JP2006341015A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of attracting not only an attention of a player but also attentions of persons staying around the game machine. <P>SOLUTION: This game machine 1 is provided with a reel part display 2a and a trunk part display 17, and executes a performance of a picture display enhancing the player's expectation and satisfaction during a game, the display of information on specifications and the game history of the game machine, and the display of advertisements on the reel part display 2a and the trunk part display 17 according to the state of the game. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine that displays effects and information related to games.

  A plurality of reels each having a plurality of types of symbols arranged on the peripheral surface are provided, the reels are rotated and then stopped, and game media such as medals are ejected according to the symbol combinations displayed at the time of the stop. Conventionally, slot machines are widely known as gaming machines that give benefits to players. The front panel of this type of gaming machine (the surface facing the player) is generally a reel panel with a window for displaying a reel, and an upper panel arranged above the reel panel and displaying a payout table, etc. , Placed under the reel unit panel, and placed under the operation unit and the operation unit for performing gaming operations, and decorative pictures such as characters according to the model name of the gaming machine and the concept of the gaming machine are drawn There is a lower plate for receiving a medal to be paid out at the time of winning a prize.

In the above-mentioned gaming machine, it is possible to easily attach and detach the pattern sheet on which the model name and concept of the gaming machine is drawn from the torso panel unit, and to change the model of the gaming machine and to perform maintenance or image change of the torso panel. A gaming machine that can be easily performed has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
JP2004-321578

  By the way, in the conventional gaming machine described above, in order to enhance the player's expectation for the game result or to produce an effect for enhancing the player's satisfaction, such as an effect reel, a liquid crystal display device, etc. The mainstream is equipped with a production device. However, the effects produced by these effect devices are all performed on the upper panel or the reel part panel, and the trunk part panel does not contribute to the effect during the game. Further, in recent years, it has become common to produce effects by images (hereinafter referred to as image effects) on the upper panel or the reel section panel. It has become difficult to attract the attention of those who are trying.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that can attract the interests of not only players but also those around them.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a gaming machine having a game status display area for displaying the progress of a game and the results of the game, and is provided below the game display area for performing operations related to the game. An operation unit provided with switches, a lower image display device that is provided below the operation unit and displays an image on a display screen, and an image display control unit that performs display control of the lower image display device It is characterized by having.

  Here, when a slot machine is assumed as an example of the gaming machine described above, the progress of the game means that the reel is rotating, and the result of the game is that the reel stops rotating and the reel This means that the symbol is stopped and displayed. In addition, as switches for performing operations related to the game, a switch that is turned on by tilting the lever, such as a start lever for starting the rotation of the reel, and a stop switch for stopping the rotation of the reel. There are push button type switches. Further, as the lower image display device, a CRT, a liquid crystal display, a plasma display, an organic EL, a dot display in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged in a matrix form, and the like can be applied.

  According to the above-described gaming machine, an image display device is installed in a portion that has conventionally only functioned as a decorative board, where the model name of the gaming machine or a decorative pattern has been drawn, and image display control is performed. Since the display contents are controlled by the unit, by displaying images of various contents on the image display device, it is possible to give a fresh taste to the gaming machine and attract the interest of the player and those in the vicinity.

  Further, the present invention provides an upper image display device provided above the operation unit and having the game situation display area formed in a display screen, and the image display control unit includes display control of the upper image display device. The display control of the lower image display device is performed.

  According to the gaming machine described above, the image display area is increased, and a wider variety of image display is possible. Therefore, it is easy to attract the interest of the player and those around him.

  In addition, the gaming machine of the present invention is characterized in that the image display control unit performs display control to display at least information related to a game on the lower image display device.

  Here, the information relating to the game is information relating to the game performed in the gaming machine of the present invention. For example, an internal combination lottery is performed at the start of the game, and the reels are stopped based on the result of the combination lottery. In the case of a slot machine that performs control, there is information relating to the result of the above-mentioned lottery. In addition to this, information indicating a symbol combination corresponding to a role that gives a player a larger privilege, information on a history of games played so far, and winning probabilities of various roles in the above-mentioned role lottery There is information about the specifications of naive games.

  According to the above-described gaming machine, information related to gaming in the gaming machine is displayed on a portion that has conventionally functioned only as a decorative board, so that it is possible to perform an unexpected image effect. In addition, in the case of a gaming machine having the above-described upper image display device, if the image effect is performed by both the upper image display device and the lower image display device, it is possible to produce an effect that is more interesting.

  In addition, in the gaming machine of the present invention, when no game is performed and the above-described information regarding the game is not displayed on the lower image display device, the image display control unit is related to the game. Display control is performed to display an image having no image on the lower image display device.

