right sides of the base plate 131A, with a distance roughly equivalent to the width of the base member 710 between them, and their positions relative to the base plate 131A in the front-to-back direction are appropriately positioned, so that they can be removably fixed to the base plate 131A using screws 791.
Two circular holes (not shown) of the same diameter as the holes 712 in the base member 710 are provided at the same height in the vertical portions 722 of both angle members. These holes are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the front-to-rear distance between the two vertical rows of three holes 712. These holes are used to secure the base member 710 and the angle members 720 together.
When attaching the base member 710 to two angle irons 720, first, the base member 710 is positioned so that the inner surfaces of both sides of the base member 710 abut against the outer surfaces of the vertical portions 722 of the two angle irons 720. In this state, two sets of three holes 712 arranged vertically on both sides of the base member 710 are aligned with the two holes (not shown) aligned longitudinally on each angle iron 720, respectively, at the same height. Bolts 792 are then inserted through the corresponding holes 712 in the base member 710 and the corresponding holes in the angle irons 720, and nuts 793 are then screwed into them. This secures the base member 710 to the vertical portions 722 of the angle irons 720 on both sides. The relative height of the base member 710 with respect to the angle irons 720 can be selected by matching one of three vertically aligned holes 712 in the base member 710 to a hole (not shown) in the angle iron 720 ( FIG. 14 ). For example, in FIG. 14 , the center hole 712 in the height direction in each set of three holes 712 is selected as the hole 712 through which the bolt 792 is passed. As a result, the base member 710 is positioned at an intermediate height relative to the angle irons 720. In this way, the base member 710 can be detachably fixed to the two angle irons 720 with the bolts 792 and nuts 793 so that the long sides of the base member 710 are parallel to the front edge of the base plate 131A and the base member 710 is appropriately positioned at a height relative to the angle irons 720.
As described above, the angle iron 720 can be attached to the base plate 131A so that its position in the front-to-rear direction can be changed. Also, the base member 710 can be attached to the angle iron 720 so that its position in the up-to-down direction can be changed. By combining these, the base member 710 can be detachably attached to the loading platform 131 or the base plate 131A so that its position in the front-to-rear direction and its position in the up-to-down direction can be changed (any of four positions can be selected for the front-to-rear direction and any of three positions can be selected for the up-to-down direction).
Although not limited to this, the front edge of the base member 710 attached to the loading platform 131 or the base plate 131A is parallel to the front edge of the base plate 131A. Furthermore, even if the base member 710 is attached to the base plate 131A so as to be positioned at the rearmost side relative to the base plate 131A, the front edge of the base member 710 will be located further forward than the front edge of the base plate 131A. In other words, when viewed from above, the front side of the base member 710 attached to the base plate 131A protrudes forward from the base plate 131A.

