JP2002239120A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of presenting interesting variable display including much ideas in a display game in a variable display device. SOLUTION: In this game machine, a concealment pattern is variably displayed with all identification information appearing in each display area 311 concealed by the concealment pattern during the display game in a special pattern display device 310, and the identification information concealed by the concealment pattern stopping at a prescribed position in each the display area 311 can be visualized when the variable display of the concealment pattern is completed. When the visualized identification information corresponds to a prescribed combination, the game machine comes into a special display state. A scrolling direction of the concealment pattern in each the display area 311 is previously decided, and the decided scrolling direction is previously notified in a prescribed state on a screen of the special pattern display device 310.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a variable display device capable of variably displaying a plurality of types of identification information, and display control means for controlling display of the variable display device. The present invention relates to a gaming machine in which a special gaming state in which a predetermined gaming value can be given to a player occurs when a display result is a specific display mode which is a combination of the predetermined identification information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a pachinko machine called a fever machine is generally known as this type of game machine. In such a fever machine, when a ball hitting a game area formed on a game board wins a starting port, identification information such as various symbols is always displayed only in a certain direction in a display area of a variable display device such as a liquid crystal screen. A display game in which the variable display is performed so as to scroll and the variable display stops after a predetermined time has elapsed is executed.

When the display result of this display game is a specific display mode composed of a specific combination of identification information, a special game state (so-called fever) is established, and a special winning opening is repeatedly opened and closed up to a predetermined number of times. A state is established in which a player can be provided with a game value corresponding to a chance to obtain a large amount of prize balls.

Further, in the process of executing the display game, when there is a possibility of the specific display mode, a reach display mode that can be the specific display mode when one more piece of predetermined identification information is collected appears. Thus, the player is given a sense of expectation for the occurrence of the special game state, and the thrill and excitement of the player are aroused.

[0005]

However, in the general fever described above, the display on the variable display device is a display content in which identification information such as numbers is always scrolled only in a fixed direction for each display area. However, the game was monotonous and lacked in interest and novelty, and the entire game tended to be rut.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. In the process of determining whether or not an apparent special game state appears with respect to display on a variable display device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine that can make a player more visually entertain and can increase the thrill and excitement in the game.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The gist of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object lies in the following inventions. [1] A variable display device (310) capable of variably displaying a plurality of types of identification information, and display control means (100, 300) for controlling display of the variable display device (310). When the display result of the variable display in 310) is a specific display mode that is a combination of the predetermined identification information, a special gaming state in which a predetermined gaming value can be given to the player occurs, The variable display device (310) includes a plurality of types of identification information,
The display control means (100, 300) includes a plurality of display areas (311) capable of variably displaying a plurality of types of concealment symbols for obscuring the identification information. The variable display is executed by individually scrolling the identification information or the concealed symbol in a predetermined direction. The variable display includes scroll direction determining means and concealed symbol display control means (100, 300). The means determines a direction in which the identification information or the concealed symbol is scrolled in each of the display areas (311) based on a predetermined condition before the variable display device (310) determines the display result of the variable display, and determines the concealed symbol. The display control means (100, 300) conceals all the identification information appearing in each of the display areas (311) in the process of executing the variable display. The hiding pattern in a state in which the hidden covered with a pattern variable display, and when the variable display of the hidden pattern has been completed,
A gaming machine which executes display control for making identification information covered by a concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area (311) visible.

[2] The scroll direction determining means can separately determine a direction in which the identification information or the concealed symbol is scrolled in each of the display areas (311) for each of the display areas (311). The gaming machine according to [1].

[3] When the scroll direction determining means determines the scroll direction during variable display on the variable display device (310), the scroll direction newly determined based on the determination result is already being executed. The gaming machine according to [1] or [2], wherein when the scroll direction is different from the scroll direction, the scroll direction that is already being executed is changed to a newly determined scroll direction in the middle.

[4] The display control means (100, 30)
0) has scroll direction notifying means, and the scroll direction notifying means determines the variable display in each of the display areas (311) based on the result of the determination by the scroll direction determining means before the display result of the variable display is determined. Each display area (31
The gaming machine according to [1], [2] or [3], wherein the identification information or the scroll direction of the concealed symbol in 1) is notified in a predetermined manner in advance.

[5] The scroll direction notifying means sets the scroll direction of the identification information or the concealed symbol in each of the display areas (311) to each of the display areas (311).
[4] The gaming machine according to [4], wherein the information can be separately notified in correspondence with each other.

[6] The scroll direction informing means is provided by a predetermined display on the variable display device (310).
The gaming machine according to [4] or [5], wherein the scroll direction of the identification information or the concealed symbol in each of the display areas (311) is notified.

[7] The scroll direction notifying means is provided by a predetermined display different from the variable display device (310).
The gaming machine according to [4] or [5], wherein the scroll direction of the identification information or the concealed symbol in each of the display areas (311) is notified.

[8] The scroll direction notifying means selectively executes the notification of the scroll direction with a predetermined probability.
The display control means (100, 300), when the notification of the scroll direction is made by the scroll direction notifying means, generates the reach display mode which is the premise of the specific display mode during the variable display with the notification. [1], [2], characterized in that display control to be notified is executed.
The gaming machine according to [3], [4], [5], [6] or [7].

[9] The display control means (100, 30)
0) The gaming machine according to [8], wherein the reach occurrence rate at which the reach display mode actually appears is changed according to the specific mode of the notification of the scroll direction.

[10] There are a plurality of types of reach display modes, each of which has a different probability of being the specific display mode. The display control means (100, 300) determines the reach occurrence rate at which the reach display mode appears. In addition, the gaming machine according to [9], wherein a selection rate for deriving a predetermined reach display mode from among the plurality of types of reach display modes is also changed.

[11] The concealed symbol display control means (10
0, 300) is characterized in that in the process of performing the variable display, the concealed symbol appears under a condition that a combination of already stopped identification information becomes a reach display mode which is a premise of the specific display mode. [1], [2],
[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8],
The gaming machine according to [9] or [10].

[12] The concealed symbol display control means (10
0, 300) causes the concealed symbol to appear on the condition that a predetermined notice symbol has appeared in the process of executing the variable display. [1], [2], [3],
The gaming machine according to [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9] or [10].

[13] The concealed symbol display control means (10
(0, 300) is identification information that can be visually recognized at a predetermined position in each of the display areas (311) when the display result of the concealed symbol variable display is a predetermined special stop display mode. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6],
The gaming machine according to [7], [8], [9], [10], [11] or [12].

[14] The concealed symbol display control means (10
0, 300) is a variable display of the concealed symbol that can be visually recognized in a state where all the identification information appearing in each of the display areas (311) is covered with the concealed symbol in the process of performing the variable display. Separately, a variable display of the invisible identification information is executed [1], [2],
[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8],
[9], [10], [11], [12] or [13]
The gaming machine described.

[15] The concealed symbol display control means (10
(0, 300) makes the hidden information stopped at a predetermined position in each display area (311) disappear when the variable display of the hidden symbol ends, so that the identification information of the position can be visually recognized. [1], [2],
[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8],
The gaming machine according to [9], [10], [11], [12], [13] or [14].

[16] The concealed symbol display control means (10
(0, 300), when the variable display of the concealed symbol is finished, the concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area (311) is moved to make the identification information of the position visible. [1], [2],
[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8],
The gaming machine according to [9], [10], [11], [12], [13] or [14].

[17] The concealed symbol display control means (10
0, 300), by changing the transparency of the concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area (311) from an opaque state to a translucent or transparent state when the variable display of the concealed symbol ends. [1], [2], wherein the identification information of the position is made visible.
[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8],
The gaming machine according to [9], [10], [11], [12], [13] or [14].

[18] The concealed symbol display control means (10
(0, 300) changes the size or shape or both the size and shape of the transparent portion in the concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area (311) when the concealed symbol variable display ends. Thus, the identification information at the position can be made visible [1],
[2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7],
[8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [1]
3] or the gaming machine according to [14].

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. According to the gaming machine of the present invention, variable display is executed by scrolling a plurality of types of identification information in a predetermined direction for each display area (311) of the variable display device (310). Before the display result is determined, the direction in which the identification information scrolls in each of the display areas (311) is determined by a scroll direction determining means based on a predetermined condition.

In other words, the scroll direction is not always constant as in the prior art, but changes each time when it is determined based on predetermined conditions, so that a novel display effect can be provided without relying on characters or the like. It can give the player a fresh fun.

In addition, in the process of performing the variable display, all the identification information appearing in each display area (311) is covered and hidden by the concealment symbol, and in this state, the concealment symbol is variably displayed in a predetermined scroll direction. When the variable display of the concealed symbol is completed, display control is performed to make the identification information covered by the concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area (311) visible. Combined with such a novel variable display combining the identification information and the concealment symbol, it is possible to further enhance the interest of the entire variable display.

The direction in which the identification information or the concealed symbol scrolls in each of the display areas (311) can be determined separately for each of the display areas (311). Here, the target for determining the scroll direction may be either the identification information or the concealed symbol, or the scroll direction may be determined separately for both.

If the scroll direction is newly determined during the variable display, and if the scroll direction is different from the scroll direction that is already being executed, the scroll direction that is already being executed becomes the same as the newly determined scroll direction. Be changed. Such a change can further enhance the display interest.

Further, based on the result of the determination by the scroll direction determining means, the scroll direction notifying means provides
If the scroll direction in each of the display areas (311) is notified in a predetermined manner before the display result of the variable display is determined in each of the display areas (311), the display is more interesting.