According to the above-described gaming machine, for example, information that is not directly related to a game such as an advertisement is not played in the gaming machine, and information related to gaming in the gaming machine is not displayed. Since it is displayed on the lower image display device, even if such an image display is performed, the game is not hindered, and an area that could not be used in a conventional gaming machine is effectively utilized as an advertising space. be able to.

  According to the present invention, an image display device can be installed at a position that has not been installed in a conventional gaming machine, and various image displays can be performed on the image display device. Can attract the attention of those who are.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a slot machine as an example of a gaming machine.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment. Inside the gaming machine 1, three reels 3L, 3C, 3R are rotatably provided in a horizontal row. On the outer peripheral surfaces of the three reels 3L, 3C, 3R, a symbol row composed of a plurality of types of symbols is drawn. These reels are arranged at positions that can be seen through the reel display windows 4L, 4C, 4R formed in the reel portion display 2a located at the front center of the gaming machine 1, and are reels before and after the game starts. In the stopped state, a total of three symbols are configured to be visible from each display window, one in each of the upper, middle, and lower stages.

The gaming machine 1 also has a reel display window 4L, when the rotation of the three reels is stopped.
Based on the symbols displayed in 4C and 4R, a winning line is determined as a reference for determining success or failure of winning. As the winning lines, there are provided a rising line L1, an upper line L2, a middle line L3, a lower line L4 and a lowering line L5.

  A winning line to be activated (hereinafter referred to as an effective line) changes according to the number of medals inserted. The medals are inserted by inserting medals into the medal insertion slot 6 described later, and the maximum number of medals that can be inserted in one game is three. Further, depending on the number of medals inserted, for example, one (middle line L3) for two, three (in addition to the upper line L2 and lower line L4) for two, and five for three (in addition) In addition, the winning line of the right rising line L1 and the right falling line L5) is activated.

  The reel unit display 2a is a liquid crystal image display, and during normal times (when no production occurs), reel display windows 4L, 4C, and 4R corresponding to the three internal reels 3L, 3C, and 3R are displayed. An internal reel can be seen from these reel display windows. When an effect is generated, a predetermined effect image controlled by a sub-control unit 60 described later is displayed. Since the structure of the reel unit display 3 provided with the reel display windows 4L, 4C, 4R is the same as that of the prior art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  A reel unit panel 2b is disposed on the left side of the reel unit display 2a. The reel section panel 2b is provided with a bonus count display section 5, a BET lamp 6, a payout number display section 7, and a stored number display section 8. The bonus count display unit 5 includes a three-digit seven-segment display and generally has a so-called big bonus game (hereinafter referred to as a BB game) and a regular bonus game in which the chance of paying out medals to the player is increased as compared with the normal game. The number of bonus games such as (hereinafter referred to as RB game) and the number of winnings in the bonus game are displayed. The BET lamp 6 is composed of three LEDs, and indicates the number of medals inserted in one game according to the number of lighting. The payout number display unit 7 is composed of a two-digit 7-segment display, and displays the number of medals to be paid out when winning as a result of the game. The stored number display unit 8 is a two-digit 7-segment display, and indicates the number of medals stored in the gaming machine 1.

  Although illustration is omitted, in addition to the above-described indicators, the reel unit panel 2b has an insert lamp indicating that a medal can be inserted and a state where a game can be started. A start lamp indicating that the game is replaying, a replay display lamp indicating that the game is replaying, a hit display lamp indicating that the so-called bonus pattern can be aligned, and a state where the game cannot be played due to a stop or an error. A game stop display lamp for indicating the presence of the game is provided.

  A pedestal portion 9 is formed below the reel portion display 2a and the reel portion panel 2b. The pedestal 9 is provided with a medal slot 10 on the right side of the upper horizontal plane in the drawing, and the effective line is determined as described above according to the number of medals inserted into the medal slot 10. . When three medals are inserted and then medals are continuously inserted, the medals inserted after the fourth are stored in the gaming machine 1. In the gaming machine according to the present embodiment, a maximum of 50 medals can be stored.

  Various BET switches 11 and 12 for inserting medals from medals stored in the gaming machine 1 are provided on the left side of the upper horizontal surface of the pedestal portion 9. When the MAX-BET switch 11 is operated once in a state where medals are stored in the gaming machine 1, three medals from the stored medals are inserted into the gaming machine 1 at a time in the normal game or the BB game. In the RB game, one medal is inserted. When the 1-BET switch 12 is operated, a maximum of three medals are inserted into the gaming machine 1 one by one from the stored medals each time it is operated.

  In this manner, by operating the various BET switches 11 and 12, medals are inserted into the gaming machine 1 in the same manner as when medals are inserted into the medal insertion slot 6, and according to the number of inserted medals. The above-mentioned effective line is determined.