The slide plate 740 is a metal plate having a rectangular shape in a plan view. The slide plate 740 is placed on the base member 710.
The slide plate 740 is slidable relative to the base member 710. Although not limited to this, in this embodiment the slide plate 740 is slidable in the left-right direction relative to the base member 710.
The upper surface of the slide plate 740 is generally flat. However, a rear locking portion 741 that stands up from the slide plate 740 is provided at the rear end of the slide plate 740 when it is placed on the base member 710. Furthermore, a right locking portion 742 that stands up from the slide plate 740 is provided at the right end when the slide plate 740 is placed on the base member 710 and the carriage 100 is viewed from the front. Note that in cases where the slide plate 740 is omitted, the rear locking portion 741 and the right locking portion 742 can be provided at or near the rear end of the upper surface of the base member 710 and at or near the right end of the upper surface of the base member 710.
Furthermore, four sets of three circular holes 743 are provided in the middle of the slide plate 740 in the front-to-rear direction of the slide plate 740. These holes 743 are used to fix a guide bar 744 (described later) to the slide plate 740.
A guide bar 744, which is an elongated plate-like body, is attached to the underside of the slide plate 740. The guide bar 744 has three screw holes (not shown) aligned along its length. The three screw holes in the guide bar 744 are threaded on their inner peripheries, and the spacing between them corresponds to the spacing between the three horizontally aligned holes 743 in the slide plate 740. The guide bar 744 is attached to the underside of the slide plate 740 by aligning the three horizontally aligned holes 743 in the slide plate 740 with the three screw holes in the guide bar 744 and threading the tips of screws 794 that pass through the three horizontally aligned holes 743 in the slide plate 740 into the screw holes in the guide bar 744. As described above, the slide plate 740 has four sets of three horizontally aligned holes 743 aligned in the front-to-rear direction of the slide plate 740. Depending on which of the four sets of three holes 743 is used to attach the guide bar 744 to the slide plate 740, it is possible to select the position in the front-to-rear direction of the slide plate 740 at which the guide bar 744 is fixed.
As described above, the slide plate 740 is placed on the base member 710. At this time, the guide bar 744 attached to the underside of the slide plate 740 is inserted into the elongated hole 711 drilled in the upper surface of the base member 710. The width of the guide bar 744 corresponds to the width of the elongated hole 711, and the length of the guide bar 744 is significantly shorter than the length of the elongated hole 711. The guide bar 744 inserted into the elongated hole 711 is guided by the elongated hole 711 and becomes movable in the length direction of the elongated hole 711. As a result, the slide plate 740 becomes movable in the width direction of the base member 710, but is unable to move in the front-to-rear direction of the base member 710.
Furthermore, as described above, the attachment position of the guide bar 744 relative to the slide plate 740 can be adjusted in four stages in the front-to-rear direction of the slide plate 740. Therefore, the relative front-to-rear position of the slide plate 740 with respect to the base member 710 when the guide bar 744 is inserted into the elongated hole 711 of the base member 710 can also be adjusted in four stages. For example, in FIG. 12(A) , of the four sets of holes 743 in the front-to-rear direction of the slide plate 740, the front-most hole 743 is used to secure the guide bar 744 to the slide plate 740. In this case, the relative position of the slide plate 740 with respect to the base member 710 is the rearmost. Although not limited to this, the slide plate 740 is designed so that its front end does not protrude forward from the base member 710 in a plan view, even when positioned at the frontmost position with respect to the base member 710.
As described above, the slide plate 740 is movable in the left-right direction relative to the base member 710. The coefficient of friction between the slide plate 740 and the base member 710 when the slide plate 740 is slid relative to the base member 710 with the gaming machine 300 placed thereon is set to be smaller than the coefficient of friction between the two when the gaming machine 300 placed directly on the base member 710 is slid relative to the base member 710. A known or well-known technique can be used to reduce the coefficient of friction between the slide plate 740 and the base member 710. For example, this can be achieved by coating at least one of the contacting surfaces of the slide plate 740 and the base member 710 with a fluororesin, which is well known for reducing the coefficient of friction.
In this embodiment, the sliding plate 740 is slidable between a leftmost position (left position) relative to the base member 710 as viewed from the front, as shown in Figures 13 and 14, and a rightmost position (right position) relative to the base member 710 as viewed from the front, as shown in Figures 15 and 16. Although not limited to this, the sliding plate 740 positioned in the left position has its leftmost edge positioned in a position corresponding to the leftmost edge of the base plate 131A in a planar view, and the sliding plate 740 positioned in the right position has its rightmost edge positioned in a position corresponding to the rightmost edge of the base plate 131A in a planar view. In other words, when the sliding plate 740 is moved left or right, it does not protrude from the base plate 131A in a planar view.

The method of using the cart 100 according to the embodiment described above and its operation will now be described.
First, a case will be described in which the gaming machine 300 is transported by the cart 100 from a warehouse or the like to a hall where the island 400 is located, and after the gaming machine 300 is moved from the cart 100 to the island 400, the gaming machine 300 is fixed to the island 400. In this case, the base member 710 and its accessories are not used.

