Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20040224776?dq=6978253
Timestamp: 2017-02-23 21:30:39
Document Index: 633677892

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 5', 'art 5', 'art 5', 'art 52', 'art 5', 'art 5', 'art 52', 'art 5', 'art 52', 'art 52', 'art 600', 'art 525', 'art 526', 'art 525', 'art 525', 'art 526', 'art 52', 'art 525', 'art 5']

Patent US20040224776 - Gaming machine - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsA gaming machine is provided with a cabinet; a door (3), provided on a front face opening of the above-mentioned cabinet; a bill insertion slot (529), provided in the door (3); and a bill guide plate (52A), which extends outwards from below the bill insertion slot (529) and is for guiding a bill to the...http://www.google.com/patents/US20040224776?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20040224776 - Gaming machineAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS20040224776 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 10/696,584Publication dateNov 11, 2004Filing dateOct 30, 2003Priority dateOct 30, 2002Also published asDE60322815D1, EP1416453A2, EP1416453A3, EP1416453B1Publication number10696584, 696584, US 2004/0224776 A1, US 2004/224776 A1, US 20040224776 A1, US 20040224776A1, US 2004224776 A1, US 2004224776A1, US-A1-20040224776, US-A1-2004224776, US2004/0224776A1, US2004/224776A1, US20040224776 A1, US20040224776A1, US2004224776 A1, US2004224776A1InventorsHiroyuki NaganoOriginal AssigneeHiroyuki NaganoExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (7), Referenced by (12), Classifications (13), Legal Events (1) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetGaming machine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0031] [0031]FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine of the present invention. [0032] [0032]FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of an operating part of the present invention. [0033] [0033]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a door of the present invention is opened. [0034] [0034]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bill guide plate of the present invention. [0035] [0035]FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a state in which the bill guide plate and a mounted body of the present invention are assembled together. [0036] [0036]FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective diagram of a bill loading part of the present invention. [0037] [0037]FIG. 7 is a partial view of the door as seen from the rear face side. [0038] [0038]FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective diagram of a frame body of the present invention.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION [0039] An embodiment of the present invention shall now be described with reference to the drawings. Though an application of the present invention to a slot machine shall be described as the embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be applied to various other gaming machines, such as video game machines, coin game machines, card game machines, etc. [0040] The construction of a slot machine shall now be described. [0041] [0041]FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine 1. At the front opening part of a cabinet 2 of slot machine 1, a door 3 is provided in a manner enabling opening and closing. Also, a top frame 4 is mounted on an upper part of cabinet 2. A decorative panel plate 41 is provided on the front face of top frame 4. [0042] A display device 21, which displays gaming information, is installed inside the cabinet 2. In order to enable viewing of the display on the display device 21, a window is formed on an upper part of the cabinet 3. And in order to enable viewing of the display on the display device 21 and to protect display device 21, a transparent plate is mounted on the above-mentioned window. At both sides of the above-mentioned window are formed sound holes 902 (902L and 902R) that enable effect sounds or music generated according to gaming states to be heard readily. [0043] At a central part of the front face of the door 3, an operating part 5 is disposed in a protruding manner. At an inclined face at the right side of operating part 5, various operation buttons are aligned and a coin slot 51, into which coins are loaded, is equipped. At the right side of the operating part 5 is equipped with a bill loading part 52 for guiding a bill to a bill validator housed inside the cabinet 2. [0044] At a lower part of the operating part 5 is provided a frame 6, which is connected to the door 3 in a manner enabling opening and closing. A decorative panel plate 61 is enclosed in the frame 6. At a lower part