  Stop switches 13L, 13C, and 13R are disposed at substantially the center of the vertical surface of the pedestal portion 9 so as to correspond to the lower portions of the reel display windows 4L, 4C, and 4R, respectively. These stop switches 13L, 13C, and 13R correspond to the reels 3L, 3C, and 3R, respectively. For example, when the stop switch 13L is pressed, the stop control of the left reel 3L is performed by the main control unit 25 described later. Done. Similarly, stop control of the middle reel 3C is performed when the stop switch 13C is pressed, and stop control of the right reel 3R is performed when the stop switch 13R is pressed.

  On the right side of the stop switches 13L, 13C, and 13R, a selection switch 14a for the player to select gaming machine information to be displayed on a body display 17 described later, and gaming machine information selected by the player are displayed. A determination switch 14b is provided. Examples of gaming machine information that can be displayed with these switches include, for example, so-called slump specifications, game specification information such as the type of reach, the reel symbol arrangement, and the winning probability of the BB role and RB role in the internal lottery. There is a game history information such as a graph and the number of games between bonus games.

  Further, on the left side of the stop switches 13L, 13C, 13R, a start lever for rotating the three reels by the tilting operation by the player and starting the change of the symbols displayed on the reel display windows 4L, 4C, 4R. 15 is provided. Further, on the left side of the start lever 15, a medal discharge switch 16 for discharging medals stored in the gaming machine 1 is provided.

  Below the pedestal portion 9, there is an image for effects related to the game, game machine information displayed in response to the operation of the selection switch 14a and the determination switch 14b described above, and a torso display 17 for displaying advertisements. Is provided. The display control of the body display 17 is performed by a sub-control unit 60 described later.

  A medal discharge port 18 is provided on the lower side of the torso display 14. When a prize is won as a result of the game being played in the gaming machine 1 and when the medal discharge switch 16 is pressed, the medal discharge port 18 is provided. The medals are discharged from the medals, and these medals are stored in the medal receiving unit 19. At the top of the gaming machine 1, there is provided an upper lamp 17 that emits light in a light emission pattern according to the game situation, and performs presentation and notification. Further, below the upper lamp 20, a right speaker 21R and a left speaker 21L that output operation sounds, performance sounds, notification sounds, and the like according to the game situation are disposed.

  Next, the configuration of the main control unit and the sub control unit described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the main control unit, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the sub control unit.

  The main control unit 25 includes a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as “microcomputer”) 30 disposed on a circuit board as a main component, and a circuit for random number sampling is added thereto. The microcomputer 30 includes a main CPU 31 that performs a control operation according to a preset program, a program ROM 32 that is a storage unit, and a control RAM 33.

  The main CPU 31 includes a clock pulse generation circuit 34 that generates a reference clock pulse, a frequency divider 35 that divides the reference clock pulse, and a random number generator 36 that generates a random number within a predetermined numerical range (for example, 0 to 16383). And a sampling circuit 37 for sampling the generated random number. The main CPU 31 also exchanges signals with various input / output devices described later via the I / O port 38.

  Note that random number sampling may be executed on the operation program of the main CPU 31 as means for random number sampling. In that case, the random number generator 36 and the sampling circuit 37 can be omitted, or can be left as a backup for the random number sampling operation.

  The main CPU 31 performs processing based on the reference clock pulse generated by the clock pulse generation circuit 34 and performs interrupt processing and the like at regular intervals based on the pulse signal generated by the frequency divider 35.

  The program ROM 32 of the microcomputer 30 stores various tables such as a symbol table, a plurality of probability lottery tables, a stop table group, and a symbol combination table in addition to a program for performing game control in the gaming machine 1. .

  Here, the symbol table is drawn on the reels 3L, 3C, and 3R with the code number assigned in advance to each step of the stepping motors 51L, 51C, and 51R, with the reel reference position (described later) set to 0. A symbol code previously assigned to a symbol is associated with the symbol. For example, when a reel in which 21 symbols are arranged at equal intervals is rotationally driven by a stepping motor of 400 steps, the rotational position of the stepping motor corresponding to the reference position of the reel is set to 0, and each step is sequentially started from 0. A code number of 399 is assigned in advance, and a symbol code of 0 to 20 is assigned in advance to each symbol on the reel. Each code number is associated with a design code, such as code numbers 0 to 18 for symbol code 0 and code numbers 19 to 37 for symbol code 1.

  The probability lottery table defines the correspondence between each numerical value and various roles in the numerical value range of the random number generated by the random number generator 36. The probability lottery table shows the internal role based on the result of random sampling performed by the sampling circuit 37 described above. This is referred to when performing a lottery (hereinafter referred to as an internal lottery).

