JP2001120715A - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the game progress, with the players' operation and a series of direction associated with each other, and to make the game more satisfactory for players. SOLUTION: The more than one reel 31 which displays symbols of more than one kind; the operation switches (the bet switch 43, the start switch 41 and the stop switch 42) which players operate when the players make the reels 31 start or stop; and the picture display unit 40 which directs during the game are equipped. Providing that the specific operation switch (the stop switch 42) of the above operation switches is not operated, the first part of direction is output from the picture display unit 40. After the output, the condition that the direction is on the way is maintained. When the above specific operation switch is operated, the maintenance of the condition that the direction is on the way is canceled, and output of the direction to be continued is started according to the operation timing of the above specific operation switch.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a slot machine for performing various effects during a game using peripheral devices for effect.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A slot machine is provided with a plurality of reels displaying a plurality of types of symbols, and is provided with operation switches (start switch, stop switch, etc.) operated by a player to start and stop each reel. Have been. Then, when the player operates these operation switches, the symbols are displayed in a variable manner and stopped.
In addition, a control board on which a CPU is mounted is provided inside the slot machine, and peripheral devices such as switches, motors, lamps, sensors, and LEDs provided in the slot machine are all electrically connected to the control board. ing. And
The CPU of the control board collectively manages and controls these peripheral devices.

[0003] During a game, C
The PU transmits a command to turn on / off the effect lamp or the like, and controls the speaker to output a predetermined sound. Examples of the effect include a notification effect indicating whether or not a role has been won in a lottery inside the slot machine. For example, there are effects such as outputting a specific sound or lighting a back lamp arranged inside the reel.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a slot machine,
In accordance with the reel start and stop operations performed by the player, the symbol change display and the stop display are performed, so that the game proceeds. For this reason, the announcement effect is not performed when the operation of the player and the announcement effect are related to each other, for example, when the game is finished.

[0005] On the other hand, in recent years, there has been a trend to provide more profound effects by diversifying the notification effects of the possibility of winning the role. For example, a slot machine is provided with an image display device such as a liquid crystal display. There is an idea to display various images for use. Here, in the ball game machine equipped with the image display device, a display in which the fluctuation display and stop display of the symbol and the effect such as when the state immediately before the big hit is related is displayed on the image display device. can do.

[0006] However, if the slot machine is provided with an image display device, and if a notification effect by image display is performed on the image display device irrespective of the player's operation, the game lacks the interest of the game. On the other hand, when the operation of the player and the notification effect by the image display device are related to each other, how to proceed the game becomes a problem. Therefore, a problem to be solved by the present invention is to increase the interest of a game in a slot machine by allowing a player's operation and a series of effects to be related to each other to progress the game.

[0007]

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by the following means. (Claim 1) The invention according to claim 1 is a plurality of reels displaying a plurality of kinds of symbols, an operation switch operated by a player when the reel is started or stopped, and an effect surrounding for performing an effect during a game. In a slot machine including a device and an effect peripheral device output control unit that controls an output of the effect peripheral device, the effect peripheral device output control unit is configured such that a specific operation switch among the operation switches is not operated On the condition that the output from the peripheral device for the production is performed up to the middle of the production, and after the output, the state in the middle is maintained, and when it is detected that the specific operation switch is operated, the production is performed in the middle of the production. And the output of the subsequent effect is started in accordance with the operation timing of the specific operation switch.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the effect is performed during the game by the peripheral device for effect, and the output of the effect is controlled based on the operation of the specific operation switch by the player. When the specific operation switch is not operated, a part of the effect is output from the peripheral device for effect. And
After the output, the state is maintained. Thereafter, when the specific operation switch is operated by the player, the output of the subsequent effect is started in accordance with the operation timing of the specific operation switch. Thereby, the game can be advanced by relating the operation of the specific operation switch by the player and the effect by the effect peripheral device. Further, it is possible to cause the player to determine the timing of the change of the output of the effect peripheral device.

(Claim 2) The invention of claim 2 is claim 1
, The effect peripheral device is an image display device provided on a front portion of the slot machine so as to be visible to a player.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image display device provided on the front of the slot machine outputs an effect by image display as one of the effect peripheral devices. Therefore, it is possible to progress the game by associating the effect by the image display using the image display device with the operation of the player.

(Claim 3) The invention according to claim 3 is based on claim 1.
Or, in the slot machine according to claim 2, the effect peripheral device output control means, when detecting that the specific operation switch is operated, the transmission timing of the output command to the effect peripheral device. , Within a predetermined time range.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the specific operation switch is operated, the transmission timing of the output command to the effect peripheral device changes randomly. Therefore,
When changing the output content of the effect peripheral device in accordance with the operation timing of the specific operation switch, the player cannot completely match the operation of the specific operation switch with the change timing of the output content. Thus, it is possible to prevent the output of the effect peripheral device from assisting the operation of the specific operation switch so as to push the reel symbol, that is, to stop the desired symbol at the target position.