When loading the gaming machine body, which is the frame 500 to which the gaming machine 300 is fixed, onto the cart 100, the bridge plate 131C is tilted to the use position. When this operation is performed, the protruding/retracting body 181 is in an unlocked state. In other words, both the knob 185B and the locking piece 185C are in a vertical position (FIGS. 6A and 6B). When no external force is applied, the protruding/retracting body 181 is positioned in the first position by the biasing force applied by the first elastic body 186.
In this state, the frame 500 to which the gaming machine 300 is fixed, i.e., the gaming machine itself, is placed on the bridge plate 131C. At this time, the front of the gaming machine 300 (the side with the board surface into which nails are hammered) should face the front of the cart 100. Once the gaming machine 300 is placed on the bridge plate 131C, the gaming machine 300 is slid forward.

The gaming machine moves forward and rests on the base plate 131A. Eventually, the frame 500 inside the gaming machine comes into contact with the abutment surface 183 of the protruding/retracting body 181, which is in the first position. If the gaming machine continues to move forward on the cart 100, the abutment surface 183 is pushed outward in the width direction of the base plate 131A, causing the protruding/retracting body 181 to move outward in the width direction of the base plate 131A. In other words, the protruding/retracting body 181 moves from the first position to the second position.
If the gaming machine is moved forward in this state, the frame 500 in the gaming machine will climb over the protruding-recessed body 181 and move forward of the protruding-recessed body 181. When the frame 500 moves forward of the protruding-recessed body 181, the abutment surface 183 of the protruding-recessed body 181 will no longer be in contact with the frame 500 and will no longer receive force from the frame 500. Then, the protruding-recessed body 181 will receive force from the first elastic body 186 and return from the second position to the first position. When the protruding-recessed body 181 is located at the first position, the locking surface 182 of the protruding-recessed body 181 will be in a state of abutting against the rear surface of the frame 500. The position where the locking surface 182 of the protruding-recessed body 181 abuts against the rear surface of the frame 500 is the position where the gaming machine is scheduled to be placed on the loading platform 131 of the gaming machine, and the gaming machine will slide forward until it reaches that scheduled position. As a result, the rear surface of the frame 500 included in the gaming machine is locked onto the locking surface 182 of the recessed body 181, preventing the gaming machine from tipping over backward.

It may be possible that the locking surface 182 of the projecting/retracting body 181 cannot be properly abutted against the rear surface of the frame 500 due to circumstances such as the shape or size of the frame 500 being different from that of a typical machine. In such cases, the rod-shaped body 191 is used to prevent the gaming machine from tipping backward. To do this, the rod-shaped body 191 is rotated so that the groove 194 at the tip of the rod-shaped body 191 engages with the locking portion 197 provided on the top of the pillar 120 on the side to which the rod-shaped body 191 is not attached (see Figures 7 and 8). This operation is performed as follows.
First, the rod-shaped body 191 is rotated about the shaft 192 so that its tip approaches the upper end of the column 120 on the side to which the rod-shaped body 191 is not attached, and is positioned approximately horizontal. Next, as shown by arrow 1 in FIG. 9 , the rod-shaped body 191 is slid toward the base end supported by the shaft 192. A force is applied to the rod-shaped body 191 from the second elastic body 191Z toward its tip end, but applying a force against this force causes the rod-shaped body 191 to move back slightly toward the base end. This brings the groove 194 at the tip of the rod-shaped body 191 directly opposite the locking portion 197 provided on the upper part of the column 120 on the side to which the rod-shaped body 191 is not attached. Then, as shown by arrow 2 in FIG. 9 , the rod-shaped body 191 is advanced toward its tip end, inserting the locking portion 197 into the groove 194.
In this state, a force is applied to the rod-shaped body 191 from the second elastic body 191Z in a direction that advances the rod-shaped body 191 toward its tip. Therefore, there is little risk that the locking portion 197 will come off the groove 194. The front surface of the rod-shaped body 191 abuts against the back surface of the gaming machine body, usually the rear surface of the gaming machine 300 included in the gaming machine body. There may be some gap between the gaming machine body and the rod-shaped body 191.
As a result, the gaming machine body is locked by the rear surface of the protruding and recessed body 181 or the rod-shaped body 191, and is prevented from tipping over backward.

