JP2001079136A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively confirm progress in the operation of a game player by adopting a start lever as the lighting type one in a game machine having the start lever for inputting the start signal of a game and controlling the lighting of the lighting type start lever to be changed in accordance with a game control signal. SOLUTION: A medal adjustment button, stop buttons of respective reels and the lighting type start lever are attached on the front surface of an operating part in a slot machine. The start lever is shone in its grip or shaft and the color or flickering or the like is electrically controlled. That is, the grip 86b attached to the tip of the metallic and cylindrical lever shaft 86a is formed by a transparent plastic material for permeating a visible light and a lamp 86c for operating flickering is built-in as a light source. Then, the light emission of the start lever is controlled linked with another game control circuit in accordance with the progress of the game.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a game machine such as a slot machine having a start lever for inputting a game start signal, and more particularly, to an improvement in an electric decoration function and a notification function. Related to gaming machines with improved appeal to

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a slot machine, a player inserts medals (BET), selects a winning line according to the number of medals, and then operates a start lever to input a start signal (start operation). . When the device is started, usually three reels which are arranged side by side and display various symbols on the peripheral surface rotate,
A player presses a stop button corresponding to each reel to stop the reel, and stops the symbol on a winning line defined in the horizontal direction, up, down, or diagonal direction (stop operation). Winning and losing are determined by the combination of symbols on the winning line, and if a prize is won, a payout is received, one game ends, and thereafter the game proceeds by repeating medal insertion (BET), reel start, reel stop operation .

By the way, in this slot machine, a special prize can be won or many medals can be obtained.
(Bonus game) is controlled by a lottery control function using a random number generator inside the device. The lottery control function is to randomly generate numbers within a certain range at all times, and to extract numbers generated when a start signal is input. If the extracted number is a predetermined value or a number within a predetermined range, it is assumed that a predetermined winning combination has been internally won (this number setting is referred to as a winning lottery table). The reel stop position is controlled and adjusted according to the operation timing of the stop button of the player, based on whether or not the internal winning has been achieved and, in the case of the internal winning, which winning combination has been internally won, based on the operation timing of the stop button of the player. . By controlling the winning in this way, a winning is generated with a fixed probability. This internal winning is usually effective only for the game, but a specific internal winning (for example, a bonus game) is carried over to the next game.

[0004] As described above, when a lottery is won by the lottery process (when an internal lottery is won), for example, a display lamp installed on an upper panel or a machine base is turned on or blinked,
Alternatively, by changing the lighting of the reel unit, the player is notified that the lottery has been won (internal winning), but the system does not recognize the notification function due to differences in the system depending on the model. The appeal to the players was not enough.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is intended to surely give a player an expectation for a specific prize or to confirm a progress of a player's operation. In addition, the present invention provides a gaming machine having a function of appealing to the player in accordance with the game rhythm of the player.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a gaming machine having a start lever for inputting a game start signal, wherein the start lever is of an illuminated type, and the illumination of the illuminated start lever corresponds to a game control signal. It is characterized by being made to change. Since the start lever on which the player's attention is concentrated is illuminated and this illumination is changed according to the game control signal, the appeal to the player can be improved.

[0007] Further, when the gaming machine is a slot machine having a lottery control function, the effect is further exhibited, and the illumination of the illumination type start lever is controlled based on an input signal by a player's operation such as an operation of a reel stop button. In the case of changing, the rhythm of the illuminated start lever is formed based on the lottery result signal of the gaming machine, and the expectation of the player is increased, Or induce an immersive feeling. The features, operations, and effects of the other configurations will be described in detail in the embodiments of the invention.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1
Is a box-shaped machine body, and 2 is a panel that is attached to the front of the machine body 1 and that can be opened and closed. The panel 2 is partitioned into an upper part 2a, a middle part 2b and a lower part 2c, and a machine operation indicator light 3 and a payout display panel 4 are mounted on the panel upper part 2a.

A reel display section 5 (to be described later) is provided in the middle panel section 2b.
Are provided on both sides thereof, a medal number display lamp 6 and a display lamp group 7 for displaying a gaming state of the machine are provided. Below the reel display unit 5, an operation unit 8 (described later) provided with operation switches, a medal insertion slot, and the like is located, and a decorative panel 9 and a medal payout exit 10a are provided in a lower panel portion 2c below the operation unit 8. A tray 10 for receiving medals, an ashtray 11 or two speakers 12 are provided.