(Claim 4) The invention of claim 4 is based on claim 1.
Alternatively, in the slot machine according to claim 2, the main control board on which a main CPU is mounted, and the main control board are formed separately and the information is transmitted in one direction from the main control board. A main control board, electrically connected to the main control board, a sub-control board mounted with a sub-CPU, the operation switch is electrically connected to the main control board, the effect peripheral device, the sub-control board, Electrically connected, the main control board,
Of the effects output from the effect peripheral device, effect order determining means for determining the effect order, information of the effect order determined by the effect order determining means, effect order transmitting means for transmitting to the sub-control board, Operating information transmitting means for transmitting this information to the sub-control board when detecting that the operation switch has been operated, wherein the sub-control board is transmitted by the effect order transmitting means of the main control board. Effect order receiving means for receiving the information of the effected order, operation information receiving means for receiving the information transmitted by the operation information transmitting means of the main control board, and effect for outputting from the peripheral device for effect Effect element storage means for storing a plurality of effect elements constituting Selecting and combining a plurality of effect elements from the effect element storage means to conform to the effect element storage means, and effect effect construction means for constructing an effect to be output from the effect peripheral device.The effect peripheral device output control means, It is provided on a sub-control board and controls an output of the effect peripheral device based on an effect constructed by the effect constructing means and a timing of receiving information by the operation information receiving means.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the main control board and the sub control board are formed separately, and both are connected so as to transmit information in one direction from the main control board to the sub control board. Have been. The effect peripheral device is connected to the sub-control board and is controlled by the sub-control board. When outputting an effect from the effect peripheral device, on the main control board side, the effect order determination means:
The production order among the productions output from the production peripheral device is determined. Then, the rendering order transmitting means transmits the information of the determined rendering order to the sub-control board. On the other hand, the sub-control board has effect element storage means. The effect element storage means stores a plurality of effect elements constituting an effect output from the peripheral device for effect.

On the sub-control board side, the production order receiving means receives the production order information transmitted by the production order transmitting means. Then, when the effect order is received, the effect construction means selects and combines a plurality of effect elements from the effect element storage means so as to comply with the received effect order, and constructs an effect to be output from the effect peripheral device. When the effect is constructed, the effect peripheral device output control means controls the output of the effect peripheral device based on the constructed effect.

Therefore, the main control board only needs to determine an effect order and transmit it to the sub-control board, and the sub-control board constructs specific effect contents in accordance with the effect order. Thereby, detailed information on the production of the peripheral device for production on the main control board side,
For example, since it is not necessary to store a large amount of effect pattern data, programs, and the like, the storage capacity on the main control board side can have a margin. In addition, since a plurality of effect elements are stored on the sub-control board side and an effect is constructed by selecting and combining the effect elements, various effects can be constructed without increasing the storage capacity.

(Claim 5) The invention of claim 5 is based on claim 4
Wherein the main control board includes transmission timing changing means for randomly changing the timing of information transmission by the operation information transmitting means within a predetermined time range.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the information is transmitted to the sub-control board by the operation information transmitting means, the transmission timing changing means changes the transmission timing at random. Therefore, when changing the output content of the effect peripheral device according to the operation timing of the specific operation switch, the player cannot completely match the operation of the specific operation switch with the timing of the change of the output content. Thus, it is possible to prevent the output of the effect peripheral device from assisting the pressing of the reel symbol.

(Claim 6) The invention according to claim 6 is based on claim 4
Alternatively, in the slot machine according to claim 5, the main control board includes a role lottery means for performing a lottery of a role, and the production order determination means determines a production order based on a lottery result of the role lottery means. It is characterized by doing.

In the invention according to claim 6, the production order by the production order determination means is determined based on the lottery result by the role lottery means. Therefore, for example, by determining the production order with reference to the presence / absence of winning of the special role in the role lottery means, it is possible to perform a production announcement of the possibility of winning the role.

(Claim 7) The invention of claim 7 is based on claim 1.
7. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the effect peripheral device output control unit operates the specific operation switch during the output of the effect before the specific operation switch is operated. 8. In some cases, the effect to be output before the specific operation switch is operated is omitted, and the output of the effect after the specific operation switch is operated is started.

In the invention according to claim 7, when the specific operation switch is operated while the effect to be performed before the specific operation switch is operated is output from the peripheral device for effect, the effect is omitted. Then, the output of the effect to be performed after the operation of the specific operation switch is started. Therefore, for example, when the player wants to progress the game as soon as possible regardless of the effect output from the peripheral device for the effect, that is, when the player already knows that the player has won the special role, etc. Can play the game smoothly as in the case where there is no effect by the effect peripheral device.

[0023]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of an embodiment of the slot machine according to the present invention. First, the appearance of the slot machine 10 and the outline of the game in the present embodiment will be described. (Slot Machine) In FIG.
A front panel 20 is provided on a front portion of the housing of
In this front panel 20, three transparent display windows 2 are provided.
1 is provided. On the other hand, the display window 2
Behind 1, three reels (turn drums) 31 are arranged corresponding to the respective display windows 21.

The reel 31 is a ring-shaped body.
A tape reel on which a plurality of winning symbols (designs forming winning combinations) are printed is attached to the outer peripheral surface thereof. For example, a plurality of 21 types of symbols are arranged at equal intervals on one reel 31, and different symbols are arranged for each reel 31. Then, from inside the display window 21, three symbols continuous above and below the reel 31 can be seen.

