JP2001017672A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To raise the expectation of a player and to provide an interesting game machine full of changes. SOLUTION: This game machine is provided with a variable-display device capable of changing a display state, a microcomputer 60 and a 7-segment LED driving circuit 74 for performing control of variable display in the variable- display device and displaying a display result, and the microcomputer 60 for deciding the display result in the variable-display device. In the case of executing prescribed game control, the expectation degree of becoming a specified game state capable of imparting a prescribed game value is displayed by a numerical value based on a result decided by the microcomputer 60.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine represented by a pachinko game machine, a coin game machine or a slot machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A game machine of this type is generally known from the related art. For example, a variable game machine having a plurality of variable display portions capable of changing a display state by variably displaying a plurality of types of identification information. A display device is provided, wherein a predetermined game value can be given when a display result of a plurality of variable display portions is a combination of predetermined specific display modes (for example, 777). was there. In this conventional gaming machine, the display mode of the variable display unit in which the display result has already been derived and displayed at the stage where a part of the plurality of variable display units is still variably displayed is the same as the combination of the specific display mode. When a predetermined display state (hereinafter referred to as a reach state) that satisfies the following condition occurs, a control for reaching to generate a lamp or a sound effect for notifying the reach is performed, and a player accompanying the occurrence of the reach state is performed. It was configured to further excite the expectation of the person and lead to a high excitement.

[0003]

On the other hand, the above-mentioned reach state is a state in which the display mode of the variable display section on which the display result has already been derived and displayed satisfies the condition of the combination of the specific display modes. For the player, this is a state in which the player can have a hope for the formation of a specific combination of display modes, which is a state that the player is pleased with. However, since the display mode of the variable display unit in the reach state was limited, there was a limit in raising the sense of expectation of the player.

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that excites a player's expectation and has a variety of fun.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a variable display device capable of changing a display state, and a variable display device that performs variable display on the variable display device and then controls to derive and display a display result. Control means, and display result determination means for determining a display result on the variable display device, and when executing predetermined game control, displaying the degree of expectation to be a specific game state in which a predetermined game value can be given. It is characterized in that it is displayed with a numerical value obtained based on the result of determination by the determining means.

The variable display device 9 shown in FIG.
A variable display device whose display state can be changed is configured. FIG.
The variable display device is controlled by the microcomputer 60 and the 7-segment LED drive circuit 74 shown in FIG. The microcomputer 60 shown in FIG. 2 constitutes a display result determining means for determining a display result on the variable display device, and when a predetermined game control is executed, a specific game state in which a predetermined game value can be given is established. The degree of expectation is displayed as a numerical value obtained based on the result determined by the display result determining means.

The invention according to claim 2 includes a variable display device whose display state can be changed, and a predetermined game value is provided on condition that a display result of the variable display device is a predetermined hit display mode. A game machine controllable to a specific game state in which the display is variably displayed on a variable display device, and a variable display control means for performing control for deriving and displaying a display result, and determining a display result on the variable display device. Display result determining means for performing a predetermined game control, and displaying a degree of expectation to be a specific game state in which a predetermined game value can be given by a numerical value obtained based on a result determined by the display result determining means. It is characterized by doing.

The pachinko gaming machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a variable display device whose display state can be changed, and a predetermined game value is provided on condition that the display result of the variable display device has a predetermined hit display mode. A gaming machine that can be controlled to a specific gaming state that can be given is configured. The variable display device 9 shown in FIG. 1 and the like constitutes a variable display device whose display state can be changed. The variable display device is controlled by the microcomputer 60 and the 7-segment LED drive circuit 74 shown in FIG. 2 and the like, and after the variable display is performed, the display result is displayed and displayed. The microcomputer 60 shown in FIG. 2 constitutes a display result determining means for determining a display result on the variable display device, and when a predetermined game control is executed, a specific game state in which a predetermined game value can be given is established. The degree of expectation is displayed as a numerical value obtained based on the result determined by the display result determining means.

[0009]

According to the first or second aspect of the invention, the variable display control means controls the variable display device whose display state can be changed, and after variably displaying, displays the display result. Is performed. The display result on the variable display device is determined by the function of the display result determining means. Then, when the predetermined game control is executed, the degree of expectation to be a specific game state in which a predetermined game value can be given is displayed by a numerical value obtained based on the determination result by the display result determination means.

[0010]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a pachinko gaming machine will be described as an example of a gaming machine, but the type of gaming machine is not limited to a pachinko gaming machine, but may be, for example, a coin gaming machine or a slot machine.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a board of a pachinko gaming machine 1 as an example of the gaming machine according to the present invention. The pachinko gaming machine 1 is provided with a prize ball storage dish (not shown),
Pachinko balls are stored in the prize ball storage dish. In the lower right corner of the pachinko gaming machine 1, a hitting operation handle (not shown) operated by a player to fire a pachinko ball is provided, and when the player turns the hitting operation handle, the hitting operation handle is rotated. The hit ball hammer (not shown) intermittently swings, and the pachinko balls in the prize ball storage dish are fired one by one. The pachinko balls shot and fired are driven into a game area 6 formed on the front side of the game board 5. The surplus balls that have become full and cannot be stored anymore in the prize ball storage dish are released and stored in a surplus ball storage dish (not shown).

In the game area 6, a variable display device 9 capable of variably displaying a plurality of types of identification information is provided. Below the variable display device 9, a variable winning prize ball device 10 that changes to a first state in which a ball is easily won by opening and closing the lid 24 and a second state in which a ball is hard to win or does not win.
Is provided. On both sides and above the variable winning ball device 10, starting winning ports 12a, 12b, 12c are provided. Further, in the game area 6, a winning port 13 and the like are provided. If the pachinko ball hit into the game area 6 wins one of the starting winning ports 12a to 12c,
The variable display device 9 starts variable display based on the detected output by the corresponding one of the start winning ball detectors 55a, 55b and 55c.