Here, the scroll direction in each display area (311) may be notified separately for each display area (311). Further, the specific notification can be performed by a predetermined display on the variable display device (310), but may be further performed by a predetermined display different from the variable display device (310).

Of course, the notification by the scroll direction notifying means does not need to be always performed based on the result of the determination by the scroll direction determining means, but may be selectively performed at a predetermined probability.

When the notification is selectively performed as described above, and when the notification in the scroll direction is performed, if the notification is used to notify that the reach display mode will occur during the variable display, the variable display may be performed. It is possible to increase a player's expectation from an early stage.

If the reach occurrence rate at which the reach display mode actually appears is changed in accordance with the specific mode of notification of the scroll direction, a novel display effect can be obtained at the same time. It is possible to increase a sense of expectation for the occurrence of the reach state.

Further, in addition to the reach occurrence rate at which the reach display mode appears, the selectivity for deriving a predetermined reach display mode from among a plurality of types of reach display modes is also changed. It is possible to prevent the derivation tendency from becoming rut, and further enhance the display interest.

Incidentally, the concealment symbol for covering all the identification information does not necessarily have to appear from the beginning of the variable display. For example, the concealment symbol may be displayed on the condition that the reach display mode is set in the middle of the variable display. If you try to
Interesting as a novel reach action. Alternatively, the concealment symbol may be made to appear on the condition that a predetermined notice symbol has appeared during the variable display.

Further, when the display result of the concealed symbol variable display is a predetermined special stop display mode, the identification information which can be visually recognized at a predetermined position in each display area (311) is displayed. If the variable display is further performed, the progress of the variable display becomes surprising, and the interest in the display can be further enhanced.

In the variable display execution process, the identification information appearing in each display area (311) is completely covered with a concealed symbol, and the concealable symbol is displayed separately from the variable display of the concealed symbol. If the variable display of the identification information is executed, the positional relationship of the identification information before hiding is constantly changed, so that the display content can be diversified and the player is not bored.

Further, when the variable display of the concealed symbol is completed, a specific method is provided in which the identification information covered by the concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position is made visible. The stopped concealment symbol may be erased as it is, or by moving it to another place, the identification information of the position can be made visible.

Further, as another display mode, the transparency of the concealment symbol stopped at a predetermined position is changed from an opaque state to a translucent or transparent state, or the size or shape of the transparent portion in the concealment symbol is changed. If both the size and the shape are changed so that the identification information of the position can be visually recognized, the game content can be diversified, and the player can be given a variety of fun.

[0041]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1 to 30 show a gaming machine according to one embodiment of the present invention. The gaming machine according to the present embodiment is a gaming machine body 1 for executing a game of hitting a ball on a gaming board 2 and a card unit attached to the gaming machine and lending a ball by inserting a prepaid card (CR ball lending machine).
b.

First, the general outline of the gaming machine main body 1 will be described.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a gaming machine main body 1 and a card unit b. The gaming machine main body 1 includes a gaming machine status lamp 422 for notifying a specific gaming state of the gaming machine by lighting, a glass frame 11 formed in a frame shape and fixing a front glass, and a glass frame 11 behind the glass frame. A glass frame opening detection switch 132 for detecting opening, and a game board 2 on which a ball fired by a player moves and to which a part for proceeding a game is attached are detachably attached.

On the lower surface of the glass frame 11, an upper tray 3 for storing lent or dispensed balls, a lower tray 4 for storing spheres overflowing from the upper tray 3, and a ball stored in the upper tray 3 are provided. An upper tray ball pulling lever 7 for pulling out, a lower tray ball pulling lever 8 for pulling out the balls stored in the lower tray 4, and a hit ball operation handle 5 for a player to perform a hitting operation are provided. In addition, hitting operation handle 5
Has a firing stop switch 65 for stopping the firing of the ball.
2 are provided. In addition, beside the lower tray 4, an ashtray 6 for smokers is also provided.

Further, as a device for the player to operate the card unit b, a frequency display section 12 for displaying and confirming the remaining frequency of the value card, and a lending button 9 for issuing a ball lending instruction. A return button 10 for instructing a return of a value card is provided in the vicinity of the upper tray 3, and their output terminals are connected to an operation panel board a on the back of the gaming machine.
Connected to each other.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the gaming machine body 1 and the card unit b. On the back of the gaming machine main body 1, a control board for various functions and components are provided. Here, as a control board, a main board 100 that manages and controls the operation of the entire game,
The instruction information from the main board 100 is received by parallel communication, and the prize ball payout operation and the card unit connection board 90 are performed.
A payout control board 200 is provided for controlling the ball lending operation by communicating with the card unit 0.

Further, as a control board, a launch control board 600 for controlling the launch of a sphere, a launch motor 653 controlled by the launch control board 600, a power supply board 700 for supplying predetermined power to each board, and an external device. A frame external terminal plate 800 for connecting and outputting frame external information (prize ball signal, ball lending signal, ball out signal) and a card unit connection board 900 for connecting to the card unit b are also provided. .

In the protective cover 93, a display control board 300, a lamp control board 400, and a voice control board 50 are provided.
0 and the like are provided on the game board 2. Each control board is housed in a special case to protect it from dust from outside, spilling balls from other equipment, static electricity and electrical noise. Above all, the case of the main substrate 100 has a structure that can be opened and closed a predetermined number of times using a special screw.

Next, the flow path of the ball received from the pachinko ball supply device will be described. In FIG. 2, balls replenished from a pachinko ball replenishing device (not shown) are stored in a tank unit 90 at the upper part of the gaming machine, and every time a prize ball is paid out and a ball-lending operation is performed, the ball is shot into a shoot unit 91. , And is delivered to the upper tray 3 through the payout unit 92.

The tank unit 90 stores balls supplied from the pachinko ball supply device, and a prize ball tank presence / absence switch 80 is provided on the bottom surface of the tank unit 90.
1 and a ball leveling 94 are provided. The prize ball tank ball presence / absence switch 801 is a switch for detecting the presence / absence of a ball stored in the tank unit 90. A switch is input according to the weight of the stored ball, and the detection signal is transmitted via the frame external terminal plate 800. Output to the outside.

The ball leveling 94 is for leveling the spheres flowing in the lane of the chute unit 91 so as not to be raised by the ball pressure. The bottom surface of the tank unit 90 is inclined, so that the spheres collect and drop at a portion joined to the chute unit 91.

The chute unit 91 divides the balls flowing down from the tank unit 90 into two lanes and arranges them. While the ball is moving toward the payout unit 95, the bulge due to the ball pressure is suppressed by the ball leveling 94, but the ball is leveled more effectively by the ball leveling 95, and the ball is sent to the payout unit 92. is there.

On the ball path of the chute unit 91, a chute ball cutout switch 131 is provided.
The shot ball out switch 131 is a switch for detecting the presence or absence of a ball up to the payout unit 92, and a detection signal is input to the main board 100 to monitor the presence or absence of the ball. The switch 131 is connected to the prize ball tank ball presence / absence switch 80.
Although the application is similar to 1, the presence or absence of connection with the main substrate 100 is a significant difference.

The payout unit 92 forms a ball passage to the upper receiving tray 3, a payout motor 222 for sending out the ball onto the ball passage, and a payout stop solenoid 223 for suppressing the flow (fall) of the ball. A path switching solenoid 224 for switching the path between the lent ball and the payout ball, a prize ball detection switch 130 for detecting the payout ball, a ball lending detection switch 220 for detecting the lent ball, and the like are provided.

The payout motor 222 and the payout stop solenoid 223 are connected to and controlled by the payout control board 200. When there is a request for paying out a predetermined ball from the main board 100 to the payout control board 200, the payout control board 200 operates the path switching solenoid 224 to shift the path of the ball to the payout ball side, and stops the payout motor 222 and the payout. Solenoid 223
Sends the ball to the upper receiving tray 3.

When a lending request signal for a predetermined ball is input from the card unit b to the payout control board 200 via the card unit connection board 900 by the operation of the player, the payout control board 200 switches the path. Solenoid 22
4 is operated, the path of the ball is set to the lending ball side, and the ball is sent out to the upper tray 3 by the payout motor 222 and the payout stop solenoid 223.

The reason why the ball path is made variable depending on the contents of the request is to ensure that the predetermined number of balls is counted separately by the prize ball detection switch 130 and the ball lending detection switch 220, respectively. Further, the prize ball detection switch 130 is connected to the main board 100, counts a predetermined number of balls similarly to the payout control board 200, and can confirm that the payout has been performed more accurately.

The overflow ball from the upper tray 3 is
An overflow switch 133 is provided on the ball passage formed so as to flow downward. When the balls stored in the lower tray 4 become full, the overflow switch 13
When the ball reaches the installation position of the ball 3, the switch is input by the ball pressure of the stored ball, and the detection signal is sent to the main board 1
00 is input. When the main board 100 detects the input of the overflow switch 133, the payout control board 200
And outputs instruction information to stop the launch of the ball.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the game board 2. Gaming board 2
On the front of the vehicle, a guide rail 16 for guiding the shot ball to the game area 17, a nail (not shown) and a windmill 15 for changing the flow of the game ball guided to the game area 17,
A special symbol display device (variable display) that variably displays a plurality of types of identification information (various symbols) based on each winning port and a detection signal of a starting port switch 121 caused by winning at the starting port 21 which is one of the winning ports. An apparatus) 310 and an ordinary symbol display device 140 for variably displaying a plurality of types of ordinary symbols based on a detection signal of the ordinary symbol display device operation gate switch 126 are provided.