A (stepping) motor 32 (see FIG. 2 to be described later) is connected to the center of the reel 31. The drive of the motor 32 causes the reel 31 to rotate, and the symbol of the reel 31 is displayed on a display window. The display is moved in the vertical direction within 21. Furthermore, inside each reel 31,
A back lamp (not shown) is provided. The back lamp is arranged behind each of the three symbols on the reel 31 in the display window 21. And the reel 31
It is formed of a material having translucency, and is configured such that the symbols on the reel 31 are illuminated by lighting of the back lamp.

An effective line 22 (22a to 22c) is displayed on a portion of the front panel 20 including the display window 21. The effective line 22 is composed of a middle effective line 22a in the horizontal direction, two upper effective lines 22b in the horizontal direction, and two effective lines 22b in the lower right and lower left directions.
And an effective line 22c. And
The three symbols continuous above and below the reel 31 are located on these upper, middle and lower effective lines 22,
When each reel 31 stops, a combination of a specific symbol stops on one activated line 22 to win a winning.

At the lower right side of the front panel 20, a medal insertion slot 23 is provided. When a medal is inserted by the player from the medal insertion slot 23, the activated line 22 is activated according to the number of inserted medals, and the activated line 22 is activated. The line lamp 24 is turned on. When the number of inserted medals is one, one effective line 22a is used. When two medals are inserted, three effective lines 22a and 22b in the horizontal direction are used. A total of five valid lines 22a to 22c are activated.

Above the display window 21 of the front panel 20, an image display device 4 composed of liquid crystal for displaying a color image is provided.
0 is provided to be visible to the player. The image display device 40 displays various images when performing an effect during a game. Further, on the front surface of the housing, various operation switches operated by the player to progress the game are provided. In the present embodiment, the start switch 4
1, a stop switch 42 and a bet switch 43 are provided.

The start switch 41 is a switch (lever) operated by the player when the rotation of the reel 31 is started. The stop switches 42 are three switches (buttons) that are independently arranged for each reel 31 and that are operated when the player stops the rotation of each reel 31. The bet switch 43 is a button for specifying the number of bets when the player inserts medals in the credit, and the one shown in FIG. 1 is for inserting three medals. In addition, one-sheet input and two-sheet input are also provided.

In the base game, the player inserts medals through the medal slot 23, turns on the bet switch 43, activates the activated line 22, and turns on the start switch 41. Thereby, each reel 31 is started. Then, the player presses the stop switch 42 to stop the rotation of the reel 31. Here, effective line 2
When the combination of the symbols of the reels 31 stopped above 2 matches a predetermined combination of symbols of some combination, a winning is achieved, and medals are paid out or the like according to the established combination.

During each game, various effects such as lighting of a back lamp and image display by the image display device 40 are performed. Further, the effects include a notification effect of the possibility of winning the role.

Next, the system configuration of the slot machine 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the slot machine 10 of the present embodiment. The main body of the slot machine 10 includes a main control board 70 and a sub control board 80, both of which are configured separately. (Main Control Board) The main control board 70 is
U71, a program ROM 73 and a control RAM 74 are mounted.

The main CPU 71 is a slot machine 10
It is responsible for overall control. Main CPU 71
Is a BPU (Basic Processing Unit), that is, reading (fetching) and interpretation (decoding) of instructions constituting a program.
And a device or circuit for executing the program, and includes a program counter, an accumulator, an arithmetic circuit, various registers, an interrupt control circuit, and the like. Program ROM 73
Is storage means for storing programs, data, and the like necessary for the game. The control RAM 74 includes a main CPU 7
Reference numeral 1 denotes a storage unit for temporarily storing the data and the like taken in when performing various controls.

The I / O port 72 is connected to the main control board 70
And peripheral devices directly related to the game (hereinafter referred to as "game peripheral devices"), for example, the bet switch 4 shown in FIG.
3, a start / stop switch 41, a stop switch 42, a motor 32 for driving the reel 31, and an entrance / exit for exchanging information with the sub-control board 80 and the like. Note that the gaming peripheral device is electrically connected only to the main control board 70, and the sub-control board 80
And not connected.

The main CPU 71 controls the I / O port 72 to fetch a program from the program ROM 73 and write it into the control RAM 74. Next, the main CPU 71 controls the control RAM 74 to fetch the first instruction, interpret it, call up necessary data, and execute processing. If the main CPU 71 has a built-in memory that plays the role of the program ROM 73 and the control RAM 74, the program ROM 73 and the control RAM 74 are unnecessary.

(Sub-control board) The sub-control board 80 is responsible for, in particular, the part related to production in the control of the slot machine 10, and includes the sub-CPU 81 and the program RO.
An M83 and a control RAM 84 are mounted. Sub CP
U <b> 81 controls the entire sub-control board 80. It should be noted that the sub CPU 81 has no restriction on the processing capability, the development language, and the like. The program ROM 83 is storage means for storing programs, data, and the like necessary for effects during the game. The control RAM 84 includes a sub CPU 81
Is a storage means for temporarily storing the fetched data and the like when performing various controls.