The reel display section 5 has three parallel lines and X
Five winning lines L consisting of two lines intersecting in a character shape
Is provided, and in the window 51, there are three reels 52a, 52b, 52 that display a plurality of different symbols on the peripheral surface.
c is built-in. When each reel is stopped, a total of nine symbols in three rows and three stages are visually recognized from the window 51 along the pay line L. The above-mentioned five medal number display lamps 6 are provided corresponding to the left end of each pay line L, and indicate the range of the pay line activated according to the inserted medal number.

A display 81 is mounted at the center of the upper surface of the operation unit 8, and displays various messages or information to a player. On the left side of the display 81, the number of inputs is 1, 2
And three medal insertion buttons 82a, 82b and 82c corresponding to the individual, and on the right side, an individual medal insertion slot 83a (manual insertion slot) and a collective medal insertion slot 83b (a storage medal insertion slot for storing a medal insertion). ) Is arranged.

A medal clearing button 8 is provided on the front of the operation unit 8.
4. The reel stop buttons 85a, 85b and 85c provided corresponding to the respective reels 52a, 52b and 52c and the illuminated start lever 86 are mounted. The illuminated start lever 86 can be of any type as long as the grip or shaft of the lever shines and the color or blinking of the lever can be electrically controlled.

However, as shown in FIG. 2, a grip 86b attached to the distal end of a cylindrical metal lever shaft 86a.
Is made of a transparent plastic material that transmits visible light, and has a built-in lamp 86c as a light source that can be operated blinking, is easy to manufacture, is excellent in mechanical strength and durability, and is suitable for transparent plastic. Those containing a light diffusing agent can improve the light effect. In addition, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit red, green, and blue light are installed side by side.
By using a light source capable of emitting various colors by adjusting the input of the ED, the illumination effect can be improved. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 86d denotes a bearing 86e that supports a start lever so as to swing freely and a lever holder that movably holds the start lever, 86f denotes a compression spring that returns the lever to a neutral position, and 86g denotes a lever. This is a contactless switch that issues a start signal in accordance with the displacement of the tip. Known techniques can be appropriately used for such a start lever holding mechanism and a switch mechanism.

The basic structure of the above-described slot machine is the same as that of the conventional slot machine except that the start lever 86 is an illuminated type, and the basic game method is also different from the conventional method. Since there is no place, description of the game method is omitted.

Next, a control mechanism of the slot machine will be described. FIG. 3 shows an electric control mechanism of the slot machine. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 100 denotes a control unit composed of a microcomputer. The control unit 100 includes a CPU 101 as a control main body, a ROM 102 for storing programs and fixed data, and a RAM 103 for reading and writing data.
including. The CPU 101 decodes and executes a program stored in the ROM 102, executes various calculations and processes while reading and writing data from and to the RAM 103, and controls a series of operations of each input / output unit.

The CPU 101 includes a random number generator, a lottery circuit 104 including a random number sampling circuit, a reel driving and control circuit 105, a reel stop signal circuit 106, a reel stop signal circuit 106, a medal detection and payout control. A circuit 107, a display control circuit 108, a speaker control circuit 109, a lamp drive circuit 110 or a start switch 111 of a start lever, a medal sensor signal 112, and various input / output circuits necessary for the progress of the game are connected. Control. As these basic control mechanisms, conventionally known control mechanisms can be employed, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the slot machine of the present invention, power control of the grip lamp 86c (light source) of the start lever 86 is incorporated in the lamp drive circuit 110, and the power is controlled in conjunction with another game control circuit in accordance with the progress of the game. Then start lever
The emission of 86 is controlled.

Light emission (flashing) of the basic grip lamp 86c
There is a pattern (hereinafter referred to as a pattern) that emits light in response to an input signal of a player. This device can emit light for a certain period of time in conjunction with the start signal or the reel stop signal, and can confirm the operation of the player. Also,
According to the winning lottery result, the lottery result, for example, a big bonus game (BB), a regular bonus game (R
B) or other role games, each of which emits light in a different pattern, thereby notifying the player of the result of the lottery of the game, thereby giving a sense of expectation.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b) and 4 (c), continuous lighting (a) for BB, blinking (b) for a relatively long lighting time for RB, In the case of a role, a pattern such as blinking (c) having a relatively short lighting time, and no lighting when a disconnection can be adopted. However, if a certain pattern is fixed for each winning type in this way, it becomes a mere notification, and the place of appealing to the player's emotion may be reduced.

