U.S. patent application number 10/696584 was filed with the patent office on 2004-11-11 for gaming machine.
Invention is credited to Nagano, Hiroyuki.
Application Number | 20040224776 10/696584 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32089552 |
Filed Date | 2004-11-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040224776 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nagano, Hiroyuki |
November 11, 2004 |
Gaming machine
Abstract
A gaming machine is provided with a cabinet; a door (3),
provided on a front face opening of the above-mentioned cabinet; a
bill insertion slot (529), provided in the door (3); and a bill
guide plate (52A), which extends outwards from below the bill
insertion slot (529) and is for guiding a bill to the bill
insertion slot (529); and here, the bill guide plate (52A) is
equipped with slit openings (524), a guide part, which guides
foreign matter from the exterior, is positioned in the direction
substantially below the slit openings (524), and a drain bottle
(7), for recovery of the foreign matter guided by the
above-mentioned guide part, is equipped at the rear face side of
the door (3). Thus even if foreign matter is spilled onto the bill
guide plate, the foreign matter can be collected without getting on
the various devices inside the cabinet.
Inventors: |
Nagano, Hiroyuki; (Tokyo,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LOWE HAUPTMAN GILMAN AND BERNER, LLP
1700 DIAGONAL ROAD
SUITE 300 /310
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
32089552 |
Appl. No.: |
10/696584 |
Filed: |
October 30, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/46 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/32 20130101;
G07F 7/04 20130101; G07F 1/045 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/046 |
International
Class: |
A63F 009/24 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 30, 2002 |
JP |
2002-316730 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A gaming machine enabling the insertion of bills, the gaming
machine comprising: a cabinet; and a door, provided on a front face
of the cabinet; wherein the door comprises: a bill insertion slot;
a bill guide plate, extending outwards from a lower end of the bill
insertion slot and having an opening; a guide part, positioned in a
direction substantially right under the opening of the bill guide
plate and guiding foreign matter from an exterior; and a container,
disposed at the rear face of the door for collecting the foreign
matter.
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein an upper
opening of the container is positioned in a substantially downward
direction below the guide part and has a larger cross-sectional
area than a cross section of the lower end part of the guide
part.
3. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the container
is detachably mounted to the rear face of the door.
4. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the container
is rectangular in horizontal cross-section, and one of long sides
of the rectangular faces to the rear face of the door when
container is mounted to the door.
5. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the container
is formed of a substantially transparent or semi-transparent
material.
6. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein a storage
capacity of the container is one liter or less.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based upon and claims a priority from
the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-316730 filed on Oct.
30, 2002, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by
reference.
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to a gaming machine.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Video poker machines, slot machines, and other gaming
machines are installed in casinos, etc. Those are equipped with a
bill insertion slot for directly inserting bills instead of coins
or medals. An example is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent
Publication No. 09-106471.
[0006] With such a gaming machine, when a player runs out of coins,
etc., on hand, the player will not have to stand up from his/her
seat and go to a coin changer to change bills into coins, etc. The
player can also continue to play a game without having to call
game-hall staff.
[0007] In many cases, at a lower position of such a bill insertion
slot, a bill guide plate for guiding a bill into the bill insertion
slot is provided. By providing such a bill guide plate, a player
can insert a bill into the bill insertion slot more readily.
[0008] However, in a game arcade, there are people who play games
while taking a simple meal or drink and a drink may become spilled
onto the bill guide plate by chance. There are also insolent
persons who, on becoming irritated of not obtaining the desired
game results, throws a drink in his/her hand onto the gaming
machine.
[0009] The bill guide plate has an upper surface that is relatively
large in area and thus has a structure that may receive a spilled
drink or other foreign matter more readily in comparison to other
parts of the gaming machine in the above circumstances.
Furthermore, since the bill guide plate is disposed adjacent the
bill insertion slot, the above-mentioned foreign matter may enter
inside the bill insertion slot.
[0010] Since the entry of such foreign matter into the bill
insertion slot leads to malfunction of the gaming machine, such a
situation had to be prevented in advance.