The sub CPU 81 and the program RO
The M83 and the control RAM 84 have the same functions as the main CPU 71, the program ROM 73, and the control RAM 74 of the main control board 70, respectively. The program ROM 83 and the control RAM 84 may be the same as the program ROM 73 and the control RAM 74, respectively, or may be larger than these.

The I / O port 82 is a portion serving as an entrance for exchanging information between the sub-control board 80 and the peripheral device for effect, the main control board 70 and the like. Here, the effect peripheral device is a peripheral device that is not directly related to the game, and outputs the effect during the game (including the effect of notifying the possibility of winning the role). In the present embodiment, In addition to the image display device 40 shown in FIG.
Speaker. Peripheral equipment for production is sub-control board 8
0 and not connected to the main control board 70.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, when an image display device 40 is provided as a peripheral device for effect, an image control IC for controlling an output image, a character ROM as storage means for display image data, A video RAM and the like are mounted on the sub-control board 80, and the image display device 40 is connected to an I / O port 82 via an image control IC. Further, the character ROM and the video RAM are connected to be able to exchange information with the image control IC.

The input side of the I / O port 82 is connected to the main control board 70, but the output side of the I / O port 82 is not connected to the main control board 70. Thus, the main control board 70 and the sub control board 80 are electrically connected, but are configured to transmit predetermined information from the main control board 70 to the sub control board 80 in one direction. I have.

Next, the main CPU of the main control board 70
71 and the sub CPU 81 of the sub control board 80 will be described in more detail. FIG. 3 shows the main CPU 71 and the sub C
It is a block diagram explaining the outline of control of PU81. The main CPU 71 has the following units. In addition,
The main CPU 71 includes, in addition to the illustrated units, a game control unit that controls the progress of the game, a unit that controls various peripheral devices for games, and the like, and is not limited to the illustrated units.

(Position Lottery Means) The role lottery means 71a performs lottery of a role (special role, small role, replay, etc.). Here, the special combination is a combination for shifting to a special game that is different from the base game and advantageous to the player. The small combination is a combination for paying out a predetermined number of medals to a player, and a plurality of small combinations are provided. Further, the replay is a role of giving the player the right to replay the game while maintaining the number of medals inserted in the previous game.
The lottery lottery means 71a compares, for example, a random number generator for a lottery lottery, a random number extracting means for extracting a random number generated by the random number generating means, and a random number value extracted by the random number extracting means with a lottery table. There is provided determination means for determining the presence or absence of a winning combination and determining the winning combination based on the area to which the random value belongs.

The random number generating means of the role lottery means 71a is a hard random number for generating a random number in a predetermined area (for example, 0 to 65535 in decimal system). The random number extracting means extracts a random number generated by the random number generating means under a predetermined condition, particularly when the start switch 41 is operated in the present embodiment. The lottery table includes a special role winning area, a small role winning area, a replay winning area, a non-winning (losing) area, and the like, among all areas to which the random number value extracted by the random number extracting unit belongs.
It has an area set at a predetermined ratio in advance. The determining means determines the area to which the random value belongs by comparing the random number value extracted by the random number extracting means with the lottery table, and determines the role corresponding to the area to which the random value belongs.
For example, if the extracted random number value belongs to the special combination winning area, it is determined that the special combination has been won, and if it belongs to the non-winning area, it is determined to be a loss.

(Production Order Determining Means) The production order deciding means 71b is an image display device 4 which is a peripheral device for production.
Among the effects output from 0, an effect order is determined. When an image display device 40 announces the possibility of winning a role, a series of effects is displayed as an image. In the present embodiment, in particular, the end of the effect in the series of effects is determined. For example, assuming that a series of productions is composed of a story in which a certain game is played, a decision is made as to which one of the last outcomes of the story, the game will be won or lost. In the present embodiment, when the final result is a win, it means that there is a high possibility of winning the special role.

Therefore, the production order determining means 71b
Determines the end of the effect based on the lottery result of the above-mentioned lottery means 71a. For example, when the special lottery is won by the role lottery means 71a, the effect ends with a high probability of winning the game. On the other hand, when the special lottery has not been won by the role lottery means 71a, in most cases, the end of the production is lost.

The image display device 40 has a first effect and
When a specific state (result) is reached in this first production, the first
Perform a second production that evolves from the production. And the production order determination means 71b determines the production ending of the first production and the production ending of the second production when performing the second production. For example, the first effect is an effect in which a quiz is displayed as an image and whether or not the quiz is answered correctly. The second effect is an effect that evolves when a correct answer is given to the quiz in the first effect, and includes a story in which some kind of game is played as described above.

(Rendering Order Transmitting Means) The rendering order transmitting means 71c includes the rendering order determined by the rendering order determining means 71b, that is, the rendering ending of the first rendering and the first rendering effect.
When the effect evolves from the effect to the second effect, information on the end of the effect of the second effect is transmitted to the sub-control board 80.
This information is transmitted from the main CPU 71 to the sub CPU 81 via the I / O ports 72 and 82.