In the present embodiment, the variable display device 9 for displaying three symbols, that is, a left symbol, a middle symbol, and a right symbol is shown. However, the variable display device 9 displays two symbols or four or more symbols. You may.

In the stop control of the variable display device 9, the leftmost symbol is first stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the variable display, and the variable display device 9 is stopped for a predetermined time (for example, 1 to 2 seconds).
After the lapse of time, the central symbol is stopped, and after a lapse of a predetermined time (for example, 1 to 2 seconds), the right symbol is stopped, and the left, center, and right are performed in that order. Note that the stop order may be an order other than left, center, and right. Further, the variable display device 9 is always variably displayed,
The variable display may be started again by the start winning. In this case, it is desirable to switch the brightness and the speed of the variable display according to the start winning and notify the player of the start of the variable display. In addition, one stop operation switch of the variable display device may be provided, and the symbols may be stopped in a predetermined order by the player operating the stop operation switch, or the number of stops corresponding to the number of the symbols on the display unit may be stopped. An operation switch may be provided to stop and control the design of the corresponding display unit by operating the switch.

The display result when the variable display device 9 stops is determined by a combination of predetermined specific identification information (for example, “77”).
7 "), a big hit state occurs, and the lid 24 of the variable winning ball device 10 is opened by the solenoid 32, so that the first state is achieved in which the hit ball is easy to win. The jackpot control for opening the lid 24 is performed until a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) elapses or a predetermined number (for example, 10) of hit balls is won, whichever is earlier.

When the ball hits the variable winning ball device 10, the starting winning ports 12a to 12c, the winning port 13, or the like, a predetermined number of prize balls (not shown) are stored from a prize ball payout device (not shown). Dispensed in the dish.

Further, a speaker (not shown) is provided in the game to generate a sound effect when the big hit state occurs, or to generate a warning sound when an illegal game is played.

The variable display device 9 is composed of a seven-segment display, and is an example of a plurality of variable display units, such as a left variable display 30a, a middle variable display 30b, and a right variable display 30c.
Consists of Above each of the variable displays 30a to 30c, a start winning storage display 31 is provided. The start winning storage display 31 is for displaying the stored value of the winning number of winning balls that have won the starting winning ports 12a to 12c. The starting prize memory is incremented by one each time a prize is won in the starting prize ports 12a to 12c, and decremented by one each time the variable display device 9 performs variable display. The upper limit of the prize memory is set to 4.

A cover 24 is attached to the variable winning ball device 10 formed below the variable display device 9 via a parallel link mechanism. A solenoid 32 is provided on the back side of the mounting board, and a plunger of the solenoid 32 is interlocked to an upper link of the parallel link mechanism via an interlocking member. As a result, when the solenoid 32 is excited and the interlocking member is pulled upward, the upper link portion of the parallel link mechanism is rotated about a predetermined fulcrum, and the upper portion of the lid 24 is rotated forward and opened. State.

In the center of the variable winning ball device 10, a specific winning opening 34 is provided. If a pachinko ball enters the variable winning ball device 10 with the lid 24 opened, there is a possibility that the pachinko ball will win the specific winning opening 34. If a pachinko ball wins in the specific winning opening 34, the winning ball is detected by the specific winning ball detector 35 and used for game control. Further, the specific winning ball that has won the specific winning opening 34 and the normal winning ball that has not won the specific winning opening 34 are merged, detected by the winning number detector 36, and used for game control.

When a pachinko ball wins in the start winning openings 12a to 12c and a big hit occurs as a result of the variable display, the solenoid 32 is excited and the lid 24 is opened. The pachinko balls that have entered the variable winning ball apparatus 10 are detected by the winning number detector 36 as described above, and when it is determined that the winning number has reached a predetermined number (for example, 10) based on the detection output, or If a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds as described above) has elapsed since the lid 24 was opened, whichever is earlier, the solenoid 3
The excitation of No. 2 is released, and the lid 24 is closed. If at least one pachinko ball that has entered the variable winning prize ball device 10 during the opening of the lid 24 wins in the specific winning opening 34, the lid 24 is further opened after the opening of the lid 24 is completed. Is repeatedly performed. The number of times of the repetition continuation control is displayed by a continuation number display 37 (provided above the variable display device 9). The upper limit of the repetition continuation control is set to 16 in the present embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the variable display device is constituted by a segment display device, but may be a dot matrix display device, a liquid crystal display device, a fluorescent display tube, a CRT, an LED, or a rotary drum type variable display device. Good. In addition, all or a part of the plurality of variable display units is configured as a variable display unit that displays a boxing match as an image, and a display result that satisfies a specific combination of display modes if a boxer on the player side wins. Is also good. Further, even after the display result is derived and displayed, it may be continuously displayed variably. Further, a win / loss display may be displayed on the video display of the boxing match, and when the display is a predetermined combination (for example, win, win, win), a combination of a specific display mode may be adopted. At that time, the display of the win or loss may not be changed during the game, and the result may be displayed when the result is obtained. Although the lid 24 is used as the opening and closing member of the variable winning ball device 10 in the present embodiment, it may be constituted by a pair of rotating members or a pair of sliding members. The opening and closing of the opening / closing member may be performed electrically using an electric drive source such as a solenoid or a motor, or may be performed mechanically without using an electric drive source. Instead of opening the variable winning ball device 10 for a predetermined time, the variable winning ball device 10 may be opened and closed a predetermined number of times or for a predetermined time.