Next, the belt 171 is wound around the front of the gaming machine. Specifically, the belt fittings 172 on both ends of the belt 171 are detachably fastened to two locking fittings (not shown) located near the top ends of the two pillars 120. The belt 171 then contacts the front of the gaming machine placed on the base plate 131A, more specifically, the front of the gaming machine 300. At this time, the belt 171 is tensioned to a degree that prevents the gaming machine from tipping forward. If necessary, or if the belt 171 has a mechanism for adjusting its length, the length of the belt 171 may be adjusted. Note that the order in which the process of winding the belt 171 around the front of the gaming machine and the process of positioning the rod-shaped body 191 at the rear of the gaming machine does not matter.
As a result, the gaming machine is prevented from tipping backward by the protruding member 181 or the rod-shaped member 191, from tipping forward by the belt 171, and from tipping left and right by the pillars 120 located on the left and right of the gaming machine. In other words, the gaming machine is placed stably on the loading platform 131 and is unlikely to tip forward, backward, left or right.
Then, the two bridge plates 131C are each flipped up to the transport position (FIG. 8).

In this state, the worker moves the cart 100 carrying the gaming machine 300 from the warehouse or the like to the hall where the island 400 is located. During this process, the gaming machine body mounted on the loading platform 131 is stable as described above. Furthermore, because the bridge plate 131C is raised and in a substantially vertical position, the bridge plate 131C is prevented from interfering with chairs or the like in the narrow hall. The cart 100 is moved by the worker holding a predetermined location on the cart 100 or the gaming machine 300 fixed to the frame 500 mounted on it in their hands, and pushing and pulling the cart 100 while walking. During transport, the front of the cart 100 does not need to be at the front of the cart 100's direction of travel.

Next, the worker positions the cart 100 facing the portion of the island 400 where the gaming machine 300 is to be attached. Then, the worker moves the upper member 133 up or down as necessary to align the height of the platform 131 and the lower plate 401 of the island 400. However, since the height of the lower plate 401 of each island 400 in a single amusement center is often the same, it is not necessary to adjust the height of the upper member 133 at this point and it can be done at any time. Specifically, the upper member 133 is moved up or down so that the height of the rear end of the bridge plate 131C continuing from the rear end of the upper surface of the base plate 131A of the platform 131 is aligned with the height of the tip of the lower plate 401 of the island 400, or so that the height of the upper surface of the base plate 131A is aligned with the height of the upper surface of the lower plate 401.
To raise or lower the upper member 133, as shown in Figure 4 (B), the tip of a hexagonal wrench 125 is inserted through a hole 133A provided at the top end of the upper member 133 of each column 120 to engage with the head 124A of the bolt 124, and in this state the hexagonal wrench 125 is rotated in either the left or right direction. This causes the bolt 124 to move in either the up or down direction, and accordingly the upper member 133, which is locked from below by the head 124A of the bolt 124, moves up or down. This causes the loading platform 131 attached to the upper member 133 to move up or down together with the upper member 133.
After the adjustment of the height of the loading platform 131 by adjusting the height of the upper member 133 is completed, the following process is carried out.
When the retractable body 181 has prevented the gaming machine body from tipping backward, the knob 185B of the retractable body 181 is operated to lock the retractable body 181. As already mentioned, when the knob 185B is turned sideways to turn the locking piece 185C sideways, the tip of the locking piece 185C comes into contact with the right edge of the rectangular hole 181A provided in the retractable body 181 in Figure 6(C), and the retractable body 181 is fixed in the second position (Figures 6(C) and (D)).
Furthermore, when the rod-shaped body 191 is preventing the gaming machine body from tipping backward, the locking portion 197 is removed from the groove 194 at the tip of the rod-shaped body 191, and the rod-shaped body 191 is rotated around the shaft 192 so that the locking portion 197 hangs down directly below the shaft 192. To remove the locking portion 197 from the groove 194, the rod-shaped body 191 is simply slid slightly toward its base end.
Next, at least one end of the belt 171 is detached from the pillar 120. This allows the gaming machine body to move forward and backward on the loading platform 131.
Furthermore, the two bridge plates 131C are tilted to the use position, and the rear ends of the upper surfaces of the bridge plates 131C are butted against the front ends of the upper surfaces of the lower plate 401 of the island 400.
In addition, the steps of locking the protruding and retracting body 181, returning the rod-shaped body 191 to its downward position, removing at least one end of the belt 171 from the pillar 120, and tilting the bridge plate 131C to its use position can be performed in any order as long as they are performed before the bridge plate 131C and the lower plate 401 are butted together.