[0011] A gaming machine which has a bill guide plate with a drain
hole has been considered for such a drawback. However, since the
drain hole of this gaming machine is small, it tended to clog
readily. Also, since the collected liquid was simply drained into a
space opened below a cabinet, when a large amount of liquid is
spilled, contamination of the interior of the cabinet occurred due
to the inadequate draining ability.
[0012] The present invention has been made in view of the
foregoing. An object of the present invention is to provide a
gaming machine, with which even when foreign matter is spilled onto
a bill guide plate, the foreign matter can be collected without
getting on various devices inside a cabinet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The present invention provides a gaming machine, with which
a liquid or other foreign matter spilled onto a bill guide plate
can be collected via slit openings provided in the bill guide
plate.
[0014] More specifically, the present invention provides the
following.
[0015] (1) A gaming machine enabling the insertion of bills, the
gaming machine comprising: a cabinet; and a door, provided on a
front face of the cabinet; wherein the door comprises: a bill
insertion slot; a bill guide plate, extending outwards from a lower
end of the bill insertion slot and having an opening; a guide part,
positioned in a direction substantially right under the opening of
the bill guide plate and guiding foreign matter from an exterior;
and a container, disposed at the rear face of the door for
collecting the foreign matter.
[0016] With the above-described aspect of the invention of (1),
foreign matter from the exterior, which drops from the opening of
the bill guide plate, can be collected in the container via the
guide part to reduce the drawbacks of malfunction of various
devices inside the cabinet due to foreign matter from the exterior.
This effect is especially prominent in the case where the foreign
matter is liquid.
[0017] With those in the related art, when liquid or other foreign
matter was spilled onto the bill guide plate, the foreign matter
flowed into the bill insertion slot, causing malfunction of the
various devices in the interior.
[0018] Thus by providing the opening in the bill guide plate of the
gaming machine and equipping the gaming machine with a container
for recovery of the foreign matter that flows from the opening as
in the present invention, the foreign matter can be prevented from
flowing inside the bill insertion slot and accumulating inside the
cabinet.
[0019] (2) The gaming machine according to (1) wherein an upper
opening of the container is positioned in a substantially downward
direction below the guide part and has a larger cross-sectional
area than a cross section of the lower end part of the guide
part.
[0020] With the above-described aspect of the invention of (2), the
upper face opening of the container is positioned in a
substantially downward direction below the guide part and has a
larger cross-sectional area than the cross section of the lower end
part of the guide part. The foreign matter from the exterior that
is guided from the guide part can thus be prevented from leaking
out of the container and can be collected readily in the
container.
[0021] (3) The gaming machine according to (1) or (2) wherein the
container is detachably mounted to the rear face of the door.
[0022] With the above-described aspect of the invention of (3), the
container is not formed integral to the rear face of the door but
is mounted in a detachable manner. Thus even when foreign matter
from the exterior accumulates in the container, detachment can be
performed relatively readily. The foreign matter from the exterior
can thus be discarded from the container.
[0023] Also, since the container is mounted to the rear face of the
door, the container can be detached simply by opening the door and
without being affected by the existence of other devices.
[0024] (4) The gaming machine according to any one from (1) to (3)
wherein the container is rectangular in horizontal cross-section,
and one of long sides of the rectangular faces to the rear face of
the door when container is mounted to the door.
[0025] With the above-described aspect of the invention of (4), the
shape of the container can be made extremely thin. This is thus
excellent in terms of saving space within the cabinet and yet a
relatively large amount of foreign matter can be collected in the
containment part.
[0026] (5) The gaming machine according to any one from (1) to (4)
wherein the container is formed of a substantially transparent or
semi-transparent material.
[0027] With the above-described aspect of the invention of (5),
since the collected amount of foreign matter from the exterior that
is collected in the container can be directly viewed readily from
the exterior of the container, the container will not have to be
detached each time the timing for discarding the foreign matter
from the exterior is to be checked.
[0028] (6) The gaming machine according to any one from (1) to (5)
wherein a storage capacity of the container is one liter or
less.