At the bottom of the game area 6, there is a winning opening 1
There is provided an out port 14 for collecting out balls which did not win in 3 or the like. Immediately above the out mouth 14,
A winning number indicator 25 for displaying the number of pachinko balls won in the variable winning ball device 10 is provided. Further, on the side of the game area 6, there is provided a lamp 23 which blinks at the time of a big hit or variable display.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit and peripheral circuits used in the pachinko gaming machine. The microcomputer 60 has a function of controlling operations of various devices described below. For this reason, the microcomputer 60 is composed of, for example, an LSI of several chips, and includes an MPU (MicroPro) that can execute a control operation in a predetermined procedure.
cessing Unit) and a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 62 for storing operation program data of the MPU 61.
And RAM capable of writing and reading required data
(Random Access Memory) 63.

The microcomputer 60 further receives the input signal and provides input data to the MPU 61,
An input / output circuit 64 for receiving output data from the MPU 61 and outputting it to the outside, a sound generator 69 for receiving sound data from the MPU 61 and generating a sound signal, and a reset pulse to the MPU 61 when the power of the gaming machine is turned on. Power-on reset circuit 65 for providing
Clock generation circuit 66 for applying a clock signal to 1
A pulse divider (periodic reset circuit) 67 for dividing the clock signal supplied from the clock generator 66 to generate a reset pulse at regular intervals (for example, every 2 msec) and to apply the reset pulse to the MPU 61; The address data is decoded and read from the ROM 62 and the RAM 6
3, an input / output circuit 64 and an address decode circuit 68 for supplying a chip select signal to the sound generator 69.

The address decode circuit 68 includes an MPU 61
Address data given from the ROM 6
2. A chip select signal is given to each of the RAM 63, the input / output circuit 64, and the sound generator 69 to activate each of the circuits.

In this embodiment, the ROM 62
Uses a programmable ROM capable of rewriting its contents. That is, if necessary, the program data for the MPU 61 stored in the ROM 62 can be changed. MPU6
1 supplies control signals to various devices in accordance with the program data stored in the ROM 62 and in response to the output of each control signal described below. Microcomputer 6
To 0, the following signals are given as input signals.

First, in response to the start winning ball detectors 55a to 55c being turned on in response to the start winning of the pachinko ball, a starting winning ball detection signal from the detection circuit 70 is transmitted from the microcomputer 6 to the microcomputer 6.
Given for 0. Pachinko ball is the special winning opening 34
(See FIG. 1), the specific winning ball detector 35 is turned on in accordance with the winning, and the specific winning ball detection signal is supplied from the detection circuit 71 to the microcomputer 60 in response thereto. The winning number detector 36 is turned on when the pachinko ball wins in the variable winning ball device 10, and a winning number detection signal is given to the microcomputer 60 from the detection circuit 72 in response thereto.

The microcomputer 60 gives control signals to the following circuits and devices. First, the microcomputer 60 gives a solenoid drive control signal to the solenoid 32 via the solenoid drive circuit 73. As a result, the lid 24 (see FIG. 1) of the variable winning ball device 10 is driven, and changes to a first state in which pachinko balls are likely to win and a second state in which pachinko balls are difficult to win or do not win. Microcomputer 60
Supplies a variable display control signal to each of the variable displays 30a to 30c via the 7-segment LED drive circuit 74. Further, the microcomputer 60 gives a control signal for displaying the number of times of the repetition continuation control to the continuation number display 37 via the circuit 74, and
A control signal for displaying the number of winning pachinko balls to the variable winning ball device 10 is provided. The microcomputer 60 uses the LE
Through the D drive circuit 22, a start winning memory display control signal is given to the start winning memory display 31. The microcomputer 60 supplies a lamp lighting control signal to the lamp 23 via the lamp driving circuit 75. Further, the sound generator 69 of the microcomputer 60 supplies a sound generation audio signal to the speaker 21 via the amplifier 76. For various devices and control circuits, a predetermined direct current (+30 V, +21 V, +17 V, +12 V, +5 V) is supplied from the power supply circuit 77.
Is supplied.

The pachinko gaming machine shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is characterized by the variable display devices 30a to 30c of the variable display device 9.
When the variable displays 30a and 30b are stopped and only the rightmost variable display 30c performs variable display, a so-called "reach state" occurs in which the symbols of the variable displays 30a and 30b match. Sometimes, the control at the time of the reach, which is performed based on the occurrence of the reach state, is started from a stage before the occurrence of the reach state. The control method and the effects provided thereby will be clarified by the following description using flowcharts and timing charts.

FIGS. 3 to 11 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the pachinko gaming machine. FIG. 3 shows a main routine. As described above, the main routine is executed once every 2 msec, for example, from the beginning. First, in step S (hereinafter simply referred to as S) 1, it is determined whether or not a RAM error has occurred. This decision is made in RAM
This is performed by checking whether or not predetermined data is stored at a predetermined address in. If the answer to the determination in S1 is NO, the control proceeds to S3, but the stored data is undefined at the time of program runaway or immediately after power-on, so the answer to this determination is YES, and the control proceeds to S3.
Proceed to 2. In S2, initial data is set in a RAM or the like. Control then proceeds to S3.

In S3 and S4, a switch check process for checking the input of various switches for controlling the gaming machine is performed, and the control proceeds to step S5. In S5, sound / lamp / LED control processing is performed according to the signal input from the switch.
Subsequently, at S6, the solenoid control process
At 7, a symbol LED control process for controlling a symbol displayed on the variable display device 9 (see FIG. 1) is performed. Further, in S8, a process of outputting the data obtained by the processes of S5 to S7 via the input / output circuit 64 is performed. Thereafter, the control proceeds to S9, in which the content of the hit / miss determination counter prepared in advance for determining the hit / miss is incremented by "1". Since this main routine is executed, for example, every 2 msec as described above, the content of the hit / miss determination counter is incremented by "1" every 2 msec.
The upper limit value of the hit / miss determination counter is, for example, "23
4 ", and if it exceeds 234, it is reset to 0 again by the processing described below.