In any case, as a result of the above, the bridge plate 131C straddles the front plate 403 that protrudes forward of the island 400 from below the tip of the lower plate 401. If an obstacle such as an ashtray is present on the front plate 403 at this time, positioning it between the two bridge plates 131C prevents interference between the obstacle and the bridge plate 131C.
As described above, the thickness of the bridge plate 131C is generally smaller than the thickness of the lower plate 401. If the thickness of the bridge plate 131C is excessively smaller than the thickness of the lower plate 401, or if the positioning accuracy of the height of the loading platform 131 is somewhat lacking, it may be impossible to align the rear end of the upper surface of the bridge plate 131C with the front end of the upper surface of the lower plate 401, as shown in Figure 10(A), for example. In such a case, a hex wrench 131C6 is inserted through the upper hole 131C2 of the bridge plate 131C, and its front end is engaged with the upper end of the bolt 131C5. In this state, the hex wrench 131C6 is rotated to move the nut 131C4 back and forth, thereby adjusting the length of the bolt 131C5 protruding below the bridge plate 131C. By setting this to an appropriate length, for example, by abutting the lower end of the bolt 131C5 against the upper surface of the front plate 403 as shown in FIG. 10(B), the rear end of the upper surface of the bridge plate 131C and the front end of the upper surface of the lower plate 401 can be aligned in a stable manner. In other words, the bolt 131C5, nut 131C4, etc. at the tip of the bridge plate 131C are intended to adjust the height of the tip of the bridge plate 131C by changing the length of protrusion from the lower surface of the bridge plate 131C. Of course, other configurations, such as a ratchet mechanism, can be used in place of the bolt 131C5 and nut 131C4, etc., as long as such an effect can be achieved. Furthermore, by enabling the height of the tip of the bridge plate 131C to be adjusted by operating it from the top surface of the bridge plate 131C, as shown in FIG. 10, the operator can easily adjust the height of the tip of the bridge plate 131C.

In this state, the worker slides the gaming machine body from the loading platform 131 onto the bridge plate 131C, then moves it onto the lower plate 401, and finally pushes it into a predetermined position on the lower plate 401. The worker then secures the gaming machine 300 to the island 400. This securing method may be publicly known or may be based on well-known technology.

Next, we will explain how to remove the gaming machine 300 from the island 400, transport the gaming machine 300 from the hall where the island 400 is located to a warehouse or the like on the cart 100, and then remove the gaming machine 300 from the cart 100 and store it in the warehouse or the like. However, this work is basically the reverse of the work described above when installing the gaming machine 300 on the island 400. We will explain this just in case.