(Operation information transmitting means) Operation information transmitting means 7
1d transmits this information to the sub-control board 80 when detecting that the operation switches, that is, the bet switch 43, the start switch 41, and the stop switch 42 in this embodiment are operated. When the bet switch 43 or the like is turned on by the operation of the player, the input signal is transmitted to the main CPU 71. This allows
The main CPU 71 detects that the bet switch 43 and the like are turned on, and the operation information transmitting unit 71d transmits this information to the sub control board 80.

(Transmission Timing Changing Means) The transmission timing changing means 71e randomly changes the information transmission timing by the operation information transmitting means 71d within a predetermined time range. Here, "range of predetermined time"
For example, the minimum time is set to 0 and the maximum time is set to the time when one symbol on the reel 31 passes (that is, the time until the symbol on the activated line 22 becomes the next symbol while the reel 31 is rotating). Is set. Assuming that the time for one symbol on the reel 31 to pass is 36 ms, the predetermined time is 0 to 36 m.
It changes randomly in the range of s. As a result, the reel 31
Is transmitted with a delay within one symbol, that is, within one frame.

Thus, when the stop switch 42 is turned on, the timing at which the signal is transmitted to the sub-control board 80 is randomly delayed. This is done in order to prevent the image display of the image display device 40 from pushing the reel symbol, that is, assisting to turn on the stop switch 42 so that the desired symbol stops at the target position. It is.

In the present embodiment, the display of the second effect (game) is performed based on the operation of the stop switch 42 by the player when the second effect (game) is being performed by the image display device 40. It is. That is, the timing of the change of the image display of the image display device 40 can be determined by the player. However, by performing the above control, the player cannot perfectly match the operation of the stop switch 42 with the timing of the change of the image display. Accordingly, even if the stop switch 42 is turned on in synchronization with the content of the image display of the image display device 40, the reel 3 is not necessarily located at a position where the player is advantageous.
1 does not stop.

In determining the predetermined time, for example, a random number generating means and a random number extracting means dedicated to the transmission timing changing means 71e may be provided. Then, when transmitting the operation information, the transmission timing changing unit 71e extracts a random number generated by the random number generation unit by the random number extraction unit, and determines a predetermined time based on the extracted random number. In this case, it is sufficient that all the extracted random numbers are set so as to fall within any range of 0 to 36 ms.

The sub CPU 81 has the following units. In addition, it is not limited to these illustrated means. (Production Order Receiving Means) Production Order Receiving Means 81a
Is for receiving the information of the production order transmitted by the production order transmitting means 71c of the main CPU 71. In the present embodiment, as described above, the end of the first effect and the second effect when the first effect is changed to the second effect.
Receive information on the end of the production.

(Operation information receiving means) Operation information receiving means 8
1b receives the information transmitted by the operation information transmitting means 71d of the main CPU 71. Thereby, the sub CPU 81 operates the operation switches, that is, the bet switch 43 and the start switch 41 in the present embodiment.
It is determined that the stop switch 42 has been operated. Since this information is transmitted after being randomly delayed by the transmission timing changing means 71e, the operation information receiving means 81b receives this information at a timing different from the timing at which the bet switch 43 or the like is actually operated. I do.

(Effect Construction Means, Effect Element Storage Means) The effect construction means 81c selects a plurality of effect elements from the effect element storage means 83a in accordance with the effect order (effect end) received by the effect order receiving means 81a. The combination is used to construct an effect to be output from the image display device 40. Here, the effect element storage means 83 a is provided in the program ROM 83, and stores a plurality of effect elements constituting an effect output from the image display device 40. Examples of this effect element include an appearance character, a background, an operation mode, an output sound, and the like, which are displayed on the image display device 40 as images. However, it is not limited to these.

Further, in this embodiment, the effect construction means 81
c is for constructing the second effect when the second effect is performed. As described above, in the first effect, the quiz is displayed as an image, and the effect is whether the answer is correct or incorrect. Therefore, if the answer is correct or incorrect, and the answer is incorrect, the answer is selected. Is enough. However, the second production is
Since it is a story where some kind of game is played, build that story. For example, it decides what kind of appearance character is to appear, what kind of background it is, what kind of action the appearance character performs, and the like.
Follow the contents received in a.

As described above, when a plurality of types of effect elements are provided, and each effect element is selected and combined each time to construct an effect, it is possible to store various types of effect patterns as compared with the case where many types of effect patterns are stored. Thus, various types of effects can be provided without increasing the storage capacity. In addition, the load on the storage capacity of the main control board 70 can be reduced. That is, since the storage capacity of the main control board 70 has a certain limit, by giving the effect data to be performed by the image display device 40 to the sub-control board 80, the storage capacity of the main control board 70 can be provided with a margin. You can have.

In particular, when an image is displayed by the image display device 40, a large amount of image data is required. However, this image data does not squeeze the storage capacity of the main control board 70. The image display of the device 40 can be controlled.

(Performance Peripheral Device Control Means) The effect peripheral device output control means 81d controls the output of the image display device 40 based on the effect constructed by the effect construction means 81c. Here, when the effect is output (image display) by the image display device 40, the effect peripheral device control means 81d retrieves predetermined image data from the character ROM, and outputs a predetermined signal to the image data by the image control IC. Processing is performed, and control is performed so that the image is transmitted to the image display device 40 and displayed.