[0029] With the above-described aspect of the invention of (6),
since the storage capacity of the container is approximately one
liter or less, a spilled drink, etc., can be contained adequately
and since there is no need to make available a large space for
installing the container, the container can be installed suitably,
for example, at the rear side of the door.
[0030] Other features and advantageous of the invention will be
apparent from the following description taken in connection with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine of the present
invention.
[0032] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of an operating part of
the present invention.
[0033] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a door of the
present invention is opened.
[0034] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bill guide plate of the
present invention.
[0035] FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a state in which
the bill guide plate and a mounted body of the present invention
are assembled together.
[0036] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective diagram of a bill loading
part of the present invention.
[0037] FIG. 7 is a partial view of the door as seen from the rear
face side.
[0038] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective diagram of a frame body of
the present invention.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0039] An embodiment of the present invention shall now be
described with reference to the drawings. Though an application of
the present invention to a slot machine shall be described as the
embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto and may be
applied to various other gaming machines, such as video game
machines, coin game machines, card game machines, etc.
[0040] The construction of a slot machine shall now be
described.
[0041] FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine 1. At the front
opening part of a cabinet 2 of slot machine 1, a door 3 is provided
in a manner enabling opening and closing. Also, a top frame 4 is
mounted on an upper part of cabinet 2. A decorative panel plate 41
is provided on the front face of top frame 4.
[0042] A display device 21, which displays gaming information, is
installed inside the cabinet 2. In order to enable viewing of the
display on the display device 21, a window is formed on an upper
part of the cabinet 3. And in order to enable viewing of the
display on the display device 21 and to protect display device 21,
a transparent plate is mounted on the above-mentioned window. At
both sides of the above-mentioned window are formed sound holes 902
(902L and 902R) that enable effect sounds or music generated
according to gaming states to be heard readily.
[0043] At a central part of the front face of the door 3, an
operating part 5 is disposed in a protruding manner. At an inclined
face at the right side of operating part 5, various operation
buttons are aligned and a coin slot 51, into which coins are
loaded, is equipped. At the right side of the operating part 5 is
equipped with a bill loading part 52 for guiding a bill to a bill
validator housed inside the cabinet 2.
[0044] At a lower part of the operating part 5 is provided a frame
6, which is connected to the door 3 in a manner enabling opening
and closing. A decorative panel plate 61 is enclosed in the frame
6. At a lower part of the frame 6 at a bottom part of the door 3 is
formed a coin tray 30, which receives coins.
[0045] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the operating part 5. The
above-mentioned bill loading part 52 comprises a bill guide plate
51A and a mounting member 52B. The bill guide plate 52A and the
mounting member 52B are integrated together and mounted to the
operating part 5. The mounting member 52B forms a part of the door
3.
[0046] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the door 3 is
opened. As shown in FIG. 3, the bill validator 22 and a bill
stacker 23 are installed inside the cabinet 2. The bill validator
22 determines the truth/falseness or quality of a bill loaded from
the bill loading part 52. The bill stacker 23 houses bills
validated by the bill validator 22. A bill guided by the bill
loading part 52 is taken in by the bill validator 22 via a bill
insertion slot 529.
[0047] Also, at the rear face side of the door 3, a drain bottle 7,
which is a container, is mounted directly below the mounting member
52B.
[0048] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bill guide plate 52A. As
shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of substantially rectilinear slit
openings 521 are formed in parallel as a plurality of openings in
the bill guide plate 52A. Slit openings 521 are disposed in
parallel with each other. Slit openings 521 run along the direction
from the bill insertion slot 529 to the outer side of the cabinet
2. The entirety of the opening of the slit opening 521 does not
comprise a hole that passes through bill guide plate 52A. That is,
a slit opening 521 is an open groove having a bottom formed by an
opening bottom part 600. By providing the bottom at a part of each
slit opening, the inner parts of the slit openings and the dropped
foreign matter can be prevented from being seen readily by a player
while securing an area for taking in foreign matter. Also,
partition members 523 are formed on bill guide plate 52A. The
partition members 523 partition each slit opening 521 into a
plurality of small slit openings 524. The position of the upper
surface of a partition member 523 is slightly lower than a bill
guide surface 522. And as shown in FIG. 4, the length of each small
slit opening 524 partitioned by partition members 523 is formed to
be smaller than the diameter of a coin 10 used in the gaming
machine.