First, the worker releases the gaming machine 300 from the island 400. This release may be performed using publicly known or well-known techniques. Here, the gaming machine 300 remains integrated with the frame 500. For example, if the mounting device described in the Background Art section is used, the frame 500 can be released from the island 400 while the gaming machine 300 remains attached.
Next, the worker positions the cart 100 in front of the gaming machine 300 to be removed from the island 400 and faces the island 400.
Next, the worker adjusts the vertical position of the loading platform 131 on the cart 100 as necessary. The method for adjusting the height of the loading platform 131 is the same as in the case described above. The height of the loading platform 131 is adjusted so that the rear end of the bridge plate 131C and the front end of the lower plate 401 of the island 400 are at the same height, as in the case described above.
Then, the two bridge plates 131C are tilted to the use position, and their rear ends are aligned with the front ends of the lower plate 401, respectively.
In this state, the worker slides the gaming machine body placed on the lower plate 401 from the lower plate 401 onto the bridge plate 131C and moves it onto the loading platform 131. At any point during this operation, the lock on the projecting and recessed body 181 is released.
As described above, the gaming machine body is prevented from tipping backward by the protruding body 181 or the rod-shaped body 191, from tipping forward by the belt 171, and from tipping left and right by the pillar 120.
Then, the worker flips up the bridge plate 131C and moves it to the transfer position.

Then, the worker moves the cart 100 carrying the gaming machine 300 from the hall where the island 400 is located to a warehouse or the like. The process of transporting the gaming machine 300 can be carried out in the same manner as described above.
Next, the worker unloads the gaming machine 300 from the cart 100. A description of this operation will be omitted. The operation of unloading the gaming machine 300 in the warehouse can basically be the same as the procedure for moving the gaming machine 300 from the island 400 to the cart 100.
When the gaming machine 300 is not removed but is to be re-attached to another location on the island 400 or to another island 400, the cart 100 is moved to carry the gaming machine 300 to an appropriate position on an appropriate island 400. When the gaming machine 300 is to be attached to the island 400, the method for moving the gaming machine from the cart 100 to the island 400 has already been described.

Next, a case where the base member 710 is attached to the cart 100 and the gaming machine 300 is transported will be described.
The base member 710 is mainly used, for example, when a gaming machine 300 attached to an island 400 is removed from the frame 500 and the individual gaming machine 300 with the frame 500 removed is transferred from the island 400 to the cart 100, or when a single gaming machine 300 placed on the cart 100 is transferred from the cart 100 to the island 400.

As described above, the base member 710 is fixed to the base plate 131A of the loading platform 131. When fixing the base member 710 to the base plate 131A, two angle members 720 are used, as already described. When fixing the base member 710 to the base plate 131A, the front-to-rear position of the base member 710 relative to the base plate 131A and the height position of the base member 710 relative to the base plate 131A are each adjusted appropriately using the method described above. In addition, by inserting the guide bar 744 appropriately attached to the slide plate 740 into the elongated hole 711 of the base member 710, the slide plate 740 is placed on the upper surface of the base member 710 in a state where it can slide in the left-to-right direction of the base member 710. At this time, the front-to-rear position of the slide plate 740 relative to the base member 710 is also adjusted appropriately using the method described above.
The position of the base member 710 in the front-to-rear direction is adjusted so that when the cart 100 is brought close to the island 400, at least a portion of the base member 710 is located on the front plate 403 of the island 400 described above and below the gaming machine 300 that is open relative to the frame 500. The height of the base member 710 is set so that the height of the top surface of the base member 710, or more precisely, the slide plate 740 placed on the base member 710, roughly corresponds to the height of the top surface of the frame bottom plate 501 of the frame 500 attached to the island 400 (it may be slightly (1 or 2 cm) lower than the height of the top surface of the frame bottom plate 501).
The position of the slide plate 740 in the front-to-rear direction relative to the base member 710 is set so that the front surface of the rear locking portion 741 of the slide plate 740 is approximately aligned with the locking surface 182 of the protruding/retracting body 181. This is because, when the gaming machine 300 is placed on the slide plate 740 and pushed rearward to lock the rear surface of the gaming machine 300 with the rear locking portion 741 of the slide plate 740, the gaming machine 300 can often be locked by the protruding/retracting body 181, just as when the frame 500 is present. As a result, the effect of preventing tipping over by the protruding/retracting body 181 can be obtained even for a single gaming machine 300.

Once the base member 710 and its associated components have been attached to the cart 100 in the manner described above, the individual gaming machine 300 can be transferred from the island 400 to the cart 100, or from the cart 100 to the island 400.