At the bottom of the game board 2, there is provided an out port 29 for discharging a ball that has fallen without entering any of the winning ports in the game area 17 to the outside of the gaming machine. ing. When a ball enters the out port 29, no privilege is given to the player, and no prize ball is paid out.

Further, as a decorative lamp, a special symbol holding LED 420 for notifying the player of the number of balls to be held for operating the special symbol display device 310 (the maximum number of balls winning the starting port 21 is four), A normal symbol holding LED 421 and a side case lamp for notifying the player of the number of reserved balls for operating the ordinary symbol display device 140 (the maximum number of balls detected by the ordinary symbol display device operation gate switch 126 is four). 423, a game frame state lamp 424, a center LED 425, a gate LED 426, an attacker LED 427, a side LED 428, and the like are provided.

The winning opening includes a starting opening 21, a right sleeve winning opening 22a, a left sleeve winning opening 22b, a right down winning opening 23a, a left down winning opening 23b, and a large winning opening 24. When a game ball wins at each winning opening, a winning ball is detected by a switch attached to each winning opening, and a predetermined prize ball assigned to each winning opening is paid out each time a winning ball is detected.

The start opening 21 is a winning opening for securing the execution right of the display game executed on the special symbol display device 310 as described above.
This is to generate a special game state in which a predetermined game value can be given to a player. The details of the special symbol display device 310 will be described later.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the game board 2. Gaming board 2
Various control boards and their related components are assembled on the rear surface of the control board in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. The control board includes a display control board 300 for controlling the special symbol display device 310, a lamp control board 400 for controlling the decorative lamp, and a voice control board 50 for controlling voice.
0, connect to external equipment and connect external information for panel (1 signal for jackpot,
A board external terminal plate 850 for outputting two jackpot signals and a symbol determination number signal is provided.

The switches for detecting the winning ball of each winning opening include a starting opening switch 121, a right sleeve winning opening switch 122a, a left sleeve winning opening switch 122b, a right down winning opening switch 123a, a left down winning opening switch 123b, and the like. Is installed near each winning opening. In the vicinity of the special winning opening 24, an accessory continuous operation device switch 124 and a count switch 125 are provided. The switch of each winning opening is provided near each winning opening, but may be arranged on a passage until the winning ball is discharged out of the gaming machine.

When a ball is won in each winning opening, it is detected by each winning opening switch, and every time the ball is detected, the next predetermined prize ball assigned to each winning opening is paid out.
The starting opening 21 has five shots, a right sleeve winning opening 22a, and a left sleeve winning opening 2
2b, rightward winning opening 23a, leftward winning opening 23b have 8
Departure, large winning opening 24 (for detecting the winning ball by the continuous actuating device switch 124 and the count switch 125)
Is assigned 15 shots. The allocation of the number of prize balls is fixed for each winning opening, but can be arbitrarily changed.

As a switch for detecting a ball for operating the normal symbol display device 140, a normal symbol display device operation gate switch 126 is provided at a predetermined position on the game board 2 and moves within the game area 17. Detects the passage of a sphere. This ordinary symbol display device operation gate switch 126
Is provided as a passing winning opening.

A related device for variably moving the accessory includes a special winning opening solenoid 1 for opening and closing the door of the special winning opening 24.
34, a direction switching solenoid 135 for switching the direction of the ball flow to one of the accessory continuous operation device switch 124 and the count switch 125 for the flow of the ball that has won the special winning opening 24; A normal electric accessory solenoid 136 is provided for the operation.

Next, main components on the game board 2 will be described in more detail. The starting port 21 is generally referred to as a starting chucker. The starting port 21 is provided with a condition device including a pair of movable pieces at both left and right ends of the winning port. The driving source includes a normal electric accessory solenoid 136 (see FIG. 4). Is used to open and close each movable piece. The starting port 21 is configured as a so-called electric tulip accessory, which changes to a normal second state (closed state) where the ball is hard to win and a first state (open state) where the ball is easy to win by opening and closing operations of the movable pieces. ing.

The winning of a ball in the starting port 21 is set as a starting condition for executing a display game on the special symbol display device 310 described below. As shown in FIG.
The starting port 21 is a starting port switch 12 for detecting a winning of a ball.
1 is provided inside. When the starting port switch 121 is turned ON upon detecting a winning ball, the starting port switch 121 outputs a starting winning signal to the main board (game control board) 100. The starting port switch 121 may be constituted by various sensors such as an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, and a magnetic sensor.

The special symbol display device 310 is provided with a plurality of display areas 311 capable of variably displaying concealed symbols for covering various symbols together with various symbols (identification information) on the screen. In the present embodiment, three display areas 311 are arranged so as to be arranged in three horizontal rows. Although the special symbol display device 310 is configured by a liquid crystal unit, a CRT display, a drum unit, a 7-segment display, or the like may be employed.

A ball is won in the starting port 21 and the starting port switch 1
When a winning ball is detected by the special symbol display device 21,
The right of the display game (variable display) by 10 is acquired, and the display game is executed. In such a display game, various symbols are separately scrolled in the respective display areas 311 in a predetermined direction, and then concealed symbols appear in the respective display areas 311. These concealed symbols completely cover the various symbols. In the state, scroll display is performed in a predetermined direction.

The variable display of the concealment symbol is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the scroll display of the concealment symbol. At this time, various symbols covered by the concealment symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area 311 can be visually recognized. Change to a state. Here, the various symbols appearing in a visually recognizable state are determined in a predetermined combination (for example, “777” or the like) to be in a specific display mode (big hit).

Further, before the scroll display of the concealed symbol is stopped, the direction in which the concealed symbol is scrolled in each display area 311 is determined based on a predetermined condition. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the direction in which the concealed symbol is scrolled is determined separately for each display area 311. Note that the predetermined condition may be, for example, that the result of the previous display game is deviated and the display mode is determined.

Note that the predetermined condition is, for example, that a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the display game, or that a ball wins in the starting port 21 during the display game. Is performed, when the scroll direction newly determined based on the determination result is different from the scroll direction that is already being executed, the scroll direction that is already being executed is changed to the newly determined scroll direction halfway. It is interesting to set it as follows.

Further, the predetermined scroll direction is set so as to be notified in a predetermined manner. As shown in FIG. 13, at the upper part of the screen of the special symbol display device 310, a notice display area 312 extending over the upper end side of the three display areas 311 is provided. The scroll direction in each display area 311 is notified by the appearance of an arrow corresponding to each.

If the direction of the arrow is "↓", scroll display is performed from top to bottom. If the direction of arrow is "↑", scroll display is performed from bottom to top. The appearance time of the arrow as the notification of the scroll direction is as follows.
It may be before the appearance of the concealment symbol, or in the middle of the display game after the appearance of the concealment symbol.

Here, when the arrow is made to appear after the concealment symbol has appeared, if the scroll direction indicated by the arrow is different from the scroll direction that is already being executed, the scroll direction as the initial setting will be halfway. The direction changes in the direction indicated by the arrow, but if the direction is the same, the scroll direction does not change. Furthermore, regarding the variable display of the concealed symbol before the appearance of the arrow, for example, it is interesting to display the concealed symbol in a scrollable manner in the left and right direction.

When a ball is won in the starting port 21 during the execution of the display game or during the special game state described later, the right to the display game is acquired but is suspended, and the display game currently in progress is held. After the completion of the above, the reserved rights are sequentially consumed. The maximum number of display games to be held is set to four, and the number is notified by the special symbol holding LED 420.

When the result of the display game is finally determined in the specific display mode, a special game state in which the special winning opening 24 described below is repeatedly opened and closed up to a predetermined number of times is formed. Further, when the result of the display game is not finally determined to the specific display mode, it corresponds to the off display mode. Before the specific display mode is determined, a central display area 311 where various symbols stop last is removed.
A state in which various symbols stopped in the two display areas 311 on the left and right coincide with each other corresponds to the reach display mode.

Further, when the display result mode is a combination of the predetermined probable change symbol “7” in the specific display mode, a probable change big hit occurs. When the probability change jackpot occurs, the probability that the jackpot occurs will be improved as compared with the normal state. The gaming state in which the probability of a big hit occurring as compared to the normal state is thus called a probability fluctuation state.

The special winning opening 24 is generally called an attacker. When a driving source such as a solenoid (a special winning opening solenoid 134 or a direction switching solenoid 135) is operated, the winning opening is difficult for a ball to win. It is configured to be able to change between a normal second state (closed state) and a first state (open state) where winning is easy.

The special winning opening solenoid 134 operates to open and close the special winning opening 24 door a predetermined number of times (for example, 15 times) when the specific gaming state is established. When the door of the special winning opening 24 is opened, the direction switching solenoid 135 is connected to the accessory continuous operation device switch 12.
The passage member is operated to guide the winning ball to the fourth side, and when a winning ball is detected by the accessory continuous operation device switch 124, the operation is performed so as to guide the winning ball to the count switch 125 side.

That is, the special winning opening 24 is controlled to open and close so as to produce a special game state when a specific display mode is set in the display game. Here, the special game state is the first state.
This is a state in which the opening / closing operation of returning to the second state for a short time after being maintained in the state for a predetermined time is repeatedly performed up to a predetermined number of rounds (for example, 16 times).

The predetermined number of balls (for example, 10 balls) is
4 or when a predetermined time (about 30 seconds) elapses, the door of the special winning opening 24 is closed. When the series of operations is completed for the predetermined number of times, the specific game state ends.

The ordinary symbol display device 140 performs variable display by turning on two left and right LEDs. This L
In a method other than the ED2 lamp, a 7-segment display may be used. The left and right LEDs are respectively assigned “hit” and “out”, and when the passage of a ball is detected by the normal symbol display device operation gate switch 126, the right of the ordinary symbol game by the ordinary symbol display device 140 is acquired. Play a regular symbol game.

The ordinary symbol game is executed by the ordinary symbol display device 14.
In the case of 0, the variable display is started by alternately blinking the left and right LEDs. When the variable display is performed for a predetermined time and stopped, the left or right display is turned on, and the player can visually confirm the result of the determination. If the result of the judgment is "hit",
Each movable piece of the starting port 21 is temporarily operated from a normal first state (closed state) where the ball is hard to win, to a second state (open state) where the ball is easy to win.

While the symbol display device 140 is variably displaying,
When a passing ball is detected by the ordinary symbol display device operation gate switch 126, the right of the ordinary symbol game is acquired but held, and after the ordinary symbol game currently in progress is consumed, the right held is retained. Digested sequentially. The maximum number of ordinary symbol games to be held is four, and the ordinary symbol holding L
Notified by ED421.

Next, various control boards used for controlling the game machine main body 1 will be described. FIGS. 5 and 6 are block diagrams showing various control boards used for controlling the gaming machine main body 1 and components related thereto. 5 and 6,
As a control board, a main board (also called a game control board) 10
0, payout control board 200, display control board 300, lamp control board 400, voice control board 500, emission control board 6
00, a power supply board 700 is shown.

Here, the main board 100 and the display control board 300
Constitutes scroll direction determining means and scroll direction notifying means in addition to display control means and concealed symbol display control means included in the display control means as a whole. In addition,
The operation of the display control means will be described later in detail.

The concealment symbol display control means variably displays the concealment symbol in a state where all the symbols appearing in the respective display areas 311 are covered with the concealment symbol during the execution of the display game, and the concealment symbol is changed. When the display is completed, display control is performed to make various symbols concealed by the concealed symbols stopped at a predetermined position in each display area 311 visible.

The scroll direction determining means determines a direction in which various symbols are scrolled in each display area 311 based on a predetermined condition before the result of the display game is determined. The scroll direction notifying means notifies the scroll direction of various symbols in each display area 311 in a predetermined manner before the result of the display game is determined based on the result of the determination by the scroll direction determining means.

First, the main substrate 100 shown in FIG. 6 will be described. The main board 100 operates based on a clock generated by the clock circuit 108 inside the main board. Further, the clock generated by the clock circuit 108 is output to the internal timer 10.
The interrupt signal at a fixed time interval obtained by dividing the frequency by
02, the CPU 10
Reset 2 The CPU 102 performs a series of operations by executing a process divided so as to end in a time shorter than the reset interval for each reset.

The starting port switch 121, the right normal symbol display device operating gate switch 126a, the left normal symbol display device operating gate switch 126b, the right sleeve winning opening switch 122
a, a left sleeve winning opening switch 122b, a right down winning opening switch 123a, and a left down winning opening switch 123b are switches for detecting a winning of a ball, and an input signal from these switches is sent to the gate circuit 110. Supplied.

The continuous actor switch 124, the count switch 125, the left prize ball detection switch 130a, the right prize ball detection switch 130b, and the shot ball out switch 13
1. Each input signal from the glass frame open detection switch 132 and the overflow switch 133 is supplied to the gate circuit 111.

The addresses of the gate circuits 110 and 111 are
It is set in the address space of the CPU 102 by a memory mapped I / O method. An address signal output from the CPU 102 and a write / read control signal are decoded by an address decode circuit 113 in accordance with a system clock output from the CPU 102 to generate a chip select signal.

The gate circuit 1 is controlled by the chip select signal.
When 10, 111 are selected, the starting port switch 12
Each input signal from 1 etc. is output to the data bus through the gate circuit. Each input signal on the data bus is detected a plurality of times by an interrupt signal generated at a fixed time interval until the next reset, and chattering prevention processing is performed. Stored in the area.

The input signal from the starting port switch 121 is 5
As the prize ball signal of the individual prize ball, the right sleeve winning port switch 12
The input signals from the 2a, the left sleeve winning opening switch 122b, the right down winning opening switch 123a, and the left down winning opening switch 123b are each a prize ball signal of 8 prize balls, and further, the accessory continuous operation device switch 124 and the count switch 125.
Is treated as a prize ball signal of 15 prize balls,
The winning numbers detected by the respective switches are stored in the designated RAM area. At the same time, the CPU 102 calculates the total number of award balls and stores the total in the specified RAM area.

In addition, random numbers are set for input signals from the starting port switch 121, the right normal symbol display device operating gate switch 126a, and the left normal symbol display device operating gate switch 126b, respectively, and these values are stored in the RAM.
Stored in the area. Based on this data, the gaming state of the gaming machine body 1 is set, and the data is output to each control board.

Output data to each control board passes through a buffer 114 provided in the middle of a data bus, and is further output to latch circuits 112a to 112g through an output data bus. By arranging the buffer 114 in the middle of the data bus connecting the output latch circuit and the CPU 102, the bus signal flows in one direction, which is a measure for preventing fraud.

5 starting port switches Prize ball RAM area, left and right sleeve winning port switches, left and right drop winning port switches 8 prize balls R
Since there are data in the RAM area, the AM area, the continuous actuating device switch, and the 15 count switches,
The PU 102 sequentially outputs the 8-bit winning ball data set for each winning ball number to the latch circuit 112a through the data bus and the output data bus. In synchronism with this, an interrupt signal to the payout control board 200 and a control signal of a strobe signal are output to the latch circuit 112e through a data bus and an output data bus.

When the chip select signal obtained by decoding by the address decode circuit 113 controlled by the memory mapped I / O is sequentially output to the latch circuits 112a and 112e, the 8-bit award sphere data is latched.
2a, an interrupt signal and a strobe signal control signal are latched by a latch circuit 112e, respectively, and an output signal composed of an 8-bit parallel prize ball output signal, an interrupt signal, and a 2-bit control signal of a strobe signal is output to a payout control board. Is output as prize ball data.

The payout control board 200 shown in FIG. 7 controls the ball discharging mechanism to discharge a number of prize balls corresponding to the prize ball data. The discharged prize ball is detected by the left prize ball detection switch 130a and the right prize ball detection switch 130b,
The detection signal is output to the gate circuit 211. When the chip select signal is output from the address decode circuit 213 to the gate circuit 211, the detection signals output from the left prize ball detection switch 130a and the right prize ball detection switch 130b are output on the data bus and taken in by the CPU 102.

On the basis of these detection signals, the total number of awarded balls actually paid out is calculated by the CPU 102, the value is subtracted from the data stored in the RAM area, and the data of the total number of awarded balls is updated in real time. An output signal is output to the latch circuit 112f for each set number of ejected prize balls, and is output to the outside in synchronization with the chip select signal of the address decode circuit 113.

[0104] Random numbers are obtained for the input signals of the prize start switch 121, the right ordinary symbol display device operation gate switch 126a, and the left ordinary symbol display device activation gate switch 126b. The type (control pattern) is determined, and game state effect data is generated and stored in the RAM area.

Further, to the display control board 300, data relating to each stop symbol that defines a stop symbol corresponding to the gaming state effect data is output in time series as display effect data. That is, when the 8-bit recognition code and the display state effecting 8-bit data are sequentially output from the CPU 102 to the latch circuit 112b through the data bus, the interrupt signal to the display control board 300 and the two strobe signals are synchronized so as to be synchronized with these. The bit control signal is supplied to the latch circuit 112
e.

These signals are sequentially latched by the latch circuit and output in parallel at the timing based on the chip select signal decoded and output from the address decode circuit 113 controlled by the memory mapped I / O.
Data relating to each stop symbol, fluctuation stop data, and the like are sequentially output to the display control board 300 as display effect data in a time series.

In synchronization with the display effect data, 8-bit parallel lamp display output data and a control signal are output to the lamp control display board 400 through the latch circuit 112c. The 8-bit parallel sound source output data and the control signal are output to the audio control board 500 through the latch circuit 112d in synchronization with the display effect data. That is, the chip select signal is output from the address decode circuit in synchronization with the timing at which each data is output to the data bus, and the data on the data bus is latched by the latch circuits 112c and 112d. Is output.

When the gaming state is the special gaming state (big hit), the control data of the special winning opening solenoid 134 is output to the latch circuit 112g in synchronization with the gaming state effect data,
Further, the chip select signal from the address decode circuit 113 is input to the latch circuit 112g. As a result, the control data of the special winning opening solenoid 134 is output from the latch circuit 112g, the special winning opening solenoid 134 is driven, the large winning opening 24 is opened and closed, and the ball is moved to the special winning opening 24.
Can be guided to

When the accessory continuous operation device switch 124 disposed in a specific area inside the special winning opening 24 detects a ball, a ball detection signal is output. It is captured.
As a result of the detection processing based on the ball detection signal output from the accessory continuous operation device switch 124, the direction switching solenoid 13
5 is output to the latch circuit 112g, and the direction switching solenoid 135 is braked. At the same time, round continuation data indicating whether or not to continue the big hit state in the next round is stored in the RAM area based on the ball detection signal output from the accessory continuous operation device switch 124.

When the direction switching solenoid 135 is braked, the number of balls is counted by the count switch 125 disposed in the special winning opening 24. When the total count of the data counted by the count switch 125 reaches a predetermined number, the output data of the latch circuit 112g is changed, the special winning opening solenoid 134 and the direction switching solenoid 135 are deactivated, and one big hit round is performed. Ends. After a predetermined time, if the round continuation data indicates the continuation of the round, the jackpot state round continues further by the control method described above.

Right Normal Symbol Display Device Operation Gate Switch 1
26a, left normal symbol display device operation gate switch 126
A random value is obtained for each of the input signals from b. On the basis of this random number, the ordinary symbol display device 140
The display control data of the (normal symbol LED1, the ordinary symbol LED2) is generated, and is output from the CPU 102 to the latch circuit 112g via the data bus. Then, each time a chip select signal is output from the address decode circuit 113, a normal symbol LED display is performed for a fixed time.

When the result of the random number acquisition is a hit, the braking data of the ordinary electric accessory solenoid 136 for operating each movable piece of the starting port 21 is output from the CPU 102 to the latch circuit 112g, and the address decoding is performed. In response to a chip select signal from the circuit 113, the output is output from the latch circuit 112g for a certain period of time, and the ordinary electric accessory solenoid 136 is controlled. As a result, a state in which the ball easily enters the starting port 21 in the game board 2 occurs.

When power is supplied to the main board 100, a reset signal is supplied from the power board 700, and each device on the main board 100 is reset. Thereafter, the system reset signal becomes inactive, and each device transits to the active state. When the system reset signal changes to the inactive state, the reset signal to the one-chip microcomputer 101 becomes inactive after a certain period of time due to clock synchronization and delay processing by the delay circuit 109. As a result, the one-chip microcomputer 101 enters the operating state, and the operating state of the main board 100 is maintained. After that, the initialization of the one-chip microcomputer 101 is performed.

When the power supply externally supplied to the gaming machine is unstable, a power failure detection signal is sent from the power supply board 700 to the NMI (non-maskable interrupt) of the one-chip microcomputer 101.
The one-chip microcomputer 101 performs a save operation of each storage area.

More specifically, after detecting the prize ball detection data for a certain period of time, the data of the power failure process determination is stored in the RAM area to protect the RAM 104. That is, when the power supply voltage decreases, the power supply
A backup power supply DC5VBB is supplied to M104,
The storage state of the RAM 104 is maintained.

When power is next supplied, the one-chip microcomputer 101 recognizes that a power failure has occurred based on the presence / absence of data for the power failure processing determination, and executes the power failure recovery process. At the time of initialization, if the RAM initialization signal is active, the CPU 102 detects data of the I / O port 106 and initializes the RAM area.

The signal that the ball has been cut by the shot ball cut switch 131 and the signal that the ball has been clogged by the overflow switch 133 on the lower plate of the game board are sent to the one-chip microcomputer 101 through the gate circuit 111 and the data bus. It is captured. After the data conversion, these signals are output from the latch circuit 112a to the payout control board 200 in the same configuration as the prize ball output data. The latch circuit 1
The outputs 12a to 112g are unidirectional and take an irreversible output form.

The main board 100 operates based on a clock generated by the clock circuit 108 inside the main board. Further, the internal timer 107 generates an interrupt signal to the CPU 102 at regular time intervals by the frequency dividing operation. The CPU 102
Various processes are performed at regular intervals when the interrupt signal is input.

Next, the payout control base 200 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. The payout control board 200 performs one-way communication only for reception from the main board 100, and performs 8-bit parallel prize ball data, a prize ball data control signal 1, and a prize ball data control signal 2
Receiving the communication data composed of.

When the award ball data control signal 1 is input to the counter circuit 202 of the one-chip microcomputer 201, an interrupt signal is output from the counter circuit 202 to the CPU 203. As a result, the award ball data control signal 1 becomes C
The fetch of prize ball data to the PU 203 is used as a trigger.

The CPU 203 has an address decode circuit 2
13, a gate select signal is supplied to the gate circuit 212,
Output to the gate circuit 211, and the gate circuits 212 and 211
The prize ball data and various signals input to the RAM 205 are fetched via a gate circuit and a data bus, and stored in the RAM 205. Then, the payout operation is sequentially performed with the number of award balls corresponding to the captured award ball data.

The CPU 203 outputs a winning ball path switching signal to the latch circuit 215 through the data bus, and at the same time, causes the address decode circuit 213 to output a chip select signal. As a result, the prize ball path switching signal is output to the solenoid 224, and the prize ball path is secured in the payout operation. Thereafter, a stop release signal of the payout stop solenoid signal is output to the latch circuit 214, and the payout motor control signals 1, 2, 3, and 4 are sequentially output to the payout motor 222, and the rotation of the motor is controlled by the output timing of the chip select signal. While performing the prize ball payout operation.

With reference to the clock of the clock circuit 209,
Interrupt signal at fixed time intervals by internal timer 208
Generated for U203, the detection signal of the winning ball payout ball is taken into the data bus at this interrupt timing, and when the predetermined number of winning balls is detected, the drive of the payout stop solenoid 223 and the payout motor 222 is stopped. The prize ball payout ball is detected by the right prize ball detection switch 130 installed on the ball lending route.
b, performed by the left prize ball detection switch 130a. These detection signals are taken into the data bus by outputting a chip select signal to the gate circuit 211.

The ball lending operation is performed by transmitting and receiving a ball lending signal to and from the card unit (CR ball lending machine) b through the gate circuit 211 and the latch circuit 215.
During the ball lending operation, the CPU 203 outputs a ball lending path switching signal to the path switching solenoid 224 through the latch circuit 215 to secure the ball lending path, and the right lending ball detection switch 220a installed on the ball lending path and the left lending ball detection. Switch 2
At 20b, a lending ball is detected and a payout operation is performed.

In the ball lending operation, information is output from latch circuit 215 to the outside at regular intervals. In a state where the transmission and reception of the ball lending signal is normal, a firing permission signal is output from the latch circuit 215 to the firing control board 600 in an active state. Further, when an abnormality occurs in transmission and reception of the ball lending signal, the firing permission signal changes to an inactive state, and the ball cannot be fired. However, when the transmission and reception of the ball lending signal returns to a normal state, the ball can be fired.

In addition, in the payout operation, the main substrate 10
From 0, when the shot ball cut signal of the shoot ball cut switch 131 and the overflow signal of the overflow switch 133 installed on the lower tray 4 of the gaming machine main body 1 are transmitted to the prize ball data, the payout control board 200 performs the payout operation. To stop. The payout operation is restarted by transmitting each release signal to the prize ball data.

When power is supplied to the dispensing control board 200, a system reset signal is supplied from the power supply board 700, and each device of the dispensing control board 200 is reset. Thereafter, the reset signal is in an inactive state, and each device transits to an active state.

Due to the delay processing of the clock synchronization / delay circuit 210, the reset signal to the one-chip microcomputer 201 becomes inactive after a lapse of a predetermined time after the original reset signal changes to the inactive state. After a certain period of time from when the original reset signal became inactive,
The one-chip microcomputer 201 enters the operating state, and the operating state of the payout control board 200 is maintained. After that, the initial setting of the one-chip microcomputer 201 is performed.

When the power supply externally supplied to the gaming machine is unstable, the power supply
A power failure detection signal is supplied to an MI (non-maskable interrupt) 206, and the one-chip microcomputer 201 performs a save operation of each storage area. Specifically, after detecting prize ball detection data for a certain period of time, the RAM
The power failure processing determination data is stored in the area, and the RAM 205 is protected.

When the power supply voltage decreases, the power supply board 70
0V DC5V as backup power supply to RAM205
BB is supplied, and the storage state of the RAM 205 is held. When the power is supplied again, the one-chip microcomputer 201 recognizes the existence of the data of the power failure processing determination, and performs the power failure recovery processing. At the time of initialization, if the RAM initialization signal is in the active state, the CPU 203 sets the I / O port 10
6, the RAM area is initialized.

Next, the display control board 300 shown in FIG. 8 will be described. Display control board (display control means) 300
Mainly controls the special symbol display device (variable display device) 310 installed on the game board 2. Display control board 300
Are a display control ROM 302 that stores a predetermined image processing procedure (program) and image control data, and a display control CPU 301 that reads and executes a predetermined image processing procedure.
have.

The display control board 300 has a display control RAM 303 for storing information obtained by executing an image processing procedure by the display control CPU 301.
And an input / output interface 306 for inputting / outputting instruction information from the main board 100, each control IC in the display control board, and the like, and control instruction information obtained by the display control CPU 301 via the input / output interface 306. Further, it has an image control IC 304 for generating a specific image.

Further, the display control board 300 includes an image control IC.
An image data ROM 305 which is managed by the CPU 304 and stores various kinds of images as data;
The U301 has a test shooting test terminal 307 and the like for outputting a signal for confirming that the U301 operates normally and an image is displayed.

Instruction information is input to the display control CPU 301 from the main board 100 via the input / output interface 306 by parallel communication. Display control CP
U301 executes the contents of the input instruction information in accordance with the image processing procedure stored in the display control ROM 302, and organizes and stores the information in the display control RAM 303 while giving specific instructions to the image control IC 304. I do.

An image control IC 304 is a display control CPU.
In accordance with the instruction of 301, a specific video signal is generated with reference to the image data ROM 305 and output to the display device.
In the block diagram of FIG. 8, a VRAM which is an area for temporarily storing image data, pallet (color) information, and the like generated by the image control IC 304 is not shown, but the image control IC 304 has a built-in VRAM. A one-chip microcomputer may be used.

The reset signal from the power supply board 700 is input from the power supply board 700 to the display control CPU 301 when the game machine body 1 is powered on. Thereafter, the display control CPU 301 initializes each control circuit in the display control board 300 according to the image control procedure stored in the display control ROM 302.

Next, the lamp control board 400 shown in FIG. 9 will be described. The lamp control board 400 includes a gaming machine status lamp 4 installed on the front of the gaming machine main body 1 or on the gaming board 2.
22, side case lamp 423, various LEDs 424 ~
Lighting control of 428, 420, 421, etc. is performed.

The lamp control board 400 includes a lamp control ROM 402 which stores predetermined lamp control processing procedures (programs) and control data, a lamp control CPU 401 which reads and executes predetermined lamp control processing procedures, and a lamp control CPU 401. Lamp control RAM 40 for storing information obtained by executing the lamp control processing procedure
3 and instruction information from the main board 100 and the lamp control board 4
00, an input / output interface 404 for inputting / outputting to / from each control circuit and the like, and a lamp control board 40 via the input / output interface by the lamp control CPU 401.
It is composed of a driver circuit 405 for driving the lighting signal of each lamp / LED connected to 0 and the like.

The lamp control CPU 401 receives instruction information from the main board 100 via the input / output interface 404 by parallel communication. Lamp control CPU
Reference numeral 401 denotes a lamp control RO for the content of the input instruction information.
The driver circuit 405 is operated according to the lamp control processing procedure stored in the M402, and the information is organized and stored in the lamp control RAM 403 to turn on / off each connected lamp / LED.

The reset signal from the power supply board 700 is input from the power supply board 700 to the lamp control CPU 401 when the game machine body 1 is powered on. Then, the lamp control CPU 401 initializes each control circuit in the lamp control board according to the control procedure stored in the lamp control ROM 402.

Next, the sound control board 500 shown in FIG. 10 will be described. The audio control board 500 is used for the gaming machine main body 1.
When the game is in a game state, the sound effect and the sound by the game effect are controlled. When it is not in the gaming state, control such as a warning sound for notifying an abnormal state of the gaming machine body 1 is performed.

The voice control board 500 includes a voice control ROM 502 for storing a predetermined voice processing procedure (program) and control data, a voice control CPU 501 for reading and executing the predetermined voice control procedure, and a voice processing CPU 501 for controlling the voice processing. A voice control RAM 503 for storing information obtained by executing the procedure; an input / output interface 506 for inputting / outputting instruction information from the main board 100 and each control IC in the voice control board 500;
01, a voice control IC 504 that obtains control instruction information via an input / output interface and generates a specific voice.
And a voice data ROM 505 that is managed by the voice control IC 504 and stores various kinds of voices as data, and an amplifier circuit 507 that amplifies the voice signal generated from the voice control IC 501.

The voice control CPU 501 receives instruction information from the main board 100 via the input / output interface 506 by parallel communication. Voice control CPU 501
Stores the content of the input instruction information in the voice control ROM 502
, And instructs the voice control IC 504 while organizing and storing information in the voice control RAM 503.

The voice control IC 504 includes a voice control CPU 5
01, refer to the audio data ROM 505,
A specific audio signal is generated and output to the amplifier circuit 507. The reset signal from the power supply board is output from the power supply board 700 when the pachinko machine is powered on.
The voice control CPU 501 inputs the voice control R
According to the voice control procedure stored in the OM 503, each control circuit in the voice control board is initialized.

Next, the emission control board 600 shown in FIG. 11 will be described. The launch control board 600 includes the launch motor 6
Signals from an oscillation circuit 601, a frequency dividing circuit 602, and a touch sensor 651 in a handle portion 650 are circuits that generate pulses for setting the number of rotations of the pulse motor used in the motor 53 to a predetermined number of rotations. , Stop switch 65
2, a reset signal from the power supply board 700, and a firing permission signal from the payout control board 200, and a motor drive signal control circuit 603 that generates a firing motor drive signal; and a pulse motor (the firing motor 653). ) And a driver circuit 604 for exciting each coil.

The handle portion 650 is provided with a touch sensor 65 for detecting whether or not the player is touching the handle 5.
1. A stop switch 652 that allows the player to arbitrarily stop firing the ball, a pulse motor 653 (fire motor) for firing the ball, and the like.

The reset signal from the power supply board 700 is input from the power supply board 700 to the motor drive signal control circuit 603 when the power of the gaming machine body 1 is turned on, and initializes each circuit of the firing control board 600.

Touch sensor 651 in handle 650
Outputs a signal indicating that firing is possible when the player is touching the steering wheel 5, and outputs a signal indicating that firing is not possible if the player is not touching the steering wheel 5 To the motor drive signal control circuit 603.

[0149] The stop switch 652 is a switch provided so that the player can arbitrarily stop shooting the ball. When the player operates the stop switch 652, the motor drive signal control circuit 603 is provided. And outputs a ball firing signal when the stop switch 652 is not input.

When the stop switch 652 is not operated by the player and the steering wheel 5 is not rotated, the stop switch 652 outputs the same signal as that input from the stop switch 652. I do. That is, due to the internal structure of the handle 5, when the handle 5 is not rotating, the signal from the stop switch 652 is input. That is, after the game machine main body 1 is powered on, the reset signal is input to the motor drive signal control circuit 603, each circuit is initialized, and the player touches the handle 5 to rotate the game machine. Only then is the ball fired.

Next, the power supply substrate 700 shown in FIG. 12 will be described. Full-wave rectification of AC 24 V supplied from the outside is performed by a diode bridge rectifier, and a DC power supply DC 24
Generate V. Smoothing is performed by a condenser through a diode through a 24 V DC power supply to generate a 32 V DC power supply.
DC24V and DC32V are unstable power supplies.

Supplying 24 V DC to the power supply circuit 701,
A constant voltage power supply of stable power supply DC18V, DC12V, DC5V is generated, and the main board 100, the payout control board 2
00, the lamp control board 400, the voice control board 5
00, the display control board 300, the emission control board 60
0 is supplied.

The generated DC 5 V constant voltage power supply is connected to the capacitor of the backup circuit 702 through a diode to generate a DC 5 VBB backup power supply, and the DC 5 VBB is connected to the main board 100 and the dispensing control board 2.
00 is supplied. The AC24V is supplied to the card unit connection board 900, and is used as a power supply for communication between the payout control board 200 and the card unit b and a power supply for the operation panel board a.

The voltage level of the DC 24 V power supply is detected by voltage detection circuit 708 and output to delay circuit 707. The delay circuit 707 has a delay time of an internal time constant of 500 msec, and the continuous output time of the voltage detection circuit 708 is
If the time constant is not larger than 7, the delay circuit 707 does not output an output signal. For this reason, the voltage fluctuation and the stop of the power supply when the voltage level of the DC 24 V power supply is smaller than the time constant of the delay circuit 707 are ignored, and the power failure detection signal is not output from the power supply board to the outside.

When the delay circuit 707 has an input signal larger than the time constant, the delay circuit 707 outputs the power failure detection signal to the main board 100, the payout control board 200, and the shift register 7.
04 is output to the serial input terminal. To the 8-bit shift register 704, a clock having a period of 20 milliseconds is always input from the clock circuit 706.

Here, the 8-bit data input terminal is fixed to zero. For this reason, when the power failure detection signal is input to the 8-bit shift register 704, a reset signal is sent from the 8-bit shift register 704 after 8 clocks (about 160 msec) to the main board 100, the payout control board 200,
The signals are output to the emission control board 600, the display control board 300, the lamp control board 400, and the audio control board 500.

The power failure detection signal and the reset signal are output in an active state at the time of the time constant of the delay circuit 707 from the time when the peripheral circuit power supply is started after the power supply is started and after the recovery from the power failure. After the time constant of the delay circuit 707, the power failure detection signal becomes inactive, and the reset signal is output inactive after eight clocks of the 8-bit shift register 704.
The RAM initialization signal is output to the main board 100 and the payout control board 200 in an active state by manually pressing the RAM initialization switch 705.

Next, the operation of the gaming machine main body 1 will be described. In FIG. 1, when the player operates the handle 5, pachinko balls are driven one by one into the game area formed on the game board 2. The pachinko ball that has won the inside of the starting port 21 is detected by the starting port switch 121, and a display game is started on the special symbol display device 310 based on a starting signal of the starting port switch 121.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the flow of a display game executed on the screen of the special symbol display device 310. Figure 1
When a display game is executed as shown in FIG. 4A, display areas 311 arranged in three horizontal rows appear on the screen of the special symbol display device 310, and scrolling of various symbols is performed for each display area 311. Display starts.

In the initial stage of the display game shown in FIG. 14 (a), a state in which various symbols are scrolled in any of the initially set directions is displayed in each display area 311. As shown in FIG. 7B, a concealing symbol that covers various symbols appears in each display area 311.

Before the concealment symbol appears, the direction in which the concealment symbol is scrolled in each display area 311 is determined based on a predetermined condition. In the present embodiment, each display area 31
The direction in which the concealment symbol is scrolled is determined separately for each one. Note that the predetermined condition is, for example, that the result of the previous display game is determined to be out of display mode.

In the initial stage of the display game in which various symbols are scroll-displayed, nothing is displayed in the notice display area 312 as shown in FIG. 14A, but the scroll direction of the concealed symbol is determined in advance. In this case, before the concealment symbol appears in each of the display areas 311, the scroll direction of the concealment symbol that has been determined is notified in advance.

That is, as shown in FIG. 14B, an arrow corresponding to each display area 311 appears in the notice display area 312, so that the scroll direction of the concealed symbol in each display area 311 is notified in advance. It has become. Here, if the direction of the arrow is "↓", scroll display is performed from top to bottom, and if the direction of the arrow is "↑", scroll display is performed from bottom to top.

In FIG. 14 (b), after the notification of the scroll direction of the concealment symbol is made, each display area 31 is displayed.
In FIG. 1, a concealed symbol that covers and hides various symbols appears. These concealed symbols are scroll-displayed in the direction notified in advance by the arrow in a state where all the various symbols are covered and concealed.

Here, even when all the symbols are covered with the concealed symbols, scroll display of various symbols that are not visible is executed separately from scroll display of the hidden symbols that can be visually recognized. , The positional relationship between the various symbols is constantly changing, and the display content can be diversified, so that the player is not bored.

[0166] Further, in a specific mode relating to the notification of the scroll direction of the concealed symbol, three arrows corresponding to the three display areas 311 appear in the notice display area 312 as shown in FIG. In addition to the modes, various modes as shown in FIG. 15 are prepared in advance.

In the example shown in FIG. 15A, two arrows corresponding to any two display areas 311 appear in the notice display area 312. In the example shown in FIG. One arrow corresponding to only one of the display areas 311 appears in the display area 312. FIG. 15 (a),
In the case shown in (b), the display area 311 where the arrow appears
In this case, it is assumed that the scroll direction of the concealed symbol is determined in advance.

When a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the scroll display of the concealed symbol, each display area 3 is displayed as shown in FIG.
The scroll display of the concealed symbols is sequentially stopped for each eleven.
In addition, the display area 3 in which the scroll display of the concealed symbol is stopped.
If the arrow corresponding to 11 is turned off or its color is changed, it becomes easier for the player to confirm that it has already stopped.

When the scroll display of all the concealed symbols is completed, the concealed symbols stopped at a predetermined position in each display area 311 and two predetermined left and right display areas 311 are shown in FIG. Disappear at the position. Therefore, in the two display areas 311 at the left end and the right end, various symbols hidden under the concealed symbols can be visually recognized. The scroll display of the various symbols that have appeared at this time has already been stopped, and any two arbitrary symbols have been specified.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, when the scrolling display of the concealed symbol is completed, the concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area 311 is erased so that various symbols at the position can be visually recognized. However, for example, by moving a concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position, various symbols at the position may be made visible.

In any case, when scroll display of the concealed symbol is completed, various symbols appearing at a predetermined position in a visible state are arranged in the same combination as shown in FIG. , A specific display mode (big hit) is obtained. In this case, a special game state occurs. On the other hand, when different types of symbols are stopped in the two display areas 311 at the left end and the right end, the display is in an off display mode.

As described above, by producing a novel variable display combining various symbols and a concealed symbol, it is possible to give the player a fresh interest. Further, when the result of the scroll display of the concealed symbol becomes a predetermined special stop display mode, various symbols that can be visually recognized at predetermined positions of the respective display areas 311 are further variably displayed. You may.

More specifically, as shown in FIG.
At a predetermined time after the scroll display of the concealed symbol is started in the direction of the arrow displayed in the notice display area 312, the scroll display of the concealed symbol is stopped as shown in FIG. At this time, each display area 3
When the concealed symbols stopped in the two display areas 311 at the left end and the right end, which are the predetermined positions in FIG. 11, are of the same type as shown in FIG. 3B, this corresponds to a special stop display mode.

When the special stop display mode is actually determined, the concealment symbols stopped at the same position in the two display areas 311 at the left end and the right end which are the predetermined positions are the same as those shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), the various symbols that disappear at the position and appear in a visible state here are further scroll-displayed. As a result, the progress of the display game becomes more surprising. When scroll display of various symbols ends after a predetermined time has elapsed, the display result is shown in FIG.
When the same type of symbols are stopped together as shown in FIG. 6 (d), the specific display mode (big hit) results. In this case as well, when different types of symbols are stopped in the two display areas 311 on the left end and the right end, the display mode is out of view.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, the concealment symbol appears while all the symbols are still scroll-displayed in all the display areas 311. However, the concealment symbol which covers all the various symbols is hidden. As a time to appear, for example,
If the concealed symbol is made to appear on the condition that the reach display mode is set in the middle of scroll display of various symbols, it is interesting as a novel reach action.

More specifically, as shown in FIG.
The central display area 31 where various symbols stop last in
When a reach display mode in which various stopped symbols coincide with each other appears in the left and right display areas 311 except for 1, as shown in FIG. , A concealed symbol appears in all the display areas 311. These concealed symbols are scroll-displayed in the direction indicated by the arrow in a state where various symbols are covered.

When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the scroll display of the concealed symbol, the scroll display of the concealed symbol is stopped as shown in FIG. When scroll display of such a concealed symbol is completed, a predetermined position in each display area 311 and two display areas 31 of a predetermined left end and a right end are set.
The concealment symbol stopped at 1 disappears at the position as shown in FIG.

Therefore, the two display areas 3 at the left end and the right end
At 11, the various symbols hidden under the concealed symbols are in a visible state. The scroll display of the various symbols that have appeared at this time has already been stopped, and any two arbitrary symbols have been specified. Here, when various symbols are arranged in the same type, a specific display mode is set.

Alternatively, when the concealment symbol appears, for example, on condition that a predetermined notice symbol appears during scroll display of various symbols, the concealment symbol may appear on the display. Become a director.

More specifically, as shown in FIG.
In the case where the predetermined notice symbol “☆” is stopped in the display area 311 at the left end where the scroll display first stops, the condition is as follows, as shown in FIG.
Following the notification by the arrow in the notice display area 312,
Hidden symbols appear in all the display areas 311, and these hidden symbols are scroll-displayed in a state in which various symbols are covered.

When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the scroll display of the concealed symbol, the scroll display of the concealed symbol is stopped as shown in FIG. When scroll display of such a concealed symbol is completed, a predetermined position in each display area 311 and two display areas 31 of a predetermined left end and a right end are set.
The concealment symbol stopped at 1 disappears at the position as shown in FIG.

Therefore, two display areas 3 at the left end and the right end
At 11, the various symbols hidden under the concealed symbols are in a visible state. The scroll display of the various symbols that have appeared at this time has already been stopped, and any two arbitrary symbols have been specified. Here, when various symbols are arranged in the same type, a specific display mode is set.

It should be noted that the various symbols used as identification information used in the display game are not limited to simple symbols such as numbers and symbols of 0 to 9, but may be, for example, those imitating a specific character. . Similarly, the concealment symbol is not limited to the type shown in the figure, but may be of various shapes and forms.

Further, when the scroll display of the concealment symbol is completed, a specific method is provided in which various symbols covered by the concealment symbol stopped at a predetermined position can be viewed. The present invention is not limited to the mode in which the concealment symbol is lost or moved as it is.

Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG.
The transparency of the concealed symbol stopped at a predetermined position is changed from an opaque state to a translucent or transparent state, or, as shown in FIG. 22, the size or shape of the transparent portion in the concealed symbol or both the size and the shape. By changing the number of symbols, it is possible to make the various symbols at the position visible so that the game content can be more diversified, and the player can be given a variety of fun.

In the above-described embodiment, the scroll direction of the concealed symbol is determined and notified in advance. However, as another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21, before the concealed symbol appears. The scroll direction of various visually recognizable symbols may be determined and reported in advance, or the scroll direction of both the various symbols and the concealed symbol may be determined and reported in advance.

[0187] Here, the scroll direction of various symbols is determined and informed selectively at a predetermined probability, and when the scroll direction is actually informed,
It is interesting to use this notification to give a notice that a reach display mode will occur during scroll display of various symbols. In such a case, as described with reference to FIG. 17, if the concealed symbol is set to appear under the condition that the reach display mode is set at the stage of scroll display of various symbols, a novel reach action is produced. be able to.

Further, the reach occurrence rate at which the reach display mode actually appears may be changed in accordance with the specific mode of informing the scroll direction of various symbols in advance, or a predetermined reach among a plurality of types of reach display modes may be selected. The selection rate for deriving the display mode may be set to be changed.

More specifically, first, as a specific mode of the notification of the scroll direction, as shown in FIG. 21B, three arrows corresponding to the three display areas 311 appear in the notice display area 312. In addition to the aspects described above, various aspects as described above and shown in FIG. 15 are prepared in advance.

In the example shown in FIG. 15A, two arrows corresponding to any two display areas 311 appear in the notice display area 312. In the example shown in FIG. One arrow corresponding to only one of the display areas 311 appears in the display area 312. Note that FIG.
In the cases shown in (a) and (b), it is assumed that the scroll direction is determined in advance only in the display area 311 where the arrow appears.