In step S10, it is determined whether or not the hit / decision determination counter has reached "235". If the answer to the determination is NO, the control proceeds to S12, but Y
If it is ES, the control proceeds to S11. In S11,
The content of the hit / miss determination counter is cleared to zero.
Control then proceeds to S12. That is, by doing this, the value of the hit / decision determination counter is counted up from 0, cleared when it reaches 235, and is counted up again from 0. As will be described later, the value of the hit loss determination counter is checked at the time of the start winning check, and if the value is, for example, "0", control is performed so that a big hit occurs. As a result, the probability of occurrence of a jackpot in an actual program is 1/235.
On the other hand, as mentioned above, the combination of symbols that cause a big hit is
This is a case where three symbols displayed by the variable indicators 30a to 30c (see FIG. 1) match. The type of the symbol is 0-9 for each symbol display 30a-30c,
There are 15 types: A, F, H, J, and L. Therefore, the apparent jackpot occurrence probability is 15/153 = 1/22
It becomes 5.

Subsequently, in S12, a process of adding "11" to the first digit of the symbol display counter is performed.
The symbol display counter counts values corresponding to the 15 types of symbols, and the first digit is used to determine a symbol displayed by the left variable display 30a (see FIG. 1). . When the first digit value of the symbol display counter is 0 to 9, the symbols "0" to "9" are displayed by the left symbol display 30a, and when the count value is 10 to 14 in decimal. Is "A",
It is determined that the symbols "F", "H", "J", and "L" are displayed. The symbols of the other symbol displays 30b and 30c are similarly determined by the second and third digits of the symbol display counter.

Control then proceeds to S13, in which it is determined whether the first digit of the symbol display counter is "15" or more. If the answer to the determination is NO, the control proceeds to S12 again, and the processing following the processing of adding "11" to the first digit of the symbol display counter is repeated. On the other hand, if the answer to the determination in S13 is YES, the control proceeds to S14. S
14, the first digit of the symbol display counter is “1”.
A process of subtracting "5" is performed, and a process of adding "1" to the second digit of the symbol display counter is performed.
This process is a carry-up process from the first digit to the second digit of the symbol display counter. The control proceeds to S15.

In S15, it is determined whether or not the second digit of the symbol display counter has reached "15".
If the answer to the determination is NO, the control returns to S12 again, and S1
Steps 2 and below are repeatedly executed. If the answer to the determination is YES, the control proceeds to S16. In S16, a process of subtracting “15” from the second digit count value of the symbol display counter and a process of adding “1” to the third digit of the symbol display counter are performed. That is, this process is a carry process from the second digit to the third digit of the symbol display counter. The control proceeds to step S17.

In S17, it is determined whether or not the third digit of the symbol display counter has reached "15".
If the answer to the determination is NO, the control returns to S12 again, and S1
Steps 2 and below are repeatedly executed. If the answer to the determination in S17 is YES, the control proceeds to S18. In S18, a process of subtracting "15" from the third digit count value of the symbol display counter is performed. Thereafter, the control returns to S12, and the processing of S12 and thereafter is repeatedly executed. The processing in S17 and S18 is the carry-up processing of the third digit of the symbol display counter. In this case, since there is no fourth digit or more, the original carry processing is not executed.

The processing in S12 to S18 is performed in S1 to S1.
After the processing up to 1, the processing is repeatedly performed during the remaining reset waiting time. That is, the reset pulse from the pulse dividing circuit 67 (see FIG. 2)
The process of S12 to S18 is terminated when 0 is input, and the execution of this program is started again from S1. In the case of the present embodiment, a reset pulse is generated every 2 msec.
Using the remaining time obtained by subtracting the processing time up to
Steps S18 to S18 are repeated. Note that the processes performed in S5 and S6 have no relation to the features of the present invention, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here. By counting up the contents of the symbol display counter using the remaining time of the processing as described above, S1 to S1
The value added to the symbol display counter by one execution of the program changes according to the change in the time required to perform the processing up to 1. Therefore, the randomness of the contents of the symbol display counter is improved.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program defined by S3 and S4 in FIG. At S19, a process of checking the output of the count switch (winning number detector 36) is performed. At S20, a check process of the output of the V switch (specific winning ball detector 35) is performed. At S21, a process of checking the output of the start switch A (start winning ball detector 55a) is performed. At S22, a check process of the output of the start switch B (start winning ball detector 55b) is performed. At S23, a process of checking the output of the start switch C (start winning ball detector 55c) is performed. Thereafter, the subroutine program ends. Note that S19, S
Although the detailed description of the check processing at 20, S22, and S23 is omitted here, the details of the processing performed at S22 and S23 are the same as the processing performed at S21 described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of the start switch A check processing shown in S21 of FIG. Referring to FIG. 5, it is determined in S24 whether start switch A is ON. If the pachinko ball wins the start winning port 12a (FIG. 1), the answer to this determination is YES, and the control proceeds to S26. In S26, it is determined whether or not the value of the start switch A check counter provided for the start switch A check is the maximum value. The start switch A check counter is incremented by one in S27 each time the start switch A check subroutine program 20 is executed, and its maximum value is, for example, 255.

If the answer to the determination in S26 is NO, the control proceeds to S27. In S27, the start switch A check counter is incremented by one, and the control proceeds to S28. In S28, the start switch A
It is determined whether or not the content of the check counter is 2. If the answer to the determination is NO, this subroutine ends as it is, but if the answer to the determination is YES, the control proceeds to S29.

In S29, it is determined whether or not the content of the start storage counter for storing the number of pachinko balls which have won the start winning port is four. As described above, the upper limit of the start memory is set to “4”. Therefore, S29
If the answer to the question in step (a) is YES, this subroutine program is terminated, but the answer to the question is NO.
If so, the control proceeds to S30, in which a process of adding "1" to the start storage counter in accordance with the occurrence of the start winning is performed. The control proceeds to S31.