Further, effect peripheral device output control means 81d
Displays an image of the second effect constructed by the effect construction means 81c on the image display device 40. When a specific operation switch is operated, control is performed so that the image display content changes. For example, taking the above-described effect as an example, a quiz is first displayed as an image on the image display device 40 (first display).
Direction). When the start switch 41 is operated, the answerer (character) answers the quiz, and displays an image as to whether or not the answer is correct (first example).
The end of the production). If the quiz is incorrect,
The effect by the image display device 40 ends in this game,
No new production will be performed.

On the other hand, when the answer to the quiz is correct, 3
When the first (initial) stop switch 42 of the two stop switches 42 is turned on, a story (second production) in which the next production is a game is played. Further, when the first stop switch 42 is turned on, the effect peripheral device output control means 81d outputs the first effect of the second effect.
Start outputting the effects up to the stage. When the output is completed, the last image display state of the first stage is maintained. Note that the last image display state may be a still image, or may be a moving image in which an appearing character repeatedly performs a predetermined operation.

Subsequently, the peripheral device output control means for effect 81
d indicates that when the second stop switch 42 is turned on,
The output of the effect up to the second stage of the second effect is started. When the output is completed, the last image display state of the second stage is maintained. The last image display state of the second stage is, for example, a state immediately before the result of winning or losing the game is obtained. Next, the peripheral device output control means 8 for the effect
1d outputs the effect of the third stage (final stage) of the second effect when the third stop switch 42 is turned on. In other words, it outputs the effect ending of whether the game was won or lost.

As described above, the effect peripheral device output control means 81d outputs a part of the effect from the image display device 40, and maintains the state after the output. Then, a specific operation switch for proceeding to the next production, for example, a third operation switch for proceeding from the second stage of the second production to the final stage
When the stop switch 42 is turned on, the state in the middle of the second effect is released, and the third stop switch 42 is turned off.
Is controlled so as to start the output of the final stage effect according to the operation timing.

However, the effect peripheral device output control means 81
d, when the specific operation switch is operated during the output of the effect before the specific operation switch is operated, the effect to be output before the specific operation switch is operated is omitted, and the specific operation switch is operated. Is controlled so that the output of the effect after the start is started. For example, when the third stop switch 42 is turned on during the output of the second stage of the second effect, even if all of the second stage of the second effect has not yet been output, the second stop The output of the third stage is omitted, and the output of the third stage is started.

By controlling in this way, even if the player wants to proceed with the game as soon as possible regardless of the effect displayed on the image display device 40, for example, the effect of the image display device 40 The game can be played smoothly as when there is no game. For example, there is a case where the player already knows that the special combination has been won, and does not need to see the effect of the image display device 40.

Next, the flow of the effect of the image display device 40 in the slot machine of the present embodiment will be described. FIGS. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing an embodiment of the flow of the effect of the image display device 40. FIG. 5 is a flowchart following FIG.

First, in step S1 of FIG. 4, the effect peripheral device output control means 81d outputs an initial effect to the image display device 40 (image display). Then, in step S2, the main CPU 71 continues to detect whether or not the bet switch 43 is turned on. When ON is detected, the process proceeds to step S3, and the operation information transmitting means 71d of the main CPU 71 transmits information to the effect that the bet switch 43 is turned on to the sub CPU 81. Thereby, the sub CP
The operation information receiving means 81b of U81 receives this information. Thus, the sub CPU 81 sets the bet switch 4
3 is determined to be turned on.

In the next step S4, the effect peripheral device output control means 81d causes the image display device 40 to output the first effect, that is, display an image of a quiz, in response to the turning on of the bet switch 43. Next, proceed to step S5,
The main CPU 71 continues to detect whether or not the start switch 41 has been turned on. During this time, the image display device 40
Shows a state where the first effect is displayed as an image.

When ON is detected, step S6 is performed.
Then, the role lottery means 71a performs a lottery of a role. Next, proceeding to step S7, the production order determining means 71b determines whether the production result of the first production, which is the production order, is the end of the production, that is, whether the answer is a quiz or an incorrect answer. End of the second effect, that is, whether to win or lose the game. Here, the production order determination means 71b determines these with reference to the lottery result of the role lottery means 71a. For example, if you have won a special role, with a high probability,
The answer to the quiz of the first production is correct, and the process proceeds to the second production. On the other hand, when the special lottery is not won by the role lottery means 71a, the quiz of the first production is incorrectly answered with a high probability.
Even if it develops into the second production, in most cases, it will be decided to end in losing the game in the second production.

Then, in step S8, the operation information transmitting means 71d sets the start switch 4 in step S5.
1 is transmitted to the sub CPU 81, and the effect order transmitting means 71c transmits the information to step S7.
Is transmitted to the sub CPU81.
Thereby, the operation information receiving means 81b of the sub CPU 81
Receives information indicating that the start switch 41 has been turned on, and the sub CPU 81 determines that the start switch 41 has been turned on. In addition, the production order receiving means 81a
Receives the production order.