of the frame 6 at a bottom part of the door 3 is formed a coin tray 30, which receives coins. [0045] [0045]FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the operating part 5. The above-mentioned bill loading part 52 comprises a bill guide plate 51A and a mounting member 52B. The bill guide plate 52A and the mounting member 52B are integrated together and mounted to the operating part 5. The mounting member 52B forms a part of the door 3. [0046] [0046]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the door 3 is opened. As shown in FIG. 3, the bill validator 22 and a bill stacker 23 are installed inside the cabinet 2. The bill validator 22 determines the truth/falseness or quality of a bill loaded from the bill loading part 52. The bill stacker 23 houses bills validated by the bill validator 22. A bill guided by the bill loading part 52 is taken in by the bill validator 22 via a bill insertion slot 529. [0047] Also, at the rear face side of the door 3, a drain bottle 7, which is a container, is mounted directly below the mounting member 52B. [0048] [0048]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bill guide plate 52A. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of substantially rectilinear slit openings 521 are formed in parallel as a plurality of openings in the bill guide plate 52A. Slit openings 521 are disposed in parallel with each other. Slit openings 521 run along the direction from the bill insertion slot 529 to the outer side of the cabinet 2. The entirety of the opening of the slit opening 521 does not comprise a hole that passes through bill guide plate 52A. That is, a slit opening 521 is an open groove having a bottom formed by an opening bottom part 600. By providing the bottom at a part of each slit opening, the inner parts of the slit openings and the dropped foreign matter can be prevented from being seen readily by a player while securing an area for taking in foreign matter. Also, partition members 523 are formed on bill guide plate 52A. The partition members 523 partition each slit opening 521 into a plurality of small slit openings 524. The position of the upper surface of a partition member 523 is slightly lower than a bill guide surface 522. And as shown in FIG. 4, the length of each small slit opening 524 partitioned by partition members 523 is formed to be smaller than the diameter of a coin 10 used in the gaming machine. [0049] [0049]FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a state in which the bill guide plate 52A and the mounting member 52B are assembled together. As shown in FIG. 5, the bill guide plate 52A is detachably mounted to a loading slot 520, which serves as a bill insertion space. Also, in order that a bill is taken in readily, the bill guide plate 52A extends outwards from the lower end of the bill insertion slot 529 that is positioned at a lower side of the loading slot 520. [0050] At the mounting member 52B, the peripheral walls that form loading slot 520 are connected to the cabinet2. The peripheral walls extends downwards and form a first opening 525 that opposes loading slot 520. The peripheral walls that form first opening 525 continue further downward and form a second opening 526 that is open in the downward direction. The loading slot 520, first opening part 525, and second opening part 526 form a space of substantially pyramidal shape with the apex at the lower side. The bill guide plate 52A is formed so as to cover the first opening part 525 from above. The first opening part 525 and second opening part 526 are for guiding liquid and other foreign matter that enter via the slit opening 521 from the exterior. [0051] [0051]FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective diagram of the bill loading part 52. As shown in FIG. 6, a protrusion 528A is formed on the rear wall of the bill guide plate 52A. A cylindrical protrusion 528B is formed on the front lower wall of the bill guide plate 52A. An internal thread is formed in the cylindrical protrusion 528B. Meanwhile, a groove 528C is formed in the rear inner wall of the first opening part 525 of mounting member 52B. The bill guide plate 52A is assembled onto the mounting member 52B by inserting the protrusion 528A of the bill guide plate 52A into the groove 528C and tilting the bill guide plate 52A towards the mounting member 52B. The bill guide plate 52A can also be separated from the mounting member 52B by movement in the opposite direction. [0052] The bill guide plate 52A and mounting member 52B are made integral by fixing the cylindrical protrusion 528B of the bill guide plate 52A to the mounting member 52B utilizing a fixing screw BF1. The integrated bill guide plate 52A and mounting