In S31, it is determined whether or not the count value of the hit / decision counter is 0. The hit / miss determination counter is incremented by one at S9 (see FIG. 3) and cleared at S11. If the hit / miss determination counter is 0, the control proceeds to S33; otherwise, the control proceeds to S3.
Proceed to 2. In S33, the big hit data is stored in the data storage area corresponding to the value of the start storage counter, and this subroutine program ends. On the other hand, if the control is S
If the process proceeds to step S32, the outlier data is stored in the data storage area corresponding to the value of the start storage counter, and the subroutine program ends. For example, when the start storage counter is "1", the jackpot data or the missed data is stored in the first area of the data storage area, and when the start storage counter is "2", the second area of the data storage area is stored. If the jackpot data or the missed data is stored in the area and the start storage counter is "3",
When the start storage counter is "4" in the area, the start storage counter is stored in the fourth area.

Next, the processing performed when the answer to the determination in S24 is NO will be described. The control in this case is S25
Proceed to. In S25, the contents of the start switch A check counter are cleared, and the subroutine program ends as it is. After all, this start switch A
Only when the subroutine program is executed twice and the start switch is turned ON at both times, S2
The answer to the determination in step 8 is YES, and the processes after S29 are performed. This is because the start switch A is momentarily generated due to noise or the like particularly generated in the game arcade.
Even if is turned ON, S29 is
An object of the present invention is to prevent a malfunction of a gaming machine due to noise by preventing subsequent processing from being performed.

FIGS. 6 to 8 are flowcharts showing a subroutine program of the symbol LED control defined by S7 of FIG. Referring to FIG. 6, S3
From 4 to S36, it is determined whether or not the right symbol stop flag is set, whether or not the middle symbol stop flag is set, and whether or not the left symbol stop flag is set. If the stop flag has not been set, the control proceeds to S37. The left symbol stop flag is set in S54 described later and is cleared in S58. The middle symbol stop flag is set in S58 described later and cleared in S61. The right symbol stop flag is set in S61 described later and cleared in S75.

In S37, it is determined whether or not the big hit flag is set. The big hit flag is set in S74 described later. If the big hit flag is set, the control proceeds from S37 to the end of the subroutine, but if the big hit flag is not set, the control proceeds to S38. In S38, it is determined whether or not the start storage counter is 0. If the answer to the determination is YES, the subroutine program ends as it is, but if the answer is NO, the control proceeds to S39. In S39, it is determined whether or not the miss interval timer has expired. The missed interval timer is a timer that measures a short time of about 0.6 seconds set in S73 described later. When the display result of the variable display device 9 (FIG. 1) is out of date, the fact that the error has occurred is determined. This is for securing a necessary interval for allowing the player to visually recognize the displayed display. S
If the answer to the judgment at 39 is NO, the subroutine program ends as it is, but if it is YES, the control proceeds to S40.

In S40, control for calling the current value of the symbol display counter is performed. The symbol display counter is controlled so as to repeatedly change its count value in S12 to S18 described above, and by executing S40, the count value of the symbol display counter at that time is called. Specifically, for example, it is assumed that the count value of the symbol display counter called in S40 is “777”. Hereinafter, S41 and subsequent steps will be described using this value as an example.

In S41, the data storage area (S
32, S33) for calling the data in the first area. At this time, the starting memories stored in the first area to the fourth area are respectively "missing", "hit", "losing", and "no starting memory". In this case, S
At 41, the data of the first area, that is, the data representing the "miss" is read. The control proceeds to S42.

In S42, a process of subtracting 1 from the content of the start storage counter is performed. This is because one start memory in the data storage area was read in S41. The control proceeds to S43. In S43, a process of shifting the storage data in the data storage area by one from the fourth area toward the first area is performed. In the case of the above example, as a result of the processing in S43,
Data stored in the data storage area is "hit" in order
"Missing", "No start memory", "No start memory".
At this time, as a result of the processing in S42, the start memory is changed from “3” to “2”. The control proceeds to S44.

In S44, it is determined whether or not the data called in S41 is jackpot data. If the answer to the determination is YES, the control proceeds to S4
The process proceeds to S5, otherwise the control proceeds to S46. In the case of the above example, since the answer to the determination is NO, the control proceeds to S46. In S46, it is determined whether or not the symbol called in S40 is left = middle = right. If the answer to the determination is NO, the control proceeds directly to S48. However, if the answer to the determination is YES, the control proceeds to S47, in which a process of adding "1" to the count value representing the right symbol is performed in S47, and the flow proceeds to S48. That is, in S47, the value of the symbol display counter is forcibly changed so that the symbol displayed at the time of losing does not accidentally become a big hit symbol. In the case described above, the value of the symbol display counter is set to “7” by the processing of S47.
77 ”to“ 778 ”. The control proceeds to S48.

In S45, since the called data is a big hit, the values on the middle and right sides of the called symbol display counter are matched with the left values on the symbol display counter. That is, control is performed to forcibly stop the variable display device at the symbol with a big hit so that the symbol left = center = right determined by the symbol display counter. The control proceeds to S48.

In S48, a process of storing the symbol determined by the processes of S40 to S47 as a scheduled stop symbol is performed. Through S40 to S48, it is determined whether or not the reach state is reached immediately before the variable display by the variable display device 9 is started. This decision time may be, in addition, at the time of the start winning of the hit ball, before stopping the left symbol, before stopping the middle symbol, etc., and at any time if it is determined whether or not to reach before reaching the reach state. Good. Next, the control proceeds to S49 of FIG.