First, the case where the gaming machine 300 is transferred or moved from the island 400 to the cart 100 will be described.
When transferring the gaming machine 300 from the island 400 to the cart 100, the gaming machine 300 is opened relative to the frame 500 as shown in FIG. 17 . Then, the cart 100 is moved closer to the island 400. At this time, at least a portion of the tip of the base member 710 attached to the cart 100 and a portion of the slide plate 740 placed on the base member 710 are positioned above the front panel 403 of the island 400 and below the gaming machine 300 that is opened relative to the frame 500. At this time, the height of the upper surface of the slide plate 740 and the upper surface of the frame lower panel 501 of the frame 500 are approximately the same, and the height difference between the upper surface of the slide plate 740 and the lower surface of the gaming machine 300 is approximately 1 to 2 cm. Note that when inserting the base member 710 under the gaming machine 300, the slide plate 740 placed on the base member 710 is positioned in the left position.
In this state, the upper hinge metal fitting 502 provided on the frame 500 is operated to release the fixation between the frame 500 and the gaming machine 300. When the fixation between the gaming machine 300 and the lower hinge metal fitting 502 is also released (generally, such fixation is simply a lock, and once the connection between the two is released using the upper hinge metal fitting 502, no operation is required to remove the gaming machine 300 from the lower hinge metal fitting 502), the gaming machine 300 comes off the frame 500 and drops slightly onto the slide plate 740, where it rests on the slide plate 740.
In this state, the gaming machine 300 is moved to the right of the slide plate 740 together with the slide plate 740, and the gaming machine 300 is pushed to the rear of the slide plate 740. The slide plate 740 slides to the right on the base member 710 and reaches the right position.
As described above, the slide plate 740 has the rear locking portion 741 and the right locking portion 742, so that the gaming machine 300 that attempts to move excessively rearward is locked by the rear locking portion 741, and the gaming machine 300 that attempts to move excessively rightward is locked by the right locking portion 742. In other words, the gaming machine 300 does not protrude rearward or to the right from above the loading platform 131, but is positioned at an appropriate position on the loading platform 131.
In this state, the gaming machine 300 is placed on the platform 131 without the frame 500. However, because the thickness of the base member 710 (more precisely, the combined thickness of the base member 710 and the slide plate 740) is approximately equal to the thickness of the frame bottom plate 501 of the frame 500, the height of the gaming machine 300 placed on the platform 131 is almost the same as when the frame 500 is present. Therefore, although the protruding member 181 cannot be used in some cases due to the absence of the frame 500, the protruding member 181 can be used in many cases, thereby providing the effect of preventing the gaming machine 300 from tipping over. Furthermore, the rod-shaped member 191 and the belt 171 can be used without any problems, just as in the above-described case where the base member 710 is not used, and the effect of preventing the gaming machine 300 from tipping over can also be obtained.
This completes the process of transferring each gaming machine 300 from the island 400 to the cart 100.
Thereafter, as explained in the Background Art section, the frame 500 is removed from the island 400. If the frame 500 was fixed to the island 400 using nails 503, as is likely the case, the frame 500 is removed from the island 400 by removing the nails 503. The removed frame 500 can be placed, for example, in an empty portion of the loading platform 131 of the cart 100 (since the frame 500 is not heavy, it is sufficient to place only a portion of it on the loading platform 131 so that it can support its weight), and then moved together with the gaming machine 300 on the cart 100.