[0049] FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a state in which
the bill guide plate 52A and the mounting member 52B are assembled
together. As shown in FIG. 5, the bill guide plate 52A is
detachably mounted to a loading slot 520, which serves as a bill
insertion space. Also, in order that a bill is taken in readily,
the bill guide plate 52A extends outwards from the lower end of the
bill insertion slot 529 that is positioned at a lower side of the
loading slot 520.
[0050] At the mounting member 52B, the peripheral walls that form
loading slot 520 are connected to the cabinet2. The peripheral
walls extends downwards and form a first opening 525 that opposes
loading slot 520. The peripheral walls that form first opening 525
continue further downward and form a second opening 526 that is
open in the downward direction. The loading slot 520, first opening
part 525, and second opening part 526 form a space of substantially
pyramidal shape with the apex at the lower side. The bill guide
plate 52A is formed so as to cover the first opening part 525 from
above. The first opening part 525 and second opening part 526 are
for guiding liquid and other foreign matter that enter via the slit
opening 521 from the exterior.
[0051] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective diagram of the bill
loading part 52. As shown in FIG. 6, a protrusion 528A is formed on
the rear wall of the bill guide plate 52A. A cylindrical protrusion
528B is formed on the front lower wall of the bill guide plate 52A.
An internal thread is formed in the cylindrical protrusion 528B.
Meanwhile, a groove 528C is formed in the rear inner wall of the
first opening part 525 of mounting member 52B. The bill guide plate
52A is assembled onto the mounting member 52B by inserting the
protrusion 528A of the bill guide plate 52A into the groove 528C
and tilting the bill guide plate 52A towards the mounting member
52B. The bill guide plate 52A can also be separated from the
mounting member 52B by movement in the opposite direction.
[0052] The bill guide plate 52A and mounting member 52B are made
integral by fixing the cylindrical protrusion 528B of the bill
guide plate 52A to the mounting member 52B utilizing a fixing screw
BF1. The integrated bill guide plate 52A and mounting member 52B
are then inserted in a notched part of a control panel 50 of the
operating part 5. The integrated bill guide plate 52A and mounting
member 52B are then fixed by a fixing screw BF2 onto a mounting
bracket 501, provided on the control panel 50, thus completing the
assembly.
[0053] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, an edge of the
control panel 50 is inserted into a groove 527 formed in a front
part of the mounting member 52B and the mounting member 52B is
tilted towards control panel 50. And then a collar of the mounting
member 52B comes in contact with the upper face of control panel
50. The mounting member 52B is then fixed to the control panel 50
by the fixing screw BF2 to attain the fixed state.
[0054] FIG. 7 is a partial view of door 3 as seen from the rear
face side. As shown in FIG. 7, a drain bottle 7 is installed at the
rear face side of door 3. An upper face opening 70 of the drain
bottle 7 is positioned below a second opening 526 of mounting
member 52B. That is, the drain bottle 7 is installed so that the
center of gravity of the upper face opening 70 of the drain bottle
is substantially matched with the center of gravity of the second
opening 526. Also, the upper face opening 70 of the drain bottle 7
is made larger in cross-sectional area than the cross section of
the second opening 526 at the lower end part.
[0055] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective diagram of a frame body 6.
As shown in FIG. 8, a frame plate 632 is formed to a generally
"U"-like shape and houses a decorative panel plate 61. Also, a
cover 62 is mounted to the frame plate 632. At the left flank of
the frame plate 632 is provided a cylinder lock 6A for locking or
unlocking the frame body 6 to or from the door 3. At the right
flank of the frame plate 632 is formed a through hole 633. A pivot
64 is inserted into the through hole 633 and the frame 6 is
rotatably joined with the door 3. The decorative panel plate 61,
cover 62, and frame plate 632 thus open and close integrally.