The processes of S49 to S55 are performed in advance in order to change the pattern of the symbol display at the time of the reach. In S49, it is determined whether or not the left symbol matches the middle symbol. If the answer to the determination is NO, the control proceeds to S55. If the answer to the judgment is YES, control is passed to S5
Go to 0. That is, control is performed only when the symbol displayed on the symbol display device is in a so-called “reach state” in S50.
Proceed to. In S50, it is further determined whether or not the left symbol and the right symbol match. The answer is Y
If it is ES, the control proceeds to S53; otherwise, the control proceeds to S51. In S51, it is determined whether or not the left symbol is equal to any of the front and rear of the right symbol. If the answer is YES, the control proceeds to S52; otherwise, the control proceeds to S54. In S52, it is determined whether or not the third digit of the current symbol display counter is an even number. If the number is even, the process proceeds to S53, and if not, the process proceeds to S54.
Proceed to. That is, according to the determinations in S50 and S51, when the symbol finally stopped and displayed indicates the big hit, and when the rightmost symbol is shifted from the big hit symbol by one, and YES in S52. Is determined (the probability is 1/2), the control proceeds to S53, and in other cases, the control proceeds to S54. In S53, the reach flag is set to 2, and in S54, 1 is set. In the case of the above example, the control proceeds from S51 to S52, proceeds to S53 with a probability of 1/2, and the reach flag is set to 2. As a result, in the case of the second reach in which the reach flag is set to 2, the reach is likely to be a big hit compared to the case of the first reach in which the reach flag is set to 1. After S54 and S53, the control proceeds to S55.

In S55, a basic timer and a left symbol stop flag are set. The basic timer determines a basic time until the first variable display is stopped when each variable display is stopped in order. For example, a time of about 5 seconds is set. After the processing of S55, this subroutine ends.

At the next execution of the symbol LED control subroutine program shown in FIGS.
Since the left symbol stop flag is set by 5, the answer to the determination in S36 is YES, and the control proceeds to S61 in FIG. In S61, a left symbol LED variation process, a middle symbol LED variation process, and a right symbol LED variation process are performed. The control proceeds to S62. In S62,
A determination is made as to whether the basic timer has expired. If the answer to the determination is NO, this subroutine program ends as it is. On the other hand, the basic timer ends and S
If the answer to the judgment at 62 is YES, the control proceeds to S
Go to 63. In S63, it is determined whether or not the currently displayed left symbol number matches the left symbol number of the scheduled stop symbol. If the answer to the determination is NO, this subroutine program ends. This symbol LED control subroutine program is repeatedly executed and S
The determination at 63 is repeated, during which the left symbol LED fluctuates, and the left symbol being displayed coincides with the left symbol in the scheduled stop symbol. In this case, the answer to the determination in S63 is YES, and the control proceeds to S64. In S64, the left symbol stop flag is cleared and the middle symbol stop flag is set.

When the left symbol stop flag is cleared and the middle symbol stop flag is set, a determination of YES is made in S35 and the control proceeds to S56. As a result, the left symbol LED variation process is performed. No longer performed, the left symbol stops. Then, the program proceeds to S65, in which a middle symbol stop timer is set, and in S66, it is determined whether or not the reach flag is set. If not, the subroutine program is terminated. On the other hand, if it is set, the flow proceeds to S67, and it is determined whether or not the reach flag is "2". If it is "2", the flow proceeds to S69 to reach the reach sound data 2
Is set. On the other hand, if the reach flag is not “2”, the flow proceeds to S68, and reach sound data 1 is set. As a result, the sound effect based on the reach sound data 2 is emitted from the speaker 21 in the case of the reach that is likely to be a big hit described with reference to FIG. 7, and the sound effect based on the reach sound data 1 is emitted in the case of the normal reach. Emanated from. The player can distinguish the type of the sound effect emitted from the speaker 21 and determine whether it is the first reach which is a normal reach or the second reach which is likely to be a big hit. In addition, the speaker 2 is used as a control during the reach.
In addition to or instead of generating the sound effect from 1, the lamp and LED may be controlled to a display state specific to the reach time. The control at the time of the reach based on the first reach and the second reach may be performed any time before the variable display device 9 enters the reach state, and the control at the time of the reach accompanying the first reach and the second reach. The timing at which the control starts may differ from one another.

When the next symbol LED control subroutine program is executed, since the middle symbol stop flag is set in S64, the answer to the determination in S35 in FIG. 6 is YES. As a result, in this case, the control proceeds to S56 in FIG. 7B. In S56, a middle symbol LED variation process and a right symbol LED variation process are performed. In S56 and subsequent steps, the left symbol LED is not changed, so that the left symbol is controlled to stop. The control proceeds to S57. In S57, it is determined whether or not the middle symbol stop timer set in S56 has expired, and the process proceeds to S58 at the end. In S58, it is determined whether or not the displayed middle symbol matches the middle symbol in the scheduled stop symbol. If the answer to the determination is NO, this subroutine program ends. At the stage when the symbol fluctuates until the symbol being displayed matches the middle symbol in the scheduled stop symbol, the answer to the determination in S58 is YES, and the control proceeds to S59. In S59, the middle symbol stop flag is cleared, and the right symbol stop flag is set. The control proceeds to S60, where the right symbol stop timer is set, and the subroutine program ends.

When the next symbol LED control subroutine program is executed, since the right symbol stop flag has been set in S59 (FIG. 7B), the answer to the determination in S34 in FIG. 6 is YES. . As a result, the control proceeds from S34 to S70 in FIG. In S70, only the right symbol LED variation process is performed. As a result, since the left symbol LED and the middle symbol LED are not subjected to the changing process, the left symbol LED and the middle symbol LED are controlled to be stopped. The control proceeds to S71.

