Gaming machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine capable of suppressing rotation of a distribution member.SOLUTION: A distribution member 25983 has its gravity center position biased to an operation section 24983a side (right side in Fig. 168 (a)) with respect to an intermediate plate 19983b by the amount that a projection 24983a is protruded. Therefore, in the state where the distribution member 25983 is disposed at the first position, a glass unit 16 of a Pachinko machine 10 is struck and an external force is applied, thereby reducing rotational direction component of the inertial force acting on the distribution member 25983 even if the inertial force acts on the distribution member 25983. As a result, rotation of the distribution member 25983 from the first position to the second position can be suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 168

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine.

Background Art

[0002] There is a gaming machine provided with transmission means for transmitting driving force to displacement means (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described conventional gaming machines, There is room for improvement in the displacement means there is a problem as follows.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-exemplified problems, It is possible to improve the displacement means and an object thereof is to provide a gaming machine that can

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to achieve this object, the gaming machine according to claim 1 is A gaming machine comprising displacement means configured to be displaceable in a manner visible to a player, drive means for generating a driving force for displacing the displacement means, and transmission means for transmitting the driving force of the drive means to the displacement means, wherein the transmission means is configured such that the dimension in a second direction intersecting the first direction is shorter than the dimension in the first direction and is formed of a shape having different flexibility in different directions, and configured such that an angle formed by the direction of the force received from the displacement means and the second direction changes before and after the displacement means passes a predetermined reference position along with displacement in a predetermined direction due to an external force, the transmission means is configured not to have a detected portion for detection, and the displacement means is translated while maintaining a predetermined posture at least after the start of the displacement .

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the gaming machine of claim 1, It is possible to improve the displacement means it is possible.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, referring to Figs. 1 to 44, as a first embodiment, an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a pachinko game machine (hereinafter simply referred to as "pachinko machine") 10 will be described. Fig. 1 is a front view of the pachinko machine 10 in the first embodiment, Fig. 2 is a front view of the game board 13 of the pachinko machine 10, and Fig. 3 is a rear view of the pachinko machine 10.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1, the pachinko machine 10 includes an outer frame 11 whose outer shell is formed by a wooden frame combined in a substantially rectangular shape, and an inner frame 12 formed in substantially the same outer shape as the outer frame 11 and supported so as to be openable and closable with respect to the outer frame 11. On the outer frame 11, metal hinges 18 are attached at two upper and lower positions on the left side in the front view (see Fig. 1) to support the inner frame 12, and the inner frame 12 is supported so as to be openable and closable to the front side with the side where the hinge 18 is provided as the axis of opening and closing.

[0015] A game board 13 (see Fig. 2) having a large number of nails and winning ports 63, 64, etc. is detachably attached to the inner frame 12 from the back side. A pachinko game is performed by the flow of balls (game balls) on the front surface of this game board 13. In addition, a ball launching unit 112a (see Fig. 4) for launching balls into the front region of the game board 13 and a launching rail (not shown) for guiding the balls launched from the ball launching unit 112a to the front region of the game board 13 are attached to the inner frame 12.

[0016] On the front side of the inner frame 12, a front frame 14 that covers the upper front thereof and a lower plate unit 15 that covers the lower side thereof are provided. In order to support the front frame 14 and the lower plate unit 15, metal hinges 19 are attached at two upper and lower positions on the left side in the front view (see Fig. 1), and the front frame 14 and the lower plate unit 15 are supported so as to be openable and closable to the front near side with the side where the hinge 19 is provided as the axis of opening and closing. Note that the locking of the inner frame 12 and the locking of the front frame 14 are each released by inserting a dedicated key into the keyhole 21 of the cylinder lock 20 and performing a predetermined operation.

[0017] The front frame 14 is assembled with a resin part for decoration, an electric part, etc., and a window part 14c having an opening formed in a substantially elliptical shape is provided at a substantially central portion thereof. On the back side of the front frame 14, a glass unit 16 having two plate glasses is disposed, and the front of the game board 13 can be visually recognized on the front side of the pachinko machine 10 through the glass unit 16.

[0018] On the front frame 14, an upper plate 17 for storing balls is formed in a substantially box shape that projects to the front side and has an open upper surface, and prize balls, lent balls, etc. are discharged onto this upper plate 17. The bottom surface of the upper plate 17 is formed to be inclined downward on the right side in the front view (see Fig. 1), and the balls thrown into the upper plate 17 are guided to the ball launch unit 112a (see Fig. 4) by this inclination. Also, a frame button 22 is provided on the upper surface of the upper plate 17. This frame button 22 is operated by a player, for example, when changing the stage of the effect displayed by the third symbol display device 81 (see Fig. 2) or when changing the content of the super reach effect.

[0019] On the front frame 14, light-emitting means such as various lamps are provided around it (for example, at the corner portions). These light-emitting means are controlled to change their light-emitting modes by lighting or blinking in response to changes in the gaming state during a big win or at a predetermined reach, etc., and play a role in enhancing the production effect during the game. Around the periphery of the window portion 14c, decorative parts 29 to 33 incorporating light-emitting means such as LEDs are provided. In the pachinko machine 10, these decorative parts 29 to 33 function as production lamps such as big win lamps, and during a big win or a reach production, etc., each of the decorative parts 29 to 33 lights up or blinks by lighting or blinking of the built-in LEDs, and it is notified that it is during a big win or during a reach just before a big win. Also, at the upper left part in the front view (see FIG. 1) of the front frame 14, a display lamp 34 incorporating light-emitting means such as LEDs is provided, which can display during the payout of bonus balls and when an error occurs.

[0020] Also, below the lower side of the decorative part 32 on the right side, a small window 35 is formed by attaching a transparent resin from the back side so that the back side of the front frame 14 can be visually recognized, and a certificate or the like attached to the sticking space K1 (see FIG. 2) on the front of the game board 13 can be visually recognized from the front of the pachinko machine 10. Also, in the pachinko machine 10, in order to create a more magnificent atmosphere, a plating member 36 made of ABS resin plated around the decorative parts 29 to 33 is attached.

[0021] Below the window portion 14c, a ball lending operation unit 40 is disposed. The ball lending operation unit 40 is provided with a frequency display unit 41, a ball lending button 42, and a return button 43. When the ball lending operation unit 40 is operated with a bill, a card, etc. inserted into a card unit (ball lending unit) (not shown) disposed on the side of the pachinko machine 10, balls are lent according to the operation. Specifically, the frequency display unit 41 is an area where balance information of a card or the like is displayed, and the built-in LED lights up and the balance is displayed numerically as balance information. The ball lending button 42 is operated to obtain lent balls based on information recorded on a card or the like (recording medium), and lent balls are supplied to the upper tray 17 as long as there is a balance on the card or the like. The return button 43 is operated when requesting the return of a card or the like inserted into the card unit. In a pachinko machine, so-called a cash machine, in which balls are directly lent from a ball lending device or the like to the upper tray 17 without passing through the card unit, the ball lending operation unit 40 is not required. In this case, a decorative sticker or the like may be added to the installation portion of the ball lending operation unit 40 so that the component configuration is common. It is possible to make the pachinko machine using the card unit and the cash machine common.

[0022] In the lower tray unit 15 located below the upper tray 17, a lower tray 50 for storing balls that could not be completely stored in the upper tray 17 is formed in a substantially box shape with an open upper surface on its left side. On the right side of the lower tray 50, an operation handle 51 operated by a player to drive the balls into the front of the game board 13 is disposed.

[0023] Inside the operation handle 51, there are a touch sensor 51a for permitting the driving of the ball launching unit 112a, a firing stop switch 51b for stopping the firing of the ball during the period of the pressing operation, a variable resistor (not shown) for detecting the amount of rotation operation (rotation position) of the operation handle 51 by the change in electric resistance, and the like. When the operation handle 51 is rotated clockwise by the player, the touch sensor 51a is turned on and the resistance value of the variable resistor changes corresponding to the amount of rotation operation, and the ball is launched with the strength (launch intensity) corresponding to the resistance value of the variable resistor, and thus the ball is driven into the front of the game board 13 with the jumping amount corresponding to the operation of the player. Further, when the operation handle 51 is not being operated by the player, the touch sensor 51a and the firing stop switch 51b are turned off.

[0024] At the front lower part of the lower tray 50, a ball removal lever 52 for operating when discharging the balls stored in the lower tray 50 downward is provided. This ball removal lever 52 is constantly biased in the right direction, and by sliding it in the left direction against the bias, the bottom opening formed on the bottom surface of the lower tray 50 opens, and the balls naturally fall and are discharged from the bottom opening. The operation of this ball removal lever 52 is usually performed with a box (generally called a "senryou box") for receiving the balls discharged from the lower tray 50 placed below the lower tray 50. The operation handle 51 is disposed on the right side of the lower tray 50, and an ashtray (not shown) is attached to the left side of the lower tray 50.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the game board 13 is configured by assembling a base plate 60 machined into a substantially square shape in front view, a number of nails (not shown) and windmills (not shown) for guiding the balls, rails 61, 62, a general winning opening 63, a first winning opening 64, a second winning opening 140, a variable winning device 65, a through gate 67, a variable display device unit 80, etc., and the peripheral portion thereof is attached to the back side of the inner frame 12 (see FIG. 1).

[0026] The base plate 60 is formed from a wooden board member. The general winning opening 63, the first winning opening 64, the second winning opening 140, and the variable display device unit 80 are disposed in through-holes formed in the base plate 60 by routing and are fixed from the front side of the game board 13 with tapping screws or the like. Note that the base plate 60 may be made of a light-transmissive resin material. In this case, it becomes possible for the player to visually recognize various structures disposed on the back side of the base plate 60 from the front side thereof.

[0027] The front central portion of the game board 13 can be visually recognized from the front side of the inner frame 12 through the window portion 14c (see FIG. 1) of the front frame 14. Hereinafter, the configuration of the game board 13 will be mainly described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0028] An outer rail 62 formed by bending a strip-shaped metal plate into a substantially arc shape is planted on the front surface of the game board 13, and an arc-shaped inner rail 61 formed of a strip-shaped metal plate similar to the outer rail 62 is planted at a position inside the outer rail 62. The front outer periphery of the game board 13 is surrounded by the inner rail 61 and the outer rail 62, and the front and back are surrounded by the game board 13 and the glass unit 16 (see FIG. 1), so that a game area where a game is played by the behavior of the ball is formed on the front surface of the game board 13. The game area is an area (an area where a winning opening or the like is disposed and the launched ball flows down) partitioned by the two rails 61, 62 on the front surface of the game board 13 and a resin outer edge member 73 connecting between the rails.

[0029] The two rails 61, 62 are provided to guide the ball launched from the ball launch unit 112a (see FIG. 4) to the upper part of the game board 13. A return ball prevention member 68 is attached to the tip portion (the upper left part in FIG. 2) of the inner rail 61, and a situation where the ball once guided to the upper part of the game board 13 returns into the ball guide passage again is prevented. A return rubber 69 is attached to the tip portion of the outer rail 62 (the upper right part in FIG. 2) at a position corresponding to the maximum flight portion of the ball, and the ball launched with a momentum more than a predetermined value hits the return rubber 69 and bounces back toward the central part while the momentum is attenuated.

[0030] In the lower left part of the front view of the gaming area (the lower left part of FIG. 2), there are provided first symbol display devices 37A and 37B each including a plurality of LEDs as light emitting means and a 7-segment display. The first symbol display devices 37A and 37B are configured to perform displays according to each control performed by the main control device 110 (see FIG. 4), and mainly display the gaming state of the pachinko machine 10. In the present embodiment, the first symbol display devices 37A and 37B are configured to be selectively used according to whether the ball wins the first winning port 64 or the second winning port 140. Specifically, when the ball wins the first winning port 64, the first symbol display device 37A operates, while when the ball wins the second winning port 140, the first symbol display device 37B operates.

[0031] Further, the first symbol display devices 37A and 37B indicate whether the pachinko machine 10 is in the probability variation state, the time shortening state, or the normal state by the lighting state of the LEDs, indicate whether it is in the variable state by the lighting state, indicate whether the stop symbol corresponds to a probability variation jackpot, a normal jackpot, or a non-winning symbol by the lighting state, indicate the number of hold balls by the lighting state, and perform display of the number of rounds during the jackpot and error display by the 7-segment display device. Note that the plurality of LEDs are configured such that the light emission colors of the respective LEDs (for example, red, green, blue) are different, and various gaming states of the pachinko machine 10 can be suggested by the combination of the light emission colors with a small number of LEDs.

[0032] In the pachinko machine 10, a lottery is performed when there is a winning in the first winning port 64 and the second winning port 140. In the lottery, the pachinko machine 10 performs a winning determination (jackpot lottery) as to whether it is a jackpot or not, and when it is determined to be a jackpot, it also determines the jackpot type. The jackpot types determined here include a 15R probability variation jackpot, a 4R probability variation jackpot, and a 15R normal jackpot. The first symbol display devices 37A and 37B show not only whether the result of the lottery is a jackpot or not as the stop symbol after the variation ends, but also show the symbol corresponding to the jackpot type when it is a jackpot.

[0033] Here, the "15R sure-variable jackpot" refers to a sure-variable jackpot that transitions to a high-probability state after a jackpot with a maximum round number of 15 rounds, and the "4R sure-variable jackpot" refers to a sure-variable jackpot that transitions to a high-probability state after a jackpot with a maximum round number of 4 rounds. Also, the "15R normal jackpot" is a jackpot that transitions to a low-probability state after a jackpot with a maximum round number of 15 rounds, and enters a time-saving state for a predetermined number of fluctuations (e.g., 100 fluctuations).

[0034] Also, the "high-probability state" refers to a state where the probability of the subsequent jackpot increases as an added value after the jackpot ends, that is, during so-called probability variation (during sure-variable). In other words, it is a state of a game that is likely to transition to a special game state. The high-probability state (during sure-variable) in this embodiment includes a game state where the winning probability of the second symbol described later increases and balls are likely to win in the second winning opening 140. The "low-probability state" refers to a time when it is not during sure-variable, and refers to a state where the jackpot probability is normal, that is, a state where the jackpot probability is lower than during sure-variable. Also, the time-saving state (during time-saving) among the "low-probability states" refers to a game state where the jackpot probability is normal and, while the jackpot probability remains the same, only the winning probability of the second symbol increases and balls are likely to win in the second winning opening 140. On the other hand, when the pachinko machine 10 is in the normal state, it is a game state that is neither during sure-variable nor during time-saving (a state where neither the jackpot probability nor the winning probability of the second symbol has increased).

[0035] During sure-variable or time-saving, not only does the winning probability of the second symbol increase, but also the time when the wing member 945 (electric accessory) associated with the second winning opening 140 is opened is changed, and a longer time is set compared to the normal state. When the wing member 945 is in the open state (open state), the state is more favorable for balls to win in the second winning opening 140 compared to when the wing member 945 is in the closed state (closed state). Therefore, during sure-variable or time-saving, the state is more favorable for balls to win in the second winning opening 140, and the number of times the jackpot lottery is conducted can be increased.

[0036] In addition, during the variable probability period or the time-saving period, instead of changing the opening time of the wing member 945 associated with the second winning port 140, or in addition to changing the opening time, a change may be made to increase the number of times the wing member 945 opens per hit compared to normal. Also, during the variable probability period or the time-saving period, the winning probability of the second symbol may not be changed, and at least one of the time when the wing member 945 associated with the second winning port 140 is opened and the number of times the wing member 945 opens per hit may be changed. Further, during the variable probability period or the time-saving period, the time when the wing member 945 associated with the second winning port 140 is opened or the number of times the wing member 945 is opened per hit may not be changed, and only the winning probability of the second symbol may be changed to be increased compared to normal.

[0037] In the game area, a plurality of general winning ports 63 are provided, where when a ball wins, 5 to 15 balls are paid out as prize balls. Also, in the central portion of the game area, a variable display device unit 80 is provided. The variable display device unit 80 includes a liquid crystal display (hereinafter simply abbreviated as "display device") configured to perform variable display of a third symbol while synchronizing with the variable display in the first symbol display devices 37A and 37B, triggered by winning (starting winning) in the first winning port 64 and the second winning port 140, and a second symbol display device (not shown) configured by LEDs that perform variable display of the second symbol triggered by the passage of a ball through the through gate 67. Further, a center frame 86 is provided in the variable display device unit 80 so as to surround the outer periphery of the third symbol display device 81.

[0038] The third symbol display device 81 is composed of a large 9-inch liquid crystal display, and the display content is controlled by a display control device 114 (see FIG. 4). For example, three symbol columns, namely, an upper column, a middle column, and a lower column, are displayed. Each symbol column is composed of a plurality of symbols (third symbols), and these third symbols scroll horizontally for each symbol column so that the third symbols are variably displayed on the display screen of the third symbol display device 81. The third symbol display device 81 of the present embodiment performs a decorative display according to the display of the first symbol display devices 37A and 37B, while the display of the game state accompanying the control of the main control device 110 (see FIG. 4) is performed by the first symbol display devices 37A and 37B. Note that, instead of the display device, the third symbol display device 81 may be configured using, for example, reels or the like.

[0039] The second symbol display device performs a variable display in which the symbols of "○" and "×" as display symbols (second symbols (not shown)) are alternately lit for a predetermined time every time the ball passes through the through gate 67. In the pachinko machine 10, when it is detected that the ball has passed through the through gate 67, a winning lottery is conducted. As a result of the winning lottery, if it is a win, the symbol of "○" is stopped and displayed on the second symbol display device after the variable display of the second symbol. Also, as a result of the winning lottery, if it is a miss, the symbol of "×" is stopped and displayed on the second symbol display device after the variable display of the third symbol.

[0040] The pachinko machine 10 is configured such that when the variable display on the second symbol display device stops at a predetermined symbol (in this embodiment, the symbol of "○"), the wing member 945 attached to the second winning opening 140 is in an operating state (opened) for a predetermined time.

[0041] The time taken for the variable display of the second symbol is set so that it is shorter during the probability increase state or the time shortening state than when the game state is normal. As a result, during the probability increase state and the time shortening state, since the variable display of the second symbol is performed in a short time, more winning lotteries can be conducted than during the normal state. Therefore, since the chance of winning in the winning lottery increases, the player can be given more opportunities for the wing member 945 of the second winning opening 140 to be in the open state. Therefore, during the probability increase state and the time shortening state, it is possible to make it easier for the ball to win the second winning opening 140.

[0042] In addition, during the probability increase state or the time shortening state, if the ball is made more likely to win the second winning opening 140 by other methods such as increasing the winning probability, increasing the opening time or the number of opening times of the wing member 945 for each win, the time taken for the variable display of the second symbol may be made constant regardless of the game state. On the other hand, when setting the time taken for the variable display of the second symbol to be shorter during the probability increase state or the time shortening state than during the normal state, the winning probability may be made constant regardless of the game state, or the opening time or the number of opening times of the wing member 945 for each win may be made constant regardless of the game state.

[0043] The through gate 67 is assembled to the game board 13 in the left and right regions of the variable display device unit 80 and is configured to allow a part of the balls launched onto the game board 13 to pass through. When the ball passes through the through gate 67, a winning lottery for the second symbol is conducted. After the winning lottery, a variable display is performed on the second symbol display device. If the result of the winning lottery is a win, a symbol of "○" is displayed as the stop symbol of the variable display, and if the result of the winning lottery is a miss, a symbol of "×" is displayed as the stop symbol of the variable display.

[0044] The total number of times the ball passes through the through gate 67 is reserved up to a maximum of 4 times. The reserved number of balls is displayed by the above-described first symbol display devices 37A and 37B and is also lit and displayed on a second symbol reserved lamp (not shown). Four second symbol reserved lamps are provided for the maximum reserved number and are arranged symmetrically on the left and right below the third symbol display device 81.

[0045] Note that the variable display of the second symbol is performed by switching on and off a plurality of lamps in the second symbol display device as in this embodiment, but it may also be performed using a part of the first symbol display devices 37A and 37B and the third symbol display device 81. Similarly, the lighting of the second symbol holding lamp may be performed by a part of the third symbol display device 81. Also, the maximum number of held balls with respect to the passage of the ball through the through gate 67 is not limited to four times, and may be set to three times or less, or five times or more (for example, eight times). Further, the number of assembled through gates 67 is not limited to two, and may be one, for example. Also, the assembly position of the through gate 67 is not limited to the left and right of the variable display device unit 80, and may be below the variable display device unit 80, for example. Also, since the number of held balls is indicated by the first symbol display devices 37A and 37B, the second symbol holding lamp may not perform a lighting display.

[0046] Below the variable display device unit 80, a first winning port 64 into which a ball can win is provided. When a ball wins the first winning port 64, a first winning port switch (not shown) provided on the back side of the game board 13 is turned on, and based on the turning on of the first winning port switch, the main control device 110 (see FIG. 4) performs a jackpot lottery, and a display corresponding to the lottery result is shown on the first symbol display device 37A.

[0047] On the other hand, below the front view of the first winning port 64, a second winning port 140 into which a ball can win is provided. When a ball wins the second winning port 140, a second winning port switch (not shown) provided on the back side of the game board 13 is turned on, and based on the turning on of the second winning port switch, the main control device 110 (see FIG. 4) performs a jackpot lottery, and a display corresponding to the lottery result is shown on the first symbol display device 37B.

[0048] In addition, the first winning opening 64 and the second winning opening 140 are each one of the winning openings from which five balls are paid out as prize balls when a ball wins. In the present embodiment, the number of prize balls paid out when a ball wins the first winning opening 64 and the number of prize balls paid out when a ball wins the second winning opening 140 are configured to be the same. However, the number of prize balls paid out when a ball wins the first winning opening 64 and the number of prize balls paid out when a ball wins the second winning opening 140 may be different numbers. For example, the number of prize balls paid out when a ball wins the first winning opening 64 may be set to three, and the number of prize balls paid out when a ball wins the second winning opening 140 may be set to five.

[0049] A wing member 945 is attached to the second winning opening 140. This wing member 945 is configured to be openable and closable. Normally, the wing member 945 is in a closed state (contracted state), making it difficult for a ball to win the second winning opening 140. On the other hand, when the symbol "○" is displayed on the second symbol display device as a result of the variable display of the second symbol triggered by the passage of a ball through the through gate 67, the wing member 945 is in an open state (expanded state), making it easy for a ball to win the second winning opening 140.

[0050] As described above, during probability variation and time shortening, the winning probability of the second symbol is higher and the time taken for the variable display of the second symbol is shorter compared to normal. Therefore, in the variable display of the second symbol, the symbol "○" is more likely to be displayed, and the number of times the wing member 945 is in an open state (expanded state) increases. Furthermore, during probability variation and time shortening, the time for which the wing member 945 is open is also longer than during normal times. Thus, during probability variation and time shortening, a state where it is easier for a ball to win the second winning opening 140 can be created compared to normal times.

[0051] Here, the probability of a jackpot is the same whether the ball wins at the first winning opening 64 or at the second winning opening 140, regardless of whether it is in the low-probability state or the high-probability state. However, the probability of a 15R probability-variable jackpot being selected when a jackpot occurs is set higher when the ball wins at the second winning opening 140 than when the ball wins at the first winning opening 64. On the other hand, the first winning opening 64 does not have fin members like those at the second winning opening 140, and the ball can always win.

[0052] Therefore, during normal play, the fin members associated with the second winning opening 140 are often in the closed state, making it difficult for the ball to win at the second winning opening 140. So, aiming for the first winning opening 64 without fin members, the ball is launched so that it passes through the left side of the variable display device unit 80 (so-called "left shot"), increasing the chances of a jackpot lottery by winning at the first winning opening 64 and aiming for a jackpot is more advantageous for the player.

[0053] On the other hand, during probability-variable play or time-saving play, by passing the ball through the through gate 67, the fin members 945 associated with the second winning opening 140 are likely to be in the open state, making it easier for the ball to win at the second winning opening 140. So, aiming for the second winning opening 140, the ball is launched so that it passes through the right side of the variable display 80 (so-called "right shot"), passing through the through gate 67 to open the fin members, and aiming for a 15R probability-variable jackpot by winning at the second winning opening 140 is more advantageous for the player.

[0054] Note that in the pachinko machine 10 of this embodiment, since the structure of the game board 13 is symmetric left and right, it is also possible to aim for the first winning opening 64 with a "right shot" or aim for the second winning opening 140 with a "left shot". Therefore, the pachinko machine 10 of this embodiment can eliminate the need to change the way of launching the ball between "left shot" and "right shot" for the player according to the game state of the pachinko machine 10 (whether it is in probability-variable play, time-saving play, or normal play). Thus, the annoyance of changing the way of hitting the ball can be eliminated.

[0055] Below the first winning opening 64, a variable winning device 65 (see Fig. 2) is disposed, and a specific winning opening 65a is provided at a substantially central portion thereof. In the pachinko machine 10, when the jackpot lottery conducted due to winning in the first winning opening 64 or the second winning opening 140 results in a jackpot, after a predetermined time (fluctuation time) has elapsed, the first symbol display device 37A or the first symbol display device 37B is lit so as to become the jackpot stop symbol, and the stop symbol corresponding to the jackpot is displayed on the third symbol display device 81 to indicate the occurrence of a jackpot. Thereafter, the game state transitions to a special game state (jackpot) where it is easier for the balls to win. As this special game state, the specific winning opening 65a, which is normally closed, is opened for a predetermined time (for example, until 30 seconds elapse, or until 10 balls win).

[0056] This specific winning opening 65a is closed when the predetermined time elapses, and after its closure, the specific winning opening 65a is opened again for the predetermined time. The opening and closing operation of this specific winning opening 65a can be repeated up to, for example, 15 times (15 rounds) at most. The state in which this opening and closing operation is being performed is one form of a special game state advantageous to the player, and a larger number of prize balls are paid out to the player as an impartation of game value (game value) than in normal times.