  Here, there are three types of winning combinations determined by internal lottery: winning combination, replay winning combination, and loss. The winning combination is a combination that grants a privilege to the player, and there are a plurality of types of winning combinations depending on the content of the privilege to be granted. For example, the small combination is a winning combination in which a predetermined number of medals are paid out to the player, and the BB combination or the RB combination is a combination in which a BB game or an RB game game is started from the next game. is there. In addition, the replay role is a role in which the next game becomes a replay, and the off-play is a role in which no privilege is given to the player other than the winning combination and the replay role.

  And, for example, when an internal lottery is performed with reference to a lottery probability table in which 0 to 68 is a BB role, 69 to 100 is an RB role, 101 to 919 is a small role, 920 to 4084 is a replay role, and 4085 to 16383 are off When the random number value sampled by the sampling circuit 37 is “863”, it means that a small role is won internally.

  In addition, a symbol combination corresponding to each winning combination is determined in advance for the winning combination and the replay winning combination, and a symbol combination other than the symbol combination corresponding to the winning winning combination and the replay winning combination is associated with the gap.

  The stop table group is composed of a plurality of stop tables corresponding to the result of the internal lottery and the reels to be controlled for stop, and each stop table has a predetermined position in the reel display window with respect to each symbol code ( For example, information indicating whether or not it can be stopped at the lower stage is associated. This stop table is referred to when the reel symbol stop control is performed in accordance with the operation of the stop switches 13L, 13C, and 13R.

  In the symbol combination table, combinations of symbols in which various winning combinations and replay combinations are established, and medal payout numbers corresponding to various symbol combinations in which winning combinations are established are set. This symbol combination table is referred to when winning determination is performed after all reels are stopped.

  Various information generated during the process of the main CPU 31 is set in the control RAM 33. For example, information such as a set value for setting a probability lottery table that is referred to when performing an internal lottery, an internal winning combination, and various game states is set. These pieces of information are transmitted to the sub control unit 60 via the sub control unit communication port 40.

  Exchange of various types of information transmitted from the main control unit 25 to the sub control unit 60 is performed in one direction from the main control unit 25 to the sub control unit 60, and some information is transmitted from the sub control unit 60 to the main control unit 25. Send it never. Information transmitted from the main control unit to the sub-control unit 60 includes information indicating that the start lever 15 is operated and the game is started (game start information), information on the internal lottery result (internal lottery information), Information (game type information) regarding the game type (during normal game / bonus flag carryover / RB game / BB game, etc.), information indicating which stop switch has been operated (stop operation information), and winning There is information on the result of the determination (winning determination information) and the like.

  In the block diagram of FIG. 2, the main output devices whose operation is controlled by a control signal from the microcomputer 30 are various indicators provided on the reel unit panel 2b, a hopper for paying out medals (for payout). And stepping motors 51L, 51C, 51R for rotationally driving the reels 3L, 3C, 3R.

  In addition to the BET lamp 6 described above, various indicators provided on the reel unit panel 2b include an insert lamp 26a, a start lamp 26b, a replay display lamp 26c, a hit display lamp 26d, There is a game stop display lamp 26e, and the microcomputer 30 controls the driving of these lamps via each lamp driving circuit 41. In addition, the microcomputer 30 drives and controls each of the seven-segment displays of the bonus count display unit 5, the payout number display unit 7, and the stored number display unit 8 via the display unit drive circuits 42.

  Further, the microcomputer 30 controls driving of the hopper 50 via the hopper driving circuit 43 and controls driving of the stepping motors 51L, 51C, 51R for rotating the reels 3L, 3C, 3R via the motor driving circuit 44. The various drive circuits described above are connected to the main CPU 31 via the I / O port 38, and each receives a control signal such as a drive command output from the main CPU 31 to control the operation of the corresponding output device. .

  Further, as main input devices for generating an input signal necessary for the microcomputer 30 to generate a control command, first, a medal insertion switch 10S for detecting a medal inserted from the medal insertion slot 10, and BET switches 11, 12 , Stop switches 13L, 13C, 13R, a start switch 15S, and a medal discharge switch 16. Signals output from these switches are output to the main CPU 31 via the I / O port 38.

  For the stop switches 13L, 13C and 13R, a stop signal corresponding to the stop switch pressed by the player is output from the reel stop signal circuit 53 and output to the main CPU 31 via the I / O port 38. .

  In addition to the switches described above, the main CPU 31 includes a photocoupler (not shown) provided corresponding to each of the reels 3L, 3C, and 3R, and a medal detection unit 52 that detects medals paid out by the hopper 50. The signal output from is also input. Each photocoupler is connected to a reel position detection circuit 45 in the main control unit 25. When a reference position (index) provided on the corresponding reel is detected, each photocoupler corresponds to that reel from the reel position detection circuit 45. A reference position signal is output to the main CPU 31 via the I / O port 38.