In S71, it is determined whether or not the reach flag is set by the reach flag setting process performed in S49 to S54.
If the answer is YES, the control proceeds to S72, otherwise the control proceeds to S73. In the case of the above example, since the reach flag is set to "2", the result of the determination in S71 is YES, and the control proceeds to S72. In S72, it is determined whether or not the right symbol stop timer set in S60 of FIG. 7B has expired. If the answer is YES, the control proceeds to S73, otherwise the subroutine program ends. This timer is for defining a basic time from when the middle symbol stops to when the right symbol stops in the reach state, and is, for example, about 10 seconds.

If the answer to the determination in S72 is YES, the control proceeds to S73 and thereafter, but in S73 and below, the following processing for stopping the right symbol is performed.
In S73, it is determined whether or not the currently displayed right symbol number matches the right symbol number of the scheduled stop symbol. If the answer is YES, the control proceeds to S74, otherwise the subroutine program ends. That is, if the currently displayed right symbol does not match the right symbol of the scheduled stop symbol, this subroutine ends, and control is performed only when the right symbol being displayed matches the right symbol of the scheduled stop symbol. The process will proceed to S74. In S74, it is determined whether or not the scheduled stop symbol number is left = middle = right, that is, whether or not the scheduled stop symbol indicates a big hit. If the answer is YES, the control proceeds to S75, otherwise the control proceeds to S76. In S76, the miss interval timer is set, the right symbol stop flag is cleared in S77, and the reach flag is further cleared, and then the subroutine program ends. The miss interval timer measures a short time of, for example, about 0.6 seconds, and should be secured so that the player can visually recognize that the display result when the variable display device is stopped is incorrect as described above. This is for timing the grace period.

On the other hand, if the scheduled stop symbol is left = middle = right, the control proceeds to S75, in which a big hit flag is set, and a big hit interval timer is set. The big hit interval timer measures, for example, a time of about 4 seconds, and serves to excite the player's sense of expectation due to the occurrence of the big hit. The big hit flag is for determining whether or not big hit control is performed by referring to this flag in another process. After S75, the control proceeds to S77,
The right symbol stop flag is cleared as in the case of the loss,
Further, the reach flag is cleared and the subroutine program ends.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show S56, S61,
It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine program defined by S70. FIG. 10A shows a left symbol LED variation processing subroutine program. FIG. 10B shows a middle symbol LED variation processing subroutine program.
FIG. 11 shows a right symbol LED variation processing subroutine program.

In S78 of FIG. 10A, the left symbol LE
It is determined whether or not the timer for D has expired. If the answer to the determination is NO, the subroutine program ends. On the other hand, the program is repeatedly executed and the left symbol L
If the ED timer has expired, the answer to the determination in S78 is YES, and control proceeds to S79. In S79, the left symbol LED timer is set, and the symbol number of the left symbol is incremented by one. The left symbol LED timer set in S79 is, for example, 14 msec. That is, S7 until 14 msec elapses after the timer is set.
In No. 8, the determination of NO is repeated, and
When c has elapsed, the judgment result in S78 becomes YES, and the left symbol LED timer is set again in S79, and the left symbol number is further incremented by +1. In accordance with the value of the left symbol number, data of an address corresponding to the currently displayed left symbol number among the seven-segment LED data (not shown) is set as display data. Control is S80
Proceed to.

In S80, it is determined whether or not the left symbol number has become 15 as a result of the processing in S79. If the answer to the determination is NO, this subroutine ends as it is. On the other hand, when the left symbol number becomes 15, the answer to the determination is YES, and the control proceeds to S81. More specifically, the number of symbols required to display all types of symbols by the symbol display LED at once is 0 to 14 in the present embodiment as described above. Therefore, the 7-segment LED data corresponding to the next symbol number is sequentially set in S79, and the left symbol fluctuates. When the left symbol number becomes 15, the answer to the determination in S80 is YES. In this case, the control proceeds to S81, where 0 is set to the current left symbol number, and the subroutine program ends. By this processing, after displaying the symbols 0 to 14 one by one, the display of the left symbol can be started from 0 again.

FIG. 10B is a flowchart showing a subroutine program for processing a middle symbol variation LED.
Since the contents are the same as the processing of FIG. 10A, a detailed description is omitted here. However, S in FIG.
The value of the middle symbol LED timer set at 83 is, for example, 14 m as with the left symbol LED timer.
The value of sec is set.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a subroutine program of the right symbol LED changing process. Right design LE
In the D fluctuation process, the display fluctuation time at the time of reaching the right symbol is controlled, and the details will be described below.
First, in S86, it is determined whether the right symbol LED timer has expired. If the answer to the determination is NO, this subroutine program ends, but the answer to the determination is YES.
If so, the control proceeds to S87. The pattern LED timer is
It is a timer for determining the time for switching the display symbol of each symbol. If the set time of the timer becomes longer, the time required to switch to the next display becomes longer. Therefore, by increasing the set time of the timer, it is possible to reduce the fluctuation speed of the symbol.

In S87 and S88, it is determined whether the right symbol stop flag and the middle symbol stop flag are set, respectively. In S89, it is determined whether or not the reach flag is set. In S90, it is determined whether or not the reach flag is "2". When the reach flag is not set, or when the middle symbol stop flag of the variable display device is not set, the control proceeds to S92 and the right symbol LE
The first timer for D is set. This first symbol LED right timer is for measuring a relatively short time of, for example, 14 msec. As a result, right design LED
Every time the first timer for use counts a relatively short time and the timer ends, a YES determination is made in S86, and as a result, a "1" is set for the current right symbol number in S94.
Is added, and the right symbol is moved and displayed by one symbol.

On the other hand, after the middle symbol stop flag is set and the left symbol of the variable display device is stopped, the control proceeds to S
Going to 89, if the reach flag is set and the set reach flag is "1",
Proceeding to 93, the right symbol LED second timer is set. The second timer for the right symbol LED is, for example, 56 ms.
ec, which measures a medium length of time,
The second for the right symbol LED that measures this medium length time
Every time the timer expires, a determination of YES is made in S86, and as a result, "1" is added to the current right symbol number in S94, and the right symbol is moved and displayed by one symbol.