The cart 100 carrying the gaming machine 300 is moved to another part of the island 400 or in front of another island 400, for example, to replace the gaming machine 300.
In this state, the gaming machine 300 is transferred from the cart 100 to the island 400.
This operation can be performed in reverse to the transfer of the gaming machine 300 from the island 400 to the cart 100 as explained above.
The gaming machine 300 is located on the loading platform 131. Its position on the loading platform 131 is the position described above after the transfer operation from the island 400 to the cart 100 has been performed.
First, the frame 500 described above, which was paired with the gaming machine 300 that was removed from the island 400 when it was attached to the island 400, is reattached to the position on the island 400 where the gaming machine 300 is to be attached. The frame 500 can be attached to the island 400 using nails 503, for example.
Next, the gaming machine 300 is slid to the left together with the slide plate 740, which was in the right position, on the base member 710 attached to the loading platform 131 of the cart 100. At this time, the gaming machine 300 is slid slightly forward on the slide plate 740.
Then, the cart 100 is brought close to the island 400 and the base member 710 on the loading platform 131 or the slide plate 740 is positioned on the front plate 403 of the island 400 .
In this state, the gaming machine 300 is lifted slightly, and the lower side of the gaming machine 300 is connected to the lower hinge fitting 502 provided on the frame 500, and further the upper side of the gaming machine 300 is connected to the upper hinge fitting 502 provided on the frame 500.
In this way, the gaming machine 300 is moved to the island 400 and attached to the frame 500 attached to the island 400. When the gaming machine 300 is closed relative to the frame 500, the attachment of the gaming machine 300 to the island 400 is completed.

110 Base 111 Caster 120 Pillar 123 Long nut 124 Bolt 124A Head 125 Hexagonal wrench 131 Loading platform 131A Base plate 131C Bridge plate 132 Connecting plate 133 Upper member 191Z Second elastic body 400 Island 401 Lower plate 403 Front plate 500 Frame 501 Frame lower plate 710 Base member 711 Elongated hole 720 Angle member 740 Slide plate 741 Rear locking portion 742 Right locking portion 744 Guide bar

Claims (9)

a plate-like loading platform having a horizontal upper surface positioned at a height substantially corresponding to the height of an upper surface of a lower plate of an island on which a gaming machine is mounted via a frame, the gaming machine being placed;
Casters provided below the loading platform;
A bogie having
The frame is provided with a base member, which is a plate-like member that can withstand the weight of the gaming machine and has a thickness that is approximately equivalent to the thickness of the lower frame bottom plate among the top, bottom, left, and right plates that make up the frame, and the base member can be detachably fixed to the top surface of the loading platform.
Cart. The carriage has a front and rear direction determined in accordance with the front and rear direction of the gaming machine in the gaming machine body that is planned when the carriage is placed on the loading platform,
The base member is configured to protrude forward from the loading platform when fixed to the top surface of the loading platform.
The truck according to claim 1. The loading platform is generally rectangular in plan view, and two opposing sides of the loading platform of the generally rectangular plan view are located at the front and rear of the gaming machine,
The base member is generally rectangular in plan view, and two opposing sides of the generally rectangular base member are located at the front and rear of the gaming machine.
The truck according to claim 2. A plate-shaped slide plate is provided on the base member, and is slidable relative to the base member and has a thickness thinner than that of the base member.
The truck according to claim 1. The carriage has a front and rear direction determined to correspond to the front and rear direction of the gaming machine in the gaming machine body that is planned when it is placed on the loading platform,
A plate-shaped slide plate is provided on the base member, and is slidable laterally relative to the base member and has a thickness thinner than that of the base member.
The truck according to claim 4. The carriage has a front and rear direction determined in accordance with the front and rear direction of the gaming machine in the gaming machine body that is planned when the carriage is placed on the loading platform,
A locking portion is provided on the upper surface of the base member near the rear end thereof, which locks onto the rear surface of the gaming machine placed on the base member to prevent the gaming machine from moving further rearward.
The truck according to claim 1. The carriage has a front and rear direction determined to correspond to the front and rear direction of the gaming machine in the gaming machine body that is planned when it is placed on the loading platform,
A locking portion is provided on the upper surface of the slide plate near the rear end thereof, which locks onto the rear surface of the gaming machine placed on the base member to prevent the gaming machine from moving further rearward.
The truck according to claim 4. The height of the upper surface of the loading platform from the casters is adjustable.
The truck according to claim 1. The height of the upper surface of the base member from the upper surface of the loading platform is variable.
The truck according to claim 1.