[0056] At the back face of cover 62 are mounted two metal latches
71. Meanwhile, cylindrical pins 7A are protruded from the left and
right side faces of the drain bottle 7. The pins 7A engage with the
U-shaped grooves of the metal latches 71 and the drain bottle 7 is
thereby put in the state in which it is installed on the back face
of the cover 62. Also, the engagement of the metal latches 71 and
pins 7A can be disengaged by lifting up the drain bottle 7, and the
drain bottle 7 can then be moved to another location. In the state
in which the drain bottle 7 is installed on the frame body 6, the
bottom face of the drain bottle 7 is positioned slightly above the
bottom face of the frame body 6.
[0057] As shown in FIG. 8, the drain bottle 7 has a thin, laterally
long shape. The drain bottle 7 is rectangular in horizontal
cross-section in the part positioned below the upper face opening
70. The drain bottle 7 is mounted so as to face its one of long
sides of the rectangular to the rear face of the cover 62.
[0058] The drain bottle 7 is formed of a substance of substantially
transparent or semi-transparent material (for example, glass or a
synthetic resin). The storage capacity of the drain bottle 7 is
approximately one liter or less. Due to being approximately one
liter or less in the storage capacity, the drain bottle 7 can
adequately contain a drink, etc., that is spilled onto the bill
guide plate 52A. Also the drain bottle 7 can be installed suitably,
for example, at the rear side of the door 3 since there is no need
to make available a large space for installation.
[0059] The actions shall now be described. As described with FIG.
4, the bill guide plate 52A has a plurality of substantially
rectilinear slit openings 521 formed in columns. Thus even when a
drink or other foreign matter spills onto the bill guide plate, it
can be collected through the slit openings 521. The foreign matter
will not get on the various devices inside the cabinet and breakage
of the various devices can be prevented.
[0060] Also as shown in FIG. 5, the bill guide plate 52A has the
form of a bag with an open bottom and the inner peripheral walls
form inclined faces with which a solution or other foreign matter
that is thrown in can fall readily by gravity to the bottom face.
Likewise, each of the first opening 525 of the mounting member 52B
and the second opening 526, which continues from the first opening
525, has the form of a bag with an open bottom and the inner
peripheral walls form inclined faces with which a solution or other
foreign matter that is thrown in can fall readily by gravity to the
bottom face.
[0061] That is, the first opening 525 and second opening 526, which
are positioned in the direction substantially below the slit
openings 521, form a guide part that guides a solution or other
foreign matter from the exterior. And by the drain bottle 7
equipped below the second opening 526 of the mounting member 52B as
shown in FIG. 7, the foreign matter that is guided by the
above-mentioned guide part can be collected in the drain bottle
7.
[0062] Foreign matter from the exterior, which enters from the slit
openings 521 of the bill guide plate 52A can thus be collected in
the drain bottle 7 via the above-described guide part. Drawbacks of
malfunction of the various devices inside the cabinet 2 due to the
foreign matter from the exterior can thus be reduced, and this
effect is especially prominent in the case where the foreign matter
is liquid.
[0063] Next, the actions of the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 7
shall be described. By the upper face opening 70 of the drain
bottle 7 being greater in cross-sectional area than the cross
section of the lower end part of the second opening 526, the
foreign matter from the exterior that is guided from the mounting
member 52B in FIG. 5 can be prevented from leaking out of the drain
bottle 7 and can be collected readily in the drain bottle 7.
[0064] Also, it was described with FIG. 8 that the metal latches 71
of the cover 62 and pins 7A of the drain bottle 7 can be engaged
and disengaged. That is, the drain bottle 7 is not formed
integrally on the rear face of the door 3 but is mounted in a
detachable manner. Thus even when foreign matter from the exterior
accumulate in the drain bottle 7, the drain bottle 7 can be
detached and the foreign matter can thus be discarded from drain
bottle 7. Also, since the drain bottle 7 is mounted to the rear
face of the door 3, the drain bottle 7 can be detached simply after
opening the door 3 without being affected by the existence of other
devices.