On the other hand, when the set reach flag is "2", the control proceeds to S91, where the right symbol LE is set.
The third timer for D is set. This right symbol LED third timer is for measuring a relatively long time of, for example, 224 msec. Each time the right symbol LED third timer for measuring this relatively long time is terminated, S86 is executed.
Is determined as YES, and as a result, "1" is added to the current right symbol number in S94, and the symbol is moved and displayed by one symbol. Thus, the first for the right symbol LED
The timer, the second timer, and the third timer control the moving speed of the right symbol. When the first timer is set, it is the fastest moving speed, and the next speed is set by the second timer. When the third timer is set, the moving speed becomes the slowest. As a result, when the vehicle reaches the reach state, the moving speed of the right symbol becomes slower from the stage before the middle symbol in which the reach state occurs and stops, and the moving speed of the right symbol is lower than that of the first reach state. 2 is even slower in the reach state. It should be noted that the moving speed of the right symbol may not only be reduced, but may be reduced only when the big hit symbol passes. For example, when the reach state is reached at “77”, the control may be performed later only when the right symbol fluctuates from 6 → 7 → 8. S34 to S96 constitute variable display control means for controlling the variable display device to derive and display the display results of the plurality of variable display units.
In steps S66 to S69 and S86 to S96, at a stage where the display results of some of the plurality of variable display units have not been derived and displayed yet, the display mode of the variable display unit whose display results have already been derived and displayed is changed to the specific display mode. When a predetermined display state that satisfies the condition of the combination of the modes occurs, when a predetermined display state occurs, control performed based on the generation of the predetermined display state is started from a stage before the predetermined display state occurs. Control means is configured. In the predetermined display state occurrence control means, the game control at the time of the predetermined display state occurrence is defined in a plurality of modes, and the predetermined display state occurrence control means selects a certain aspect from the plurality of aspects. And has a function of performing control when the predetermined display state occurs in the selected mode.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a variable display state of a plurality of variable display portions of the variable display device. The variable display device 100 shown in FIG. 12 has a total of nine variable display units 101A to 101I of 3 rows × 3 columns, and when no reach state occurs, all the variable display units 101A to 101I.
The symbol 01I is scroll-displayed from top to bottom. However, when the second reach occurs, the symbol of the central variable display portion 101I that stops last is scrolled horizontally.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the variable display state of the variable display device. The variable display device 100 includes three variable display units 103A, 103B, and 103C. When the second reach occurs, a message “Reach!” Is displayed on the screen as illustrated. . Further, different messages may be displayed for the first reach and the second reach. Further, at the time of the second reach, the background color changes. Also, in the normal state where the vehicle is not in the reach state, the variable display unit 1 on the left
03A, middle variable display section 103B, right variable display section 10
The fluctuation starts in the order of 3C, for example, every 0.5 seconds.
Is displayed, the variable display unit 103 on the right
C, middle variable display section 103B, left variable display section 103A
May be controlled so as to start changing in this order. Further, as another example, when a reach occurs, a special character such as a person or an object is displayed, the picture of the background is changed, the color or size of the pattern is changed, and a big hit is generated. May be displayed by a numerical value in the range of 0 to 100, a meter, or the like.

Further, the mode of the reach is the first and second 2
Not only the types but also three or more types may be used. And
A plurality of modes of control at the time of the reach performed when the reach state occurs include, for example, a similar method of displaying a message at the first reach and the second reach, but the content of the message is used. And a plurality of different methods such as displaying a message in the first reach and changing the color of the symbol being variably displayed in the second reach, and the like. And adopting both. Also, a plurality of embodiments may be configured by a combination of the two.

[0073]

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined game control is executed, the degree of expectation to be a specific game state in which a predetermined game value can be given by the display result determination means. It is displayed with a numerical value obtained based on the decision result. For this reason, it is possible to excite the player's sense of expectation and to provide a gaming machine with a variety of fun.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a gaming board surface of a pachinko gaming machine as an example of a gaming machine.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit used in the pachinko gaming machine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main routine for explaining the operation of the control circuit shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a switch input process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a start switch check process.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a symbol LED control process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a symbol LED control process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a symbol LED control process.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a symbol LED control process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of a left symbol LED variation process and a middle symbol LED variation process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a subroutine program of right symbol LED variation processing.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a variable display state of a plurality of variable display units in the variable display device.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a variable display state of a plurality of variable display units of the variable display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

9 is a variable display device, 30a is a left variable display, 30b is a middle variable display, 30c is a right variable display, 12a to 12c are starting winning openings, 34 is a special winning opening, 60 is a microcomputer, 6 is a game area. Reference numeral 1 denotes a pachinko gaming machine as an example of a gaming machine.

Claims (2)

[Claims] A variable display device capable of changing a display state; variable display control means for performing variable display on the variable display device, and then performing control for deriving and displaying a display result; and displaying the display result on the variable display device. A display result deciding means for deciding, and when executing a predetermined game control, an expectation to be a specific game state in which a predetermined game value can be given is obtained based on a result determined by the display result deciding means. A gaming machine characterized by displaying numerical values. 2. A specific game state including a variable display device whose display state can be changed, and a predetermined game value can be given on condition that a display result of the variable display device is in a predetermined hit display mode. A variable display control means for performing control to derive and display a display result after variably displaying on the variable display device; and a display result for determining a display result on the variable display device. Determining means, when executing predetermined game control, displaying a degree of expectation to be a specific game state in which a predetermined game value can be given by a numerical value obtained based on a determination result by the display result determining means. A gaming machine characterized by: