JP2001346970A - Pattern switching device and pattern switching method for pachinko game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the pattern switching device and pattern switching method of a Pachinko game machine capable of lowering costs and obtaining a visual effect by pattern changeover similar to a conventional one using VDP by a small data amount. SOLUTION: As bit map data 1, two of them in a black-and-white grid shape (the number of colors is 1) from which data are pulled out on every other line are prepared. The data 1 are shifted by one line, piled up, superimposed (that is, image-synthesized) on a present image 2 and slid along a line direction. That is, the two of the bit map data 1 in the grid shape are paired and piled up on the image 2 from the left and right. By piling up grids, the image 2 is hidden. When the grid pair is completely piled up, the image 2 behind the grids 1 is replaced with the next image 3. Thereafter, when the bit map data 1 in the grid shape are respectively slid in left and right directions, the image 3 appears.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a symbol switching device and a symbol switching method for a pachinko gaming machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, screen switching such as a background or a fluctuating pattern on a liquid crystal display of a pachinko game machine is related to a picture-story instantaneous switching, an entire screen is once whitened, and the next screen is displayed. Fade, scroll to shift the screen to the side, and make the previous screen translucent to display the next screen.

However, the screen switching as described above is
There is a weakness lacking in freshness and fun.

On the other hand, as for the above, a fresh visual effect can be obtained, but a high-performance VDP (image processing chip)
Is necessary.

[0005]

The use of a high-performance, high-performance chip such as the above VDP results in a considerable cost.

Further, when VDP is used, a large number of effect images (light pictures) must be prepared. On the other hand, a pachinko gaming machine has a special feature that it is required by law to perform image control processing within a limited capacity, and therefore, there is a demand that production images must be reduced as much as possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to reduce the cost, reduce the amount of data, and achieve the same visual effect as the above-described conventional pattern switching using VDP using VDP. Is to provide a symbol switching device and a symbol switching method for a pachinko gaming machine that can obtain a symbol.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of a symbol switching device for a pachinko gaming machine according to claim 1 comprises a display means for displaying a screen such as a fluctuating symbol and a background.
Storage means for preliminarily storing two pieces of black-and-white or one-color grid-like bitmap data extracted from data line by line;
The two lattice-shaped bitmap data are overlapped with each other shifted by one line, placed on the screen of the display means, and slid inward along the line direction of the lattice, and then outside the screen. Image control means for sliding in the direction, and screen switching means for switching to a different screen after the current screen of the display means is covered and covered by the grid.

[0009] Here, the image control means may be characterized in that, after being switched to the different screen by the screen switching means, the grid is slid outward of the screen.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, a third aspect of the invention is provided.
In the invention of the symbol switching method of the pachinko gaming machine, there is provided a step of preparing two pieces of black and white or one-color lattice-shaped bitmap data in which data is extracted line by line; Superimposing one line on each other, placing them on the screen of the display means, and sliding them inward of the screen along the line direction of the grid, and the current screen of the display means is covered by the grid. After that, there is a step of switching to a different screen, and after switching to the different screen, sliding the lattice in an outward direction of the screen.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings, similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a front view of a gaming machine. Since the mechanical structure of the gaming machine can be the same as that of the conventional example as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-319252, the description will be limited to the components related to the present invention and the supplementary portions thereof.

In FIG. 2, a gaming machine according to the present embodiment has a gaming board 201 on which a character or the like of the gaming machine is mounted on a board, a special symbol display device 202, a start winning port 203, a normal symbol display device operation gate (left) 204. , An ordinary symbol display device operation gate (right) 205, an ordinary symbol display device 206, an ordinary electric accessory 207, and a variable winning ball device 208.

In the present embodiment, the special symbol display device 202 has a variable display device 409 (to be described later with reference to FIG. 4), and variably displays a plurality of special symbols (hereinafter simply referred to as symbols) such as figures and figures. .

When a ball hit by a player wins, a start winning opening 203 is provided inside a special symbol start switch 3.
Winning is detected when a trigger 01 (described later with reference to FIG. 3) occurs, and the special symbol display device 202 is triggered to change symbols.

Normal symbol display device operation gate (left) 204
When the ball hit by the player passes through the normal symbol display device operating gate (right) 205, the internal symbol operating switch 302 (described later in FIG. 3) generates a trigger, and the normal symbol of the normal symbol display device 206 is generated. Gives the opportunity to fluctuate.

The normal symbol display device 206 variably displays a normal symbol such as a 7-segment LED (light emitting diode) to be displayed.

The ordinary electric accessory 207 is opened when the ordinary symbol display device 206 stops and displays a specific ordinary symbol,
Assist in winning in the starting winning opening 203.

The variable prize ball device 208 is provided on the front surface of the variable prize ball device 208 when the symbol of the special symbol display device 202 is a combination of predetermined specific symbols, that is, when a special prize (big hit) is achieved. The opening operation of the special winning opening is performed.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a control circuit of the above-mentioned gaming machine. In FIG. 3, the control circuit configuration of the gaming machine of the present embodiment includes a special symbol start switch 301, a normal symbol activation switch 302, a special winning opening switch 303, other switches 304, a reset circuit 305, a power supply circuit 306, an input port 307, Main control unit 308, ROM (read only memory) 309, RAM (random access memory) 3
10, output port 311, special symbol display device 202, ordinary symbol display device 206, special winning opening activated solenoid 31
2. Ordinary electric accessory actuation solenoid 313, lamp display device 314, sound effect generator 315, prize ball dispenser 31
6, and a ball launching device 317.

The special symbol start switch 301 generates a trigger when the ball hit by the player and hits the start winning port 203 passes this switch, detects a winning, and detects a symbol change of the special symbol display device 202. Give a trigger.

The normal symbol operation switch 302 is driven out by the player to activate the normal symbol display device operation gate (left) 2
When the ball that has passed through the switch 04 and the normal symbol display device operation gate (right) 205 passes through this switch, a trigger is generated, which triggers a change in the ordinary symbol of the ordinary symbol display device 206.

The special winning opening switch 303 detects a winning of a ball to the variable winning ball device 208 when a special prize is won.

The reset circuit 305 sets the main control unit 308 to an initial state. The power supply circuit 306 supplies power to the entire circuit of FIG. The input port 307 receives a signal from each unit and transfers the signal to the main control unit 308.

The main control unit 308 is a CPU (central processing unit) for controlling the entire game machine,
9 and a RAM 310 may be used, or a CPU in which the ROM 309 and the RAM 310 are externally connected to a bus may be used.

The ROM 309 stores a program for controlling the gaming machine for the main control unit 308. Specifically, it stores a game control program that defines the contents of a game control process performed by the CPU of the main control unit 308. ROM
309 further stores values of various parameters for controlling the gaming machine, including a command ID (identifier).

The RAM 310 temporarily stores input / output data for the main control unit 308, data for arithmetic processing, and various counters such as a random number counter related to a game.

The output port 311 outputs a signal to each unit and transfers the signal from the main control unit 308. The special winning opening activation solenoid 312 opens the special winning opening on the front of the variable winning sphere device 208 when a special prize is won.

The ordinary electric accessory operating solenoid 313 opens the ordinary electric accessory 207 when the ordinary symbol display device 206 stops and displays a specific ordinary symbol. The lamp display device 314 is a display device for lamps related to a game, and selectively turns on / off a plurality of lamps according to an instruction from the main control unit 308.

The sound effect generator 315 generates sound related to the game. The prize ball payout device 316 pays out a prize ball when a prize is detected by the special symbol start switch 301, the special winning opening switch 303, the other switch 304, or the like.

The ball launching device 317 includes the switch 30
4 and the like, the ball is detected by the game board 2
Fire at 01.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of a control circuit of the special symbol display device 202 described above. In FIG. 4, the control circuit of the special symbol display device 202 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes:
Data receiving circuit 401, power supply circuit 402, CPU 40
3, a program ROM 404, a RAM 405, an image processing LSI (hereinafter, referred to as a VDP (Video Display Processor)) 406, a character ROM 407,
It has a video RAM 408, a variable display device 409, and a variable display device interface circuit 410.

The data receiving circuit 401 includes a main control unit 308
, A strobe signal or a command for setting a timing is received and passed to the CPU 403. The command is a display command signal. In the present embodiment, the command is 2-byte data indicating a grid blind pattern to be displayed as illustrated in FIG.

The power supply circuit 402 includes an external power supply circuit 411.
To supply power to the entire circuit of the special symbol display device 202.

The CPU 403 includes a program ROM 404
Image display control is performed according to the program stored in. Specifically, based on a command passed from the data receiving circuit 401, control data necessary for performing display control is generated and output to the VDP 406.

The program ROM 404 includes a CPU 403
5 stores an image display control program executed by the CPU 403, specifically, an image display control program shown in FIG. Further, the program ROM 404 stores the VDP 40
VD is mapped and written to the data register No. 6
It also stores P406 control data and a lattice blind mask 1 according to the present invention as shown in FIG. 1 to be described later.

The RAM 405 temporarily stores input / output data for the CPU 403 and data for arithmetic processing, and functions as a work area and a buffer memory.

The VDP 406 calculates an image to be displayed on the variable display device 409 based on the display control from the CPU 403, develops the image data on the video RAM 408, and according to an output instruction from the CPU 403, an interface for the variable display device. A function of outputting video data to the circuit 410;

The character ROM 407 stores image data 470 for generating a video.

The video RAM 408 temporarily stores the video data generated by the VDP 406.

Interface circuit 410 for variable display device
Receives the video data temporarily stored in the video RAM 408 and sends it to the variable display device 409.

The variable display device 409 is an LCD (liquid crystal display), a CRT (cathode ray tube) display, or the like, and displays an image based on the image data transmitted from the interface circuit 410 for the variable display device.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a display method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a bitmap data in a grid (also referred to as a blind or stripe), and 2 denotes a screen (for example, a moving pattern or background) of a liquid crystal display of a pachinko gaming machine. As the bitmap data 1, two black-and-white grid-like data (one color) are prepared by extracting data one line at a time. Image synthesis) and slide along the line direction.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, two pieces of lattice-shaped bitmap data 1 are paired and superimposed on the screen 2 from the left and right.

FIG. 1C shows a state in which the screen 2 is hidden by overlapping the grids.

FIG. 1D shows a state in which the mesh pairs are completely overlapped and the display screen is completely dark. After passing through FIG. 1D, the screen 2 on the back of the grid 1 is replaced with the next screen 3 while going to the next FIG. 1E.

Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 1E, 1F and 1G, when the grid-like bitmap data 1 is slid left and right, a screen 3 appears.

Therefore, fade-in / fade-out +
The slide-in / slide-out + translucent effect can be realized without using the VDP, and can be used, for example, for screen switching at the time of reach.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a display procedure in one embodiment of the present invention.

First, the grid pair 1 of the bitmap data is slid inward along the line as shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C to overlap the current screen 2 (step 50).
1).

Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, it is determined whether or not the grid pairs 1 of the bitmap data completely overlap each other to form a black screen (step 502). Repeat the operation. Step 502 can be determined using, for example, a timer.

When the black screen is displayed, the display screen is replaced with another screen 3 (step 504). Then, as shown in FIGS. 1E and 1F, the grid pair 1 of the bitmap data is arranged along the line. And slide outward (step 504). When the entire screen 3 appears as shown in FIG. 1 (G), the process is terminated.

(Other Embodiments) In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the grid-like bit map data is slid in the left-right direction. Is obtained.

Similarly, the same effect can be obtained by forming grid-like bitmap data into oblique lines and sliding them obliquely to overlap.

Further, it is possible to produce a screen in which a colorful fade is applied by the color (for example, pink or blue) of the grid-like bitmap data.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
As a novel expression means, without using expensive VDP, the burden on the operator is reduced, and all screens (background, fluctuating patterns, etc.) can be handled with only bitmap data, and the effect of screen switching can be enhanced .

Further, according to the present invention, any display can be selected,
Another advantage is that a low-cost liquid crystal display may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a front appearance of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control circuit of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control circuit of the special symbol display device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a display procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lattice-shaped vipmap data (lattice pair) 2, 3 screen 201 Game board 202 Special symbol display device 203 Starting winning opening 204 Normal symbol display device operation gate (left) 205 Normal symbol display device operation gate (right) 206 Normal symbol Display device 207 Ordinary electric accessory 208 Variable winning ball device 301 Special symbol start switch 302 Normal symbol activation switch 303 Big winning opening switch 304 Other switch 305 Reset circuit 306 Power supply circuit 307 Input port 308 Main control unit 309 ROM 310 RAM 311 Output port 312 Large winning opening operating solenoid 313 Normal electric accessory operating solenoid 314 Lamp display device 315 Sound effect generator 316 Prize ball payout device 317 Ball launch device 401 Data receiving circuit 402 Power supply circuit 403 CPU 404 Program ROM 405 RAM 406 Image processing LSI (VDP) 407 Character ROM 408 Video RAM 409 Variable display device 410 Variable display device interface circuit 411 Power supply circuit 470 Image data

Claims (3)

[Claims] A display means for displaying a screen such as a changing symbol or a background; a storage means for storing two bitmap data in black and white or one color in a grid form, each line of which is extracted, Two pieces of lattice-shaped bitmap data are overlapped with each other shifted by one line, placed on the screen of the display means, and slid inward of the screen along the line direction of the lattice. And a screen switching means for switching to a different screen after the current screen of the display means is covered with the grid, and a pattern switching device for the pachinko gaming machine. 2. The image control means, after being switched to the different screen by the screen switching means, slides the grid in an outward direction of the screen.
A symbol switching device for a pachinko gaming machine according to item 1. 3. A step of preparing two pieces of black and white or one-color lattice-shaped bitmap data in which data is extracted line by line, and superimposing the two lattice-shaped bitmap data by shifting each other by one line. Placing these on the screen of the display means and sliding inward of the screen along the line direction of the grid; and switching to a different screen after the current screen of the display means is covered by the grid. And after the screen is switched to the different screen, sliding the lattice outward of the screen.