[0057] Note that the special game state is not limited to the above-described form. A large opening that is opened and closed separately from the specific winning opening 65a is provided in the game area, and when the LEDs corresponding to the jackpot are lit in the first symbol display devices 37A and 37B, the specific winning opening 65a is opened for a predetermined time, and during the opening of the specific winning opening 65a, when a ball wins into the specific winning opening 65a, a game state may be formed as a special game state in which a large opening provided separately from the specific winning opening 65a is opened for a predetermined time and a predetermined number of times. Also, the specific winning opening 65a is not limited to one, and one or a plurality of two or more (for example, three) may be arranged, and the arrangement position is not limited to the lower right side or the lower left side of the first winning opening 64, and may be, for example, to the left of the variable display device unit 80.

[0058] At the lower right corner of the game board 13, there is an attachment space K1 for attaching certificates, identification labels, etc. The certificates, etc. attached to the attachment space K1 can be visually recognized through the small window 35 (see Fig. 1) of the front frame 14.

[0059] The game board 13 is provided with an out port 71. Balls flowing down in the game area that do not win in any of the winning ports 63, 64, 65a, 640 are guided through the out port 71 to a ball discharge path (not shown). The out port 71 is arranged in a pair on the left and right of the specific winning port 65a.

[0060] A large number of nails are implanted in the game board 13 to appropriately disperse and adjust the falling direction of the balls, and various members (effect devices) such as windmills are arranged.

[0061] As shown in Fig. 3, on the back side of the pachinko machine 10, there are mainly provided a control board unit 90, 91 and a back pack unit 94. The control board unit 90 is unitized with a main board (main control device 110), an audio lamp control board (audio lamp control device 113), and a display control board (display control device 114) mounted thereon. The control board unit 91 is unitized with a payout control board (payout control device 111), a launch control board (launch control device 112), a power supply board (power supply device 115), and a card unit connection board 116 mounted thereon.

[0062] The back pack unit 94 is unitized with a back pack 92 forming a protective cover part and a payout unit 93. In addition, each control board is mounted with an MPU as a one-chip microcomputer in charge of each control, a port for communicating with various devices, a random number generator used in various lotteries, a clock pulse generation circuit used when counting time and achieving synchronization, etc., as required.

[0063] Note that the main control device 110, the voice lamp control device 113, the display control device 114, the payout control device 111, the emission control device 112, the power supply device 115, and the card unit connection board 116 are respectively housed in the board boxes 100 to 104. The board boxes 100 to 104 include a box base and a box cover that covers the opening of the box base, and the box base and the box cover are connected to each other to house each control device and each board.

[0064] In addition, the board box 100 (main control device 110) and the board box 102 (payout control device 111 and emission control device 112) are connected in a non-openable manner (connected by a caulking structure) between the box base and the box cover by a sealing unit (not shown). Further, a sealing tape (not shown) is attached across the connection portion between the box base and the box cover. This sealing tape is made of a brittle material, and if an attempt is made to peel off the sealing tape to open the board boxes 100 and 102, or if an attempt is made to forcibly open the board boxes 100 and 102, it will be cut between the box base side and the box cover side. Therefore, by checking the sealing unit or the sealing tape, it is possible to know whether the board boxes 100 and 102 have been opened.

[0065] The payout unit 93 includes a tank 130 that is located at the top of the back pack unit 94 and opens upward, a tank rail 131 that is connected below the tank 130 and gently slopes downward, a case rail 132 that is longitudinally connected to the downstream side of the tank rail 131, and a payout device 133 that is provided at the most downstream part of the case rail 132 and pays out balls by a predetermined electrical configuration of a payout motor 216 (see FIG. 4). The tank 130 is sequentially replenished with balls supplied from the island equipment in the game hall, and the payout device 133 appropriately pays out the required number of balls. A vibrator 134 for adding vibration to the tank rail 131 is attached to the tank rail 131.

[0066] In addition, the payout control device 111 is provided with a state return switch 120, the emission control device 112 is provided with an operation knob 121 of a variable resistor, and the power supply device 115 is provided with a RAM erase switch 122. The state return switch 120 is operated, for example, to eliminate a ball jam (return to the normal state) when a payout error occurs, such as a ball jam in the payout motor 216 (see FIG. 4). The operation knob 121 is operated to adjust the emission force of the emission solenoid. The RAM erase switch 122 is operated at the time of power-on when it is desired to return the pachinko machine 10 to the initial state.

[0067] Next, referring to FIG. 4, the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 10 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 10.

[0068] The main control device 110 is equipped with an MPU 201 as a one-chip microcomputer which is an arithmetic device. The MPU 201 is provided with a ROM 202 that stores various control programs and fixed-value data executed by the MPU 201, a RAM 203 which is a memory for temporarily storing various data etc. when executing the control programs stored in the ROM 202, and in addition, various circuits such as an interrupt circuit, a timer circuit, and a data transmission / reception circuit are built in. In the main control device 110, the MPU 201 executes main processes of the pachinko machine 10 such as jackpot lottery, setting of the display in the first symbol display devices 37A, 37B and the third symbol display device 81, and lottery of the display result in the second symbol display device.

[0069] Note that, in order to instruct operations to sub-control devices such as the payout control device 111 and the voice lamp control device 113, various commands are transmitted from the main control device 110 to the sub-control device by the data transmission / reception circuit, but such commands are transmitted only in one direction from the main control device 110 to the sub-control device.

[0070] In addition to various areas, counters, and flags, the RAM 203 has a stack area that stores the contents of the internal registers of the MPU 201 and the return addresses of the control programs executed by the MPU 201, and a work area (working area) that stores various flags, counters, values of I / O, etc. Note that the RAM 203 is configured such that backup voltage is supplied from the power supply device 115 even after the power of the pachinko machine 10 is turned off, and data can be retained (backed up). All data stored in the RAM 203 is backed up.

[0071] When the power is cut off due to a power failure or the like, the stack pointer and the values of each register at the time of power cut-off (including the occurrence of a power failure; the same applies hereinafter) are stored in the RAM 203. On the other hand, when the power is turned on (including power-on due to the resolution of a power failure; the same applies hereinafter), based on the information stored in the RAM 203, the state of the pachinko machine 10 is restored to the state before the power cut-off. Writing to the RAM 203 is executed at the time of power cut-off by the main process (not shown), and the restoration of each value written to the RAM 203 is executed in the startup process (not shown) at the time of power-on. Note that the NMI terminal (non-maskable interrupt terminal) of the MPU 201 is configured such that a power failure signal SG1 from the power failure monitoring circuit 252 is input at the time of power cut-off due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like. When the power failure signal SG1 is input to the MPU 201, the NMI interrupt process (not shown) as the power failure time process is immediately executed.

[0072] An input / output port 205 is connected to the MPU 201 of the main control device 110 via a bus line 204 composed of an address bus and a data bus. Connected to the input / output port 205 are a payout control device 111, a voice lamp control device 113, first symbol display devices 37A, 37B, a second symbol display device, a second symbol hold lamp, a solenoid 209 including a solenoid for driving the large opening solenoid and the wing member for driving the lower side of the opening / closing plate of the specific winning port 65a to open / close in the front side with the lower side of the opening / closing plate of the specific winning port 65a as an axis, etc. The MPU 201 transmits various commands and control signals to these via the input / output port 205.

[0073] In addition, the input / output port 205 is connected to various switches 208 including a switch group (not shown), a sensor group including a slide position detection sensor S and a rotation position detection sensor R (not shown), and a RAM erase switch circuit 253 provided in the power supply device 115, which will be described later. The MPU 201 executes various processes based on signals output from the various switches 208 and a RAM erase signal SG2 output from the RAM erase switch circuit 253.

[0074] The payout control device 111 drives the payout motor 216 to control the payout of prize balls and loaned balls. The MPU 211, which is an arithmetic unit, has a ROM 212 that stores a control program, fixed value data, etc. executed by the MPU 211, and a RAM 213 used as a work memory, etc.

[0075] Similar to the RAM 203 of the main control device 110, the RAM 213 of the payout control device 111 has a stack area that stores the contents of the internal registers of the MPU 211, the return destination addresses of the control programs executed by the MPU 211, etc., and a work area (working area) that stores various flags, counters, I / O values, etc. The RAM 213 is configured to be able to hold (backup) data by receiving a backup voltage from the power supply device 115 even after the power supply of the pachinko machine 10 is cut off, and all the data stored in the RAM 213 is backed up. Similar to the MPU 201 of the main control device 110, the NMI terminal of the MPU 211 is also configured to receive a power failure signal SG1 from the power failure monitoring circuit 252 when the power supply is cut off due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like. When the power failure signal SG1 is input to the MPU 211, an NMI interrupt process (not shown) as a power failure time process is immediately executed.

[0076] An input / output port 215 is connected to the MPU 211 of the payout control device 111 via a bus line 214 composed of an address bus and a data bus. The main control device 110, the payout motor 216, the launch control device 112, etc. are respectively connected to the input / output port 215. Although not shown in the figure, a prize ball detection switch for detecting the payout prize balls is connected to the payout control device 111. Note that the prize ball detection switch is connected to the payout control device 111 but not to the main control device 110.

[0077] When an instruction to launch a ball is given by the main control device 110, the launch control device 112 controls the ball launch unit 112a so that the hitting strength of the ball corresponds to the rotation operation amount of the operation handle 51. The ball launch unit 112a includes a launch solenoid and an electromagnet (not shown), and the launch solenoid and the electromagnet are permitted to be driven when predetermined conditions are met. Specifically, the touch sensor 51a detects that the player is touching the operation handle 51, and on the condition that the launch stop switch 51b for stopping the ball launch is off (not operated), the launch solenoid is excited corresponding to the rotation operation amount (rotation position) of the operation handle 51, and the ball is launched with a strength corresponding to the operation amount of the operation handle 51.

[0078] The voice lamp control device 113 controls the output of voice in a voice output device (such as a speaker not shown) 226, the output of lighting and extinguishing in a lamp display device (such as the decorative parts 29 - 33, the display lamp 34, etc.) 227, and the setting of the display mode of the third symbol display device 81 performed by the display control device 114 such as variable effects (variable displays) and preview effects. The MPU 221, which is an arithmetic device, has a ROM 222 that stores the control program, fixed value data, etc. executed by the MPU 221, and a RAM 223 used as a work memory, etc.

[0079] An input / output port 225 is connected to the MPU 221 of the voice lamp control device 113 via a bus line 224 composed of an address bus and a data bus. The main control device 110, the display control device 114, the voice output device 226, the lamp display device 227, other devices 228, the frame button 22, etc. are respectively connected to the input / output port 225. The other devices 228 include a drive motor MT1 and electromagnetic solenoids SOL1 and SOL2.

[0080] Based on various commands (such as a variable pattern command and a stop type command) received from the main control device 110, the voice lamp control device 113 determines the display mode of the third symbol display device 81, and notifies the display control device 114 of the determined display mode by commands (such as a variable pattern command for display and a stop type command for display). Further, the voice lamp control device 113 monitors the input from the frame button 22, and when the frame button 22 is operated by the player, it instructs the display control device 114 to change the stage displayed on the third symbol display device 81 or to change the production content during super reach. When the stage is changed, a background image change command including information on the changed stage is transmitted to the display control device 114 so as to display a background image corresponding to the changed stage on the third symbol display device 81. Here, the background image is an image displayed on the back side of the third symbol, which is the main image to be displayed on the third symbol display device 81. The display control device 114 displays various images on the third symbol display device 81 according to the commands transmitted from this voice lamp control device 113.

[0081] Also, the voice lamp control device 113 receives a command (display command) representing the display content of the third symbol display device 81 from the display control device 114. Based on the display command received from the display control device 114, the voice lamp control device 113 outputs, from the voice output device 226, a voice corresponding to the display content in accordance with the display content of the third symbol display device 81, and also controls the lighting and extinguishing of the lamp display device 227 corresponding to the display content.

[0082] The display control device 114 is connected to the voice lamp control device 113 and the third symbol display device 81, and controls the display such as the variable effect of the third symbol on the third symbol display device 81 based on the command received from the voice lamp control device 113. Further, the display control device 114 appropriately transmits a display command for notifying the display content of the third symbol display device 81 to the voice lamp control device 113. The voice lamp control device 113 can match the display on the third symbol display device 81 with the voice output from the voice output device 226 by outputting voice from the voice output device 226 in accordance with the display content indicated by this display command.

[0083] The power supply device 115 includes a power supply unit 251 for supplying power to each part of the pachinko machine 10, a power failure monitoring circuit 252 for monitoring power interruption due to a power failure or the like, and a RAM erase switch circuit 253 provided with a RAM erase switch 122 (see FIG. 3). The power supply unit 251 is a device that supplies the necessary operating voltage to each of the control devices 110 to 114 and the like through a power supply path (not shown). As an overview, the power supply unit 251 takes in an AC 24-volt voltage supplied from the outside, and generates a 12-volt voltage for driving various switches such as various switches 208, solenoids such as solenoid 209, motors, etc., a 5-volt voltage for logic, a backup voltage for RAM backup, etc., and supplies these 12-volt voltage, 5-volt voltage, and backup voltage to the control devices 110 to 114 and the like as necessary voltages.

[0084] The power failure monitoring circuit 252 is a circuit for outputting a power failure signal SG1 to each NMI terminal of the MPU 201 of the main control device 110 and the MPU 211 of the payout control device 111 when the power supply is cut off due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like. The power failure monitoring circuit 252 monitors the voltage of 24 VDC, which is the maximum voltage output from the power supply unit 251. When this voltage becomes less than 22 V, it determines that a power failure (power off, power supply cut-off) has occurred and outputs the power failure signal SG1 to the main control device 110 and the payout control device 111. By the output of the power failure signal SG1, the main control device 110 and the payout control device 111 recognize the occurrence of a power failure and execute NMI interrupt processing. Note that even after the voltage of 24 VDC becomes less than 22 V, the power supply unit 251 is configured to maintain the output of the 5 V voltage, which is the drive voltage of the control system, at a normal value for a sufficient time for the execution of NMI interrupt processing. Therefore, the main control device 110 and the payout control device 111 can normally execute and complete the NMI interrupt processing (not shown).

[0085] The RAM erase switch circuit 253 is a circuit for outputting a RAM erase signal SG2 for clearing backup data to the main control device 110 when the RAM erase switch 122 (see FIG. 3) is pressed. When the main control device 110 inputs the RAM erase signal SG2 when the pachinko machine 10 is powered on, it clears the backup data and transmits a payout initialization command for clearing the backup data to the payout control device 111 to the payout control device 111.

[0086] Next, the structures of the game board 13 and the operation unit 300 will be described. FIG. 5 is an exploded front perspective view of the game board 13 and the operation unit 300, and FIG. 6 is an exploded rear perspective view of the game board 13 and the operation unit 300. In the description of FIGS. 5 and 6, FIG. 2 will be referred to as appropriate. Also, in FIG. 6, the illustration of the third symbol display device 81 is omitted.

[0087] As described above, the game board 13 is configured by assembling, on a base plate 60 that has been machined into a substantially square shape in a front view, a number of pins (not shown) for guiding balls, a windmill (not shown), rails 61 and 62, a general winning opening 63, a first winning opening 64, a second winning opening 140, a through gate 67, a variable winning device 65, a variable display device unit 80, a pair of left and right window part movable units 150, a ball flow-down unit 290 configured to allow balls discharged from the game area to flow down, etc., and the peripheral edge thereof is attached to the back side of the inner frame 12 (see FIG. 1).

[0088] As described above, the base plate 60 is formed from a plywood obtained by laminating veneer boards, and is formed so as to be able to shield various structures disposed from the front side to the back side of the base plate 60 from being visually recognized by the player with the base plate 60.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 6, the base plate 60 has, in addition to a through hole bored at a substantially central position so as to be able to dispose the variable display device unit 80, a plurality (two in this embodiment) of small through holes 60a bored to allow electrical wiring connected to the through gate 67 to pass through, a plurality (three in this embodiment) of fitting recesses 60b recessed so as to be able to fit with the front end portion of the operation unit 300 in a concave and convex manner, and a plurality (two in this embodiment) of light transmission holes 60c bored in the front-rear direction at the left and right lower portions.

[0090] The light transmission holes 60c are formed at positions where light irradiated from the operation unit 300 side can pass through, and from the viewpoint of light emission effects, the production effect of the game board 13 is improved. This will be described in detail.

[0091] On the front side of the light passage holes 60c, flow surface forming members 91 and 92 formed from a light-transmissive resin material are disposed, and the outer portions 94 of the flow surface forming members 91 and 92 cover the light passage holes 60c, and the flow surface forming members 91 and 92 are fastened and fixed to the base plate 60.

[0092] Since the left and right lower flow surface constituting members 91 and 92 are configured in a substantially left-right symmetric shape except that a covering plate FB is disposed on the front side of the right lower flow surface constituting member 92, the left lower flow surface constituting member 91 will be described in detail, and the description of the right lower flow surface constituting member 92 will be omitted.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 5, the lower flow surface constituting member 91 is configured such that a plate-like portion disposed along the front surface of the base plate 60 is formed into a strip-shaped portion 93 having the same width as the inner rail 61 so as to partition the game area. The strip-shaped portion 93 includes an outer portion 94 which is an outer portion (outer portion in front view) of the game area partitioned by the strip-shaped portion 93, and an inner portion 95 which is an inner portion (inner portion in front view) of the game area partitioned by the strip-shaped portion 93.

[0094] As described above, since the outer portion 94 is outside the game area, it is configured as a portion that hardly affects the flow-down of the balls. Therefore, since there is no need to consider the influence on the balls associated with the displacement of the outer plate portion 94, the wall thickness of the outer portion 94 can be designed to be thin.

[0095] Also, as a result of designing the outer portion 94 to be thin, even if the wall thickness of the inner portion 95 becomes thin, the thick portion of the base plate 60 is disposed on the back side of the inner portion 95. Therefore, the displacement of the inner portion 95 in the front-rear direction (deformation in the thickness direction) can be suppressed by utilizing the rigidity of the base plate 60. Furthermore, by designing the wall thicknesses of the outer portion 94 and the inner portion 95 to be thin, the front-rear width of the game area can be sufficiently ensured.

[0096] In this way, without impairing the functions required for the inner portion 95, the wall thickness of the outer portion 94 can be designed to be thin. As a result, the light transmitted through the light transmission hole 60c irradiated from the operation unit 300 side can be easily visually recognized by the player through the outer portion 94.

[0097] In this embodiment, since the base plate 60 is formed of a wooden board member, it is difficult for the player to visually recognize the light irradiated from the back side through the thickness of the base plate 60. On the other hand, by forming the light transmission holes 60c (see FIG. 6) as in this embodiment and arranging the light emitting means on the back side thereof, it is possible to easily change the brightness visually recognized through the base plate 60 while configuring the base plate 60 with a wooden board member.

[0098] For example, when forming a decorative pattern that is visually recognized as being continuously connected in a front view between the outer portion 94 and other portions, by changing the light emission modes of the light emitting means 778 disposed on the back side of the outer portion 94 in a plurality of types and changing the brightness of the outer portion 94, even for the same decorative pattern, its appearance can be changed in a plurality of types.

[0099] Further, for example, a decorative member that changes a pattern visible depending on the light emission mode of the light emitting means 778 may be attached to the outer portion 94. In this case, the appearance (image) of the game board 13 can be greatly changed depending on the light emission mode of the light emitting means 778.

[0100] Note that the mode of the decorative member that changes the pattern visible depending on the light emission mode is not limited in any way. For example, a member designed to make different patterns visible depending on the angle of incidence of light, such as an illumination plate, may be used. Also, for example, a member designed to change the pattern visible by changing the emission color on the premise that the pattern is drawn in a plurality of colors and a plurality of colors of irradiated light are also prepared may be used.

[0101] As described above, the inner part 95 is disposed inside the game area. When the inner part 95 is displaced (deformed), there is a risk of affecting the balls flowing down in the game area. However, in this embodiment, since the meat part of the base plate 60 is arranged on the back side of the inner part 95 (since the light transmission holes 60c are configured to be within the outer part 94 side with respect to the belt-like part 93 when viewed from the front), the displacement (deformation) of the inner part 95 can be prevented by utilizing the rigidity of the base plate 60. Thereby, the flow-down of the balls can be stabilized.

[0102] A general winning opening 63 is disposed in the inner part 95. The general winning opening 63 is disposed in a through-hole formed in the base plate 60 by router processing, and is fixed by fixing the flow surface constituting member 91 from the front side of the game board 13 with tapping screws or the like.

[0103] The front central portion of the game board 13 can be visually recognized from the front side of the inner frame 12 through the window portion 14c (see FIG. 1) of the front frame 14. Hereinafter, the configuration of the game board 13 will be mainly described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0104] As described above, in the variable display device unit 80, a center frame 86 is disposed so as to surround the outer periphery of the third symbol display device 81, and window portion movable units 150 are disposed at the upper left and right corners of the center frame 86.

[0105] FIG. 7 is an exploded rear perspective view of the game board 13. In FIG. 7, the lower part of the game board 13 is not shown, and the auxiliary device 160 is shown in an exploded front perspective view.

[0106] The window portion movable unit 150 is configured to be rotatably displaceable, and includes a displacement member 151 that is configured to be visible to the player in the window portion inside the center frame 86, and an auxiliary device 160 that is disposed on the back side of the displacement member 151 and generates a driving force for driving the displacement member 151 or irradiates light toward the displacement member 151.

[0107] The displacement member 151 is formed in a bifurcated shape when viewed in the front-rear direction, and includes a bifurcated portion 152 pivotally supported at a base end portion formed in the vicinity of the bent portion, tip end portions 153 formed in a box shape (bag shape, cup shape) with the back side open and disposed at both tip ends of the bifurcated portion 152, and a protruding portion 154 protruding radially from the base end portion of the bifurcated portion 152.

[0108] The tip end portion 153 includes an effect portion 153a formed in a box shape (bag shape, cup shape) with the bottom side facing the front side and disposed so as to be visible to the player, and a ring-shaped portion fastened and fixed to the open portion side of the effect portion 153a, the ring-shaped portion 153b being shaped such that the side opposite to the effect portion 153a side is constricted as compared to the effect portion 153a side.

[0109] The effect portion 153a has a light diffusion shape (zigzag shape) formed on the inner surface, and can diffuse the light irradiated from the back side into the inside of the open portion. Therefore, even if the actually irradiated light is irradiated in a narrow range, the entire effect portion 153a can be visually recognized by the player viewing the effect portion 153a from the front side as if it is (dimly) glowing.

[0110] The protruding portion 154 has a displaceable range defined in both rotational directions by a pair of claw portions 86a protruding from the center frame 86 side. That is, the displacement member 151 is configured to be rotationally displaceable at an angle (an angle less than 360 degrees) defined by the relationship between the arrangement of the claw portions 86a and the protruding portion 154.

[0111] FIG. 8 is an exploded front perspective view of the auxiliary device 160, and FIG. 9 is an exploded rear perspective view of the auxiliary device 160. The auxiliary device 160 includes a contact member 161 disposed at a position where it can contact the displacement member 151 (see FIG. 7), a metal (brass in this embodiment) transmission shaft rod portion 162 having one end (front side end) non-rotatably connected to the contact member 161, a driven member 163 non-rotatably connected to the other end (rear side end) of the transmission shaft rod portion 162, known E-rings 164 fitted from the radial direction at both ends of the transmission shaft rod portion 162, a support case 170 configured to be able to pivotally support the transmission shaft rod portion 162 and having an overall case shape, and a decorative circuit board 180 disposed inside the support case 170.

[0112] The transmission shaft rod portion 162 is a columnar member with a true circular outer shape in the axial direction (front-rear direction) of the middle abdomen. At both side tips, it is planarly cut from a predetermined radial direction, so that both side tips have a substantially D-shaped cross section. These both side ends are fitted with the insertion hole 161b of the contact member 161 and the insertion hole 163b of the driven member 163, whereby the contact member 161, the transmission shaft rod portion 162, and the driven member 163 are non-rotatably (integrally) connected.

[0113] The contact member 161 is formed of a resin material and includes a base end portion 161a in which an insertion hole 161b, which is a through hole through which the transmission shaft rod portion 162 is inserted and has a D-shaped cross section, is formed, and an arm portion 161c extending outward from the base end portion 161a and having a substantially U-shaped configuration in a front view.

[0114] The driven member 163 is formed of a resin material and includes a base end portion 163a in which an insertion hole 163b, which is a through hole through which the transmission shaft rod portion 162 is inserted and has a D-shaped cross section, is formed, and an arm portion 163c extending straight outward from the base end portion 161a and having a substantially flat plate shape.

[0115] A metal plate member MB1 (magnetic body) is disposed on the upper surface of the driven member 163. In this embodiment, the metal plate member MB1 is fixed to the driven member 163 by engagement with the elastic claw 163d.

[0116] Specifically, rail portions for guiding the front and rear sliding of the metal plate member MB1 are disposed at both radial ends of the arm portion 163c. These rail portions are formed so as to be able to guide the metal plate member MB1 only from the front side (the front side is sufficiently open). When the metal plate member MB1 is slid along the rail portion, the elastic claw 163d is pushed down by the metal plate member MB1. If the metal plate member MB1 is slid as it is, the slide is restricted when the metal plate member MB1 hits the rear side wall of the rail portion, and the pushing down of the elastic claw 163d by the metal plate member MB1 is released at this position (it has risen to a position facing the side surface of the metal plate member MB1), and the elastic claw 163d engages to restrict the retreat of the metal plate member MB1 to the front side.

[0117] Note that the method of fixing the metal plate member MB1 to the driven member 163 is not limited to this. For example, the metal plate member MB1 may be fastened and fixed to the driven member 163, may be tied with a binding band, or may be attached with an adhesive tape or the like.

[0118] The support case 170 includes a rear member 170B, a middle member 170M disposed on the front side of the rear member 170B and having a support hole 174 through which the transmission shaft rod portion 162 is inserted, and a front member 170F disposed on the front side of the middle member 170M and having a decorative shape (wave pattern) formed on the front side. These plurality (three in this embodiment) of plate-like members are laminated front and rear and fastened and fixed.

[0119] The electric decorative substrate 180 is formed in a substantially L-shaped plate shape when viewed from the front in accordance with the shape of the front member 170F, and includes a light emitting means 181 composed of a plurality of LEDs or the like disposed at a position designed in consideration of the effect, a connector 182 disposed as a portion to which the electrical wiring is connected, and a plurality of through holes 183 formed in the electric decorative substrate 180 for assembly.

[0120] The light emitting means 181 includes a strong light emitting means 181a disposed inside the light transmission hole 177 in a front view, and a weak light emitting means 181b disposed outside the light transmission hole 177 (oppositely disposed to the plate back surface of the front member 170F).

[0121] The through hole 183 is formed in an oval shape that is long along the inclined direction. This makes it possible to easily assemble the through hole 183 to the protruding cylindrical portion 172 whose outer shape is formed in a perfect circular shape in a front view.

[0122] That is, while the posture of the electrical decoration substrate 180 is inclined (see FIG. 10), the protruding direction of the protruding cylindrical portion 172 is not inclined (it is in the front-rear direction). Therefore, compared with the case of assembling in the same direction, assembly defects (such as being unable to be assembled or becoming loose) are likely to occur. However, in this embodiment, since the through hole 183 is formed in an oval shape that is long along the direction in which the posture of the electrical decoration substrate 180 is inclined, a larger margin can be taken for the through hole 183 along the inclined direction, and the assembly of the through hole 183 to the protruding cylindrical portion 172 can be facilitated.

[0123] The electrical decoration substrate 180 is accommodated between the front member 170F and the middle member 170M. At this time, the electrical decoration substrate 180 is in a posture where the plate front faces obliquely downward (the normal line is inclined downward on the front side). This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 10.

[0124] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the window movable unit 150 taken along the line X-X in FIG. 2. For ease of understanding, the illustration of the rear member 170B is omitted, and the outer shape of the displacement member 151 is illustrated by an imaginary line. The line X-X is arranged to pass through the center of the upper protruding cylindrical portion 172. In the following description, FIGS. 8 and 9 will be referred to as appropriate.

[0125] The middle member 170M has different aspects in the wall-like portions on its front side, namely, an upper wall-like portion 170MU and a lower wall-like portion 170MD. That is, the upper wall-like portion 170MU is configured as a non-inclined (the normal line faces the horizontal direction) wall-like portion, and the lower wall-like portion 170MD is configured as an inclined (the normal line faces downward on the front side) wall-like portion.

[0126] The lighting substrate 180 is supported so that the back surface of the plate is along the lower wall portion 170MD with different normal lines, that is, in a posture where the normal line is inclined downward to the front side. That is, in the assembled state (see FIG. 2), the direction of the optical axis of the light irradiated from the light emitting means 181 of the lighting substrate 180 is inclined downward to the front side.

[0127]

[0126] The middle member 170M includes a protruding frame portion 171 protruding in a frame shape toward the front side, a plurality of protruding cylindrical portions 172 protruding in a small-diameter cylindrical shape toward the front side inside the protruding frame portion, and a wiring through-hole 173 drilled in the front-rear direction in a configuration surrounding the connector 182 at the left and right outer (left side) corners.

[0128] The protruding frame portion 171 abuts against the outer frame portion of the front member 170F in the front-rear direction to seal around the lighting substrate 180. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the lighting substrate 180 from being visually recognized from between the front member 170F and the middle member 170M, and it is possible to prevent light leakage from occurring from the same position.

[0129] The protruding cylindrical portion 172 includes a large-diameter seat portion and a small-diameter insertion portion protruding further from the seat portion. By assembling the insertion portion into the through-hole 183 of the lighting substrate 180, the back surface of the plate of the lighting substrate 180 is supported by the seat portion, and the arrangement of the lighting substrate 180 can be stabilized.

[0130]

[0127] Here, the seat portion of the protruding cylindrical portion 172 disposed on the upper wall portion 170MU is higher than the seat portion of the protruding cylindrical portion 172 disposed on the lower wall portion 170MD. Thereby, the lighting substrate 180 assembled in the above-described inclined posture can be stably supported, and a gap can be secured between the upper wall portion 170MU and the lighting substrate 180.

[0131] The protruding tip of the seating portion of the protruding cylindrical portion 172 is formed as an inclined surface (an inclined surface configured such that the protruding length becomes shorter as it goes downward) that conforms to the posture of the electrical decoration substrate 180. Thereby, not only can the protruding cylindrical portion 172 be given the function of stabilizing the arrangement of the electrical decoration substrate 180, but also the function of stabilizing the posture of the electrical decoration substrate 180 can be imparted.

[0132] The wiring through-hole 173 is a through-hole for passing an electrical wiring connected to the connector 182 of the electrical decoration substrate 180. Since the posture of the electrical decoration substrate 180 can be maintained by the load applied to the electrical decoration substrate 180 via this electrical wiring, the posture of the electrical decoration substrate 180 can be stably supported without fastening and fixing the electrical decoration substrate 180.

[0133] The front member 170F is formed of a colored (white in this embodiment) and light-transmissive resin material into a shape in which the back surface becomes a surface substantially parallel to the lower side wall portion 170MD, and includes a plurality of light-transmissive holes 177 formed in a circular shape in the front-rear direction, a plurality of protruding cylindrical portions 178 protruding in a thin-diameter cylindrical shape toward the back side, and an L-shaped support portion 179 having an L-shape when viewed in the left-right direction that connects between the plate back surface and the frame portion forming the outer periphery.

[0134] The light-transmissive holes 177 are formed so as to surround any one of the LEDs constituting the light-emitting means 181 when viewed from the front. Thereby, the mode visually recognized from the front side of the front member 170F changes between the light-emitting means 181 disposed on the back side of the light-transmissive holes 177 and the other light-emitting means 181. That is, it is possible to make it visually recognized that the inside of the light-transmissive holes 177 emits stronger light compared to other portions.

[0135] The plurality of protruding cylindrical portions 178 are formed with substantially the same protruding length. Thereby, while making the distance between the main body plate portion of the front member 170F and the electrical decoration substrate 180 uniform over the entire arrangement range of the electrical decoration substrate 180, the inclined electrical decoration substrate 180 can be surface-supported at a plurality of positions, so that the degree of freedom in arranging the light-emitting means 181 is maintained and unevenness in the light-emitting mode is suppressed, and the stability of supporting the electrical decoration substrate 180 can be improved.

[0136] That is, since the front surface of the lighting decoration substrate 180 is in an inclined posture with the front side facing downward, it is preferable to support it from the front side to maintain this posture. However, if a large-area support portion is provided at one location to support the lighting decoration substrate 180, the available area for arranging the light-emitting means 181 disposed on the front side of the lighting decoration substrate 180 tends to be restricted. If the area of the support portion is reduced with priority given to the available area for arranging the light-emitting means 181, the posture of the lighting decoration substrate 180 may collapse, and the distance between the main body plate portion of the front member 170F and the lighting decoration substrate 180 may vary within the arrangement range of the lighting decoration substrate 180, and unevenness in the light-emitting mode may easily occur.

[0137] In contrast, in the present embodiment, a plurality of protruding cylindrical portions 178 with a small diameter are provided at the same protruding height, and they are configured to support the front surface of the lighting decoration substrate 180 at multiple points simultaneously. Therefore, a plurality of protruding cylindrical portions 178 for supporting the lighting decoration substrate 180 can be arranged at a plurality of small gap positions generated between adjacent light-emitting means 181. Thereby, while maintaining the degree of freedom in arranging the light-emitting means 181 and suppressing unevenness in the light-emitting mode, the stability of supporting the lighting decoration substrate 180 can be improved.

[0138] The L-shaped support portion 179 is disposed to face the upper surface and the front surface of the lighting decoration substrate 180 in the assembled state and functions to suppress displacement of the lighting decoration substrate 180. That is, the lower portion of the L-shaped support portion 179 disposed to face the front surface of the lighting decoration substrate 180 supports and prevents the lighting decoration substrate 180 from falling forward due to its own weight.

[0139] In addition, the rear portion of the L-shaped support portion 179 disposed to face the upper surface of the lighting decoration substrate 180 and the lighting decoration substrate 180 are usually arranged with a gap therebetween, so that while loosely supporting the lighting decoration substrate 180, displacement of the lighting decoration substrate 180 in the vertical direction can be suppressed to a minimum.

[0140] Note that a support portion having the same shape as the L-shaped support portion 179 is also formed on the front side of the lower side wall portion 170MD of the middle member 170M (formed at two positions on the left and right), and is disposed opposite to the lower surface and the back surface of the electrical decoration substrate 180, and functions to suppress the displacement of the electrical decoration substrate 180. That is, in the present embodiment, the L-shaped support portions disposed above and below the electrical decoration substrate 180 are configured to be able to suppress the displacement of the electrical decoration substrate 180 in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction.

[0141] In this way, in the present embodiment, the electrical decoration substrate 180 is not directly fastened and fixed, but is stably supported by being sandwiched and supported from the front and rear by the front member 170F and the middle member 170M. This is a measure taken in consideration, for example, that if the middle member 170M and the electrical decoration substrate 180 are fastened and fixed to form a single rigid body, the electrical decoration substrate 180 may vibrate under the influence of the vibration generated in the middle member 170M.

[0142] That is, according to the present embodiment, since the electrical decoration substrate 180 is not fastened and fixed to either the middle member 170M or the front member 170F, even when vibrations occur in the middle member 170M or the front member 170F, it is possible to easily maintain the arrangement of the electrical decoration substrate 180 independently thereof.

[0143] Here, it is considered that the cause of the vibration of the middle member 170M is likely to be the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1 disposed on the back side of the middle member 170M. In the present embodiment, the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1 is disposed on the opposite side (back side) of the electrical decoration substrate 180 with the gap generated on the front side of the upper side wall portion 170MU interposed therebetween.

[0144] With this configuration, the vibration of the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1 is transmitted to the electrical decoration substrate 180 through the protruding cylindrical portion 172 having a small diameter. Therefore, the vibration of the vibration solenoid SOL1 can be alleviated by the deformation of the protruding cylindrical portion 172, and the transmission of the vibration to the electrical decoration substrate 180 can be suppressed. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the direct transmission of the vibration from the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1 as the vibration source to the electrical decoration substrate 180.

[0145] The middle member 170M is configured with a support hole 174 that is bored in the front-rear direction with a diameter slightly longer than that of the transmission shaft rod portion 162 and can rotatably support the transmission shaft rod portion 162, a lower restricting portion 175 disposed below the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1, and an upper restricting portion 176 disposed on the opposite side of the support hole 174 with respect to the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1.

[0146] The driven member 163 is normally tilted by its own weight (see Fig. 11(a)). However, when electricity is supplied to the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1, a magnetic force (electromagnetic force) is generated, and due to this magnetic force (electromagnetic force), the metal plate member MB1 is attracted and undergoes an upward displacement. That is, in this embodiment, as the metal plate member MB1 is lifted by the electromagnetic force and displaced between the upward position where it is disposed as a result and the downward position where it descends by its own weight after the electromagnetic force disappears, the contact member 161 and the driven member 163 rotate and displace. Hereinafter, with reference to Figs. 11 and 12, the rotational displacement will be described.

[0147] Fig. 11(a) is a rear view of the window movable unit 150, and Fig. 11(b) is a front view of the window movable unit 150. Also, Fig. 12(a) is a rear view of the window movable unit 150, and Fig. 12(b) is a front view of the window movable unit 150.

[0148] Note that in Figs. 11(a) and 11(b), a state where electricity is not supplied to the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1 and the driven member 163 is tilted by its own weight (state of the downward position) is shown, and in Figs. 12(a) and 12(b), a state where the metal plate member MB1 and the driven member 163 are lifted by the electromagnetic force generated when electricity is supplied to the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1 (state of the upward position) is shown.

[0149] Also, in Figs. 11(a) and 12(a), for ease of understanding, the illustration of the rear member 170B is omitted, and in Figs. 11(b) and 12(b), the outer shape of the displacement member 151 and the shape of the open portion on the back side are shown by imaginary lines.

[0150] As shown in FIGS. 11(a) and 12(a), the driven member 163 abuts against the cushion portion 175a attached to the upper surface of the lower restricting portion 175 in the lowered position to restrict the downward displacement, and abuts against the cushion portion 176a attached to the lower surface of the upper restricting portion 176 in the raised position to restrict the upward displacement.

[0151] Note that the materials of the cushion portions 175a and 176a are not limited in any way. For example, general-purpose plastics such as polypropylene and polystyrene may be used, engineering plastics such as polycarbonate may be used, thermosetting resins such as melamine resin, polyurethane, and epoxy resin may be used, or rubber-like materials may be used. Also, the materials of the cushion portions 175a and 176a may be the same or different.

[0152] Here, the lower restricting portion 175 and the upper restricting portion 176 are configured such that the arrangements (distances from the transmission shaft rod portion 162) with respect to the transmission shaft rod portion 162 are different, and the effects resulting therefrom will be described.

[0153] First, since the load applied to the lower restricting portion 175 via the driven member 163 is mainly the load caused by the self-weight of the driven member 163, the driven member 163 can be stably supported by supporting the center of gravity of the driven member 163. For this reason, the lower restricting portion 175 is disposed at the center of gravity position (substantially the central position of the arm length) of the driven member 163.

[0154] On the other hand, since the load applied to the upper restricting portion 176 via the driven member 163 is mainly the load due to the magnetic force (electromagnetic force) generated by the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1, there are few advantages in relating the arrangement of the upper restricting member 176 to the center of gravity position of the driven member 163. In the present embodiment, the upper restricting member 176 is disposed to face the rotational tip of the driven member 163, thereby reducing the load transmitted to the upper restricting member 176 via the driven member 163.

[0155] That is, when the moment of the same magnitude of force is generated, the load transmitted through the driven member 163 is smaller at a position farther from the rotation axis of the driven member 163 (a position where the arm related to the moment is longer). Therefore, the load transmitted to the upper regulating member 176 can be reduced.

[0156] Thus, since it is desirable that the load transmission to the upper regulating member 176 occurs at the rotation tip of the driven member 163, in this embodiment, the width dimension (radial width) of the cushion portion 176a is shortened (shorter than the width dimension of the cushion portion 175a). Thereby, it is possible to avoid load transmission at the intermediate portion of the driven member 163 and stably cause load transmission at the rotation tip.

[0157] Also, since the magnetic force (electromagnetic force) by the electromagnetic solenoid SOL1 continues to be generated at the raised position, it is unlikely that the driven member 163 rebounds after colliding with the cushion portion 176a.

[0158] On the other hand, by making the width dimension (radial width) of the cushion portion 175a of the lower regulating portion 175 longer (longer than the width dimension of the cushion portion 176a), the area of the surface receiving the load can be widened, and the pressure (stress) generated in the cushion portion 175a due to the load by the weight of the driven member 163 can be reduced. Thereby, the rebound (bounce) of the driven member 163 after colliding with the cushion portion 175a can be suppressed.

[0159] Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress the rebound of the driven member 163 while reducing the load transmitted to the cushion portions 175a and 176a through the driven member 163 during displacement in both the upward and downward directions.

[0160] Below the upper regulating portion 176, a protruding portion 176b protruding in a curved shape is formed on the back side of the middle member 170M. The protruding portion 176b is disposed opposite to the rotation tip of the driven member 163 and guides the rotation of the driven member 163 while suppressing contact with the driven member 163 to a small area when the driven member 163 is displaced to the front side.

[0161] As shown in FIGS. 11(b) and 12(b), the tip 153 of the displacement member 151 is disposed on the front side of the strong light-emitting means 181a disposed inside the light transmission hole 177 in a front view. Therefore, the light emitted from the strong light-emitting means 181a is visually recognized by the player through the tip 153.

[0162] As described above, due to the internal shape of the effect part 153a, the entire effect part 153a can be visually recognized as (faintly) glowing to the player who visually recognizes the effect part 153a from the front side. Therefore, even in a situation where the displacement member 151 is displaced while the actual arrangement of the strong light-emitting means 181a does not change, a change in the light emission mode of the effect part 153a can be suppressed.

[0163] In other words, since the light visually recognized through the effect part 153a can be visually recognized by the player as being displaced in synchronization with the displacement of the effect part 153a, it is as if a light-emitting means such as an LED is disposed inside the effect part 153a, and an illusion can be created as if it is displaced in synchronization with the displacement of the effect part 153a.

[0164] On the other hand, since the weak light-emitting means 181b can be made to appear to emit light at a fixed position, while adopting the illumination board 180 with a fixed arrangement, the weak light-emitting means 181b disposed on the illumination board 180 can be visually recognized as emitting light at a fixed position, and similarly, the strong light-emitting means 181a disposed on the illumination board 180 can be visually recognized as emitting light while being displaced.

[0165] Thereby, a light emission effect that is likely to be realized by adopting a plurality of illumination boards, with the first board being fixedly arranged and the second board being configured to be displaceable, can be realized by using a single illumination board with a fixed arrangement. As a result, the number of illumination boards can be reduced while achieving a similar effect.

[0166] Returning to FIG. 5 for explanation. The operation unit 300 is disposed on the back side of the game board 13, and various light-emitting means and various operation units are disposed inside.

[0167] FIG. 13 is an exploded front perspective view of the operation unit 300. The operation unit 300 includes a back case 310 formed in a box shape with an open front side, which includes a bottom wall portion 311 and an outer wall portion 312 erected from the outer edge of the bottom wall portion 311.

[0168] The back case 310 is formed in a rectangular frame shape when viewed from the front by forming a rectangular opening 311a in the center of the bottom wall portion 311. The opening 311a is formed to have a size corresponding to the outer shape (outer edge) of the display area of the third symbol display device 81 (that is, a size capable of partitioning the display area of the third symbol display device 81 when viewed from the front).

[0169] In the operation unit 300, a first operation unit 400 in which a movable device is disposed displaceably in a path including the upper side of the opening 311a, left and right effect units 600 disposed on both the left and right sides of the opening 311a for performing light emission effects and the like, and a second operation unit 700 disposed below the opening 311a are respectively accommodated, and these are configured as one unit.

[0170] Specifically, the first operation unit 400 is disposed on the bottom wall portion 311 of the back case 310 at a position above the opening 311a, and the second operation unit 700 is disposed on the bottom wall portion 311 of the back case 310 at a position below the opening 311a. In FIG. 5, a state in which the first operation unit 400 and the second operation unit 700 are mounted on the back case 310 is illustrated.

[0171] The back case 310 extends as a flat plate along the back surface of the game board 13 (for example, arranged in parallel) at the front end of the outer wall portion 312, and includes a support plate portion 313 that supports the game board 13 in a surface contact manner in the assembled state (see FIG. 2).

[0172] The support plate portion 313 includes a positioning convex portion 313a protruding toward the front side in a shape that can be fitted with a fitting concave portion 60b formed in the base plate 60 of the game board 13, and a plurality of insertion holes 313b through which fastening screws fastened to the base plate 60 can be inserted.

[0173] By fitting the positioning convex portion 313a into the fitting concave portion 60b (see FIG. 6), the back case 310 is positioned with respect to the base plate 60, and the fastening screw is inserted through the insertion hole 313b and screwed into the base plate 60, so that the game board 13 and the operation unit 300 can be integrally fixed. Therefore, the rigidity of the entire game board 13 and operation unit 300 can be improved.

[0174] Note that the shape of the positioning convex portion 313a is not limited at all, and various modes are exemplified. For example, a convex portion having an outer shape slightly smaller than the inner shape of the fitting concave portion 60b (circular or oval in this embodiment) may be used, or a protrusion having a shape (even smaller outer shape) that increases the fitting gap may be used in consideration of the workability during assembly. Further, when the inner shape of the fitting concave portion 60b is formed in a rectangular shape, it is naturally assumed that the shape of the positioning convex portion 313a also corresponds to a rectangular shape.

[0175] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 13, in this embodiment, a large number of support plate portions 313 are densely arranged on the left side and the upper side of the back case 310, and the formation of the support plate portions 313 is reduced on the right side and the lower side. This is the result of designing in consideration of the balance between improving the rigidity of the entire game board 13 and operation unit 300 and space efficiency.

[0176] That is, when the base plate 60 of the game board 13 is formed of a plywood in which veneer plates are stacked as in this embodiment, the movable members disposed on the back side of the game board 13 become invisible through the thickness portion of the base plate 60. Therefore, the entire back side of the area where an opening can be formed (concavely formed from the side surface) in the base plate 60 of the game board 13 serves as an area for disposing the movable members so that they can be visually recognized.

[0177] On the other hand, in the location where the support plate portion 313 is formed, since the internal space of the back case 310 is eroded inward by the area of the support plate portion 313 in the front view, the area where the movable member can be disposed is narrowed accordingly. Therefore, if the strength problem can be solved and maintained even when the support plate portion 313 is omitted, it means that the limitation of the arrangement range of the movable member can be avoided by omitting the support plate portion 313.

[0178] In this embodiment, a large number of support plate portions 313 are arranged on the left side and the upper side of the back case 310, which is related to the range of the area where the player can visually recognize the balls launched into the game area or the like. That is, the support plate portion 313 is formed at locations outside the range where the launched balls can be visually recognized.

[0179] More specifically, in this embodiment, the balls launched from the ball launching unit 112a (FIG. 4) pass between the inner rail 61 and the outer rail 62, pass through the return ball prevention member 68, and are introduced into the game area, and thereafter are configured to flow down in the game area. In the pinball game, the most attention-grabbing part is the place where the balls pass, and usually, the attention to other outer areas (for example, the area on the opposite side of the third symbol display device 81 across the outer rail 62 and the inner rail 61) is low.

[0180] Therefore, it is considered that the player's attention to the lower left and upper left with reference to the left convex arc formed by the outer rail 62 and the upper left and upper right with reference to the upper convex arc, which are the ranges where the balls cannot reach, is low.

[0181] In addition, in the present embodiment, the above-described outer edge member 73 and the block-shaped member 74 disposed on the front side of the game board 13, the surfaces of which along the outer rail 62 at the lower left and upper left portions of the outer rail 62 are formed in a shape along the outer rail 62, are made of a light-impermeable resin material. In addition to the fact that the game board 13 is originally composed of a veneer board that is difficult to transmit light, it is configured such that the back side of the game board 13 cannot be visually recognized from the front side of the game board 13 through the outer edge member 73 or the block-shaped member 74.

[0182] In the present embodiment, the support plate portion 313 is preferentially disposed at locations where these attention-grabbing abilities are low or where visual recognition is impossible. In fact, also in the left side portion and the upper side portion where many support plate portions 313 are formed, the support plate portion 313 is formed near the corner portion of the back case 310, avoiding the central portion as the overhanging end portion of the outer rail 62.

[0183] In other words, by selecting the locations where space is eroded by forming the support plate portion 313 from locations with low visibility (low production ability) in the first place, it is possible to ensure the rigidity of the operation unit 300 and the entire game board 13 while achieving the effect of ensuring a high degree of design freedom for the area that enters the field of vision of the player who pays attention to the ball.

[0184] From this perspective, since there is a common configuration in pachinko machines of rolling the ball launched by the ball launching unit 112a along the outer rail 62 and introducing it into the game area, it is possible to easily dispose the ranges where the ball does not flow down at the lower left, upper left, and upper right portions.

[0185] The substantially lower half of the right outer wall portion 312 is provided with a notch portion 312a that is notched (formed with a notch) toward the back side. This notch portion 312a is notched below the strip portion 93 (see FIG. 5) of the game board 13 in a front view, and forms a gap with the game board 13 in the assembled state (see FIG. 2).

[0186] By forming the notch portion 312a in this way, the following effects can be achieved. For example, the gap formed by the notch portion 312a can function as a wiring passage through which the electrical wiring connected to the variable prize device 65 passes outside the rear case 310. Thereby, the possibility that the electrical wiring interferes with other components can be reduced as compared with the case where the wiring is routed up and down.

[0187] Also, the gap formed by the notch portion 312a can be used as an arrangement space for the configuration required for the variable prize device 65. Examples of the configuration required for the variable prize device 65 include a solenoid that generates a driving force, a flow path through which balls flow, a substrate associated with a light emission effect, a detection sensor that detects balls, and other structures.

[0188] Also, by arranging a light emitting means such as an LED near the notch portion 312a, the light emitted from the light emitting means can be easily visually recognized by the player as a light with a blurred outline. In other words, compared to the case where the entire circumference of the rear case 310 is connected to the game board 13 (when the boundary of the light irradiated from the back side of the game board 13 is formed along the shape of the rear case 310), the boundary of the light visually recognized through the game board 13 can be made ambiguous. Thereby, it is possible to avoid the boundary of the light visually recognized through the game board 13 depending on the shape of the rear case 310, and the degree of freedom of the light emission effect can be improved.

[0189] Furthermore, compared to the case where the electrical wiring connected to the light emitting means such as an LED is arranged to extend outside the operation unit 300 along the back surface of the game board 13, in the configuration of this embodiment where the electrical wiring extends outside the operation unit 300 through the notch portion 312a, the possibility that the electrical wiring blocks the light emitted from the LED can be reduced.

[0190] That is, by configuring so that the electrical wiring can be led out to the outside of the operation unit 300 without going around to the front side of the LED, the possibility that the electrical wiring blocks the light emitted from the LED can be eliminated. Therefore, the degree of freedom in designing the effect by the light emitted from the light emitting means such as the LED can be improved.

[0191] Note that the formed length (vertical length) of the notch portion 312a is not limited at all. For example, the notch portion 312a may be formed over the entire area (vertical width) between the upper and lower support plate portions 313.

[0192] As described above, in the present embodiment, since the fastening and fixing to the game board 13 are omitted on the right side portion of the back case 310, it is not possible to rely on the rigidity of the operation unit 300 when considering the rigidity on the right side portion of the game board 13.

[0193] As a countermeasure against this, in the present embodiment, a metal plate-like member 75 is disposed on the outer edge portion 73 at a position corresponding to the right end portion of the game board 13. Hereinafter, the metal plate-like member 75 will be described.

[0194] FIG. 14 is an exploded front perspective view of the game board 13, the outer edge member 73, and the metal plate-like member 75, and FIG. 15 is an exploded rear perspective view of the game board 13, the outer edge member 73, and the metal plate-like member 75. In FIGS. 14 and 15, for easy understanding, the game board 13 is shown alone, and the illustration of other members disposed on the game board 13 is omitted.

[0195] The outer edge member 73 is formed of a resin material, and includes an arc wall portion 73a that forms the upper side portion and has an inner surface with an arc shape, a vertical wall portion 73b that extends downward in a thin wall shape from the lower end portion of the arc wall portion 73a, and an inclined wall portion 73c that is formed with an upper surface that descends and inclines leftward from the lower end portion of the vertical wall portion 73b. By configuring the outer edge member 73 with a single member that covers substantially the entire vertical area in this way, the number of steps for assembling the outer edge member 73 to the game board 13 can be reduced as compared with the case where the outer edge member 73 is formed of a plurality of members divided vertically.

[0196] The vertical wall portion 73b includes a plurality of plate-shaped protruding portions 73b1 protruding plate-shaped toward the back side along the right side surface, a plurality of bent portions 73b2 formed by bending in a U shape in the vertical direction view from the front edge portion of the right side surface, a cylindrical protruding portion 73b3 protruding in a cylindrical shape toward the back side at the joint portion between the arc wall portion 73a and the inclined wall portion 73c, and a fastening portion 73b4 provided in parallel with the cylindrical protruding portion 73b3 and formed so that a fastening screw can be screwed therein.

[0197] The bent portion 73b2 is disposed at an intermediate position of the arrangement interval of the plate-shaped protruding portions 73b1. Thereby, in relation to the metal plate-shaped member 75 described later, while suppressing the number of formed joint through-holes 75c formed in the metal plate-shaped member 75, the holding force of the metal plate-shaped member 75 with respect to the vertical wall portion 73b can be improved.

[0198] In other words, compared with the case where only the three plate-shaped protruding portions 73b1 resist the bending of the metal plate-shaped member 75, the plate-shaped protruding portion 73b1 and the bent portion 73b2 can generate a resistance force against the bending of the metal plate-shaped member 75, so that the load generated at one location can be reduced. In addition, since the plate-shaped protruding portions 73b1 and the bent portions 73b2 are arranged at equal intervals, the load generated when the metal plate-shaped member 75 bends can be evenly distributed, so that an excessive load can be prevented from occurring at any one location.

[0199] The metal plate-shaped member 75 includes a main body plate portion 75a formed without a fold in the longitudinal direction while the short side direction is folded back a plurality of times, a bent portion 75b bent leftward at the back edge of the main body plate portion 75a, a plurality of joint through-holes 75c formed to penetrate in the front-rear direction at the joint portion between the main body plate portion 75a and the bent portion 75b, through-holes 75d formed to penetrate in the front-rear direction at the upper and lower ends of the bent portion 75b, and insertion holes 75e formed in a plate portion provided in parallel with the plate portion where the through-holes 75d are formed and stepped on the front side so that a fastening screw can be inserted therethrough.

[0200] In addition to the way the folds are formed in the main body plate portion 75a, the bent portion 75b of the metal plate-like member 75 is formed extending in the vertical direction, thereby generating a particularly strong resistance to bending in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, by disposing it integrally with the vertical wall portion 73b that is easily bent in the longitudinal direction, the vertical wall portion 73b can be efficiently reinforced.

[0201] The joint penetration portion 75c is formed to have a size that allows the plate-shaped protruding portion 73b1 of the vertical wall portion 73b to be inserted therethrough. In the present embodiment, by inserting the plate-shaped protruding portion 73b1 into the joint penetration portion 75c, the vertical wall portion 73b and the metal plate-like member 75 are formed so as to be integratable.

[0202] When the metal plate-like member 75 is assembled to be integrated with the vertical wall portion 73b, the front side edge of the main body plate portion 75a is sandwiched between the bent portion 73b2 and the outer surface of the vertical wall portion 73b, and the cylindrical protruding portion 73b3 is inserted into the through hole 75d. In this way, the metal plate-like member 75 and the vertical wall portion 73b are positioned relative to each other at a plurality of locations in the vertical direction. In this state, by screwing the fastening screw inserted through the insertion hole 75e into the fastening portion 73b4, the outer edge member 73 and the metal plate-like member 75 can be fastened and fixed.

[0203] From the above configuration, since the metal plate-like member 75 is disposed over the upper and lower portions of the vertical wall portion 73b, the entire vertical wall portion 73b can be reinforced. Here, the plate-shaped protruding portion 73b1 and the cylindrical protruding portion 73b3 of the vertical wall portion 73b penetrate through the metal plate-like member 75 and extend to the back side, and the tip portions thereof engage with the game board 13. Hereinafter, the engagement between the metal plate-like member 75 and the game board 13 will be described.

[0204] The game board 13 includes a plurality of recessed portions 13e recessed on the right side edge of the front surface so as to be able to receive the plate-shaped protruding portion 73b1, and a plurality of positioning holes 13f recessed as depressions capable of receiving the cylindrical protruding portion 73b3 above and below the recessed portions 13e.

[0205] When the outer edge member 73 and the metal plate-like member 75 are assembled to the game board 13 in an integrated state, the plate-like protruding portion 73b1 is received and positioned in the recessed portion 13e, and the circular protruding portion 73b3 is received and positioned in the positioning hole 13f. That is, the plate-like protruding portion 73b1 and the circular protruding portion 73b3 are used not only for positioning with the metal plate-like member 75 but also for positioning with the game board 13. Thereby, the number of positionings can be reduced.

[0206] In the present embodiment, as described above, since the metal plate-like member 75 is assembled so as to suppress the bending of the vertical wall portion 73b, it is not necessary to impart sufficient rigidity to the vertical wall portion 73b alone, and the vertical wall portion 73b can be formed thin enough to be easily bent in the left-right direction alone.

[0207] Furthermore, since the deformation of the game board 13 can be suppressed (the rigidity can be improved) by the rigidity of the metal plate member 75, even if a gap is generated between the game board 13 and the rear case 310, the shape of the game board 13 can be maintained.

[0208] Returning to FIGS. 5 and 13 for explanation. A first operation unit 400 is disposed above the third symbol display device 81 of the operation unit 300. The first operation unit 400 includes a light emission effect device LA1 that can be displaced from the state shown in FIGS. 5 and 13 to a position on the front side of the third symbol display device 81, and is controlled to be displaced in synchronization with the display of the third symbol display device 81, or is controlled to be displaced in synchronization with the operation of the frame button 22 that can be operated by the player. It is a device that visually entertains the player. Hereinafter, the details of the first operation unit 400 will be described.

[0209] FIGS. 16 and 17 are partial front views of the operation unit 300. In FIG. 16, a retracted state in which each component member of the first operation unit 400 retracts above the third symbol display device 81 is shown, and in FIG. 17, an overhanging state (descending) in which each component member of the first operation unit 400 protrudes toward the third symbol display device 81 side from the retracted state is shown.

[0210] As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the internal shape of the rear case 310 is not made symmetric left and right. In particular, regarding the upper wall (ceiling surface), due to the relationship with the shape of the tank 130 of the payout unit 93 (see FIG. 3), the right side in the front view is lower than the left side in the front view. That is, where the tank 130 is disposed on the upper right side of the operation unit 300, in order to secure the disposition area, the upper wall of the rear case 310 is disposed at a position where the right side is lower than the left side (disposed along the wall schematic line UL).

[0211] Thus, inside the rear case 310, it is easier to secure a larger area on the left side compared to the right side (there is a margin in the ceiling height). Therefore, in this embodiment, auxiliary devices such as the drive motor MT1 and the coil spring SP1 that do not directly affect the appearance of the effects (not intended to be visually recognized by the player) are disposed on the left side.

[0212] Thereby, the drive motor MT1 and the coil spring SP1 can be disposed by effectively using the depression (gap portion) caused by the left - right asymmetric shape of the upper wall of the rear case 310, and while making the lower edge of the first operation unit 400 have a symmetric shape left and right, it can be moved as far upward as possible. Therefore, it is easier to ensure a large vertical dimension for the visual recognition area of the display of the third symbol display device 81.

[0213] Also, in this embodiment, in accordance with the left - right asymmetric shape of the upper wall of the rear case 310, among the shapes of the plume members 460 of the first operation unit 400 (see FIG. 16), the shape of the side facing the upper wall of the rear case 310 in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 is designed. That is, the left plume member 460 is designed to protrude more toward the upper wall side of the rear case 310 compared to the right plume member 460.

[0214] Note that the plume members 460 are configured to merge and be visually recognized as a single entity when the state changes from the retracted state to the protruding state of the first operation unit 400, and are designed to have a symmetric shape left and right in this state. Therefore, it is difficult for the player to notice that the left and right plume members 460 are configured with an asymmetric shape.

[0215] In this embodiment, in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, since the asymmetric shape portion (upper side that abuts when combined) of the feather member 460 is hidden by the game board 13 (see FIG. 2), it is difficult for the player to notice that the left and right feather members 460 are configured in an asymmetric shape.

[0216] FIGS. 18 and 19 are front perspective views of the first operation unit 400, and FIGS. 20 and 21 are rear perspective views of the first operation unit 400. In FIGS. 18 and 20, the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 is illustrated, and in FIGS. 19 and 21, the extended state of the first operation unit 400 is illustrated.

[0217] When the drive motor MT1 of the first operation unit 400 is rotationally driven, the arm member 414 rotates and moves via a plurality of intervening gears, and the lift plate 430 moves up and down in synchronization with the rotational movement.

[0218] The lift plate 430 is supported by a metal rail 405 made of metal that is disposed at a substantially central position in the left-right direction and is configured to be telescopically extendable in the vertical direction, and an auxiliary arm member 444 that is disposed on the left and right opposite sides of the arm member 414.

[0219] A relative displacement member 442 that is displaced in the vertical direction in synchronization with the change in the posture of the auxiliary arm member 444 is disposed on the lift plate 430, and a plurality of feather members 460 that rotate and displace symmetrically left and right are displaced in synchronization with the displacement of the relative displacement member 442.

[0220] Therefore, the constituent members of the first operation unit 400 are displaced between the retracted state and the extended state in a displacement mode in which lifting and rotation are combined in accordance with the drive of the drive motor MT1. As a result, although only a single drive motor MT1 is used, the constituent members can be displaced in a plurality of directions, so that the production effect can be improved.

[0221] As shown in FIG. 20, in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, the upper end position of the arc-shaped gear portion 444b of the auxiliary arm member 444 is configured to protrude upward from the upper edge of the lifting plate 430. In the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, the upper edge of the lifting plate 430 is shielded by the base plate 60 of the game board 13 (see FIG. 2) and is difficult to be visually recognized. Therefore, it is possible to make it difficult for the player to notice that the arc-shaped gear portion 444b protrudes from the upper edge of the lifting plate 430.

[0222] On the other hand, since the auxiliary arm member 444 rotates in conjunction with the downward displacement of the lifting plate 430 from the retracted state to the extended state of the first operation unit 400, the arc-shaped gear portion 444b that protruded upward from the upper edge of the lifting plate 430 in the retracted state (see FIG. 27) is displaced downward as the lifting plate 430 is displaced downward and is hidden below the upper edge of the lifting plate 430 (see FIG. 28).

[0223] In this way, by allowing the arc-shaped gear portion 444b of the auxiliary arm member 444 to protrude (overhang) from the lifting plate 430 at a location shielded by the base plate 60 in terms of arrangement and displacing the auxiliary arm member 444 so as to hide the overhanging portion on the back side of the lifting plate 430 before the lifting plate 430 is displaced to a position where it is not shielded by the base plate 60, the design freedom of the auxiliary arm member 444 and the lifting plate 430 can be improved as compared with the case where the auxiliary arm member 444 is always configured to be hidden on the back side of the lifting plate 430.

[0224] For example, since the upper edge of the lifting plate 430 can be arranged lower, it is easier to avoid interference between the upper edge of the lifting plate 430 and the outer wall portion 312 of the upper part of the back case 310 (see FIG. 16).

[0225] Also, by adopting a configuration in which the auxiliary arm member 444 is rotationally displaced, it is possible to sufficiently secure the overhanging length of the lifting plate 430 toward the third symbol display device 81 while avoiding a situation where a rack gear-shaped portion (a portion having gear teeth formed along a straight line) protrudes toward the third symbol display device 81 side.

[0226] That is, even if a fixed rack gear-shaped portion is formed on the lifting plate 430 side of the main body plate portion 401 and configured to mesh with the rotating gear 441, the relative displacement member 442 can be vertically displaced with respect to the lifting plate 430 as the lifting plate 430 is vertically displaced. However, in this case, it is necessary to always dispose the fixed rack gear-shaped portion along the position where the lifting plate 430 is disposed. Therefore, if the configuration in which most of the lifting plate 430 protrudes downward from the lower edge of the main body plate portion 401 as in the lifting plate 430 of the present embodiment is diverted, it is necessary to form the fixed rack gear-shaped portion so as to protrude from the lower edge of the main body plate portion 401 toward the third symbol display device 81 side.

[0227] Therefore, there is a possibility that problems such as a deterioration in the visibility of the third symbol display device 81 due to the third symbol display device 81 being shielded by the fixed rack gear-shaped portion, or a reduction in the design freedom of the lifting plate 430 for the purpose of hiding the rack gear-shaped portion with the lifting plate 430 in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 may occur.

[0228] On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, since a variable auxiliary arm member 444 is employed instead of the fixed rack gear-shaped portion, the auxiliary arm member 444 can be disposed on the back side (so as to hide it) in accordance with the displacement of the lifting plate 430. Therefore, it is possible to sufficiently secure the overhanging length (displacement amount) of the lifting plate 430 toward the third symbol display device 81 side while avoiding a situation where the rack gear-shaped portion remains protruding toward the third symbol display device 81 side.

[0229] FIGS. 22(a) and 23 are exploded front perspective views of the first operation unit 400, FIG. 22(b) is a front perspective view of the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 showing the meshing state of the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470, and FIGS. 24 and 25 are exploded rear perspective views of the first operation unit 400.

[0230] As shown in FIGS. 22(a), 23, 24, and 25, the first operation unit 400 is formed of a resin material into a plate shape that is long in the left-right direction, and includes a main body plate portion 401 that is fastened and fixed to the bottom wall portion 311 of the back case 310 (see FIG. 16), a transmission unit 410 that is composed of a plurality of members rotatably supported by the main body plate portion 401, a connection plate portion 421 that is connected to the tip of the arm member 414 of the transmission unit 410, and a back arrangement plate 420 that is composed of a plurality of plate-shaped portions arranged on the same plane, a lifting plate 430 that is arranged on the front side of the back arrangement plate 420 and to which the back arrangement plate 420 is fastened and fixed, and a synchronous operation unit 440 that is supported between the lifting plate 430 and the accommodation plate portion 425 of the back arrangement plate 420 (see FIGS. 23 and 25).

[0231] In addition, the first operation unit 400 includes a plate-shaped support plate portion 450 that is fastened and fixed to the lifting plate 430, a pair of left and right feather-shaped members 460 that are rotatably supported by the support plate portion 450 and rotate and displace due to the load applied by the displacement of the fixed transmission plate 490 that is fastened and fixed to the front side of the synchronous operation unit 440, and an auxiliary member 470 that rotates synchronously with the feather-shaped members 460 (see FIGS. 22(a), 22(b), and 24).

[0232] The main body plate portion 401 includes a shaft support portion 402 that supports the transmission gear 412, a terminal support portion 403 that is arranged at the lower right portion thereof and supports the end gear 413, an arm support portion 404 that is a columnar portion that supports the arm member 414, a metal rail 405 that is arranged at the left and right central portions and has its back side fixed so that the front side portion can be vertically displaced, a long hole portion 406 that is drilled as a left and right long opening on the right side of the metal rail 405, a lid portion 407 that is formed in a plate shape from a light-transmissive resin material and covers the region where the long hole portion 406 is formed from the back side, and a detection sensor SC1 for detecting the state.

[0233] The terminal support part 403 includes a shaft support part 403a formed in the same shape as the shaft support part 402, an annular protrusion 403b protruding along a circle centered on the shaft support part 403a, and a stopper part 403c protruding fan-shaped to the front side at a position between the annular protrusion 403b and the shaft support part 403a. The stopper part 403c is formed by general compression molding, and the opposite side of the protruding part is formed as a recessed part.

[0234] The lid part 407 closes the area where the long hole part 406 is formed. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the electrical wiring DH1 that passes through the wiring through hole 401a formed through the main body plate part 401 from the front side of the main body plate part 401 and reaches the back side of the long hole part 406 is guided to the front side through the long hole part 406. Therefore, in the situation where the lid part 407 is missing and the back side is open, the electrical wiring DH1 may protrude to the back side and be pinched between the bottom wall part 311 (see FIG. 13) of the back case 310 and the main body plate part 401 during the assembly operation. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the area where the electrical wiring DH1 is arranged is partitioned by the lid part 407, it is possible to prevent the electrical wiring DH1 from being pinched between the bottom wall part 311 and the main body plate part 401.

[0235] Thereby, the first operation unit 400 can be assembled to the back case 310 without checking the arrangement of the electrical wiring DH1, so that the efficiency of the assembly operation can be improved.

[0236] The transmission unit 410 includes a drive gear 411 connected to the rotation shaft of the drive motor MT1 so as not to be relatively rotatable, a transmission gear 412 meshed with the drive gear 411 and rotatably supported by the shaft support part 402, a terminal gear 413 meshed with the transmission gear 412 and rotatably supported by the shaft support part 403a, and an arm member 414 pivotally supported by the arm support part 404 so that its posture can change with the rotation of the terminal gear 413.

[0237] The terminal gear 413 includes an annular protrusion 413a that protrudes rearward in an annular shape with an inner diameter slightly longer than the outer diameter of the annular protrusion 403b, a stoppered portion 413b that protrudes fan-shaped with a gap between the inner surface of the annular protrusion 413a in the same manner as the stopper portion 403c, a cylindrical protrusion portion 413c that protrudes cylindrically forward at an eccentric position away from the shaft support portion 403a, and a detected portion 413d that extends fan-shaped in the outer diameter direction from a flange portion formed in a flange shape on the front side of the gear portion.

[0238] The annular protrusion 413a is arranged such that the shaft-side side surface faces the annular protrusion 403b, and sandwiches the annular protrusion 403b between the stoppered portion 413b. That is, the annular protrusion 403b serves as a guide rail for guiding the rotation of the terminal gear 413.

[0239] The stoppered portion 413b is formed by general compression molding, and the opposite side of the protruding portion is formed as a recessed portion. The stoppered portion 413b interferes with the stopper portion 403c in its rotational direction. That is, in this embodiment, the rotation angle of the terminal gear 413 is limited by the circumferential dimensions of the stopper portion 403c and the stoppered portion 413b. That is, the terminal gear 413 rotates and displaces at a rotation angle of less than 360 degrees.

[0240] When designing the shapes of the stopper portion 403c and the stoppered portion 413b, the rotation angle required for the terminal gear 413 is calculated, and the shapes of the stopper portion 403c and the stoppered portion 413b can be designed at an angle obtained by bisecting the remaining angle (the angle obtained by subtracting the rotation angle of the terminal gear 413 from 360 degrees). Thereby, it is possible to avoid either the stopper portion 403c or the stoppered portion 413b becoming weak in strength, so the service life of the first operation unit 400 can be extended.

[0241] The cylindrical protruding portion 413c is a brass metal rod and is fitted and fixed to the resin terminal gear 413. A ring-shaped collar C1 for reducing friction and a known E-ring E1 are arranged at the protruding tip portion, and the arm member 414 is connected and supported to the cylindrical protruding portion 413c in a non-detachable manner.

[0242] The detected portion 413d is formed with a thickness that can pass through the detection gap of the detection sensor SC1. When the detected portion 413d is detected by the detection sensor SC1, the MPU221 of the voice lamp control device 113 can determine that the first operation unit 400 is in the retracted state.

[0243] The arm member 414 includes an annular portion 414a rotatably supported by the arm support portion 404, a plate-like portion 414b extending radially from the front side portion of the annular portion 414a, an intermediate plate portion 414c arranged to translate parallel to the back side with respect to the plate-like portion 414b and connected to the extending end portion of the plate-like portion 414b, a long hole portion 414d formed in the intermediate plate portion 414c in a long hole shape, a tip plate portion 414e arranged to translate parallel to the back side with respect to the intermediate plate portion 414c and connected to the extending end portion of the intermediate plate portion 414c, and a cylindrical protruding portion 414f protruding cylindrically from the extending tip of the tip plate portion 414e to the front side.

[0244] The long hole portion 414d is formed with a size that allows the cylindrical protruding portion 413c of the terminal gear 413 to be inserted therethrough, and the driving force of the driving motor MT1 is transmitted through this long hole portion 414d.

[0245] The cylindrical protruding portion 414f is a brass metal rod and is fitted and fixed to the resin tip plate portion 414e. A ring-shaped collar C1 for reducing friction and a known E-ring E1 are arranged at the protruding tip portion of the cylindrical protruding portion 414f, and the connecting plate portion 421 of the back side arrangement plate 420 is connected and supported to the cylindrical protruding portion 414f in a non-detachable manner.

[0246] FIG. 26 is a top view of the first operation unit 400. In FIG. 26, the second intermediate position of the first operation unit 400 is shown. For ease of understanding, the illustration of the coil spring SP1, the fixed pulley that guides the coil spring SP1, the drive motor MT1, and the base plate to which the drive motor MT1 is fastened and fixed is omitted.

[0247] According to FIG. 26, in the present embodiment, the shape of the arm member 414 is designed so that a large area can be secured on the front side of the arm member 414. That is, by forming the arm member 414 in a shape that is bent back and forth, interference with other members can be functionally avoided. This will be described below.

[0248] The plate-like portion 414b is disposed on the front side of the detection sensor SC1 in order to avoid interference with the detection sensor SC1. That is, since the limitation of the front-rear position of the plate-like portion 414b is due to the relationship with the detection sensor SC1, the front-rear position can be arbitrarily designed at a location not related to the detection sensor SC1 (a location on the opposite side of the rotation axis (arm support portion 404) with respect to the detection sensor SC1).

[0249] In the present embodiment, an intermediate plate portion 414c disposed at a location on the opposite side of the rotation axis (arm support portion 404) with respect to the detection sensor SC1 is disposed on the back side compared to the plate-like portion 414b. Thereby, the front-rear interval between the front surface of the plate of the terminal gear 413 and the arm member 414 can be narrowed, and load transmission to the arm member 414 can be caused at the root side of the cylindrical protruding portion 413c. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the load transmission efficiency due to deformation of the cylindrical protruding portion 413c during load transmission.

[0250] Furthermore, since it is due to the relationship with the terminal gear 413 of the front-rear position of the intermediate plate portion 414c, the front-rear position can be arbitrarily designed at a location not related to the terminal gear 413 (a location on the opposite side of the rotation axis (arm support portion 404) with respect to the terminal gear 413).

[0251] In the present embodiment, a tip plate portion 414e disposed at a position on the opposite side of the rotation axis (arm support portion 404) with respect to the terminal gear 413 is arranged on the back side as compared with the intermediate plate portion 414c. Thereby, since a large space can be secured on the front side of the tip plate portion 414e, it is easy to secure the front-rear dimensions of the constituent members such as the back arrangement plate 420 and the synchronous operation unit 440 disposed at a position on the front side of the tip plate portion 414e and on the back side of the elevating plate 430.

[0252] As described above, in the present embodiment, the shape of the arm member 414 is set for the purpose of making it possible to avoid interference with other members, but there are also other structural effects. For example, by forming the arm member 414 to be bent stepwise, it is possible to avoid the load generated in the arm member 414 from concentrating locally (at one point) (it is possible to relieve stress concentration), and the durability of the arm member 414 can be improved.

[0253] Furthermore, by forming a minimum necessary gap to avoid interference with other members, it is possible to form a collective gap on the opposite side of the arm member 414 with respect to the other member that secures the gap, so that electric wiring (electric wiring different from the electric wiring DH1) can be routed using the gap, or additional production members (such as a decorative substrate) can be disposed.

[0254] Also, according to FIG. 26, in the present embodiment, the electric wiring DH1 disposed so as to reach the light emission production device LA1 from the main body plate portion 401 side is configured to prevent it from being inadvertently sandwiched by the plume member 460 or meshing with the gear teeth portions of the rotation gear 441 and the relative displacement member 442. This will be described below. In this description, appropriately refer to FIG. 25.

[0255] The electric wiring DH1 first passes through the long hole portion 406 from the main body plate portion 401 side and is guided by the auxiliary arm member 444. At this time, the electric wiring DH1 is passed inside the extending portion 444c by being inserted through the through hole 448a of the end side plate 448.

[0256] Inside the extension part 444c, the electrical wiring DH1 is guided to the proximal end side part 444a while being prevented from falling off by the retaining part 444c1. Then, the electrical wiring DH1 is guided from the proximal end side part 444a to the back side of the housing plate part 425, and reaches the through hole 427 through an L-shaped area partitioned by a frame part protruding from the back side of the housing plate part 425 and the closing plate 428.

[0257] The frame part protruding from the back side of the housing plate part 425 is provided with an omitted part 425b where the protrusion is omitted over approximately a half circle centered on the insertion hole 425a. Due to the omitted part 425b, the angle at which the electrical wiring DH1 is guided to the front side of the closing plate 428 can be set at 180 degrees. Thereby, the possibility that the electrical wiring DH1 bends near the insertion hole 425a during the rotation of the auxiliary arm member 444 can be reduced.

[0258] The electrical wiring DH1 is guided to the front side of the lifting plate 430 through the cylindrical part 433 formed at a position overlapping the through hole 427 before and after by passing through the through hole 427 to the front side, and is connected to a connector disposed on the electrical decoration substrate of the light emission effect device LA1 while being temporarily fixed to the fastening part 451 of the support plate part 450 with a binding band or the like.

[0259] In this way, since the electrical wiring DH1 is disposed inside the constituent members (auxiliary arm member 444 and back arrangement plate 420) for most of its path, compared with the case where the electrical wiring is exposed (visible) for most of the path like in a conventional pachinko machine, the possibility that the electrical wiring DH1 collides with other movable members and receives a load can be reduced.

[0260] Also, in this embodiment, the guiding path of the electrical wiring DH1 and the relative displacement member 442 that undergoes sliding displacement are separated. That is, the deformation such as bending or curving that can occur in the electrical wiring DH1 is limited to the rotational displacement of the auxiliary arm member 444 (rotational displacement accompanied by the sliding displacement of the rotation axis).

[0261] Accordingly, even when the displacement speed of the vertical displacement of the lifting plate 430 and the displacement speed of the relative displacement member 442 are configured to be significantly different, by severing the relationship between the deformation of the electrical wiring DH1 and the displacement speed of the relative displacement member 442, it is possible to avoid an increase in the load applied to the electrical wiring DH1.

[0262] Returning to FIGS. 22(a), 23, 24, and 25 for description. The rear mounting plate 420 includes a plate-shaped connecting plate portion 421 that is connected to the cylindrical protruding portion 414f of the arm member 414 and fastened and fixed to the lifting plate 430, a housing plate portion 425 that is disposed on the right side of the connecting plate portion 421 and fastened and fixed to the lifting plate 430 and to which the front side member of the metal rail 405 is fastened and fixed, and an L-shaped closing plate 428 that is fastened and fixed to the housing plate portion 425 and partially closes the rear side portion of the housing plate portion 425.

[0263] The connecting plate portion 421 includes an insertion long hole 422 that is formed in a long hole shape extending in the left-right direction in the main body plate portion and is formed to be able to insert the cylindrical protruding portion 414f, and a support box portion 423 that is formed in a box shape with the front side and the upper side open below the insertion long hole 422.

[0264] Since the support box portion 423 is formed long downward with reference to the insertion long hole 422, the rigidity of the housing plate portion 425 can be reinforced using the support box portion 423. That is, the support box portion 423 is disposed opposite the support wall portion 426 left and right, and when the support wall portion 426 deflects greatly to the left and comes into contact with the support box portion 423, its deformation can be suppressed by the rigidity of the support box portion 423.

[0265] The housing plate portion 425 includes a support wall portion 426 that protrudes forward in a linear plate shape along the vertical direction at the left edge portion of the main body plate portion, and a through hole 427 that is formed in the front side of the closing plate 428.

[0266] In the present embodiment, the electrical wiring DH1 is inserted into the through hole 427. That is, the through hole 427 is formed with an inner diameter that allows insertion of a connector disposed at the end of the electrical wiring DH1.

[0267] The closing plate 428 is formed such that the front surface of the plate abuts against a frame portion protruding in a frame shape on the back side of the housing plate portion 425, and is configured to partition the region between the housing plate portion 425 and the closing plate 428. In the present embodiment, the electrical wiring DH1 is arranged only inside the frame portion of the housing plate portion 425 (the front side of the closing plate 428). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrical wiring DH1 from entering the side of the metal rail 405 (the left side of the frame portion).

[0268] A temporary fixing portion 425c, which is a portion protruding in a U-shape on the back side at a position closer to the through hole 427 than the omitted portion 425b, has a deformed hole 428a formed therethrough in the closing plate 428 so as to be visible in a rear view.

[0269] The deformed hole 428a is formed of a horizontally long-shaped portion having a horizontal width slightly longer than the lateral width of the temporary fixing portion 425c and a vertically long-shaped portion provided to intersect the horizontally long-shaped portion in order to secure a region through which a binding band can pass.

[0270] The temporary fixing portion 425c serves as a fixing portion for the binding band. By temporarily fixing the electrical wiring DH1 with the binding band, the arrangement of the electrical wiring DH1 can be stabilized. In this case, by tightening the binding band, the path of the electrical wiring DH1 guided from the auxiliary arm member 444 toward the closing plate 428 side can be brought closer to the closing plate 428 side, so that a gap can be provided between the edge portion of the semicircular plate portion centered on the insertion hole 425a of the housing plate portion 425 and the electrical wiring DH1 (see FIGS. 25 and 26). Thereby, it is possible to avoid the electrical wiring DH1 from rubbing against the edge portion of the housing plate portion 425, so that the service life of the electrical wiring DH1 can be extended.

[0271] Further, according to the present embodiment, since the binding band for temporarily fixing the electrical wiring DH1 guided between the omitted portions 425b (see FIG. 26) can be exposed from the deformed hole 428a of the closing plate 428, the binding band can be replaced or assembled without removing the closing plate 428.

[0272] As a result, the position where the temporary fixing position of the electrical wiring DH1 is fixed to the constituent members of the first operation unit 400, which is the position between the housing plate portion 425 and the closing plate 428 (that is, when following the path of the electrical wiring DH1 from the light-emitting effect device LA1 to which one end of the electrical wiring DH1 is connected, the place overlapping with the path up to the proximal end side portion 444a of the auxiliary arm member 444, which is the first part where the electrical wiring DH1 is displaced with respect to the lifting plate 430), while temporarily fixing the electrical wiring DH1, the replacement of the binding band can be performed without removing the closing plate 428. Therefore, the service life of the electrical wiring DH1 can be improved, and the maintainability of the binding band related to the electrical wiring DH1 can be improved.

[0273] In this embodiment, where the electrical wiring DH1 crawls along the front side of the closing plate 428 along the shape of the closing plate 428, and the closing plate 428 has an L-shaped view from the back, the electrical wiring DH1 curves along the first plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction on the front side of the closing plate 428, while curving along the second plane (a plane orthogonal to the first plane) orthogonal to the left-right direction near the through-hole 427. Thereby, the holding force for holding the electrical wiring DH1 to the closing plate 428 and the housing plate 425 can be improved, and the position of the electrical wiring DH1 can be stabilized.

[0274] The lifting plate 430 includes a fastening portion 431 composed of a plurality of portions related to the fastening and fixing of the back mounting plate 420, a support portion 432 composed of a plurality of portions related to the support of the synchronous operation unit 440, a cylindrical portion 433 formed to allow the electrical wiring DH1 to be inserted therethrough, a fastening portion 434 composed of a plurality of portions related to the fastening and fixing of the support plate portion 450, a plurality of coping portions 435 formed on the main body plate portion to avoid interference between members, and a decorative portion 436 having a substantially left-right symmetric pattern applied to the front of the plate.

[0275] The fastening part 431 includes at least a pair of ladle-shaped protrusions 431a that are arranged at the lower end of the lifting plate 430 and support the vertical displacement of the relative displacement member 442 (slide rack). The ladle-shaped protrusions 431a are parts that support the relative displacement member 442, and a female screw shape is formed from the tip thereof, and a fastening screw for fastening and fixing the housing plate portion 425 to the lifting plate 430 is screwed therein. That is, it is used both for the part related to the fastening and fixing of the rear surface arrangement plate 420 and for the part related to the support of the synchronous operation unit 440.

[0276] The cylindrical portion 433 extends to the rear surface side through the gap between the constituent members of the synchronous operation unit 440, and the rear surface side end thereof abuts against the plate front surface of the housing plate portion 425. In this abutting state, the through hole 427 and the inside of the cylindrical portion 433 are continuously connected. The electrical wiring DH1 is inserted back and forth through this continuously connected portion.

[0277] Examples of the countermeasure portion 435 include a notch portion 435a that is cut out upward from the lower edge of the main body plate portion to avoid interference with the connection portion between the fixed transmission plate 490 and the relative displacement member 442 (in this embodiment, the raised fastening portions arranged side by side vertically), and a recessed portion 435b that is recessed in a wall portion formed in a wall shape so as to protect the upper side of the shaft of the arc-shaped gear portion 444b of the auxiliary arm member 444 and is formed so as to avoid interference with the arc-shaped gear portion 444b.

[0278] The decorative portion 436 is arranged on the rear surface side of the feather-shaped member 460 and is configured to be able to visually recognize a series of patterns in cooperation with the feather-shaped member 460 as the feather-shaped member 460 is displaced. Details will be described later.

[0279] The synchronous operation unit 440 includes a pair of rotating gears 441 that mesh with each other, a relative displacement member 442 that meshes with one of the rotating gears 441 and is formed to be displaceable in the vertical direction, a pair of long holes 443 that are formed in a long hole shape in the relative displacement member 442, an auxiliary arm member 444 having rotating gear teeth that mesh with the other of the rotating gears 441, and an end side plate 448 that is fastened and fixed to the rotating tip of the auxiliary arm member 444 from the rear surface side.

[0280] The ladle-shaped protrusion 431a is inserted into the long hole 443. By arranging the longitudinal direction of the ladle shape and the longitudinal direction of the long hole 443 substantially parallel to each other, the posture of the relative displacement member 442 can be stabilized.

[0281] In addition, compared with the case where the ladle-shaped protrusion 431a is formed in an oval shape, the contact area with the long hole 443 can be reduced, so the frictional resistance generated between the ladle-shaped protruding portion 431a and the relative displacement member 442 can be reduced.

[0282] The auxiliary arm member 444 includes a ring-shaped proximal end side portion 444a pivotally supported by the large-diameter protrusion 432a of the support portion 432, an arc gear portion 444b formed with gear teeth concentrically with the ring shape of the proximal end side portion 444a, an extension portion 444c extending in the radial direction of the ring shape from the proximal end side portion 444a, and a tubular member 444d formed in a substantially semi-cylindrical shape disposed at the extending tip of the extension portion 444c, wherein the open portion inside the tube is configured to be continuously connected to the open portion of the extension portion 444c.

[0283] The proximal end side portion 444a has an insertion hole 425a through which a fastening screw is inserted and screwed into a female screw portion formed at the tip of the large-diameter protrusion 432a in a state of being inserted through the large-diameter protrusion 432a, and is restricted from moving backward with respect to the housing plate portion 425. That is, the proximal end side portion 444a is pivotally supported in a non-detachable manner in a manner facing the lifting plate 430 and the housing plate portion 425 from the front and rear.

[0284] The extension portion 444c is formed in a box shape with an open back side, extends from one side in the short direction to the other side at the back side portion, and has a retaining portion 444c1 formed with a gap slightly longer than the short direction dimension (width dimension) of the electrical wiring DH1 between it and the other side. This retaining portion 444c1 serves to prevent the subsequent dropout of the electrical wiring DH1 passed between the other side in the short direction of the extension portion 444c and disposed inside the extension portion 444c.

[0285] Note that the mode of the retaining portion 444c1 is not limited to this. For example, the gap between the extending portion 444c and the retaining portion 444c1 may be configured to be shorter than the lateral dimension (width dimension) of the electrical wiring DH1. In this case, when assembling (inserting) the electrical wiring DH1 into the gap between the extending portion 444c and the retaining portion 444c1, it is necessary to bend the retaining portion 444c1 to expand the gap, but the effect of preventing the electrical wiring DH1 from falling off after assembly can be improved.

[0286] As long as the electrical wiring DH1 is disposed inside the extending portion 444c, the expansion and contraction of the electrical wiring DH1 in the lifting displacement of the first operation unit 400 can be minimized. For details, reference will be made to FIGS. 27 to 30 and described later.

[0287] The outer diameter of the cylindrical member 444d is designed to be slightly shorter than the lateral dimension of the long hole portion 406. By being inserted into the long hole portion 406, it enables the sliding movement of the auxiliary arm member 444 along the longitudinal direction (left - right direction) of the long hole portion 406 and the rotational movement of the auxiliary arm member 444.

[0288] The end side plate 448 is provided with a through - hole 448a through which the electrical wiring DH1 can be inserted. The electrical wiring DH1 inserted through the through - hole 448a passes through the inside of the cylindrical portion 444d inserted into the long hole portion 406, passes through the inside of the extending portion 444c, is guided to the back side of the proximal end side portion 444a, and enters between the closing plate 428 and the housing plate portion 425. Then, it is guided to the front side through the through - hole 427 and the cylindrical portion 433.

[0289] Due to the relationship that the electrical wiring DH1 passes through in this way, the inner shape of the through - hole 448a is formed to be larger than the outer shape of the connector connected to the end of the electrical wiring DH1. In other words, the through - hole 448a is formed to be large enough to insert the connector.

[0290] The through hole 448a is formed in an irregular shape that includes not only the central portion of the end side plate 448 but also an eccentric region on the outer diameter side, and in particular, a large opening is formed on the extension portion 444c side. Therefore, regardless of the posture of the auxiliary arm member 444, the electrical wiring DH1 can be brought closer to the extension portion 444c side, so that it is possible to avoid a large change (fluctuation) in the arrangement of the electrical wiring DH1 with respect to the auxiliary arm member 444 as the posture of the auxiliary arm member 444 changes.

[0291] In addition, the through hole 448a extends counterclockwise in a rear view with respect to the extension portion 444c side on the outer diameter side portion of the end side plate 448. Due to this extension, the opening range of the through hole 448a in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 can be expanded to the right, so that the displacement width in the left-right direction required for the electrical wiring DH1 can be suppressed.

[0292] In this case, even in the configuration of this embodiment in which the end side plate 448 is displaced left and right when the lifting plate 430 is displaced up and down, by changing the direction of the through hole 448a, it can function to relieve the left-right displacement of the end side plate 448. Therefore, since the displacement width required for the electrical wiring DH1 can be made shorter than the displacement width of the end side plate 448, the extra length of the wiring set in consideration of the displacement of the electrical wiring DH1 can be shortened, and the load applied from the end side plate 448 to the electrical wiring DH1 can be reduced.

[0293] A fixed transmission plate 490 is fastened and fixed to the front side of the relative displacement member 442. That is, in the same manner as the lifting plate 430 and the relative displacement member 442 are displaced relative to each other, the support plate portion 450 fastened and fixed to the lifting plate 430 and the fixed transmission plate 490 fastened and fixed to the relative displacement member 442 are displaced relative to each other.

[0294] The support plate portion 450 is a plate-shaped member to which a light-emitting effect device LA1 formed in a disc shape with a light-emitting substrate disposed on the back side is fastened and fixed on the front side. The support plate portion 450 includes a plurality of fastening portions 451 into which fastening screws inserted through the lifting plate 430 are screwed, a pair of fastening and shaft-supporting portions 452 that are fitted inside the cylindrical portion 461 of the feather-shaped member 460 and into which fastening screws inserted through the lifting plate 430 are screwed, through holes 453 drilled in a pair on the lower side of the fastening and shaft-supporting portions 452, and a support portion 454 that hooks and supports the upper protruding piece LA1b of the light-emitting effect device LA1.

[0295] The light-emitting effect device LA1 includes a pair of fastening portions LA1a at the lower part into which fastening screws inserted through the support plate portion 450 are screwed, and a pair of protruding pieces LA1b protruding at the upper part so as to be insertable into the support portion 454. In this way, while the lower part of the light-emitting effect device LA1 is supported by fastening and fixing, and the upper part is supported by engagement, it is possible to avoid the shadow of the fastening screw on the upper back side of the electrical decoration substrate while ensuring sufficient support strength.

[0296] On the front surface of the light-emitting effect device LA1, a three-dimensional or planar decorative pattern is provided so as to be visible to the player. This decorative pattern is configured to be visually recognized as an integral decoration with the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 in a situation where it is visible without being hidden by the feather-shaped member 460 or the auxiliary member 470 (see FIG. 34).

[0297] In this embodiment, the shapes of the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 are shaped like a shell (for example, a scallop shell), and the shape of the light-emitting effect device LA1 disposed therebetween is formed in a substantially circular shape in front view that can be visually recognized like a pearl. That is, by visually recognizing the light-emitting member LA1, the feather-shaped member 460, and the auxiliary member 470 integrally, it is possible to configure an appearance that evokes a series of concepts of "a pearl disposed inside an open shell".

[0298] The feather-shaped member 460 is composed of a plurality of members supported by the fastening and shaft-supporting part 452, and includes a cylindrical part 461 rotatably supported by the fastening and shaft-supporting part 452, an arcuate gear 462 formed in an arcuate shape centered on the cylindrical part 461 and meshing with each other, an extending part 463 extending in a plate shape from the cylindrical part 461 to the opposite side of the arcuate gear 462, forming parts 464L and 464R formed at the extending end side of the extending part 463 and configured to be able to reflect light with intensity by applying gold plating to the front surface of the plate, a downstream gear 465 formed on the front side of the arcuate gear 462 along an arc having a smaller diameter than the arcuate gear 462, a flange part 466 formed in a flange shape covering the back side of the arcuate gear 462, and a cylindrical protruding part 467 protruding cylindrically from the extending end part where the flange part 466 extends in the outer shape direction to the back side.

[0299] The arcuate gear 462 is formed as gear teeth formed on arcs having the same diameter that mesh at an intermediate position between the pair of cylindrical parts 461. That is, the rotation angles of the plurality (left and right) of feather-shaped members 460 that rotate due to the meshing of the arcuate gears 462 are the same (symmetric).

[0300] The extending part 463 includes a recessed part 463a recessed and formed only on the right side. The recessed part 463a is a shaped part for easily avoiding interference with the electrical wiring guided to the front side of the lifting plate 430 through the cylindrical part 433, and the details will be described later.

[0301] The forming parts 464L and 464R are combined in the protruding state of the first operation unit 400 and configured as a series of substantially semi-circular (substantially semi-elliptical) decorative bodies (see FIG. 17). On the other hand, in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, they are separated and arranged on the left and right, and their sizes are asymmetric left and right (see FIG. 16).

[0302] Specifically, while the lower side is formed symmetrically left and right, in the shape of the upper side that comes into contact during combination, the left forming portion 464L is formed to protrude in the rotational direction compared to the right forming portion 464R, resulting in a larger formation. In other words, in the protruding state of the first operation unit 400, the contact surfaces S1 of the forming portions 464L and 464R are arranged closer to the right side (see Fig. 17).

[0303] The shapes of the upper end portions of the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R, which are arranged opposite to each other, differ in the distance from the cylindrical portion 461. That is, on the side closer to the cylindrical portion 461 (the side closer to the rotation axis, the inner diameter side), an interference portion 464a is provided where the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R are displaced in the rotational axis direction so that they can overlap each other when viewed from the front when the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R are closest to each other.

[0304] In this embodiment, the side closer to the cylindrical portion 461 corresponds to the portion where a decorative pattern is formed that is visually recognized as a series of patterns when the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R are closest to each other. Due to the above-described interference portion 464a, it is possible to prevent a break from occurring on the contact surface S1 of the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R when the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R are closest to each other, so that the decorative pattern can be visually recognized by the player without a sense of discomfort.

[0305] On the other hand, on the side farther from the cylindrical portion 461 (the side farther from the rotation axis, the outer diameter side), the contact surfaces are arranged at positions that match in the rotational axis direction of the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R so that the rotation of the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R can be stopped by contact.

[0306] By providing the portion where the load generated when the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R stop due to contact is at the outermost diameter portion where the arm length in the calculation of the moment of force is the longest, the load generated on the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R due to contact can be minimized.

[0307] In this way, by changing the shape of the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R with the distance from the cylindrical portion 461, a series of decorative patterns formed when the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R are closest to each other can be visually recognized by the player without discomfort, and the load that may occur on the feather-shaped members 464L and 464R when they are closest to each other can be minimized.

[0308] The flange portion 466 is also used to suppress the displacement of the arcuate gear 462 in the front-rear direction and to partition between the arcuate gear 462 and the fixed transmission plate 490. Thereby, while optimizing the meshing state of the arcuate gear 462, it is possible to prevent the arcuate gear 462 from coming into contact with and getting caught on the fixed transmission plate 490, resulting in excessive resistance.

[0309] The cylindrical protruding portion 467 is inserted into the long hole portion 491 of the fixed transmission plate 490, and a ring-shaped collar C1 for reducing friction is inserted into the protruding tip portion. In addition, a female screw is formed at the protruding tip portion, and a fastening screw having an umbrella portion larger than the inner diameter of the collar C1 is screwed in while being inserted through the collar C1. Thereby, the fixed transmission plate 490 is connected to the cylindrical protruding portion 467 in a non-detachable manner.

[0310] The auxiliary member 470 is composed of a pair of left and right plate-shaped members that are rotatably supported, and includes a supported portion 471 formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, a metal insertion metal rod 472 that is passed through the through hole 453 and inserted into the supported portion 471 and non-rotatably fitted, and a gear portion 473 that is non-rotatably fitted to the end of the insertion metal rod 472 and has gear teeth formed on an arc centered on the insertion metal rod 472.

[0311] On the front side portion of the insertion metal rod 472, a female screw is formed in the radial direction, and a through hole through which the screwing portion of a fastening screw screwed into the female screw can be inserted is formed at a corresponding position of the supported portion 471. After inserting the insertion metal rod 472 into the supported portion 471, by screwing the fastening screw into the female screw through the through hole, it is possible to prevent the insertion metal rod 472 from falling off from the supported portion 471.

[0312] When the insertion metal rod 472 is supported by the through hole 453, the gear portion 473 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable about the through hole 453. Since the gear portion 473 meshes with the downstream gear 465 (see Fig. 22(b)), it rotates in synchronization with the rotation angle of the feather-shaped member 460.

[0313] The fixed transmission plate 490 includes a plate-shaped portion fastened and fixed to the front side of the relative displacement member 442, a long hole portion 491 formed as a long hole curved in the plate-shaped portion, a metal rod-shaped member rotatably supported at the lower end portion of the plate-shaped portion and protruding to the front side, which is a metal rod 492, and a decorative portion 493 fixedly and non-rotatably fixed to the protruding tip portion of the metal rod 492.

[0314] The long hole portion 491 includes a vertically extending portion 491a formed along the vertical direction and a curved changing portion 491b formed by bending in the horizontal direction more than the vertically extending portion 491a. By partitioning the long hole portion 491 in this way, it is possible to provide a deviation in the synchronization mode rather than completely synchronizing the vertical displacement of the fixed transmission plate 490 and the accompanying rotational displacement of the feather-shaped member 460. Details will be described later.

[0315] The connection and fixation between the metal rod 492 and the decorative portion 493 are the same as the connection mode between the above-described insertion metal rod 472 and the supported portion 471. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the metal rod 492 from falling off from the decorative portion 493.

[0316] Next, the operation mode of the first operation unit 400 will be described. Figs. 27, 28, 29 and 30 are rear views of the first operation unit 400. In Figs. 27 to 30, the states in which the respective constituent members are displaced as the drive motor MT1 rotates are illustrated. In Fig. 27, the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 is shown. In Fig. 28, the first intermediate state of the first operation unit 400 in which the lifting plate 430 has descended from the retracted state by a distance slightly longer than the vertical displacement dimension of the wall reference line UL (see Fig. 16) is shown. In Fig. 29, the second intermediate state of the first operation unit 400 in which the longitudinal direction of the auxiliary arm member 444 faces the horizontal direction is shown. In Fig. 30, the protruding state of the first operation unit 400 is shown, respectively.

[0317] As shown in FIG. 27, in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, the detected portion 413d enters the detection gap of the detection sensor SC1, and thus the posture of the end gear 413 is determined. In the present embodiment, the state detected by the detection sensor SC1 is only the retracted state, and the other states (the first intermediate state, the second intermediate state, and the extended state) are states after being displaced by a preset displacement amount from the retracted state and are not detected by the detection sensor SC1.

[0318] As shown in FIG. 27, in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, a straight line connecting the rotation axis of the end gear 413 and the cylindrical protruding portion 413c is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the long hole portion 414d of the arm member 414 (the radial direction of the rotation of the arm member 414). Thereby, since the load applied from the arm member 414 to the end gear 413 is generated along the straight line direction passing through the rotation axis of the end gear 413, the posture of the arm member 414 can be maintained even in a state where the power of the drive motor MT1 is cut off (utilization of the dead point).

[0319] The tip plate portion 414e of the arm member 414 is disposed outside an arc MXS that circumscribes the disk portion of the end gear 413 with the rotation axis of the arm member 414 as the center. Thereby, it is possible to avoid interference between the tip plate portion 414e and the end gear 413 during the rotational displacement of the arm member 414.

[0320] The auxiliary arm member 444 functions to prevent the right side portion of the lifting plate 430 from descending. Although the auxiliary arm member 444 is supported so as to be slidable in the long hole portion 406, it is not without resistance, and an operating resistance is generated due to the contact friction generated between the cylindrical portion 444d (see FIG. 25) and the long hole portion 406. That is, due to the action of this operating resistance, the right side portion of the lifting portion 430 can be supported by the auxiliary arm member 444.

[0321] As shown in FIG. 28, when the arm member 414 rotates and displaces downward, the lifting plate 430 also displaces downward. Along with the rotation of the rotary gear 441 that meshes with the auxiliary arm member 444 which also displaces accordingly, the relative displacement member 442 displaces downward by a displacement amount exceeding the displacement amount of the lifting plate 430.

[0322] Although it has a complex shape, since the transmission of the driving force from the auxiliary arm member 444 to the relative displacement member 442 is by gear meshing, the displacement amount of the relative displacement member 442 with respect to the lifting plate 430 and the rotation angle of the auxiliary arm member 444 correspond one-to-one.

[0323] As shown in FIG. 28, while the arm member 414, the auxiliary arm member 444, the lifting plate 430, and the relative displacement member 442 are displacing as described above, the feather-shaped member 460 maintains the same posture as in the retracted state.

[0324] That is, according to the present embodiment, a time lag occurs between the timing when the lifting plate 430 starts to descend from the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 and the timing when the feather-shaped member 460 starts to rotate. The cause of this time lag will be described later.

[0325] In the present embodiment, since the lifting plate 430 descends by the vertical dimension of the wall pattern line UL (see FIG. 16) before the feather-shaped member 460 starts to rotate, it is easy to prevent the occurrence of a problem that the feather-shaped member 460 collides with the upper wall portion of the rear case 310 when the feather-shaped member 460 rotates and displaces.

[0326] In other words, the displacement mode in which the feather-shaped member 460 rotates and displaces after descending by the vertical dimension of the wall pattern line UL is the same condition as the displacement mode (conventional displacement mode) in which the feather-shaped member 460 is rotated simultaneously with the descent of the lifting plate 430 when the upper wall portion of the rear case 310 is formed without a height deviation left and right. Therefore, by diverting the operating conditions (parameters such as gear ratio and displacement amount) of the conventional displacement mode, the operation of the first operation unit 400 of the present embodiment can be realized. Thereby, the cost required for the design can be reduced.

[0327] As shown in FIG. 27, in the retracted state, the arm member 414 that was hidden on the back side of the elevating plate 430 is displaced so as to protrude above the elevating plate 430 as the elevating plate 430 descends, as shown in FIG. 28.

[0328] In contrast, in the present embodiment, the feather-shaped member 460 is configured to be displaceable with respect to the elevating plate 430 so as to hide the arm member 414 (see FIG. 29). That is, the feather-shaped member 460 functions not only as an effect means for executing an effect of making the player visually recognize a decorative pattern formed on the front surface side and enlivening the game, but also as a shielding means for jointly hiding the arm member 414 for driving transmission from the elevating plate 430.

[0329] In particular, in the present embodiment, the forming portion 464L of the feather-shaped member 460 on the side where the arm member 414 having a function of transmitting driving force is disposed has a larger shape than the forming portion 464R of the feather-shaped member 460 on the opposite side, so that the arm member 414 can be easily hidden from the player's view.

[0330] Similarly, the forming portion 464R is configured to hide the auxiliary arm member 444 (see FIG. 30). In the present embodiment, from this configuration, in the second intermediate state, while the arm member 414 protrudes above the elevating plate 430, the auxiliary arm member 444 is still hidden on the back side of the elevating plate 430. That is, after the arm member 414 protrudes above the elevating plate 430, the auxiliary arm member 444 is configured to protrude above the elevating plate 430 (see FIG. 30).

[0331] Therefore, even when using the forming portion 464R having a smaller shape than the forming portion 464L (the amount of protrusion above the elevating plate 430 at the same time point is smaller than that of the forming portion 464L), the auxiliary arm member 444 can be hidden from the player's view without any problem.

[0332] As shown in Fig. 29, when the cylindrical protruding portion 414f is at a position slightly past the state where it is farthest to the left from the rotation axis of the arm member 414, the auxiliary arm member 444 assumes a posture in which its longitudinal direction faces the left - right direction. When the cylindrical protruding portion 414f is in the state where it is farthest to the left from the rotation axis of the arm member 414, the right - ward load applied from the arm member 414 to the lifting plate 430 tends to increase. In contrast, if the auxiliary arm member 444 applies a left - ward load to the lifting plate 430 at the same timing, the displacement resistance of the lifting plate 430 will increase.

[0333] In contrast, in this embodiment, when the cylindrical protruding portion 414f is at a position slightly past the state where it is farthest to the left from the rotation axis of the arm member 414, the posture of the auxiliary arm member 444 is tilted, and the cylindrical portion 444d (see Fig. 25) is arranged at the right end of the long - hole portion 406. By configuring it so that a left - ward load can be applied to the lifting plate 430 via the auxiliary arm member 444, while suppressing the displacement resistance of the lifting - and - lowering displacement of the lifting plate 430, it is possible to suppress the displacement of the lifting plate 430 in the left - right direction due to the left - right direction load applied to the lifting plate 430.

[0334] In addition, in the state shown in Fig. 29, the cylindrical protruding portion 413c of the terminal gear 413 is arranged outside the arc MXS. However, since the tip plate portion 414e has already passed below the cylindrical protruding portion 413c, interference between the tip plate portion 414e and the terminal gear 413 can be avoided.

[0335] That is, the arc MXS is defined only as a reference position. The design of the terminal gear 413 and the arm member 414 is carried out by dynamically considering whether interference occurs when the terminal gear 413 and the arm member 414 are actually interlocked.

[0336] As shown in FIG. 30, in the extended state of the first operation unit 400, the end gear 413 rotates with the position where the stopper portion 413b of the end gear 413 contacts the stopper portion 403c of the main body plate portion 401 as the end point. Note that, as a control, the drive motor MT1 is driven so that the end gear 413 stops at a position slightly before the position where the stopper portion 413b contacts the stopper portion 403c. Thereby, while avoiding early breakage of the stopper portion 413b and the stopper portion 403c, it is possible to structurally prevent the end gear 413 from over-rotating.

[0337] As shown in FIG. 30, in the extended state of the first operation unit 400, the straight line connecting the rotation axis of the end gear 413 and the cylindrical protruding portion 413c is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the long hole portion 414d of the arm member 414 (the radial direction of the rotation of the arm member 414). Thereby, since the load applied from the arm member 414 to the end gear 413 is generated along the straight line direction passing through the rotation axis of the end gear 413, the posture of the arm member 414 can be maintained even in a state where the power of the drive motor MT1 is cut off (utilization of the dead point).

[0338] Note that the maintenance of the posture occurs in both directions along the rotation direction of the arm member 414. That is, not limited to the displacement in the gravitational direction, it is also possible to prevent the upward displacement from the extended state of the first operation unit 400 to the retracted state side.

[0339] Thereby, after reaching the extended state, it is possible to prevent the lifting plate 430 connected to the arm member 414 from rebounding and upwardly displacing, so that the members on the downstream side of the lifting plate 430 (synchronous operation unit 440, feather member 460, auxiliary member 470, etc.) as the drive force transmission path can be prevented from being displaced. Therefore, it is possible to easily maintain the contact state of the feather member 460.

[0340] The auxiliary arm member 444 functions to prevent the right side of the lifting plate 430 from rising. Although the auxiliary arm member 444 supports the long hole portion 406 so as to be slidable, it is not without resistance, and an operating resistance is generated due to the contact friction occurring between the cylindrical portion 444d (see FIG. 25) and the long hole portion 406. That is, due to the action of this operating resistance, the right side of the lifting portion 430 can be supported by the auxiliary arm member 444.

[0341] In addition, the auxiliary arm member 444 suspends and supports the lifting plate 430. Thereby, although the driving force by the drive motor MT1 and the biasing force by the coil spring SP1 are generated only on one side (left side) of the left and right, it is possible to avoid the posture of the lifting plate 430 becoming unstable on the left and right of the metal rail 405.

[0342] Here, as described above, as long as the electrical wiring DH1 is disposed inside the extending portion 444c, it will be explained that the expansion and contraction of the electrical wiring DH1 in the lifting displacement of the lifting plate 430 of the first operation unit 400 can be minimized.

[0343] When tracing the path of the electrical wiring DH1 from the side of the light emission effect device LA1, the path is fixed to the lifting plate 430 until reaching the auxiliary arm member 444, and the path becomes variable only at the auxiliary arm member 444. On the other hand, since the extending portion 444c in which the electrical wiring DH1 is disposed inside has a fixed shape even while the lifting plate 430 is vertically displaced, the possibility of the electrical wiring DH1 generating expansion and contraction displacement can be reduced.

[0344] At the position where it exits from the through hole 448a to the back side, lateral displacement accompanying the lateral displacement of the end side plate 448 occurs in the electrical wiring DH1. Thus, since the displacement that may cause expansion and contraction in the electrical wiring DH1 is limited to that caused by the displacement of the end side plate 448, in the present embodiment, the lateral displacement of the end side plate 448 is measured, the necessary extra length is calculated, and after adding that extra length to the electrical wiring DH1 in the path from the fixed position of the electrical wiring DH1 to the end side plate 448 (with the electrical wiring DH1 in a slack state), the electrical wiring DH1 is fixed to the main body plate portion 401.

[0345] In other words, the location where expansion and contraction may occur in the electrical wiring DH1 due to the vertical displacement of the lifting plate 430 can be limited to the vicinity of the end side plate 448, and in addition, the displacement amount that causes expansion and contraction can be suppressed to half or less of the vertical displacement amount of the lifting plate 430.

[0346] Furthermore, as described above, due to the shape of the through hole 448a of the end side plate 448, the displacement width of the electrical wiring DH1 can be reduced compared to the displacement width of the end side plate 448, so the extra length of the electrical wiring DH1 can be shortened.

[0347] FIGS. 31, 32, 33, and 34 are front views of the first operation unit 400. In FIGS. 31 to 34, the states in which the respective constituent members are displaced as the drive motor MT1 rotates are illustrated. In FIG. 31, the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, in FIG. 32, the first intermediate state of the first operation unit 400, in FIG. 33, the second intermediate state of the first operation unit 400, and in FIG. 34, the extended state of the first operation unit 400 are respectively illustrated.

[0348] As shown in FIG. 31, the lower edge portion of the plume member 460 is formed symmetrically about the left and right. Therefore, in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, the first operation unit 400 that enters the visual field for visually recognizing the third symbol display device 81 can be visually recognized by the player as a laterally symmetric movable member.

[0349] As shown in FIG. 32, when the lifting plate 430 undergoes a slight downward displacement, the posture of the plume member 460 is maintained. Therefore, even in the state shown in FIG. 32, the first operation unit 400 that enters the visual field for viewing the third symbol display device 81 can be visually recognized by the player as a movable member having a bilaterally symmetric shape.

[0350] In the first intermediate state shown in FIG. 32, compared with the retracted state shown in FIG. 31, the posture of the plume member 460 does not change. On the other hand, as the lifting plate 430 descends, the plume member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 are displaced downward by the same amount, and the decorative portion 493 is displaced downward by an amount exceeding the amount of the downward displacement.

[0351] Therefore, when changing the first operation unit 400 from the retracted state to the first intermediate state, not only can the player viewing the lifting plate 430 visually recognize the state in which the single lifting plate 430 is displaced vertically, but also the state in which the decorative portion 493 is displaced vertically by a vertical displacement amount different from the vertical displacement amount of the lifting plate 430. Thus, the production effect can be improved.

[0352] As shown in FIG. 33, in the second intermediate state, the difference between the displacement amount of the lifting plate 430 and the displacement amount of the decorative portion 493 increases compared with the first intermediate state. In addition, the posture of the plume member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 changes.

[0353] In FIG. 34, a state in which the plume members 460 are in contact with each other at the opposing positions is illustrated. The plume members 460 are visually recognized as if a pair of left and right members are combined to form a single substantially semi-circular (semi-elliptical) decorative member. The contact surface S1 is formed at a position shifted to the right from the left and right central position where the metal rail 405 is disposed.

[0354] In the present embodiment, the upper edge side of the forming portion 464L is configured to be extra on the forming portion 464R side compared with the upper edge side of the forming portion 464R in advance, so that the contact surface S1 in the overhanging state is configured to be shifted from the left and right center.

[0355] Since the upper edge portions of the forming portions 464L and 464R are arranged at positions shielded by the base plate 60 of the game board 13 in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 (see FIG. 2), it is possible to make it difficult for the player to notice that the forming portions 464L and 464R are configured in an asymmetric shape in the left-right direction. Thereby, it is possible to avoid giving the player a sense of discomfort due to the left-right asymmetry of the shapes of the forming portions 464L and 464R.

[0356] Further, since the contact surface S1 is displaced from the metal rail 405 in the front view, even if, in the unlikely event, the feather-shaped member 460 bounces back due to the impact at the time of contact and a gap is generated again, it is possible to avoid the rail member 405 being visually recognized through the gap, and it is possible to ensure that only the decorative shape formed on the front surface of the main body plate portion 401 is visually recognized.

[0357] Thereby, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the production effect as compared with the case where the inorganic metal rail 405 (in other words, a member that is essential for realizing the displacement of the movable accessory and is not for decoration) is visually recognized through the gap.

[0358] Further, the contact surface S1 is arranged at a position deviated from the left-right center position generally assumed by the player as the cut between a pair of movable members that contact and separate on the left and right. That is, by arranging the contact surface S1, where there is a possibility of a gap occurring, at a position deviated from the position (left-right center position) where the player visually recognizes while anticipating that a gap will occur, it is possible to make the gap less conspicuous even if a gap occurs.

[0359] As shown in FIGS. 31 to 34, the visibility of the decorative portion 436 changes depending on the arrangement of the feather-shaped member 460. That is, in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 (see FIG. 31) to the second intermediate state (see FIG. 33), the outer shape portion of the decorative portion 436 is shielded by the feather-shaped member 460, and it is difficult for the player to grasp the whole picture thereof.

[0360] On the other hand, in the extended state of the first operation unit 400 (see FIG. 34), the outer shape of the decorative portion 436 disposed below the plume member 460 is visible, and the outer shape is formed so as to be continuous with the outer shape of the plume member 460 in a front view.

[0361] That is, the decorative portion 436 is formed so that a series of decorative shapes (the shape of a "shell" in this embodiment) that are visible when the pair of plume members 460 are in the extended state of the first operation unit 400 are further extended downward from the lower edge portion. Therefore, a series of decorative shapes larger than a series of decorative shapes formed by combining the pair of plume members 460 (see FIG. 38) can be configured and made visible to the player.

[0362] Thus, in this embodiment, the displacement process until a series of decorative shapes are formed by the displacement of the plume member 460 is not the same all the way. That is, as a first displacement process, a process in which a pair of plume members 460 as a configuration of a series of decorative shapes are displaced and combined in a manner of approaching each other to form a series of decorative shapes can be cited.

[0363] On the other hand, as a second displacement process, the plume member 460 and the decorative portion 436 as a configuration of a series of decorative shapes overlap front to back in a front view in the retracted state of the first operation unit 400, and as it approaches the extended state, the plume member 460 is displaced in a direction in which the overlapping margin becomes smaller (the direction in which the plume member 460 moves away from the decorative portion 436) to form a series of decorative shapes.

[0364] Due to these different processes, although the displacement of the plume member 460 itself is a simple displacement mode of approaching displacement, the shapes can be connected at both edge portions along the displacement direction of the plume member 460, and a series of decorative shapes can be configured. Therefore, while suppressing the shape of the individually displaced plume member 460 to be small, a series of decorative shapes formed by combining them in the extended state of the first operation unit 400 can be configured to be large compared to its size.

[0365] Figures 35, 36, 37, and 38 are rear views of the support plate portion 450, the plume member 460, the auxiliary member 470, and the fixed transmission plate 490. In FIGS. 35 to 38, the states in which the respective constituent members are displaced as the drive motor MT1 rotates are illustrated. In FIG. 35, the retracted state of the first operation unit 400 is illustrated, in FIG. 36, the first intermediate state of the first operation unit 400 is illustrated, in FIG. 37, the second intermediate state of the first operation unit 400 is illustrated, and in FIG. 38, the extended state of the first operation unit 400 is illustrated, respectively.

[0366] As shown in FIG. 35, on the back side of the light emission effect device LA1, a plurality of through holes LA1c are formed and dispersed along an arc shape, and light is configured to leak to the back side through the through holes LA1c. In the extended state of the first operation unit 400, since the plume member 460 is arranged so as to cover the back side of the through holes LA1c, the light leaking from the through holes LA1c can be reflected to the front side by the forming portions 464L and 464R of the plume member 460.

[0367] Referring to FIGS. 35 to 38, the rotational displacement of the plume member 460 will be described. Since the rotational displacement of the plume member 460 is caused by the relationship between the cylindrical protruding portion 467 and the long hole portion 491 of the fixed transmission plate 490, this portion will be described in particular detail.

[0368] From the retracted state shown in FIG. 35 to the first intermediate state shown in FIG. 36, since the opening direction (vertical direction) of the vertical direction portion 491a of the long hole portion 491 into which the cylindrical protruding portion 467 is inserted and the displacement direction of the fixed transmission plate 490 are the same, it is possible to prevent the plume member 460 from rotating and displacing due to the load applied to the cylindrical protruding portion 467.

[0369] In the present embodiment, although there is no individual member that biases the plume member 460 toward the retracted state side, the center of gravity is arranged to the left and right outer sides of the rotation axis due to the shape of the forming portions 464L and 464R, and is maintained in the posture of the retracted state by its own weight.

[0370] In the second intermediate state shown in FIG. 37, when the cylindrical protruding portion 467 enters the curved changing portion 491b, a lateral load is generated on the cylindrical protruding portion 467, and the feather-shaped member 460 starts rotational displacement. From the perspective of the driving force transmission path, the driving force of the drive motor MT1 is transmitted from the fixed transmission plate 490 to the left feather-shaped member 460 via the cylindrical protruding portion 467, and then to the right feather-shaped member 460. That is, the left feather-shaped member 460 is upstream in the driving force transmission path compared to the right feather-shaped member 460.

[0371] In the present embodiment, since the forming portion 464L of the left feather-shaped member 460, which is upstream in the driving force transmission path, is formed slightly larger (heavier) than the forming portion 464R, the movable members can be arranged in sequence so as to become lighter toward the downstream side in the driving force transmission path. Thereby, good transmission of the driving force can be achieved, and it is possible to suppress the rebound displacement after each component member is displaced to the end position.

[0372] One of the reasons for arranging the cylindrical portion 433 as the guiding path of the electrical wiring DH1 on the side of the forming portion 464R is also the difference in weight between the forming portions 464L and 464R. Specifically, the positions of the forming portions 464L and 464R after displacement are determined by the meshing of the arc-shaped gears 462 and the contact of the opposing surfaces of the forming portions 464L and 464R. However, due to errors in the meshing of the arc-shaped gears 462 and the secular deformation of the long hole portion 491 that defines the rotation angle of the feather-shaped member 460, etc., the positions of the forming portions 464L and 464R after displacement may change slightly.

[0373] In this case, the change in the position after displacement depends greatly on the weight balance between the forming portions 464L and 464R. That is, there is a high possibility that the forming portion 464L will be pushed down so that the forming portion 464L rides on the forming portion 464R.

[0374] In consideration of this, in the present embodiment, an extended portion 463 of the feather-shaped member 460 is disposed below the cylindrical portion 433 through which the electrical wiring DH1 passes. In addition, a recessed portion 463a is provided so as to reduce the overlap between the cylindrical portion 433 and the extended portion 463. Thereby, even when a displacement occurs in which the forming portion 464L is unintentionally pushed down, the possibility of interference between the electrical wiring DH1 and the forming portion 464L can be reduced.

[0375] Also, since the side where displacement is likely to occur in the forming portion 464L can be assumed, it can be designed at a position where the cylindrical portion 433 and the recessed portion 463 partially interfere in a rear view (see FIG. 38). Thereby, the degree of design freedom can be improved.

[0376] In the present embodiment, the formation range of the recessed portion 463a is set to a range where the lower portion of the cylindrical portion 433 can be particularly opened. Thereby, while avoiding contact between the electrical wiring DH1 that is likely to sag due to its own weight inside the cylindrical portion 433 and the extended portion 463, the difference in the shape between the pair of left and right extended portions 463 can be minimized.

[0377] That is, it is possible to avoid the recessed portion 463 approaching too close to the forming portion 464 side. Thereby, in the retracted state or the first intermediate state of the first operation unit 400, the recessed portion 463a can be disposed on the back side of the auxiliary member 470, and the recessed portion 463a can be configured to be partially hidden by the auxiliary member 470 (see FIG. 31).

[0378] Thereby, in any state from the retracted state to the extended state of the first operation unit 400, the recessed portion 463a can be configured to be partially hidden by the auxiliary member 470. Therefore, it is possible to easily make the lower edges of the extended portions 463 and the forming portions 464L and 464R of the pair of left and right feather-shaped members 460 visually symmetric, so that it is possible to avoid giving the player a sense of discomfort due to the non-symmetric configuration of the members that are symmetrically displaced.

[0379] The transmission of the driving force from the fixed transmission plate 490 to the cylindrical protruding portion 467 is caused by the displacement of the fixed transmission plate 490 away from the cylindrical portion 461 of the feather-shaped member 460 downward. Along with the transmission of the driving force, the cylindrical protruding portion 467 is pulled by the fixed transmission plate 490 and rotates and displaces around the cylindrical portion 461. However, when assuming that the fixed transmission plate 490 undergoes uniform displacement, the cylindrical protruding portion 467 is configured not to displace at a constant speed (configured such that the angular velocity changes).

[0380] Specifically, since the initial position of the cylindrical protruding portion 467 is set near the left and right of the cylindrical portion 461 (see FIG. 35), when assuming that the curved change portion 491b is a long hole extending in the horizontal direction (left and right direction), as the cylindrical protruding portion 467 displaces downward, the angle of the rotational displacement of the cylindrical protruding portion 467 with respect to the displacement width in the vertical direction becomes larger. Therefore, when the fixed transmission plate 490 undergoes uniform displacement, the rotational displacement speed (angular velocity) of the cylindrical protruding portion 467 gradually increases.

[0381] Therefore, compared with a configuration in which the pair of feather-shaped members 460 decelerate during displacement, it is possible to configure a powerful effect of displacing and combining at high speed.

[0382] On the other hand, the gradual increase in the angular velocity of the cylindrical protruding portion 467 leads to an increase in the speed of the feather-shaped member 460 immediately before the pair of feather-shaped members 460 approach and combine. However, if the speed increase is excessive, there is a possibility that the pair of feather-shaped members 460 will bounce back greatly due to the impact during combination, and the production effect of this embodiment of making the pair of feather-shaped members 460 combine and visually recognize a series of decorative patterns may be reduced.

[0383] In contrast, in this embodiment, the curved change portion 491b is formed as a long hole extending in a direction that rises and inclines toward the rotation axis side of the feather-shaped member 460 (the left feather-shaped member 460) provided with the cylindrical protruding portion 467 with respect to the horizontal direction (left and right direction). Thereby, an increase in the rotational displacement speed (angular velocity) of the cylindrical protruding portion 467 can be suppressed.

[0384] The degree of suppression corresponds to the upward displacement amount (hereinafter, also referred to as "upward correction amount") of the bending change portion 491b with respect to the long hole parallel to the horizontal direction (left - right direction) at the location where the cylindrical protruding portion 467 is disposed.

[0385] When configured as a long hole extending in a direction of rising inclination with the bending change portion 491b facing the rotation axis side as in the present embodiment, the greater the downward displacement of the cylindrical protruding portion 467 (the closer the pair of feather - shaped members 460 are to the united state), the greater the above - mentioned upward correction amount. Therefore, the degree (decrease width) of suppressing the increase in the rotational displacement speed (angular velocity) of the cylindrical protruding portion 467 can be gradually increased as the position of the cylindrical protruding portion 467 changes downward.

[0386] Therefore, compared with the configuration exemplified in the brake structure that maintains the same friction state, the increase in speed can be appropriately suppressed. The actual displacement speed of the feather - shaped member 460 will be described later.

[0387] FIGS. 39(a) to 39(c) are schematic diagrams schematically showing the displacement relationship of the first operation unit 400. In FIGS. 39(a) to 39(c), the rotation angle of the end gear 413 is shown on the horizontal axis. In FIG. 39(a), the downward displacement amount of the lifting plate 430 is shown on the vertical axis. In FIG. 39(b), the rotation amount (angle change) of the auxiliary arm member 444 is shown on the vertical axis. In FIG. 39(c), the rotation amount (angle change) of the feather - shaped member 460 is shown on the vertical axis, respectively.

[0388] Here, assume a case where the drive motor MT1 rotates at a constant speed. In this case, while the end gear 413 rotates at a constant speed, the rotational movement of the arm member 414 is not a constant rotation, and the lifting displacement of the lifting plate 430 is not a constant displacement either.

[0389] That is, a deviation occurs between the control mode of the drive motor MT1 (e.g., constant-speed rotation) and the control mode of the lifting plate 430 (non-constant-speed displacement), and the displacement mode on the downstream side of the lifting plate 430 in the driving force transmission path is affected by this deviation. Therefore, even if the drive motor MT1 is rotated at a constant speed, it is difficult to displace the components arranged on the downstream side in the transmission path at a constant speed.

[0390] For example, even if a rack gear-shaped portion fixed to the main body plate portion 401 is formed and the rack gear-shaped portion is configured to mesh with the rotating gear 441 of the synchronous operation unit 440, the lifting displacement of the relative displacement member 442 depends on the lifting displacement mode of the lifting plate 430, and thus does not result in a constant-speed displacement.

[0391] In contrast, in the present embodiment, the lifting displacement of the relative displacement member 442 is not defined by the fixed rack gear-shaped portion. Instead, a configuration is adopted in which the rotational displacement of the auxiliary arm member 444 is converted into the lifting displacement (vertical displacement) of the relative displacement member 442 in the same manner as the rotational displacement of the arm member 414 is converted into the lifting displacement (vertical displacement) of the lifting plate 430.

[0392] That is, a predetermined rule (e.g., a conversion formula for converting the numerical values on the horizontal axis in FIG. 39(a) into the numerical values on the vertical axis) for converting the rotational displacement of the terminal gear 413 into the lifting displacement of the lifting plate 430 accompanying the vertical displacement of the cylindrical protruding portion 414f of the arm member 414 is reversed and applied to convert the lifting displacement of the cylindrical portion 444d of the auxiliary arm member 444 accompanying the vertical displacement of the lifting plate 430 into the rotational displacement of the rotating gear 441, thereby partially offsetting the deviation in the displacement mode and approximating the displacement mode of the terminal gear 413 and the displacement mode of the rotating gear 441.

[0393] In other words, the vertical displacement of the lifting plate 430 causes a deviation from the displacement mode of the terminal gear 413 when the rotation angle of the terminal gear 413 is near 90 degrees and 140 degrees (see FIG. 39(a)). On the other hand, the rotation angle of the auxiliary arm member 444 has its deviation from the displacement mode of the terminal gear 413 suppressed over the range where the rotation angle of the terminal gear 413 is from 30 degrees to near 170 degrees (see FIG. 39(b)).

[0394] Accordingly, for example, as the drive motor MT1 and the end gear 413 rotate at a constant speed, the auxiliary arm member 444 can be rotated at a substantially constant speed for the most part (see Fig. 39(b)). Thus, the relative displacement member 442 can be vertically displaced relative to the lifting plate 430 at a substantially constant speed.

[0395] As a result, the speed control of the drive motor MT1 can be easily associated with the displacement mode of the relative displacement member 442. Therefore, it is possible to easily set the speed of the drive motor MT1 inversely from the displacement mode that is desired to be executed by the first operation unit 400 as a driving effect visible to the player.

[0396] In addition, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, a configuration in which an advantageous effect occurs only on the drive device side in the driving force transmission path can reduce the influence on the tip side of the transmission path. Here, the side of the drive motor MT1 with reference to the lifting plate 430 will be described as the drive device side of the transmission path, and the opposite side will be described as the tip side of the transmission path.

[0397] On the drive device side of the transmission path, suppressing the rotation angle of the arm member 414 with respect to the rotation angle of the end gear 413 in the retracted state or the extended state of the first operation unit 400 is preferable from the viewpoint of quickly starting and stopping the arm member 414. However, on the tip side of the transmission path, there is a problem in that the displacement tends to become slow because the speed of the arm member 414 becomes extremely small immediately before reaching the retracted state or the extended state.

[0398] From this perspective, in order to configure the displacement mode on the tip side of the transmission path so as not to be affected by the deceleration of the arm member 414, the operating speed of the drive motor MT1 can be changed before the arm member 414 reaches the displacement end, or the arm member 414 can be controlled to stop before deceleration of the arm member 414 occurs (well before reaching the retracted state or the extended state).

[0399] However, according to the former, complicated control is required, and according to the latter, there is a problem that the rotation angle of the arm member 414 that can be used for the displacement at the tip side of the transmission path becomes small and the width of the displacement mode becomes narrow.

[0400] On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, since the displacement mode at the tip side of the transmission path can be approximated to the displacement mode of the drive motor MT1 and the terminal gear 413, it is possible to easily reduce the degree to which the relative displacement member 442 of the synchronous operation unit 440 decelerates immediately before reaching the retracted state or the extended state. Therefore, while maximizing the rotation angle of the arm member 414, it is possible to avoid the displacement of the relative displacement member 442 (and the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 disposed downstream thereof) disposed at the tip side of the transmission path from becoming slow.

[0401] What is visible to the player is the displacement of the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470. As shown in FIG. 39(c), the rotational angular velocities of the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 when the terminal gear 413 is rotated at a constant speed tend to increase (equal to or higher than the constant speed) until immediately before stopping, and decelerate in correspondence with the shape of the curved change portion 491b of the long hole portion 491 described above immediately before stopping.

[0402] Thereby, compared with the case where the displacement modes of the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 are determined depending on the displacement mode of the elevating plate 430, the rapidity and slowness of the displacement of the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 can be increased, so that a displacement with a sense of impact can be realized and the production effect can be improved.

[0403] On the other hand, instead of stopping the rotational angular velocities of the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 while they are increasing (combining the feather-shaped members 460 with each other), by providing a section for decelerating immediately before, it is possible to suppress the feather-shaped member 460 from rebounding and displacing after being combined.

[0404] Thus, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to make the displacement mode of the lifting plate 430 that is continuously displaced by the driving force of the drive motor MT1 different from the displacement modes of the relative displacement member 442, the fixed transmission plate 490, the feather-shaped member 460, and the auxiliary member 470 that are displaced downstream thereof.

[0405] In particular, while moving downstream along the transmission path of the driving force, the once-changed displacement mode can be changed back to the original side. Thereby, in a configuration in which a plurality of members are displaced synchronously, a unique displacement mode can be configured.

[0406] Although the case where the drive motor MT1 is displaced from the retracted state to the protruding state has been described as a control mode, it is not necessarily limited to this. For example, it may be controlled to reverse at an intermediate position. That is, for example, the rotational direction of the drive motor MT1 may be reversely controlled so that the first operation unit 400 reciprocates (repeatedly reciprocates) between the retracted state and the first intermediate state.

[0407] In this case, after the lifting plate 430 starts to descend, the lifting plate 430 is raised and returned to the retracted state before the feather-shaped member 460 and the auxiliary member 470 start to rotate. Therefore, the displacement of the first operation unit 400 visible to the player can be limited to vertical displacement, and rotational displacement can be excluded.

[0408] Note that even in the displacement up to the first intermediate state, since the fixed transmission plate 490 and the decorative portion 493 are displaced relative to the lifting plate 430 in the vertical direction, it is possible to easily cause a change in the appearance of the first operation unit 400.

[0409] FIG. 40 is an exploded front perspective view of the operation unit 300. In FIG. 40, a state in which the game board 13 is removed from the operation unit 300 and arranged on the front side is illustrated, and the upper portions of the operation unit 300 and the game board 13 are omitted from illustration. Further, in FIG. 40, the outer shape of the transparent cover member 790 disposed along the lower edge of the third symbol display device 81 and formed of a colorless light-transmissive resin is illustrated by an imaginary line, and the configuration below it is illustrated so as to be visible.

[0410] The game board 13 and the operation unit 300 are fastened and fixed. When used in a game, the light guide member 714 and the upper surface of the second operation unit 700 are arranged to be visible from the lower front side of the display area of the third symbol display device 81 through a window portion partitioned in the center frame 86 (see FIG. 2). Further, since the light emitted to the front side by the lighting decoration substrate 777 passes through the light transmission hole 60c, it is visible from the front side of the base plate 60.

[0411] FIG. 41 is a front perspective view of the second operation unit 700, and FIG. 42 is a rear perspective view of the second operation unit 700. As shown in FIGS. 41 and 42, the second operation unit 700 includes a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of light guide members 714 arranged side by side in the left-right direction and lighting decoration substrates 777 arranged on the left and right.

[0412] Each of the light guide members 714 is configured to be able to guide the irradiation light irradiated from below and transmits the irradiation light from the upper end portion. The lighting decoration substrate 777 includes a light emitting means 778 such as an LED configured to be able to irradiate light to the front side. In this way, the second operation unit 700 can emit light upward through the light guide member 714 and emit light to the front side by the lighting decoration substrate 777.

[0413] FIGS. 43 and 44 are exploded front perspective views of the second operation unit 700, and FIG. 45 is an exploded rear perspective view of the second operation unit 700. FIG. 43 is shown in a downward viewing direction from above, and FIGS. 44 and 45 are shown in an upward viewing direction from below. Further, in FIG. 45, the protruding pressing portion 724 is shown enlarged.

[0414] As shown in FIGS. 43, 44, and 45, the second operation unit 700 includes a base member 701 fastened and fixed to the bottom wall portion 311 of the back case 310 (see FIG. 40), a cover member 720 that is placed over the base member 701 from above and fastened and fixed to the base member 701, a plate-like displacement member 730 that is sandwiched between the cover member 720 and the base member 701 and is pivotally supported so as to be rotationally displaceable (rotationally displaceable at a rotation angle of about 6 degrees), a hollow member that is placed on the upper surface of the plate-like displacement member 730 and is configured to be at least vertically displaceable, and a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of hollow members 740, a plurality (three in this embodiment) of variable decorative members 750 that are placed on the upper surface of the plate-like displacement member 730 on the front side of the hollow member 740 and are configured to be at least vertically displaceable, and a pair of drive units 760 that are disposed on the lower left and right sides of the base member 701 and each have a configuration that is substantially line-symmetric with respect to a straight line along the vertical direction and is configured to apply a load to the plate-like displacement member 730, and a transparent cover member 790 (see FIG. 40).

[0415] The transparent cover member 790 is a colorless and transparent resin member shaped to cover the upper surface and the front surface of the cover member 720 of the second operation unit 700, and functions to prevent dust and fine particles from reaching the cover member 720, and to prevent the components of the first operation unit 400 from colliding with the first operation unit 400, the cover member 720, and the light guide member 714 even when any component of the first operation unit 400 malfunctions.

[0416] Since the upper surface of the transparent cover 790 slopes downward toward the back side, a part of the light emitted directly upward from the upper end of the light guide member 714 can be refracted toward the back side. As a result, the light emitted from the light guide member 714 can be more easily reflected in the third symbol display device 81, so that even when the player is paying attention to the third symbol display device 81, it is possible to easily notice changes in the lighting state of the light guide member 714 (including changes in brightness and darkness, vibrations of light, and those based on the displacement of the hollow member 740).

[0417] Note that in FIGS. 43, 44, and 45, the transparent cover member 790 is not shown. First, the base member 701 that forms the skeleton of the second operation unit 700 will be described with reference to FIG. 46.

[0418] FIG. 46 is an exploded front perspective view of the base member 701. As shown in FIG. 46, the base member 701 includes a plate-like member 702 formed to have sufficient strength, a decorative substrate 705 fastened and fixed facing the upper surface of the plate-like member 702, a partition member 708 disposed facing the upper surface of the decorative substrate 705 and fastened and fixed to the plate-like member 702, a thin film cover member 712 that is a member covering the partition member 708 and is formed in a thin film shape from resin, a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of light guide members 714 placed in contact with the thin film cover member 712, and a plate-like member covering the upper side of the light guide members 714, i.e., a displacement restricting member 716 that restricts the upward movement and horizontal displacement of the light guide members 714.

[0419] The plate-like member 702 includes an engaging portion 702a formed to be engageable with the hook-shaped portion 721c of the cover member 720, a pair of receiving recesses 702b formed on the left and right side portions of the plate-like member 702 and recessed to pivotally support the pivot support portion 731 of the plate-like displacement member 730, a restricting protrusion 702c protruding upward from the front edge and formed to restrict the rotation of the plate-like displacement member 730, a plurality of fastening portions 703a formed to allow a fastening screw to be screwed in, a plurality of columnar protruding portions 703b protruding upward in a columnar shape beyond the fastening portions 703a and formed to allow a fastening screw to be screwed into the protruding tip portion, and a plurality of through holes 704 drilled in the vertical direction.

[0420] The plurality of fastening portions 703a are for fastening and fixing a fastening screw inserted through the decorative substrate 705, and are formed at three locations: the left and right centers and both ends. In particular, positioning protruding pins are provided in the fastening portions 703a at both ends.

[0421] By arranging the decorative substrate 705 such that the protruding pin is inserted into the through-hole formed in the decorative substrate 705 corresponding to the protruding pin for positioning, the through-hole formed for inserting the fastening screw into the decorative substrate 705 and the fastening portion 703a are continuously connected. Therefore, by passing the fastening screw through and screwing it in there, the decorative substrate 705 can be fastened and fixed to the plate-like member 702.

[0422] The columnar protruding portion 703b is a portion into which the fastening screw inserted through the displacement restricting member 716, the thin film cover member 712, and the partition member 708 in this order is screwed, and the base end side is inclined and formed in a trapezoidal shape. Thereby, it is possible to easily arrange the decorative substrate 705 at an appropriate position.

[0423] The through-hole 704 is formed to have a size through which a connector (not shown) disposed on the lower surface of the decorative substrate 705 and the electrical wiring connected to the connector can pass. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the electrical wiring connected to the decorative substrate 705 is disposed on the lower surface side of the decorative substrate 705 and does not protrude above the decorative substrate 705. Thereby, the entire upper surface of the decorative substrate 705 can be utilized as an area where the light emitting means 706 such as an LED can be disposed.

[0424] The decorative substrate 705 includes a plurality of light emitting means 706 composed of an LED or the like, and an opening portion 707 formed to be open so as to have a slight gap with the columnar protruding portion 703b in the assembled state of the base member 701 (see FIG. 43).

[0425] The light emitting means 706 includes a plurality (eight in the present embodiment) of individual light emitting means 706a arranged along a straight line facing the left-right direction, and a plurality of overall light emitting means 706b disposed at positions different from those of the individual light emitting means 706a.

[0426] The opening portion 707 is formed at a position corresponding to the columnar protruding portion 703b, and the protruding end position of the columnar protruding portion 703b is set higher than the position where the lighting decoration substrate 705 is arranged in the assembled state. Therefore, when the lighting decoration substrate 705 is displaced downward to the position where it is arranged in the assembled state, the opening portion 707 will move along the columnar protruding portion 703b.

[0427] In this embodiment, since the base end side portion of the columnar protruding portion 703b is formed in a circular shape in top view and a trapezoidal shape in front view that tapers upward, the side surface of the base end side portion of the columnar protruding portion 703b is inclined with respect to the vertical direction. When the lighting decoration substrate 705 is displaced downward, if there is a large displacement in the front-rear direction with respect to the position where it is arranged in the assembled state, the displacement of the lighting decoration substrate 705 can be corrected along the inclination of the side surface of the base end side portion of the columnar protruding portion 703b, so that the lighting decoration substrate 705 can be easily arranged at the target position.

[0428] The partition member 708 is formed of a colored (black in this embodiment) hard resin material that is difficult to transmit light, and has a plurality of light-transmitting holes 709 formed at positions corresponding to the individual light-emitting means 706a, a plurality of through holes 710a formed with an inner diameter through which the tip of the columnar protruding portion 703b can be inserted, a plurality of fastening portions 710b formed to be able to screw in fastening screws inserted into the displacement restricting member 716, and a plurality of receiving portions 710c recessed (or drilled) to be able to receive the protruding pins 716b protruding from the lower surface of the displacement restricting member 716 at positions displaced in the front-rear direction with respect to the fastening portions 710b.

[0429] The light-transmitting holes 709 are formed with a cross-section in the shape of a long crystal (substantially elliptical shape, substantially tortoise shell shape), and the long axis direction thereof faces different directions corresponding to positions from the left-right center. That is, the deviation between the long axis direction and the front-rear direction is reduced (matched in this embodiment) for the light-transmitting holes 709 closer to the center, and the long axis direction is inclined toward the front side and closer to the left-right center as it approaches the left and right ends.

[0430] That is, the longitudinal direction of the light-transmitting hole 709 is set to be inclined toward the center of the left and right sides facing the front side, and the inclination angle is designed to increase as it approaches the left and right ends. In this embodiment, the increment of the inclination angle is configured to be constant (about 5 degrees).

[0431] The thin film cover member 712 is a thin film-like colorless and transparent resin member with low rigidity. The central portion is formed to bulge, the lower surface side is open, and a pair of large through-holes 712a drilled vertically at the left and right ends of the upper bottom portion, a plurality of middle through-holes 712b drilled vertically inside the outer through-hole 712a in the left-right direction, and a plurality of small through-holes 712c drilled vertically with a displacement in the front-rear direction with respect to the middle through-holes 712b.

[0432] The large through-hole 712a is formed with a diameter longer than the diameter of the protruding portion 716e (see FIG. 72) protruding in an annular shape surrounding the periphery of the insertion hole 716a from the lower surface of the displacement restricting member 716. Since the protruding portion 716e protruding from the lower surface of the displacement restricting member 716 protrudes with a protruding length exceeding the thickness of the thin film cover member 712, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of a load (fastening load) during assembly at the edge portion of the large through-hole 712a.

[0433] One middle through-hole 712b is disposed at a position corresponding to the columnar protruding portion 703b at the central position on the front side, and the others are disposed at positions corresponding to the fastening portions 710b.

[0434] The small through-hole 712c is disposed with a displacement in the front-rear direction with respect to the middle through-hole 712b disposed at a position corresponding to the fastening portion 710b, and is formed with a size that allows insertion of the protruding pin 716b protruding from the lower surface of the displacement restricting member 716 and received by the receiving portion 710c of the partition member 708.

[0435] Therefore, after covering the partition member 708 with the thin film cover member 712 and placing the displacement restricting member 716 thereon, fastening screws are screwed into various locations to fasten and fix each member. Since the protruding pins 716b protruding from the lower surface of the partition member 716 are inserted into the small through holes 712c and the receiving portions 710c, the alignment of the thin film cover member 712 and the displacement restricting member 716 with respect to the partition member 708 can be easily (simultaneously) performed in the state before screwing in the fastening screws, and then the efficiency of the work of screwing in the fastening screws can be improved.

[0436] The light guide member 714 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape having a bottom at the upper part from a colorless and light-transmissive resin material, and includes a main body portion 714a having an outer shape in a front-rear long crystal shape (substantially elliptical shape, substantially tortoise shell shape) in a top view, an overhanging edge portion 714b protruding left and right and forward from its lower edge, and an inclined surface portion 714c that descends and inclines downward toward the front side at the upper end portion of the main body portion 714a.

[0437] Since the outer surface of the upper part of the main body portion 714a is formed with a textured finish, when the light emitted from the single individual light emitting means 706a travels inside the light guide member 714 and reaches the upper end portion and is to be visually recognized by the player, it can be visually recognized as emitting light in a surface rather than as point light emission.

[0438] On the other hand, in the main body portion 714a, a textured finish is not formed on portions other than the outer surface of the upper part (such as the middle part), and a smooth surface is formed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent diffuse reflection from occurring when the light traveling inside the light guide member 714 is incident on the inner wall surface of the main body portion 714a, and it is possible to easily make the light totally reflected by the smooth surface and directed toward the upper end portion of the main body portion 714a, so that the energy loss of the light at an intermediate position of the main body portion 714a can be reduced.

[0439] The longitudinal direction in the top view of the main body portion 714a of each light guide member 714 follows the setting of the longitudinal direction of the above-described light transmission holes 709. That is, the deviation between the longitudinal direction and the front-rear direction is reduced (matched in this embodiment) for the light guide members 714 closer to the center, and the longitudinal direction is inclined toward the center of the left and right and toward the front side as it approaches the left and right ends.

[0440] That is, the longitudinal direction of the light guide member 714 is set to be inclined toward the center of the left and right and toward the front side, and the inclination angle is designed to increase as it approaches the left and right ends. In this embodiment, the increment of the inclination angle is configured to be constant (about 5 degrees).

[0441] By configuring in this way, the front end portion in the longitudinal direction in the top view of the light guide member 714 (the portion closer to the player as the portion that irradiates light to the player side) can be made to face the player side (the center of the front side left and right) compared to the central position in the longitudinal direction. That is, it is possible to make the player feel that the light irradiated from the light guide member 714 to the player side converges toward the player.

[0442] The overhanging edge portion 714b is formed with a constant vertical thickness and functions as a portion for stabilizing the position and posture of the light guide member 714. The inclined surface portion 714c functions to emit the light incident from below the light guide member 714 closer to the front side. Details will be described later.

[0443] The displacement restricting member 716 is formed of a colored (black in this embodiment) hard resin material that is difficult to transmit light, and has a plurality of insertion holes 716a formed so as to allow fastening screws to pass through, a plurality of protruding pins 716b protruding from the lower surface, a plurality of receiving cylinder portions 716c formed in a cylindrical shape penetrating vertically at positions corresponding to the light guide member 714, and a plurality of recessed portions 716d formed in a stepped shape so as to expand the inner shape of the lower edge portion of the receiving cylinder portion 716c and configured to be able to receive the overhanging edge portion 714b of the light guide member 714.

[0444] The receiving cylinder portion 716c has an inner shape that is substantially the same as the inner shape of the light transmission hole 709 in top view, and the light guide member 714 is inserted therein. Further, since the recessed depth of the recessed portion 716d is the same as the thickness dimension of the protruding edge portion 714b of the light guide member 714, in the assembled state of the second operation unit 700 (see FIG. 40), the upper surface of the thin film cover member 712 and the lower surface of the displacement restricting member 716 (the lower surface of the recessed portion 716d) can stably support the protruding edge portion 714b by sandwiching it.

[0445] The protruding edge portion 714b is formed to protrude to the left, right, and front sides, and the formation on the back side is omitted. Correspondingly, the recessed portion 716d of the displacement restricting member 716 is also recessed on the left, right, and front sides, and the recessing on the back side is omitted. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the light guide member 714 from being assembled in the reverse front-back direction.

[0446] That is, even if an attempt is made to arrange the light guide member 714 in the reverse front-back direction and assemble the displacement restricting member 716, since the arrangement of the recessed portion 716d and the protruding edge portion 714b is misaligned, the protruding edge portion 714b cannot be inserted into the recessed portion 716d, and the protruding edge portion 714b will protrude from the lower surface of the displacement restricting member 716. A gap corresponding to the thickness dimension of the protruding edge portion 714b is generated between the thin film cover member 712 and the displacement restricting member 716, making it difficult to fasten and fix, so that the assembler (or the automatic machine for assembly) can be made aware that the light guide member 714 is in the reverse front-back direction.

[0447] In the assembled state of the base member 701 (see FIG. 43), the protruding edge portion 714b is sandwiched in the vertical direction between the recessed portion 716d and the thin film cover member 712, whereby the position and posture of the light guide member 714 are stably fixed.

[0448] The assembly procedure of the base member 701 will be described. First, the decorative substrate 705 is passed through the columnar protruding portion 703b and arranged at the fastening position, and fastened and fixed to the plate-like member 702. Next, above the decorative substrate 705, the partition member 708, the thin film cover member 712, the light guide member 714, and the displacement restricting member 716 are arranged in this order for each component member.

[0449] At this time, the partition member 708 is positioned on the plate-like member 702 by passing the tip of the columnar protruding portion 703b through the through hole 710a of the partition member 708, and the displacement restricting member 716 and the thin film cover member 712 are positioned on the partition member 708 by passing the protruding pin 716b through the receiving portion 710c and the small through hole 712c. Further, the light guide member 714 is positioned on the displacement restricting member 716 by passing the main body portion 714a through the receiving cylinder portion 716c. Thus, since the respective constituent members are relatively positioned before screwing in the fastening screws, the efficiency of the work of screwing in the fastening screws can be improved.

[0450] Finally, by inserting a fastening screw through the insertion hole 716a and screwing it into the fastening portion 710b and the columnar protruding portion 703b, the respective constituent members can be fastened and fixed. According to the present embodiment, after placing the respective constituent members arranged above the lighting decoration substrate 705 at appropriate positions, a plurality of fastening screws can be screwed in together, so that the work process can be simplified. In addition, automation of the process of screwing in the fastening screws (utilization of an automatic machine for a screwdriver) can be achieved.

[0451] In the present embodiment, the partition member 708 becomes non-removable at the stage of screwing the fastening screw inserted through the insertion hole 716a into the columnar protruding portion 703b. However, by screwing the fastening screw inserted through the insertion hole 716a into the fastening portion 710b, the partition member 708 can be brought closer to the displacement restricting member 716 side.

[0452] Thereby, while having a configuration in which the light guide member 714 is placed on the thin film cover member 712, it can be regarded as substantially the same configuration as that in which the light guide member 714 is placed on the partition member 708, and by supporting the light guide member 714 with the rigidity of the partition member 708, the stabilization of the support of the light guide member 714 can be achieved.

[0453] In addition, since the vertical separation dimension between the displacement restricting member 716 and the partition member 708 can be reduced with the thin film cover member 712 interposed therebetween, it is possible to prevent light leakage from between the displacement restricting member 716 and the partition member 708.

[0454] Returning to FIGS. 43, 44, and 45 for description. The cover member 720 is a member formed of a resin material having colored (blue in this embodiment) light transmissivity and fastened and fixed to the base member 701. The cover member 720 includes a plurality of coupling portions 721 disposed at the peripheral edge portion in a bottom view and used for coupling with the base member 701, a plurality of rear-side through holes 722 formed in a shape larger than that of the light guide member 714 corresponding to the position of the light guide member 714 of the base member 701, a plurality of front-side through holes 723 formed in a plurality of locations (three locations in this embodiment) as a set of a pair on the left and right on the front side of the rear-side through holes 722, and a plurality of protruding pressing portions 724 protruding downward from the left and right outer portions on the back side and the left and right inner portions on the front side of the rear-side through holes 722.

[0455] The coupling portion 721 includes a plurality of insertion holes 721a formed so that fastening screws can be inserted from above, a plurality of fastening portions 721b into which fastening screws inserted from below into the base member 701 are screwed, and a plurality of hook-shaped portions 721c formed in a hook shape on the left and right outer back surfaces and engaged with the base member 701.