member 52B are then inserted in a notched part of a control panel 50 of the operating part 5. The integrated bill guide plate 52A and mounting member 52B are then fixed by a fixing screw BF2 onto a mounting bracket 501, provided on the control panel 50, thus completing the assembly. [0053] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, an edge of the control panel 50 is inserted into a groove 527 formed in a front part of the mounting member 52B and the mounting member 52B is tilted towards control panel 50. And then a collar of the mounting member 52B comes in contact with the upper face of control panel 50. The mounting member 52B is then fixed to the control panel 50 by the fixing screw BF2 to attain the fixed state. [0054] [0054]FIG. 7 is a partial view of door 3 as seen from the rear face side. As shown in FIG. 7, a drain bottle 7 is installed at the rear face side of door 3. An upper face opening 70 of the drain bottle 7 is positioned below a second opening 526 of mounting member 52B. That is, the drain bottle 7 is installed so that the center of gravity of the upper face opening 70 of the drain bottle is substantially matched with the center of gravity of the second opening 526. Also, the upper face opening 70 of the drain bottle 7 is made larger in cross-sectional area than the cross section of the second opening 526 at the lower end part. [0055] [0055]FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective diagram of a frame body 6. As shown in FIG. 8, a frame plate 632 is formed to a generally “U”-like shape and houses a decorative panel plate 61. Also, a cover 62 is mounted to the frame plate 632. At the left flank of the frame plate 632 is provided a cylinder lock 6A for locking or unlocking the frame body 6 to or from the door 3. At the right flank of the frame plate 632 is formed a through hole 633. A pivot 64 is inserted into the through hole 633 and the frame 6 is rotatably joined with the door 3. The decorative panel plate 61, cover 62, and frame plate 632 thus open and close integrally. [0056] At the back face of cover 62 are mounted two metal latches 71. Meanwhile, cylindrical pins 7A are protruded from the left and right side faces of the drain bottle 7. The pins 7A engage with the U-shaped grooves of the metal latches 71 and the drain bottle 7 is thereby put in the state in which it is installed on the back face of the cover 62. Also, the engagement of the metal latches 71 and pins 7A can be disengaged by lifting up the drain bottle 7, and the drain bottle 7 can then be moved to another location. In the state in which the drain bottle 7 is installed on the frame body 6, the bottom face of the drain bottle 7 is positioned slightly above the bottom face of the frame body 6. [0057] As shown in FIG. 8, the drain bottle 7 has a thin, laterally long shape. The drain bottle 7 is rectangular in horizontal cross-section in the part positioned below the upper face opening 70. The drain bottle 7 is mounted so as to face its one of long sides of the rectangular to the rear face of the cover 62. [0058] The drain bottle 7 is formed of a substance of substantially transparent or semi-transparent material (for example, glass or a synthetic resin). The storage capacity of the drain bottle 7 is approximately one liter or less. Due to being approximately one liter or less in the storage capacity, the drain bottle 7 can adequately contain a drink, etc., that is spilled onto the bill guide plate 52A. Also the drain bottle 7 can be installed suitably, for example, at the rear side of the door 3 since there is no need to make available a large space for installation. [0059] The actions shall now be described. As described with FIG. 4, the bill guide plate 52A has a plurality of substantially rectilinear slit openings 521 formed in columns. Thus even when a drink or other foreign matter spills onto the bill guide plate, it can be collected through the slit openings 521. The foreign matter will not get on the various devices inside the cabinet and breakage of the various devices can be prevented. [0060] Also as shown in FIG. 5, the bill guide plate 52A has the form of a bag with an open bottom and the inner peripheral walls form inclined faces with which a solution or other foreign matter that is thrown in can fall readily by gravity to the bottom face. Likewise, each of the first opening 525 of the mounting member 52B and the second opening 526, which continues from the first opening 525, has the form of a bag with an open bottom and the inner peripheral walls form inclined faces with which a solution or other foreign matter that is thrown in can fall readily by gravity to the bottom face. [0061] That is, the first opening 