In the next step S9, the production peripheral device output control means 81d responds to the turning-on of the start switch 41 and, in accordance with the production order received in step S8.
The effect of the first effect, that is, the answer to the quiz and whether the answer is correct or incorrect is displayed on the image display device 40 as an image. Then, in step S10, the sub CPU 81 determines in step S
With reference to the production order received in 8, it is determined whether there is a second production. When there is, the process proceeds to the next step S11. When there is no such process, the process proceeds after step S20 in FIG. That is, when there is no image, this image display state is maintained until the bet switch 43 is turned on in the next game.

On the other hand, when proceeding to step S11, the effect construction means 81c constructs the contents of the second effect so as to reach the end of the effect received in step S8. In other words, the effect construction means 81c is the effect element storage means 83a
, Select predetermined production elements, combine them, determine what kind of appearance character performs what kind of motion in what background, and what kind of sound to output, etc. Build a story to do a game.

When the second effect has been constructed, the process proceeds to step S12 in FIG. 5, and the main CPU 71 continues to detect whether or not the first (first) stop switch 42 has been turned on. Then, in step S12, the main CPU 7
When 1 detects that the first stop switch 42 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S13, and the operation information transmitting unit 71d
Transmits the information to that effect to the sub CPU 81. Sub C
When the operation information receiving means 81b of the PU 81 receives this information, in a next step S14, the effect peripheral device output control means 81d responds to the turning-on of the first stop switch 42 to the first stage of the second effect. Is output from the image display device 40. The effect here is, for example, an effect in a story in which a game is performed, in which an appearing character moves to a place where the game is performed. As described above, when the answer to the quiz of the first effect is correct, when the first stop switch 42 is turned on, the game develops into a story of the next second effect, a game.

After the start of the output, step S1
Proceeding to 5, the main CPU 71 continues to detect whether or not the second stop switch 42 has been turned on. If ON is detected, the process proceeds to step S16, and the operation information transmitting unit 7
1d transmits information to that effect to the sub CPU 81. When the operation information receiving means 81b of the sub CPU 81 receives this information, in a next step S17, the effect peripheral device output control means 81d starts outputting up to the second stage of the second effect.

According to the above processing, even after the output of the first stage of the second effect is completed, if the second stop switch 42 is not turned on, the last image display state of the first stage of the second effect is maintained. . On the other hand, if the second stop switch 42 is turned on before outputting all of the first stage of the second effect, the output of the first stage of the second effect after that is omitted, and the second effect is not output. The output of the second stage is started.

Further, in step S17, the second effect of the second
When the output of the stage is started, the process proceeds to the next step S18, and the main CPU 71 continues to detect whether or not the third stop switch 42 is turned on. If ON is detected, the process proceeds to step S19, and the operation information transmitting unit 71d
Transmits the information to that effect to the sub CPU 81. Sub C
When the operation information receiving means 81b of the PU 81 receives this information, in the next step S20, the effect peripheral device output control means 81d starts outputting the end of the second effect, and after the output, ends the processing. . In step S20, whether the game has been won or lost is displayed as an image.

Here, in step S17, when the output up to the second stage of the second effect is completed, for example, "cho" and "half" are alternately and repeatedly displayed on the image display device 40. Such an effect is output. Then, by turning on the third stop switch 42, the player can select “cho” or “half”. Thus, the player can select the game of the second effect by turning on the third stop switch 42. Then, in the image display of step S20, the second
If the player has won the game, the player can judge that there is a high possibility that the special role has been won. On the other hand, if the game is lost, the player can determine that the possibility that the special combination has been won is low. Step S
At 20, if the bet switch 43 is turned on before the output of the end of the second effect is finished, the output of the end is omitted and the first effect (image display of the quiz) shown in step S <b> 4 is performed. Output.

While the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications as described below are possible. (1) In the present embodiment, the rendering order determining means 71b determines the ending of the rendering. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the rendering order determining means 71b determines an order required for the rendering peripheral device output control means 81d. However, it is not necessarily limited to the end of the production.

(2) The effect peripheral device has been described with the image display device 40 as an example in the present embodiment, but is not limited to this. For example, a series of effects may be performed using speakers and lamps. (3) In the present embodiment, the first effect is developed to the second effect. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first effect is developed to the second effect or the third effect.
The third effect may be set, for example, to an effect notifying the winning of the small role. In addition, without being limited to the first production and the second production developed from the first production, one production may be used,
Alternatively, an effect that is further developed from the second effect may be performed.

(4) In the present embodiment, the main control board 7
Although the control board composed of 0 and the sub-control board 80 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and one control board may be used as long as a sufficient storage capacity required for the effect can be secured. Further, in this case, the production peripheral device output control means, when detecting that the specific operation switch is operated, sets the timing of transmission of the output command to the production peripheral device within a predetermined time range. If it is changed at random, it is possible to prevent the output of the effect peripheral device from assisting the pressing of the reel symbols. (5) The specific operation switch for restarting the output of the effect peripheral device may be any switch as long as it can be operated by the player, and is not limited to the one shown in the present embodiment.

[0081]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
The game can be advanced by relating the operation of the specific operation switch by the player and the effect by the effect peripheral device. Further, it is possible to cause the player to determine the timing of the change of the output of the effect peripheral device. (Claim 2) According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to progress the game by associating the effect by the image display using the image display device with the operation of the player.

(Claim 4) According to the invention of claim 4, the production order may be determined on the main control board side and transmitted to the sub control board side, and the sub control board side complies with the production order. Build specific production contents as follows. This eliminates the need for the main control board to store detailed information on the effects of the effect peripheral devices, for example, a large amount of effect pattern data and programs, so that the main control board has a sufficient storage capacity. be able to. In addition, since a plurality of effect elements are stored on the sub-control board side and an effect is constructed by selecting and combining the effect elements, various effects can be constructed without increasing the storage capacity.

(Claim 3 and Claim 5) According to the invention of claim 3 or claim 5, when the output content of the effect peripheral device is changed in accordance with the operation timing of the specific operation switch, the player can specify It becomes impossible to completely match the operation of the operation switch with the timing of the change of the output content. Thus, it is possible to prevent the output of the effect peripheral device from assisting the pressing of the reel symbol. (Claim 6) According to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to perform a notification effect of the winning possibility of the role by determining the production order by referring to the presence or absence of the winning of the special role by the role lottery means, for example. it can.

(Claim 7) According to the invention of claim 7, for example, when the player wants to proceed with the game as soon as possible regardless of the effect output from the peripheral device for effect, that is, the player In the case where the player already knows that he has won the role, the game can be played smoothly as in the case where there is no effect by the effect peripheral device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of an embodiment of a slot machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the slot machine of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of control of a main CPU and a sub CPU.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a flow of an effect of the image display device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a flow of the effect of the image display device, and is a flowchart continued from FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 slot machine 20 front panel 21 display window 22 (22a to 22c) effective line 23 medal slot 24 effective line lamp 31 reel 32 motor 40 image display device (peripheral device for staging) 41 start switch (operation switch) 42 stop switch ( 43 operation switch) 43 bet switch (operation switch) 70 main control board 71 main CPU 71a lottery means 71b effect order determination means 71c effect order transmission means 71d operation information transmission means 71e transmission timing change means 72 I / O port 73 program ROM 74 Control RAM 80 Sub-control board 81 Sub-CPU 81a Production order receiving means 81b Operation information receiving means 81c Production construction means 81d Production peripheral device output control means 82 I / O port 83 Program ROM 83a directing element storage means 84 control RAM

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of reels displaying a plurality of types of symbols, an operation switch operated by a player when starting or stopping the reels, an effect peripheral device for effecting an effect during a game, and an effect peripheral In a slot machine comprising: an effect peripheral device output control means for controlling an output of a device, the effect peripheral device output control means, provided that a specific operation switch among the operation switches is not operated. Outputs up to the middle of the effect from the peripheral device, maintains the state after the output, and cancels the state during the effect when detecting that the specific operation switch is operated. A slot machine that starts outputting a subsequent effect in accordance with an operation timing of the specific operation switch. 2. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the effect peripheral device is an image display device provided on a front portion of the slot machine so as to be visible to a player. . 3. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein said effect peripheral device output control means sends said effect peripheral device to said effect peripheral device when detecting that said specific operation switch is operated. Wherein the transmission timing of the output command is randomly changed within a predetermined time range. 4. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein a main control board on which a main CPU is mounted is provided separately from the main control board, and the slot machine is provided in one direction from the main control board. A sub-control board on which a sub-CPU is electrically connected to the main control board so that information is transmitted, wherein the operation switch is electrically connected to the main control board; The device is electrically connected to the sub-control board, and the main control board is a production order determining unit that determines a production order among the productions output from the peripheral device for production, and is determined by the production order determining unit. Effecting order transmitting means for transmitting the information of the effected order to the sub-control board, and when it is detected that the operation switch is operated ,
Operation information transmitting means for transmitting the information to the sub-control board, wherein the sub-control board receives a production order information transmitted by the production order transmitting means of the main control board. Operation information receiving means for receiving information transmitted by the operation information transmitting means of the main control board; and effect element storage means for storing a plurality of effect elements constituting an effect output from the effect peripheral device. And an effect construction means for selecting and combining a plurality of effect elements from the effect element storage means so as to follow the effect order received by the effect order receiving means, and constructing an effect to be output from the effect peripheral device, The effect peripheral device output control means is provided on the sub-control board and constructed by the effect construction means. Out, and the operation information based on the timing of the reception of information by the receiving means, slot machine and controls the output of the presentation peripherals. 5. The slot machine according to claim 4, wherein the main control board includes a transmission timing changing unit that randomly changes a timing of transmitting information by the operation information transmitting unit within a predetermined time range. A slot machine characterized in that: 6. The slot machine according to claim 4, wherein the main control board includes a role lottery means for performing a lottery of a role, and the production order determining means includes a lottery result of the role lottery means. A slot machine that determines a production order based on a slot machine. 7. One of claims 1 to 6
In the slot machine according to the paragraph, the effect peripheral device output control means, when the specific operation switch is operated during the output of the effect before the specific operation switch is operated, the specific operation switch is operated Omit the effects to be output before
A slot machine which starts outputting an effect after the specific operation switch is operated.