  In addition, the medal detection unit 52 outputs a detection signal to the payout signal generation circuit 46 in the main control unit 25 every time the hopper 50 ejects one medal. The payout signal generation circuit 46 outputs the detection signal output from the medal detection unit 52 to the main CPU 31 via the I / O port 38.

  In the main control unit 25 configured as described above, the insert lamp 26a is blinked by the microcomputer 30 via each lamp driving circuit 41 before the game is started. When a player inserts a medal from the medal insertion slot 10 or operates the BET switches 11 and 12, the microcomputer 30 turns off the insert lamp 26a via each lamp driving circuit 41 and inserts the medal inserted. The same number of BET lamps 7b as the number of sheets are turned on. Further, when a medal insertion operation is performed by the BET switches 11 and 12, the number obtained by subtracting the number of inserted coins from the numerical value displayed on the stored number display section 8 together with the lighting of the BET lamp 6 described above. Change the display contents.

  The start lamp 26b is blinked to indicate that the game can be started and to prompt the player to operate the start lever 15. Further, the above-described game type information is transmitted to the sub-control unit 60 via the sub-control unit communication port 40.

  Thereafter, when the operation of the start lever 15 by the player is detected by the start switch 15S, the microcomputer 30 starts one game. That is, the start lamp 26b is turned off, the reels 3L, 3C, 3R are rotated via the motor drive circuit 44, and the random number generated by the random number generator 36 is sampled by the sampling circuit 37. Then, an internal lottery is performed based on the sampled random number and a lottery probability table corresponding to the set value stored in the control RAM 33 to determine a combination in the game. Further, the game start information and the internal lottery information are transmitted to the sub control unit 60 via the sub control unit communication port 40.

  The microcomputer 30 counts the number of drive pulses supplied to each of the stepping motors 51L, 51C, 51R while the reels 3L, 3C, 3R are rotating, and sequentially stores the count value in a predetermined area of the control RAM 33. The reel position detection circuit 45 outputs a reference position signal for each reel each time the photocoupler provided corresponding to each reel detects the reel index every rotation. When these reference position signals are input to the microcomputer 30, the drive pulse count value stored in the control RAM 33 is cleared to zero. As a result, a count value (corresponding to the code number described above) corresponding to the rotation position within one rotation range is set in the control RAM 33. Therefore, the microcomputer 30 can distinguish the symbols displayed on the reel display windows 4L, 4C, 4R based on the count value (code number) and the symbol table stored in the program ROM 32.

  When one of the stop switches 13L, 13C, 13R is operated by the player, a stop signal corresponding to the operated stop switch is output from the reel stop signal circuit 53 to the microcomputer 30. Thereby, the microcomputer 30 transmits stop operation information to the sub-control unit 60 via the sub-control unit communication port 40, and starts the reel stop control corresponding to the operated stop switch.

  That is, first, a stop table used for stop control based on the result of the internal lottery, the reels subject to stop control, and the symbols that are stopped and displayed in the reel display window when there are already stopped displays. To decide. Then, referring to the symbol table, the symbol currently displayed in the reel display window is determined, and in the determined stop table, from the symbol displayed in the lower part of the reel display window, the symbol in the upper part of the reel display window is used. Also, a symbol that can be stopped at the lower stage of the reel display window (hereinafter referred to as a “stoppable symbol”) is determined from among the seven consecutive symbols up to the symbol that is four symbols higher.

  Then, when the stoppable symbol comes to the lower stage of the reel display window, the stepping motor that rotates the reel that is subject to stop control is stopped via the motor drive circuit 44. In this way, each time the stop switch is operated, the microcomputer 30 performs stop control of the corresponding reel and transmits stop operation information to the sub-control unit 60.

  When all the reels are stopped, the microcomputer 30 makes a winning determination with reference to the symbol combination table. That is, it is determined whether there is a winning symbol combination or a winning symbol combination on the active line, and the winning determination information is transmitted to the sub-control unit 60. If there is a winning symbol combination on the active line as a result of the winning determination, the hopper 50 is driven via the hopper driving circuit 43. When the number of times the payout signal is output from the payout signal generation circuit 46 matches the payout number of the winning combination stored in the symbol combination table, the payout of medals by the hopper 50 can be stopped and the next game can be started. The insert lamp 26a indicating that the

  If the winning combination is determined to be a combination of symbols corresponding to the replay combination, the game is ended, the re-game display lamp 26c is turned on, and then the BET lamp 6 is set to the number of medals inserted in the game. The same number is lit and the start lamp 26b is blinked. Furthermore, if the result of winning determination is that the game is out of play, the game ends and the insert lamp 26a indicating that the next game can be started blinks.