In contrast, for example, even if light is emitted in a certain pattern, control can be performed such that no prize corresponding to the pattern actually occurs. That is, it is also possible to cause a certain pattern of light to be emitted without winning a lottery, and in this case, the player can feel some kind of thrill. Conversely, even if a result of winning is obtained in the lottery, the corresponding pattern is not emitted, and the winning result is actually given to the player to give the player an unexpected feeling, and the next game You can give them a sense of expectation.

The selection of these light emission patterns is based on the above-mentioned winning lottery table (a numerical value is assigned to each winning mode according to the probability of occurrence from a numerical value in a certain range, and when a random number generator generates a numerical value, the numerical value is assigned to the numerical value. Using the allocation table for giving the corresponding winning combination), the winning section numerical value and the light emitting section numerical value can be executed by being different from each other as shown in the section table of FIG. 5, and at the same time, the light emitting pattern can be selected. By associating with a numerical value, a predetermined light emission pattern can be selected and executed based on a lottery result, which is convenient. It should be noted that another independent table can be defined for selecting the light emission pattern.

Such a winning lottery (E1), a light emission information lottery
FIG. 6 shows an example of a flowchart including (E2) and the selection of the light emission pattern (E3). In this case, the lottery is performed before the rotation of the reel, and the light emission control of the lamp is also performed before the rotation of the reel. The timing of the start of the execution of the light emission pattern can be performed before the rotation of the reel as described above. In this case, for example, even if the BB is notified in advance, the pattern of the BB (symbol 3 However, in the case of a pure prize-type notification, it is also possible to emit light after the prize is determined during reel rotation. The light emission timing can be appropriately selected according to the system of the control mechanism or the purpose of light emission.

In the above description of the embodiment,
First, as the light emission pattern of the start lever, an intermittent light emission, that is, a pattern in which a blinking pattern of a lamp is changed is described.
An appropriate pattern such as a pattern with a different color can be implemented. When the color is changed, the illuminating color can be changed, for example, by a section table shown in FIG. Furthermore, as the game control signal corresponding to the illumination of the start lever, the start signal, the reel stop signal, the lottery result signal, and the like have been described. However, it is also possible to correspond to various signals for controlling the game machine other than these, for example, Medal insertion signal,
It may be made to correspond to a medal payout signal or the like.

Although the slot machine has been described as a gaming machine, the present invention is not limited to the slot machine but can be applied to other gaming machines having a start lever for starting a game.

[0025]

According to the present invention, in a gaming machine having a start lever for inputting a game start signal, the start lever is of an illuminated type, and the illumination of the illuminated start lever is changed according to a game control signal. Therefore, the illumination of the start lever, which is close to and attentive to the player, changes, so that the appeal to the player can be improved. Also, when the gaming machine is a slot machine having a lottery control function, the effect is further exhibited, and the illumination of the illumination type start lever is changed based on an input signal by a player operation such as an operation of a reel stop button. In the case where the game rhythm of the player is formed and the illumination of the illuminated start lever is changed based on the lottery result signal of the gaming machine, the expectation of the player is raised or the immersion in the game is increased. Can be induced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified side sectional view of one example of an illuminated start lever used in the gaming machine of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a control mechanism of the slot machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing three examples of light emission patterns of a start lever.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a winning section table and a light emission notification section table.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of light emission control.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a winning section table and a light emission notification section table when the illumination color is changed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 86 Start lever (illuminated type) 86c Grip lamp (light source) 110 Lamp drive circuit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A game machine having a start lever for inputting a game start signal, wherein the start lever is of an illuminated type, and the illumination of the illuminated start lever is changed in accordance with a game control signal. A gaming machine characterized by the following. 2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein said gaming machine is a slot machine having a lottery control function. 3. The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the illumination of the illumination type start lever is changed based on an input signal by a player operation such as an operation of a reel stop button. 4. The illumination of the illumination type start lever is changed based on a lottery result signal of a gaming machine.
A gaming machine according to claim 1. 5. The gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein the change of the illumination of the start lever based on the lottery result signal is executed with a predetermined probability. 6. An illumination system according to claim 1, wherein the illumination of said start lever is changed by changing a blinking timing of a light source.
The gaming machine according to 3, 4, or 5. 7. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the illumination of the start lever is changed by changing a color of a light source. 8. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the illumination of the start lever is changed by changing the illuminance of a light source.