Vertically Operating Doors for Gaming Machine Cabinet Spacing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Gaming machines with standard designs face challenges in being arranged closely together due to their size and door mechanisms, which hinder efficient maintenance and security while occupying more space than necessary.
Innovation Solution
A gaming machine design featuring vertically operating doors that allow for closer spacing by pivoting the main and lower doors to expose the enclosure volume without requiring significant changes to the pedestal width, incorporating a button panel structure and latch mechanism for secure closure and easy access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If standard horizontal doors are used on gaming machines, then security and maintenance access are provided, but the machines cannot be arranged closely together due to door interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional horizontal door opening direction by implementing vertical opening doors that pivot upward. This inversion allows the door to open without interfering with adjacent machines, enabling closer spacing while maintaining full access to the enclosure volume for maintenance purposes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from horizontal door operation (two-dimensional plane) to vertical door operation (adding the vertical dimension). The door pivots along a horizontal axis at the top, moving upward to expose the enclosure, thereby eliminating interference with adjacent machines while preserving access functionality
2Adaptability or versatility
If wide-body pedestal-mounted gaming machines are used, then more features can be accommodated, but they require more pedestal width spacing
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the door opening direction to vertical, the patent enables wide-body machines to be placed closer together on standard-width pedestals. The vertical opening mechanism eliminates the lateral space requirement, allowing the machines to maintain their versatile feature set while reducing the pedestal width needed for proper spacing
3Reliability
If doors are designed to securely close the cabinet, then component security is improved, but maintenance access becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The vertical opening mechanism allows the door to pivot fully upward, exposing the entire enclosure volume for maintenance. This inversion of the opening direction ensures that security is maintained when closed while providing complete and easy access when open, eliminating the trade-off between security and maintenance accessibility
Data Source
AI summary
A gaming machine includes a cabinet defining an enclosure volume with a cabinet front opening. A main door is pivotally connected at its upper end to the cabinet so as to be pivotable with respect to the cabinet between a closed position and an open position. In the open position the lower end of the main door is pivoted upwardly and away from the cabinet to expose the enclosure volume in the main portion of the cabinet. A button panel or button panel and armrest structure is mounted at the lower end of the main door, and extends in a plane lying at an angle to the remainder of the main door so as to project outwardly from the cabinet when the main door is in the closed position. A lower door of the gaming machine has a lower end which is ako pivotally connected to the cabinet so as to be pivotable with respect to the cabinet between a closed position and an open position.