  Next, the configuration of the sub-control unit 60 will be described with reference to FIG. The sub-control unit 60 includes an image control unit 70 and a sound / lamp control unit 80. The image control unit 70 and the sound / lamp control unit 80 are configured on different circuit boards from the circuit board configuring the main control unit 25. Communication between the image control unit 70 and the sound / lamp control unit 80 is performed in one direction from the image control unit 70 to the sound / lamp control unit 80, and the sound / lamp control unit 80 to the image control unit 70. No information is sent to.

  The image control unit 70 includes a serial port 71, a display control CPU 72, a program ROM 73, a work RAM 74, image ROMs 75a and 75b, image control ICs 76a and 76b, and video RAMs 77a and 77b. The image ROM 75a, the image control IC 76a, and the video RAM 77a are provided corresponding to the reel unit display 2a, and the image ROM 75b, the image control IC 76b, and the video RAM 77b are provided corresponding to the body unit display 17. Yes.

  The serial port 71 receives various information transmitted from the main control unit 25. The display control CPU 72 determines an effect to be executed based on the information received by the serial port 71 and controls image display on the reel unit display 2 a and the body unit display 17. Further, the type and output timing of the effect by sound and lamp are determined, and a command for executing the determined effect is transmitted to the sound / lamp control unit 80 via the serial port 71 at every predetermined timing. Further, a selection switch 14a and a determination switch 14b are connected. When these switches are operated by the player, display control corresponding to the operation content is executed.

  The program ROM 73 stores a control program for the display control CPU 72 to execute various processes, and an effect determination table for determining an effect to be executed during a game by random lottery. The work RAM 74 is configured as a temporary storage unit for work when the display control CPU 72 executes the control program described above. The contents stored in the work RAM 74 are to be backed up, and even when the power supplied to the display control CPU 72 is shut off, the power is continuously supplied and the stored information is retained. .

  The image ROMs 75a and 75b store a plurality of image data, dot data, and the like displayed on the reel unit display 2a and the body unit display 17, respectively. These various types of data include background image data and sprite image data to be displayed superimposed on the background image data. Examples of sprite image data include characters such as people and animals, symbols, characters, and figures. In addition, in the sprite image data for the reel unit display 2a, in order to form the reel display windows 4L, 4C, and 4R, the area corresponding to the reel display window is white (that is, in a state where light is transmitted to the maximum in the liquid crystal display). The resulting image data is included.

  The image control ICs 76a and 76b read image data instructed by the display control CPU 72 from the corresponding image ROMs 75a and 75b, respectively, and generate image data to be displayed on the reel unit display 2a and the body unit display 4, respectively. Then, the generated image data is stored in the corresponding video RAMs 77a and 77b. The image data stored in the video RAMs 77a and 77b are read out by the image control ICs 76a and 76b and output to the corresponding displays.

  The sound / lamp control unit 80 includes a serial port 81, a sound / lamp control CPU 82, a program ROM 83, a work RAM 84, a sound source ROM 85, a sound source IC 86, and a power amplifier 87.

  The serial port 81 receives a command or the like transmitted from the image control unit 70. The sound / lamp control CPU 82 controls the sound / lamp according to the control program stored in the program ROM 83 based on the command transmitted from the image control unit 70. The work RAM 84 is configured as a temporary storage means for work when the sound / lamp control CPU 82 executes the control program stored in the program ROM 83.

  The upper lamp 20 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the sound / lamp control CPU 82, and an output signal is sent to the upper lamp 20 in accordance with a lighting pattern according to a command transmitted from the image control unit 70 at a predetermined timing. Send. Thereby, the upper lamp 20 emits light in a predetermined manner according to the command.

  The sound source ROM 85 stores sound source data (phrase, sound effect source) for generating an audio signal. The sound source IC 86 generates an audio signal according to the command transmitted from the image control unit 70 based on the sound source data stored in the sound source ROM 85 and outputs the sound signal to the power amplifier 87. The audio signal is amplified by the power amplifier 87 and output as audio from the speakers 21L and 21R (see FIG. 1).

  Further, a volume control unit 88 is connected to the sound / lamp control CPU 82. The volume control unit 88 is provided in the gaming machine 1 and can be operated by employees of the game hall, and the volume output from the speakers 21L and 21R is adjusted. The sound / lamp control CPU 82 performs sound volume control so that sound is output from the speakers 21L and 21R at a sound volume corresponding to the set value set in the sound volume adjusting unit 88.

Next, contents of image display control of the reel unit display 2a and the body unit display 17 by the image control unit 70 described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

When the display control CPU 72 in the image control unit 70 receives information from the main control unit 25 via the serial port 71 during the game, the display control CPU 72 performs processing for generating a random number and refers to the above-described effect determination table. An effect lottery for determining the content of the effect to be executed based on the generated random number and the information received from the main control unit 25 is performed. Then, a command for performing image display control according to the determined effect, and causing the sound / lamp control unit 80 described above to perform sound generation and lamp drive control according to the effect via the serial port 71. Send.