525 and second opening 526, which are positioned in the direction substantially below the slit openings 521, form a guide part that guides a solution or other foreign matter from the exterior. And by the drain bottle 7 equipped below the second opening 526 of the mounting member 52B as shown in FIG. 7, the foreign matter that is guided by the above-mentioned guide part can be collected in the drain bottle 7. [0062] Foreign matter from the exterior, which enters from the slit openings 521 of the bill guide plate 52A can thus be collected in the drain bottle 7 via the above-described guide part. Drawbacks of malfunction of the various devices inside the cabinet 2 due to the foreign matter from the exterior can thus be reduced, and this effect is especially prominent in the case where the foreign matter is liquid. [0063] Next, the actions of the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 7 shall be described. By the upper face opening 70 of the drain bottle 7 being greater in cross-sectional area than the cross section of the lower end part of the second opening 526, the foreign matter from the exterior that is guided from the mounting member 52B in FIG. 5 can be prevented from leaking out of the drain bottle 7 and can be collected readily in the drain bottle 7. [0064] Also, it was described with FIG. 8 that the metal latches 71 of the cover 62 and pins 7A of the drain bottle 7 can be engaged and disengaged. That is, the drain bottle 7 is not formed integrally on the rear face of the door 3 but is mounted in a detachable manner. Thus even when foreign matter from the exterior accumulate in the drain bottle 7, the drain bottle 7 can be detached and the foreign matter can thus be discarded from drain bottle 7. Also, since the drain bottle 7 is mounted to the rear face of the door 3, the drain bottle 7 can be detached simply after opening the door 3 without being affected by the existence of other devices. [0065] Also as shown in FIG. 8, the drain bottle 7 has a laterally long shape with which the horizontal cross section of the containment part positioned below the upper face opening 70 has a shape that is long in the lateral direction. The drain bottle 7 of the above-mentioned lateral direction is mounted so as to be set along the rear face of the cover 62. [0066] As described with FIG. 3, a bill validator 22 and a bill stacker 23 are disposed inside the cabinet 2. A coin guide 24 is also disposed inside the cabinet 2. Behind the coin guide 24 are mounted a printed circuit board for controlling the slot machine 1 and a shelf 25. Furthermore, an unillustrated hopper is disposed below the coin guide 24. Since the interior of the cabinet 2 is thus put in a crowded mounted state, a space by which the drain bottle 7 can protrude towards the interior of cabinet 2 does not exist. [0067] Also as shown in FIG. 7, a coin allocating device, which allocates a coin 10 loaded in from the coin slot 51 into the coin guide 24 or coin tray 30 is disposed adjacent mounting member 52B at the back face of door 3. [0068] Thus in order to make the containment capacity of the drain bottle 7 large within such a limited space, drain bottle 7 is made thin and laterally long in shape. The drain bottle 7 is thus excellent in terms of saving space within the cabinet 2 and yet a relatively large amount of foreign matter can be collected in the containment part of the drain bottle 7 under the above-mentioned restrictions. [0069] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the drain bottle 7 is formed of a substance of substantially transparent or semi-transparent material (for example, glass or a synthetic resin). When the door 3 or frame body 6 is opened, the drain bottle 7 moves along with the door 3 or frame body 6, thus enabling the drain bottle 7 to be viewed. By forming the drain bottle 7 of a substance of substantially transparent or semi-transparent material, the foreign matter collected in the drain bottle 7 can be viewed readily. The collected amount can thus be recognized without having to detach the drain bottle 7 each time to check the timing for discarding the foreign matter from the exterior. [0070] With the present invention, a gaming machine, equipped with a bill guide plate for guiding a bill into a bill insertion slot, is equipped with a guide part, guiding foreign matter from the exterior, in the direction substantially below a opening that is equipped by the bill guide plate, and is equipped with a container, for collecting the foreign matter guided by the above-mentioned guide part, at the rear face side of the above-mentioned door. A foreign matter from the exterior, which drops from the opening of the bill guide plate, can thus be