[0065] Also as shown in FIG. 8, the drain bottle 7 has a laterally
long shape with which the horizontal cross section of the
containment part positioned below the upper face opening 70 has a
shape that is long in the lateral direction. The drain bottle 7 of
the above-mentioned lateral direction is mounted so as to be set
along the rear face of the cover 62.
[0066] As described with FIG. 3, a bill validator 22 and a bill
stacker 23 are disposed inside the cabinet 2. A coin guide 24 is
also disposed inside the cabinet 2. Behind the coin guide 24 are
mounted a printed circuit board for controlling the slot machine 1
and a shelf 25. Furthermore, an unillustrated hopper is disposed
below the coin guide 24. Since the interior of the cabinet 2 is
thus put in a crowded mounted state, a space by which the drain
bottle 7 can protrude towards the interior of cabinet 2 does not
exist.
[0067] Also as shown in FIG. 7, a coin allocating device, which
allocates a coin 10 loaded in from the coin slot 51 into the coin
guide 24 or coin tray 30 is disposed adjacent mounting member 52B
at the back face of door 3.
[0068] Thus in order to make the containment capacity of the drain
bottle 7 large within such a limited space, drain bottle 7 is made
thin and laterally long in shape. The drain bottle 7 is thus
excellent in terms of saving space within the cabinet 2 and yet a
relatively large amount of foreign matter can be collected in the
containment part of the drain bottle 7 under the above-mentioned
restrictions.
[0069] Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the drain bottle 7 is formed of a
substance of substantially transparent or semi-transparent material
(for example, glass or a synthetic resin). When the door 3 or frame
body 6 is opened, the drain bottle 7 moves along with the door 3 or
frame body 6, thus enabling the drain bottle 7 to be viewed. By
forming the drain bottle 7 of a substance of substantially
transparent or semi-transparent material, the foreign matter
collected in the drain bottle 7 can be viewed readily. The
collected amount can thus be recognized without having to detach
the drain bottle 7 each time to check the timing for discarding the
foreign matter from the exterior.
[0070] With the present invention, a gaming machine, equipped with
a bill guide plate for guiding a bill into a bill insertion slot,
is equipped with a guide part, guiding foreign matter from the
exterior, in the direction substantially below a opening that is
equipped by the bill guide plate, and is equipped with a container,
for collecting the foreign matter guided by the above-mentioned
guide part, at the rear face side of the above-mentioned door. A
foreign matter from the exterior, which drops from the opening of
the bill guide plate, can thus be collected in the container via
the guide part to reduce the drawbacks of malfunction of the
various devices inside the cabinet due to foreign matter from the
exterior. This effect is especially prominent in the case where the
foreign matter is liquid.
[0071] Also with the present invention, an upper face opening of
the above-mentioned container is positioned in a substantially
downward direction below the above-mentioned guide part and has a
larger cross-sectional area than the cross section of the lower end
part of the guide part. The foreign matter from the exterior that
is guided from the guide part can thus be prevented from leaking
out of the container and can be collected readily in the
container.
[0072] Furthermore with the present invention, the above-mentioned
container is mounted to the rear face side of the above-mentioned
door and is mounted in a manner enabling detachment from the rear
face of the above-mentioned door. The container is thus not formed
integral to the rear face of the door but is mounted in a
detachable manner. Thus when foreign matter from the exterior
accumulate in the container, the container can be detached
relatively readily and the foreign matter from the exterior can be
discarded from the container.
[0073] Also, with the present invention, the above-mentioned
container has a laterally long shape with which a containment part
positioned below the upper opening has a horizontal cross section
of a shape that is long in the lateral direction. And the container
is mounted so that the above-mentioned lateral direction is set
along the rear face of the above-mentioned door. The shape of the
container can thus be made extremely thin. This is thus excellent
in terms of saving space within the cabinet and yet a relatively
large amount of foreign matter can be collected in the containment
part.
[0074] Furthermore with the present invention, by the
above-mentioned container being made of a substantially transparent
or semitransparent material, the amount of foreign matter collected
in the container can be viewed readily. The timing for discarding
the foreign matter from the container can thus be recognized
without having to detach and check the container each time.
* * * * *