  For example, during the normal game, the start lever 15 is operated to start the game, and as a result of the internal lottery performed by the main control unit 25, the small combination corresponding to the symbol combination of “Belle Bell Bell” (hereinafter simply referred to as “Belle Bell Bell”). Suppose that he was elected as a small bell). Then, internal lottery information indicating that the small bell is won is transmitted from the main control unit 25. The display control CPU 72 that has received the internal lottery information executes an image effect that informs the player that, as a result of the internal lottery, the player has won the small bell role.

  In other words, the image control ICs 76a and 76b are instructed to execute the effect pattern selected by the effect lottery on the reel part display 2a and the body part display 17 among the plurality of effect patterns for notifying that the bell small role has been won. To do. For this type of performance pattern, various performance patterns implemented in conventional gaming machines can be applied, but here, in the reel unit display 2a, the symbols constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination internally It is assumed that an effect pattern of displaying a character image is displayed, and the torso display 17 executes an effect pattern of displaying a character image having an expression corresponding to the winning combination.

  In response to the above instruction, the image control IC 76a reads the image data indicating the bell symbol from the image ROM 75a, and the bell symbol is displayed below the reel display windows 4L, 4C, 4R on the screen of the reel unit display 2a. Such image data is generated and written into the video RAM 77a. Then, the generated image data is read from the video RAM 77a and displayed on the reel unit display 2a. As a result, the image shown in FIG. 4A is displayed on the screen of the reel unit display 2a.

  Further, the image control IC 76b reads out the image data of the character having an expression corresponding to the bell small role from the image ROM 75b, and displays the image data as shown in FIG. 4B on the screen of the torso display 17. Are written into the video RAM 77a. The generated image data is read out and displayed on the body display 17.

  In the above-described effects, the reel part display 2a and the trunk part display 17 have displayed images for notifying the symbols constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination in the internal lottery. The reel part display 2a displays an image for notifying the symbols constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination that may have been won by the internal lottery, and the torso display 17 displays the character image of the facial expression corresponding to the winning possibility. You may make it display. In this case, since the reel unit display 2 and the body unit display 17 positioned below the reel unit display 2 display images having relevance to each other, it is possible to produce an effect that is more interesting. Needless to say, such an image effect may be performed not only during the normal game but also during the BB game and the RB game.

  Further, in the normal game, when symbol combinations corresponding to the BB combination (for example, “blue 7-blue 7-blue 7”) are aligned on the active line, the winning determination information indicating that is sub-controlled by the main control unit 25. Is transmitted to the unit 60. Upon receiving this winning determination information, the display control CPU 72 displays the characters “big hit” on the reel unit display 2a to congratulate the winning of the BB role, and also aligns on the active line on the trunk unit display 17. The image control ICs 76a and 76b are instructed to display the selected symbol combination.

  As a result, the image control IC 76a reads the character data “big hit” from the image ROM 75a, generates image data that can be displayed at substantially the center of the screen of the reel unit display 2a, and writes it into the video RAM 77a. Then, the generated image data is read from the video RAM 77a and displayed on the reel unit display 2a. As a result, the image shown in FIG. 5A is displayed on the screen of the reel unit display 2a.

  Further, the image control IC 76b reads out image data indicating the blue 7 pattern from the image ROM 75b, generates image data to be displayed side by side on the screen of the torso display 17, and writes it into the video RAM 77a. . The generated image data is read out and displayed on the body display 17. As a result, the image shown in FIG. 5B is displayed on the screen of the torso display 17.

  Furthermore, when the display control CPU 72 recognizes that the gaming machine 1 is not playing based on the information transmitted from the main control unit 25 (for example, after receiving the winning determination information from the main control unit 25, When the player presses the selection switch 14a until the next game start information is received), the above-described image display control for displaying the gaming machine information on the reel unit display 2a is started. That is, first, the menu for causing the image control IC 76a to select game machine information that can be displayed by the gaming machine 1 below the reel display windows 4L, 4C, and 4R on the screen of the reel unit display 2a. Instruct to display the screen.

  As a result, the image control IC 76a reads out the image data of the menu screen from the image ROM 75a, generates image data having the display contents (initial state of the menu screen) shown in FIG. 6A, and uses the video RAM 77a to generate the reel unit. Displayed on the display 2a.

When the selection switch 14a is further pressed in this state, each time the selection switch 14a is pressed, the display control CPU 72 displays each item name of the displayed gaming machine information on the image control IC 76a as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. It is instructed to perform a display that is cyclically shifted sequentially in the direction. At this time, in FIG. 6A, the display of the thick frame BF surrounding the item name remains at the position shown in the figure, and only the item name is shifted in the direction of the arrow A.

When the determination switch 14b is pressed, the display control CPU 72 instructs the image control IC 76b to display the game machine information of the item name currently displayed in the thick frame BF on the trunk display 17. To do. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the determination switch 14b is pressed while the item name “reach eyes” is displayed in the thick frame BF, the display control CPU 72 stores the reach information. The image control IC 76b is instructed to display on the unit display 17. As a result, the image control IC 76b displays reach eye information as shown in FIG.

Then, after the game machine information selected by the player is displayed on the torso display 17, when the determination switch 14b is pressed again, the display control CPU 72 immediately before starting the control for displaying the game machine information. The image control ICs 76ba and 76b are instructed to display the image displayed on the display again, and in response thereto, the image control ICs 76a and 76b display the instructed images on the reel unit display 2a and the body unit display 17, respectively. Perform the process.

Next, display control performed by the display control CPU 72 on the torso display 17 when the image control unit 70 determines that the player is not playing a game in the gaming machine 1 will be described.

First, when receiving the winning determination information from the main control unit 25, the display control CPU 72 starts timing and is transmitted from the main control unit 25 when a medal is inserted even if a predetermined time (for example, 2 minutes) elapses. When the game type information is not received, it is assumed that no game is played in the gaming machine 1, and the image control IC 76b is instructed to display the image shown in FIG. Here, the image shown in FIG. 7 is an image for advertising a new gaming machine or the like scheduled to be sold by the manufacturer of the gaming machine 1 (hereinafter referred to as an advertising image).

When the display control CPU 72 is instructed to display the advertisement image, the image control IC 76b reads the advertisement image data from the image ROM 75b, generates data for displaying the image shown in FIG. It is displayed on the torso display 17 by using it. After that, when the display control CPU 72 receives the game type information transmitted when the medal is inserted from the main control unit 25, for example, the model name displayed on the body panel of the conventional gaming machine is displayed to the image control IC 76b. The image control IC 76b performs a process of displaying an image corresponding to the instruction on the torso display.

In this way, the display of the advertisement image that is not related to the game is performed on the torso display 17 when it is determined that the game is not being performed in the gaming machine 1, so that the game is not hindered. In addition, it is possible to effectively use an area that could not be used in a conventional gaming machine as an advertising space.

In the above description, the display control CPU 72 makes a determination that no game is being played in the gaming machine 1, but this determination may be made by the main control unit 25. In this case, after the winning determination is made by the main control unit 25, timing is started, and when the insertion of medals cannot be confirmed after a predetermined time has elapsed, for example, an advertisement display start signal is transmitted to the sub control unit 60. Thereafter, an advertisement display stop signal is transmitted when the insertion of medals can be confirmed.

When the display control CPU 72 receives the advertisement display start signal from the main control unit 25, the display control CPU 72 executes display control of the advertisement image and maintains the state until the advertisement display stop signal is received.

  As a gaming machine, as long as it has a plurality of image display devices, it can be applied to a slot machine that uses pachinko balls as game media, a slot machine that uses pachinko balls as game media, and a ball game machine. is there.

It is a front view showing an appearance of a slot machine as an example of a gaming machine in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the main control part of the game machine in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the sub control part of the game machine in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the content of the image displayed on the reel part display and trunk | drum display of the game machine in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the content of the image displayed on the reel part display and trunk | drum display of the game machine in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the content of the image displayed on the reel part display and trunk | drum display of the game machine in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the content of the image displayed on the trunk | drum display of the game machine in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 gaming machine 2a reel display (upper image display device)
9 Pedestal part (operation part)
14a Selection switch 14b Determination switch 17 Body display (lower image display device)
70 Image Control Unit 72 Display Control CPU
73 Program ROM
74 Work RAM
75a, 75b Image ROM
76a, 76b Image control IC
77a, 77b Video RAM

Claims (4)

In a gaming machine having a game status display area for displaying the progress of a game and the result of the game,
An operation unit provided below the game display area and provided with switches for performing operations related to the game;
A lower image display device provided below the operation unit and displaying an image in a display screen;
An gaming machine comprising: an image display control unit that performs display control of the lower image display device. Forming the gaming status display area in a display screen, and having an upper image display device provided above the operation unit;
The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the image display control unit performs display control of the upper image display device and display control of the lower image display device. The image display control unit
The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein display control is performed to display at least information related to a game on the lower image display device. When a game is not being performed and information about the game is not displayed on the lower image display device,
4. The gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein the image display control unit performs display control for displaying an image irrelevant to the game on the lower image display device.

Images