collected in the container via the guide part to reduce the drawbacks of malfunction of the various devices inside the cabinet due to foreign matter from the exterior. This effect is especially prominent in the case where the foreign matter is liquid. [0071] Also with the present invention, an upper face opening of the above-mentioned container is positioned in a substantially downward direction below the above-mentioned guide part and has a larger cross-sectional area than the cross section of the lower end part of the guide part. The foreign matter from the exterior that is guided from the guide part can thus be prevented from leaking out of the container and can be collected readily in the container. [0072] Furthermore with the present invention, the above-mentioned container is mounted to the rear face side of the above-mentioned door and is mounted in a manner enabling detachment from the rear face of the above-mentioned door. The container is thus not formed integral to the rear face of the door but is mounted in a detachable manner. Thus when foreign matter from the exterior accumulate in the container, the container can be detached relatively readily and the foreign matter from the exterior can be discarded from the container. [0073] Also, with the present invention, the above-mentioned container has a laterally long shape with which a containment part positioned below the upper opening has a horizontal cross section of a shape that is long in the lateral direction. And the container is mounted so that the above-mentioned lateral direction is set along the rear face of the above-mentioned door. The shape of the container can thus be made extremely thin. This is thus excellent in terms of saving space within the cabinet and yet a relatively large amount of foreign matter can be collected in the containment part. [0074] Furthermore with the present invention, by the above-mentioned container being made of a substantially transparent or semitransparent material, the amount of foreign matter collected in the container can be viewed readily. The timing for discarding the foreign matter from the container can thus be recognized without having to detach and check the container each time. Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS4230213 *Dec 26, 1978Oct 28, 1980La Crosse Cooler Company, Inc.Liquid rejecting coin chuteUS4269297 *Nov 13, 1979May 26, 1981Aosco & Associates, Ltd.Vending machine see-thru coin boxUS5156250 *Sep 26, 1991Oct 20, 1992Mid-South EnterprisesLiquid diverter for currency receiverUS5318164 *May 15, 1992Jun 7, 1994Mars IncorporatedVending machine apparatus and method to prevent fraud and minimize damage from injected fluidsUS5505289 *Mar 28, 1994Apr 9, 1996Kabushiki Kaisha Nippon ConluxBill processorsUS5566809 *Dec 11, 1995Oct 22, 1996Coin Acceptors, Inc.Vending machine protective deviceUS5605214 *Sep 1, 1995Feb 25, 1997Kabushiki Kaisha Nippon ConluxBanknote processor* Cited by examinerReferenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7806770 *Apr 9, 2007Oct 5, 2010Bally Gaming, Inc.Gaming machine having a mounting assembly for a flat panel displayUS8430756May 11, 2010Apr 30, 2013Patent Rights Protection Group, LlcGaming machine cabinet with edge lightingUS8641534 *May 29, 2008Feb 4, 2014Universal Entertainment CorporationSlot-type gaming machine with improved cabinetUS8641535Dec 3, 2009Feb 4, 2014Patent Rights Protection Group, LlcGaming machine cabinet construction and methodUS8764573Oct 8, 2008Jul 1, 2014Konami Gaming, Inc.Gaming machine cabinetUS9033806 *Aug 4, 2011May 19, 2015Ainsworth Game Technology LimitedGaming machineUS20070238531 *Apr 9, 2007Oct 11, 2007Bally Gaming, Inc.Gaming machine having a mounting assembly for a flat panel displayUS20080311976 *May 29, 2008Dec 18, 2008Aruze Corp.Gaming MachineUS20090181750 *Jul 17, 2008Jul 16, 2009Aruze Corp.Gaming Machine Having Glass CabinetUS20100087259 *Oct 8, 2008Apr 8, 2010Konami Gaming, Inc.Gaming machine cabinetUS20110136573 *Dec 3, 2009Jun 9, 2011Spec International, Inc.Gaming machine cabinet construction and methodUS20130130809 *Aug 4, 2011May 23, 2013Vincent Carmelo BruzzeseGaming Machine* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification463/46International ClassificationG07F1/04, G07D11/00, G07F7/04, G07F17/32, G07D9/00, A63F11/00Cooperative ClassificationG07F1/045, G07F17/32, G07F7/04European ClassificationG07F7/04, G07F17/32, G07F1/04B4Legal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionFeb 22, 2007ASAssignmentOwner name: ARUZE CORP., JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:NAGANO, HIROYUKI;REEL/FRAME:018924/0276Effective date: 20040108RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services