[0456] The lower edge portions of the rear-side through holes 722 are different in vertical position at four locations near the center and four locations near the left and right. In this embodiment, the portions near the center are formed higher. This is due to the design of the upper surface shape of the cover member 720. That is, the vertical position of the lower edge portion of the rear-side through holes 722 is adjusted in accordance with the fact that the portion near the center is curved upward so as to appear raised to give a three-dimensional feeling to the upper surface shape of the cover member 720.

[0457] The protruding pressing portion 724 is provided so that the protruding length is adjusted to partially offset the difference in the vertical position of the lower edge portion of the rear through hole 722. That is, the protruding pressing portion 724 disposed closer to the center has a longer protruding length, thereby adjusting the vertical displacement width of the hollow member 740 to be equal on the left and right. The protruding pressing portion 724 on the front side and the protruding pressing portion 724 on the back side are both disposed at positions overlapping the protruding columnar portion 743 of the hollow member 740 in the vertical direction view. Therefore, even if the posture of the hollow member 740 collapses, it is possible to prevent the protruding columnar portion 743 of the hollow member 740 from falling off from the receiving portion 735 of the plate-like displacement member 730.

[0458] In this embodiment, the vertical position of the lower end portion of the protruding pressing portion 724 on the back side is disposed lower than the vertical position of the lower end portion of the protruding pressing portion 724 on the front side. Thereby, even when the hollow member 740 abuts against the protruding pressing portion 724, the posture of the hollow member 740 can be tilted backward. Thereby, it is possible to make it easier for a player who views the hollow member 740 in the downward viewing direction from the front side to see the shape and pattern on the front side of the cylindrical main body portion 741 of the hollow member 740.

[0459] The plate-like displacement member 730 is formed of a colorless and light-transmissive resin material, and is a member rotatably supported by shaft supports on a pair of receiving recesses 702b formed on the left and right side portions of the plate-like member 702 and the lower surface of the cover member 720. It includes a pair of shaft-supported portions 731 protruding coaxially from both left and right ends with a circular cross section, light-transmissive holes 732 drilled in the vertical direction at a plurality of locations, a pair of load-receiving portions 733 extending in a plate shape to the front side of the shaft-supported portion 731 and receiving an upward pushing load from below, a plurality of light-guiding insertion holes 734 drilled in the vertical direction with a size that allows the light-guiding member 714 of the base member 701 to pass through, a plurality of small receiving portions 735 disposed in a pair on the diagonal line of the light-guiding insertion holes 734 and protruding in a ring shape in the top view, and a plurality of large receiving portions 736 disposed at the central position of the front through hole 723 of the cover member 720 in the top view and protruding in a ring shape in the top view.

[0460] FIG. 47 is a top view of the plate-shaped displacement member 730. The loaded portion 733 is disposed on the front side of the rotation axis passing through the center of the supported shaft portion 731, and separate drive units 760 correspond to the left and right sides respectively, and a load is applied from below.

[0461] The plate-shaped displacement member 730 rotates and displaces about the supported shaft portion 731 in different manners depending on the difference in the mode of the load applied to the loaded portion 733 (for example, whether the load is applied only to one side, or to both sides, or whether the load is applied at short time intervals, or whether a continuous load is applied, etc.). Details will be described later.

[0462] As shown in FIG. 47, the shape of the light guide insertion hole 734 is formed following the shape of the above-described light transmission hole 709. That is, the light guide insertion hole 734 is formed in a crystal shape (substantially elliptical shape, substantially tortoise shell shape) that is long in the front-rear direction, and its long direction faces different directions corresponding to the positions from the left-right center.

[0463] That is, the closer the light guide insertion hole 734 is to the center, the smaller the deviation between the long direction and the front-rear direction (in this embodiment, they are made to coincide), and the closer it is to the left and right ends, the long direction is inclined toward the front side and closer to the left-right center.

[0464] That is, the long direction of the light guide insertion hole 734 is set to be inclined toward the front side and closer to the left-right center, and the inclination angle is designed to increase as it gets closer to the left and right ends. In this embodiment, the increment of the inclination angle is configured to be constant (about 5 degrees).

[0465] The small receiving portion 735 is a portion that supports the hollow member 740 allowing rattling, and is arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line CL1 passing through the left-right center position of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, and the relationship with respect to the long direction of the light guide insertion hole 734 (the interval between the pair of small receiving portions 735 and the angle formed by the straight line connecting the pair of small receiving portions 735 and the long direction of the light guide insertion hole 734) is maintained.

[0466] As a result, while making the plurality of hollow members 740 arranged on one side of the center line CL1 have the same shape (while being symmetric about the left and right with the hollow members 740 arranged on the other side), the postures of the hollow members 740 in the assembled state of the second operation unit 700 (see FIG. 40) can be made different.

[0467] That is, similar to the shape of the light guide insertion hole 734, the deviation in the longitudinal direction and the front-rear direction is made smaller for the hollow members 740 closer to the center, and the longitudinal direction is made to incline toward the center of the left and right toward the front side as it approaches the left and right ends.

[0468] That is, the longitudinal direction of the hollow member 740 is set to a direction that inclines toward the center of the left and right toward the front side, and the inclination angle is designed to increase as it approaches the left and right ends. In this embodiment, it is configured such that the increment of the inclination angle is constant (about 5 degrees).

[0469] The pair of small receiving portions 735 includes a front small receiving portion 735a formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape with a circular cross-section and arranged on the front side with respect to the reference O1, and a rear small receiving portion 735b formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape with a circular cross-section and arranged on the rear side with respect to the reference O1.

[0470] In this embodiment, the inner cylinder diameter of the rear small receiving portion 735b is designed to be longer than the inner cylinder diameter of the front small receiving portion 735a. Specifically, the diameter of the cross-section of the protruding columnar portion 743 of the hollow member 740 is designed to be 3 [mm], the inner cylinder diameter of the front small receiving portion 735a is designed to be 4.8 [mm], and the inner cylinder diameter of the rear small receiving portion 735b is designed to be 5.0 [mm].

[0471] That is, the gap dimension generated in the facing direction between the small receiving portion 735 and the protruding columnar portion 743 is smaller for the gap dimension between the front small receiving portion 735a and the protruding columnar portion 743 than for the gap dimension between the rear small receiving portion 735b and the protruding columnar portion 743.

[0472] As a result, it is possible to bring order to the displacement mode of the hollow member 740 that is allowed to rattle and supported. That is, in the present embodiment, rotational displacement about the front small receiving portion 735a can be made more likely to occur than rotational displacement about the rear small receiving portion 735b.

[0473] In other words, it is easy to maintain the arrangement of the hollow member 740 in the vicinity of the front small receiving portion 735a, while it can be configured such that a deviation is likely to occur in the arrangement of the hollow member 740 in the vicinity of the rear small receiving portion 735b. Therefore, the direction of displacement of the hollow member 740 accompanying the rotational displacement of the plate-like displacement member 730 described later can be adjusted in a direction that spreads outward to the left and right toward the back side.

[0474] The large receiving portion 736 is a portion that allows rattling and supports the variable decorative member 750. The large receiving portions 736 arranged on both the left and right sides are formed such that the distance from the rotation axis passing through the center of the supported shaft portion 731 is longer and the vertical positions are also different, compared to the large receiving portion 736 arranged on the center line CL1. Details will be described later.

[0475] Returning to FIGS. 43, 44, and 45 for explanation. The hollow member 740 is composed of four identical-shaped members arranged side by side on the left side and four identical-shaped members arranged side by side on the right side, with a left-right symmetric shape. Therefore, the hollow member 740 arranged on the right side will be described in detail, and the description of the hollow member 740 arranged on the left side will be omitted.

[0476] FIG. 48 is a front perspective view of the hollow member 740. As shown in FIG. 48, the hollow member 740 is arranged so as to surround the front, rear, left, and right sides of the light guide member 714, thereby shielding the light leaking from the front, rear, left, and right sides of the light guide member 714 so that it is difficult for the player to visually recognize it, and is configured to collect the player's line of sight at the upper tip of the light guide member 714 where light is easily visible. It is a member formed in a cylindrical shape with a long crystal shape (substantially elliptical shape, substantially tortoise shell shape) in the front and rear directions and an outer frame designed to be open at the top and bottom, a flat extension part 742 extending in a flat plate shape in the front, rear, left, and right directions from the lower edge part of the cylindrical main body part 741, and a pair of protruding columnar parts 743 protruding downward in a columnar shape from the lower surface of the plate of the flat extension part 742.

[0477] The outer shape of the cylindrical main body part 741 when viewed from above is formed to be slightly smaller than the inner shape of the rear through hole 722 of the cover member 720 when viewed from above, while the outer shape of the flat extension part 742 when viewed from above is formed to be larger than the inner shape of the rear through hole 722 of the cover member 720 when viewed from above. That is, in the assembled state of the second operation unit 700 (see FIG. 40), the hollow member 740 is inserted into the rear through hole 722 and is displaceable up and down, while being restricted from being pulled out above the cover member 720.

[0478] The upper edge part of the cylindrical main body part 741 is lowered more as it goes toward the front side. As a result, the light reaching the upper end part of the light guide member 714 can be intensively radiated upward to the front side. On the other hand, most of the light going upward to the rear side is blocked by the cylindrical main body part 741. Therefore, the light reaching the upper end part of the light guide member 714 can reach the player's eyes well, and it is possible to prevent the visibility of the display from deteriorating due to a large amount of the light reaching the upper end part of the light guide member 714 moving into the third symbol display device 81.

[0479] The flat extension part 742 also functions as a part that restricts the upward displacement of the protruding pressing part 724 (see Fig. 45). That is, the protruding pressing part 724 is formed at a position corresponding to the protruding columnar part 743 on the back side, and restricts the upward displacement of the hollow member 740. In this way, since the protruding pressing part 724 and the protruding columnar part 743 are formed at corresponding positions, even when the posture of the hollow member 740 changes, it is possible to prevent the protruding columnar part 743 from coming out of the receiving part 735 of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, so that the hollow member 740 can be stably supported.

[0480] The protruding columnar part 743 has a hemispherical protruding tip, is arranged according to the arrangement interval of the receiving part 735 of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 (see Fig. 43), and is received by the receiving part 735 in the assembled state of the second operation unit 700 (see Fig. 40).

[0481] The pair of protruding columnar parts 743 and the cylindrical main body part 741 are configured not to be rotationally symmetric. Thereby, when assembled backwards, the positional relationship with the light guide member 714 can be changed, and misassembly prevention can be achieved. Note that since the four hollow members 740 arranged on each of the left and right are formed in a bilaterally symmetric shape, it is possible to prevent the hollow member 740 assembled on the left side from the left and right center positions from being assembled on the right side (misassembly prevention can be achieved).

[0482] Here, while the receiving part 735 rotates and displaces about the rotation axis center facing the left and right directions in the same displacement mode as the plate-shaped displacement member 730, the protruding columnar part 743 mainly displaces with the up and down displacement allowed by the hollow member 740. Since the protruding tip of the protruding columnar part 743 is formed in a hemispherical shape, the hollow member 740 can be displaced with less resistance. Here, the displacement mode of the hollow member 740 accompanying the rotational displacement of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 will be described.

[0483] Figs. 49(a), 49(b), and 49(c) are cross-sectional views of the light guide member 714, the plate-shaped displacement member 730, and the hollow member 740 taken along line XLIX-XLIX of Fig. 47. In Fig. 49(a), the lower end posture (initial posture) of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is shown. In Fig. 49(b), the horizontal posture of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is shown. In Fig. 49(c), the upper end posture of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is shown. The horizontal posture corresponds to a posture in which the plate-shaped displacement member 730 rotates (rises and displaces) about 2.1 degrees around the reference O1 from the lower end posture, and the upper end posture corresponds to a posture in which the plate-shaped displacement member 730 rotates (rises and displaces) about 4 degrees around the reference O1 from the horizontal posture.

[0484] As shown in Fig. 49(a), when the drive unit 760 is not operating, the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is stably supported in a posture in which it is inclined forward by about 2.1 degrees more than the horizontal posture (lower end posture (initial posture)). In this embodiment, by recessing the rear small receiving portion 735b deeper than the front small receiving portion 735a, the vertical displacement between the support position (bottom) of the front small receiving portion 735a and the support position (bottom) of the rear small receiving portion 735b in the lower end posture (initial posture) of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is suppressed.

[0485] Thereby, it is possible to prevent the posture of the hollow member 740 supported by the plate-shaped displacement member 730 in the lower end posture (initial posture) from becoming a forward-inclined posture. Further, by configuring the surfaces of the support positions (bottoms) of the front small receiving portion 735a and the rear small receiving portion 735b to descend and incline toward the front side in the same manner as the inclination of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, even when the hollow member 740 is displaced to the rear side, the hollow member 740 can be returned to the front side by sliding the hollow member 740 using the inclination of the support position (bottom).

[0486] Therefore, for example, even when the hollow member 740 is displaced due to the load generated when opening and closing the front frame 14, the position of the hollow member 740 can be stably maintained at a position closer to the front (initial position) before the operation of the drive unit 760.

[0487] As shown in Fig. 49(b), in the horizontal posture of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, the protruding columnar portion 743 of the hollow member 740 can ensure sufficient gaps with the small receiving portions 735 both in the front and the rear. Therefore, for example, when the plate-shaped displacement member 730 vibrates slightly in a posture near the horizontal posture, there is no significant difference in the vibration mode inside the small receiving portion 735 of the protruding columnar portion 743 between the front and rear protruding columnar portions 743, and the hollow member 740 is likely to be displaced disorderly in the front, rear, left, and right directions.

[0488] As shown in Fig. 49(c), in the process of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 being displaced to the upper terminal posture, the front protruding columnar portion 743 of the hollow member 740 abuts against the front small receiving portion 735a and is pushed backward.

[0489] Therefore, for example, when the plate-shaped displacement member 730 vibrates slightly with the upper terminal posture as a reference (near the upper terminal posture), the hollow member 740 is likely to rotate and displace about the protruding columnar portion 743 supported by the front small receiving portion 735a. That is, the displacement mode likely to occur in the hollow member 740 can be changed corresponding to the posture of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 serving as the reference for slight vibration.

[0490] In the hollow member 740, the light guide member 714 is inserted inside the cylindrical main body portion 741, and the pair of protruding columnar portions 743 are supported by being received by the small receiving portions 735 of the plate-shaped displacement member 730. Therefore, since the displacement of the hollow member 740 corresponds to the displacement of the small receiving portion 735, first, the displacement mode of the small receiving portion 735 will be described.

[0491] The small receiving portion 735 is a part of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, and thus displaces following the displacement of the plate-shaped displacement member 730. The plate-shaped displacement member 730 rotates and displaces about the reference O1 which is a straight line (a straight line facing the left-right direction) connecting the shaft-supported portions 731. Therefore, the small receiving portion 735 does not displace in the direction of the reference O1 (left-right direction), but displaces on a plane orthogonal to the reference O1. Along with this, the degree of inclination with respect to the center line CL1 of the straight line connecting the pair of small receiving portions 735 arranged on the left and right of the light guide member 714 changes. Therefore, also for the hollow member 740, the change in the degree of inclination with respect to the center line CL1 is promoted.

[0492] The hollow member 740 supported by the pair of small receiving portions 735 allows not only displacement on a plane orthogonal to the reference O1 but also displacement and posture change in the front-rear, left-right directions (horizontal direction) as the degree of the above-described inclination changes.

[0493] Since the arrangement of the small receiving portions 735 of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is symmetric with respect to the center line CL1, the change in the degree of the above-described inclination is also symmetric with respect to the center line CL1. Therefore, displacement or posture change of the hollow member 740 in the front-rear, left-right directions (horizontal direction) can be generated symmetrically.

[0494] Further, since the change in the degree of inclination with respect to the center line CL1 corresponds to the arrangement of the pair of small receiving portions 735 in the state before the change, the change in the degree of inclination of the pair of small receiving portions 735 on the side closer to the center line CL1 (central side) is different from the change in the degree of inclination of the pair of small receiving portions 735 on the side farther from the center line CL1 (left and right outer sides). In the present embodiment, since displacement in the direction parallel to the center line CL1 is maintained, the degree of change in the inclination of the pair of small receiving portions 735 on the left and right outer sides, which have a larger inclination angle with respect to the center line CL1 in the state before the change, is larger than the degree of change in the inclination of the pair of small receiving portions 735 on the central side (see FIG. 47). Thereby, the amount of posture change of the hollow member 740 when the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is displaced in a certain manner can be changed depending on whether it is on the side closer to or farther from the center line CL1.

[0495] The relationship between the hollow member 740 and the light guide member 714 at the time of displacement occurrence will be described. In order to suppress the resistance during displacement of the hollow member 740, the arrangement of the small receiving portions 735, the shape of the hollow member 740, and the shape of the light guide member 714 are designed in a dimensional relationship in which a gap is formed between the inner surface of the hollow member 740 and the outer surface of the light guide member 714.

[0496] Here, the design gap is different in the longitudinal direction of the light guide member 714 in a top view and the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. That is, the gap in the longitudinal direction is larger than the gap in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.

[0497] Therefore, as the inclination angle with respect to the center line CL1 in the longitudinal direction in the top view of the light guide member 714 increases (the ones arranged more on the left and right outer sides), the gap in the front-rear direction between the inner surface of the hollow member 740 and the outer surface of the light guide member 714 becomes narrower.

[0498] Therefore, when the hollow member 740 is displaced by the same amount in the front-rear direction as the rotational displacement of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, the hollow members 740 arranged on the left and right outer sides may be pressed against the light guide member 714, resulting in rubbing or being more likely to be damaged due to a large load. On the other hand, as a countermeasure, if the gap in the front-rear direction between the inner surface of the hollow member 740 and the outer surface of the light guide member 714 is set to be large in advance, the light guide member 714 and the hollow member 740 will be too far apart, so the effect of shielding the portion other than the tip of the light guide member 714 by the hollow member 740 and gathering the player's line of sight at the tip of the light guide member 714 will be weakened.

[0499] In contrast, in the present embodiment, the displacement amount in the front-rear direction of the hollow members 740 arranged on the left and right outer sides is configured to be smaller than the displacement amount in the front-rear direction of the hollow members 740 arranged on the left and right central sides.

[0500] That is, in the present embodiment, in a configuration where a plurality of small receiving portions 735 are arranged on the same plane parallel to the reference O1, the small receiving portions 735 arranged on the left and right outer sides are arranged such that the distance in the front-rear direction between the front small receiving portion 735 and the reference O1 is shorter than that of the small receiving portions 735 arranged on the left and right central sides.

[0501] Thereby, as the front small receiving portion 735 is displaced rearward with the rotational displacement of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, the displacement amount in the front-rear direction of the hollow member 740 that is pushed forward and displaced rearward can be geometrically defined to be slightly smaller for the members arranged on the left and right outer sides compared to the members arranged on the left and right central sides.

[0502] In the initial posture of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, the gap between the small receiving portion 735 and the protruding columnar portion 743 of the hollow member 740 is configured to be substantially equal in the front-back, left-right directions, and is provided such that even if the hollow member 740 moves horizontally in parallel, it does not fill the gap between the light guide member 714 and the hollow member 740.

[0503] Therefore, in a state where the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is in its initial posture (non-excitation state of the electromagnetic solenoid SOL2), even if the hollow member 740 is displaced when an external force is applied to the pachinko machine 10 by the player hitting or shaking the pachinko machine 10, the displacement is suppressed to be less than the gap dimension between the light guide member 714 and the hollow member 740. Therefore, the load transmitted between the light guide member 714 and the hollow member 740 can be reduced.

[0504] As the rotational displacement of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 occurs, the distance between the pair of small receiving portions 735 arranged on the left and right of the light guide insertion hole 734 changes in a top view. Therefore, the possibility that the hollow member 740 is displaced in the front-back direction while the center of the small receiving portion 735 and the center of the protruding columnar portion 743 of the hollow member 740 remain coincident is low.

[0505] At least in the gap between the small receiving portion 735 and the protruding columnar portion 743, the arrangement of the protruding columnar portion 743 with respect to the small receiving portion 735 changes. Along with this change, displacement or posture change of the hollow member 740 in the left-right direction can occur.

[0506] The mode of pushing the hollow member 740 will be described. As shown in FIG. 49, during the rotational displacement of the plate-shaped displacement member 730, the front side portion of the inner surface of the front small receiving portion 735a (the small receiving portion 735 on the side with a large front-back displacement) starts to contact the front side surface of the protruding columnar portion 743 and is pushed toward the back side.

[0507] At this time, from the above-described dimensional relationship, a gap is maintained between the front portion of the inner surface of the rear receiving portion 735b and the front surface portion of the protruding columnar portion 743. Therefore, play in the rotational direction about the protruding columnar portion 743 supported by the front receiving portion 735a is allowed. It is configured to be able to cope with the change in the distance between the receiving portions 735 in a top view due to the displacement using this play.

[0508] In this way, the receiving portion 735 is configured to displace the hollow member 740 toward the back side, and play that allows rotational displacement about the protruding columnar portion 743 on the front side is provided between the rear receiving portion 735b and the protruding columnar portion 743. Therefore, even when the hollow member 740 and the light guide member 714 collide during the displacement of the hollow member 740 based on the rotational displacement of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 using the electromagnetic solenoid SOL2 as a drive source, the load generated between the hollow member 740 and the light guide member 714 can be suppressed to a small value, so that the hollow member 740 or the light guide member 714 can be prevented from cracking or chipping.

[0509] Returning to FIGS. 43, 44, and 45 for explanation. The variable decorative member 750 includes a bifurcated support member 751 supported between the cover member 720 and the plate-shaped displacement member 730, and a decorative member 756 fastened and fixed to the bifurcated support member 751 and disposed above the cover member 720.

[0510] The bifurcated support member 751 includes a columnar protruding portion 752 protruding downward in a columnar shape from the lower surface of the central portion of a plate-shaped main body portion formed in a horizontally long plate shape, a pair of cylindrical protruding portions 753 (different in length) protruding upward in a cylindrical shape from both left and right end portions of the plate-shaped main body portion, and a plate-shaped extending portion 754 extending in a plate shape from the central portion of the plate-shaped main body portion toward the back side.

[0511] The protruding tip of the protruding columnar portion 752 is formed in a hemispherical shape and is received by the large receiving portion 736 of the plate-shaped displacement member 730. The cylindrical protruding portion 753 of the bifurcated support member 751 is formed to be insertable into the front through hole 723. While the up-and-down displacement of the bifurcated support member 751 is allowed by the front through hole 723, the large receiving portion 736 rotates and displaces about an axis passing through the center of the supported shaft portion 731. Therefore, although the directions of displacement are different from each other, due to the protruding tip of the protruding columnar portion 752 being formed in a hemispherical shape, the variable decorative member 750 can be displaced with less resistance as the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is displaced.

[0512] The plate-shaped extending portion 754 acts to arrange the center of gravity position of the variable decorative member 750 on the back side of the center of the protruding columnar portion 752. That is, the posture in which the variable decorative member 750 is stabilized by its own weight can be set to a backward inclined posture. Thereby, the contact position between the protruding columnar portion 752 and the plate-shaped displacement member 730 when the plate-shaped displacement member 730 is in the initial posture can be brought closer to the front side as compared with the case where the variable decorative member 750 stands upright without inclination. Therefore, the displacement amount of the variable decorative member 750 near the start point of the posture change of the plate-shaped displacement member 730 can be increased.

[0513] The decorative member 756 includes a pair of protruding leg portions 757 that protrude downward corresponding to the cylindrical protruding portion 753, and female threads are formed at the tips of the protruding leg portions 757. The protruding leg portions 757 are inserted inside the cylindrical protruding portion 753.

[0514] An insertion hole through which a fastening screw can be inserted is formed in the plate-shaped main body portion of the bifurcated support member 751 along the center position of the cylindrical protruding portion 753. By inserting a fastening screw into the insertion hole and screwing the fastening screw into the female thread at the tip of the protruding leg portion 757, the bifurcated support member 751 and the decorative member 757 are fastened and fixed.

[0515] The assembly process of the second operation unit 700 will be described. First, the variable decoration member 750 is assembled to the cover member 720. That is, the cylindrical protruding portion 753 of the bifurcated support member 751 is passed through the front through hole 723 of the cover member 720 from below, the protruding leg portion 757 of the decoration member 756 is inserted into the cylindrical protruding portion 753, and a fastening screw is screwed into the female screw at the tip of the protruding leg portion 757.

[0516] Next, the plate-shaped displacement member 730, the hollow member 740, and the cover member 720 are sequentially placed on the base member 701, and the cover member 720 is fastened and fixed to the base member 701. When assembling the cover member 720 to the base member 701, a fastening screw is inserted through the insertion hole 721a from above with the hook-shaped portion 721c engaged with the engaging portion 702a formed on the back side of the plate-shaped member 702 to fasten and fix the cover member 720 and the base member 701, and then the fastening screw is screwed into the fastening portion 721b with the top and bottom reversed. 【05...

Claims

A gaming machine comprising displacement means configured to be displaceable in a visible manner with respect to a player, drive means for generating a driving force for displacing the displacement means, and transmission means for transmitting the driving force of the drive means to the displacement means, wherein the transmission means is configured with a shape in which the dimension in a second direction intersecting the first direction is shorter than the dimension in the first direction and the ease of bending is different in direction, and the angle formed by the direction of the force received from the displacement means and the second direction changes before and after the displacement means passes a predetermined reference position as the displacement means is displaced in a predetermined direction by an external force, the transmission means is configured not to have a detected portion for detection, the displacement means is characterized in that, as the displacement, at least after the start of the displacement, the displacement means is translated while maintaining a predetermined posture.

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