Next, details of the change of the reach occurrence rate will be described.
There are fifteen types of random numbers for reach generation related to the display game, for example, 1 to 15; normally, one random number is used to derive the reach display mode, and the remaining 14 random numbers are used to derive no reach display mode. . Accordingly, the reach occurrence rate in the scroll display of various symbols is normally 1/15, but the number of random numbers for deriving the reach display mode may be appropriately changed according to the specific mode of the notification.

Specifically, for example, the notice display area 31
When three arrows corresponding to the three display areas 311 appear in FIG. 2 (FIG. 23B), the reach occurrence rate is set to 4
/ 15, and when two arrows corresponding to the two display areas 311 appear (FIG. 15A), the reach occurrence rate is changed to 3/15, and one more When only one arrow corresponding to the display area 311 appears (FIG. 15B), control to change the reach occurrence rate to 2/15 is conceivable.

Further, according to the specific mode of the notification, in addition to the reach occurrence rate in the display game, the selection rate for deriving a predetermined reach display mode from a plurality of types of reach display modes may be changed. It may be controlled. Thereby, the interest in the display game can be further enhanced.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 22 to 24, three types of patterns are set as the reach display mode, and the reach pattern is determined by a reach pattern determining random number, for example, a random number from 0 to 99. prepare. Here, for example, three types of reach distribution patterns 1 to 3 are set as reach distribution patterns, and the contents of these patterns are determined according to the value of the reach pattern determination random number as shown in FIGS. Reach A to Reach C
And

First, in the reach distribution pattern 1, in the case of a jackpot (specific display mode), if the reach pattern determining random numbers are 0 to 9 as shown in FIG. When the random number for reach pattern determination is 50 to 99 when reach random number is 10 to 49, the reach C is reached.

If the reach distribution pattern 1 is out of reach (including out of reach, the same applies hereinafter), FIG.
As shown in (b), the reach pattern determining random number is 0 to 0.
If 49, reach A, reach pattern determination random number is 5
If the random number for reach pattern determination is from 0 to 79, then reach C is reached if the random number for reach pattern determination is 80 to 99. Therefore, in the reach distribution pattern 1, the effect of the reach display mode in which the jackpot reliability increases in the order of A <B <C is performed.

Next, in the reach distribution pattern 2, in the case of a jackpot, as shown in FIG. 23A, if the reach pattern determining random number is 0 to 32, the reach A and the reach pattern determining random number are 33 to 65. If it is, reach B, and if the reach pattern determining random number is 66 to 99, it is sorted to reach C.

On the other hand, if the reach distribution pattern 2 is out of order, as shown in FIG. 23B, if the reach pattern determination random number is 0 to 32, the reach A and reach pattern determination random numbers are 33 to 65. If it is, reach B, and if the reach pattern determining random number is 66 to 99, it is sorted to reach C. Therefore, the reach distribution pattern 2 has a jackpot reliability of A = B = C, and the effect of the reach display mode is performed such that all the reach patterns have the same occurrence rate.

In the reach distribution pattern 3, in the case of a jackpot, as shown in FIG. 24 (a), if the reach pattern determining random number is 0 to 49, the reach A and the reach pattern determining random number are 50 to 89. If there is a reach B, if the reach pattern determining random number is 90 to 99, the reach B is assigned.

On the other hand, if the reach distribution pattern 3 is out of order, as shown in FIG. 24B, if the reach pattern determination random number is 0-19, the reach A and reach pattern determination random numbers are 20-49. If the reach random number for reach pattern determination is 50 to 99, then reach C is reached. Therefore, in the reach distribution pattern 3, the effect of the reach display mode in which the jackpot reliability decreases in the order of A>B> C is performed.

Here, the reach pattern is not limited to a combination in which two identical various symbols are lined up in the middle of a display game, but includes the appearance timing of various symbols, a change in background color, and identification information. Means a combination of display contents produced in various display forms, such as production by the appearance of a character.

When the reach distribution pattern 1 is selected when the random value that determines the result of the display game corresponds to the jackpot (specific display mode), for example, if the reach distribution pattern 1 is selected, the reach pattern is set according to the reach distribution pattern 1. Reach patterns are distributed based on the random number for determination.

In FIG. 22, if the reach pattern determining random number is 0 to 9, reach A is reached, and the distribution rate to reach A is 10%. Random number for reach pattern determination is 1
If it is 0 to 49, reach B is reached, and the distribution rate to reach B is 40%. If the reach pattern determination random number is 50 to 99, reach C is reached, and the distribution rate to reach C is 50%.

As described above, for example, if the reach distribution pattern 1 is selected, the selection of each reach display mode at the time of the occurrence of a jackpot is performed with a high probability to reach C, a slightly higher probability to reach B, and a lower probability. Reached to reach A. If another reach distribution pattern 2 or reach distribution pattern 3 is selected, the reach A to reach C are respectively distributed at other selectivities corresponding to the respective reach distribution patterns.

[0205] When the random number value that determines the result of the display game corresponds to an outlier, similarly to the case of the jackpot, the reach distribution pattern 1 to the reach distribution pattern 3 described above are selected according to the respective selection rates. Reach A ~
It will be assigned to any of the three patterns of reach C. Which reach distribution pattern among these three types of reach distribution patterns 1 to 3 is set to be changed according to the specific mode of the notification.

Specifically, for example, the notice display area 31
When three arrows corresponding to the three display areas 311 appear in FIG. 2 (FIG. 21B), the reach distribution pattern 1 is selected, and two arrows corresponding to the two display areas 311 are selected. When an arrow appears (FIG. 15A), the reach distribution pattern 2 is selected.
When only one arrow corresponding to one display area 311 appears (FIG. 15B), control may be performed so that the reach distribution pattern 3 is selected.

As described above, if the reach occurrence rate at which the reach display mode actually appears is changed in accordance with the specific mode of the scroll direction notification, a novel display effect can be obtained. At the same time, the sense of expectation for the occurrence of the reach state can be increased. Furthermore, by changing the selectivity for deriving a predetermined reach display mode from among a plurality of types of reach display modes, it is possible to prevent the derivation tendency of the reach display mode from becoming rut.

In the above-described embodiment, the direction in which various symbols or concealed symbols are scrolled in the display game is determined and reported separately for each display area 311. May be collectively determined as a fixed direction. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 25, it is sufficient that only one arrow appears in the notice display area 312 for notification.

As described above, when the scroll direction in each display area 31 is collectively determined to be a fixed direction and is notified, as a specific mode of the notification, for example, FIG.
As shown in (a) to (c), a plurality of variations can be provided depending on the size and shape of the arrow.

When the scroll direction of various symbols is determined and notified in advance, the notification of the scroll direction does not necessarily need to be performed on the special symbol display device 310. For example, as shown in FIG. A display 350 may be provided separately from the symbol display device 310, and the scroll direction may be notified according to the lighting state of the display 350. In the example shown in FIG. 27, when the lower display 350 is turned on, scroll display is performed from top to bottom, and when the upper display 350 is turned on, scroll display is performed from bottom to upper.

Next, the control of the gaming machine body 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS.
FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the operation of the main processing of the main substrate 100. When the power of the gaming machine body 1 is turned on,
One-chip microcomputer 10 mounted on main board 100
1, a reset signal is input. One-chip microcomputer 1
When the reset signal is input, the CPU 102 initializes the program counter (PC) and executes the program from the start address (step 001) of the main processing.

When the main processing is started, step 00
1 interrupt initialization is executed. In the interrupt initial setting, setting of an interrupt vector depending on the CPU 102 and setting of interrupt inhibition are performed. Subsequently, in the initialization of the hardware in step 002, the CPU 102
Set various devices and input / output interfaces to be connected. Here, a parallel I / O and a serial I / O are prepared for the input / output interface.

Next, in step 003, the input of the RAM initialization switch is confirmed. The RAM initialization switch is a hardware switch installed on the back of the game board 2. If this switch is pressed when the power is turned on, the input is determined by this processing and the processing branches. If the input has been confirmed, the process proceeds to step 005 to forcibly initialize the game information storage area. If there is no input, the process proceeds to step 004.

The power failure flag confirmation processing in step 004 is a flag confirmation processing for determining whether or not a power failure has been detected previously and the evacuation action of the game information storage area has been performed. In this case, if the power failure flag is ON (1), it is determined that the above-mentioned action has been performed, and the processing branches to shift to the return operation of the game information storage area after step 012. on the other hand,
If the power failure flag is OFF (0), the next step 0
Move to 05.

In the initialization of the stack pointer in step 005, a pointer (address) of a stack area managed by the CPU 102 is initialized. In the initialization of the game information storage area in step 006, the minimum necessary parameters are set in addition to the clear processing, and the game information storage area is set at the time of factory shipment.

Activation of timer interrupt in step 007,
And permitting an interrupt is performed by setting a hardware timer connected to the CPU 102 and operating the timer,
The interrupt setting of the PU 102 is changed from the disabled state to the interrupt enabled (enabled) state, and the timer interrupt processing (steps 101 to 110 in FIG. 29) is operated.

In the special symbol game process of step 008, the monitoring of the fluctuation time of the special symbol, the management of the random number for the special symbol, the control shift to the customer waiting demonstration screen, the monitoring of the opening time of the special winning opening 24, and the counting of the winning count. Surveillance and confirmation of special symbol holding balls are performed.

The ordinary symbol game process of step 009 is
The monitoring of the winning count, the monitoring and operation of the fluctuation time, the confirmation of the ordinary symbol holding ball, the hit judgment, and the like are performed in accordance with the operation of the ordinary electric accessory solenoid 136.

The external information editing process of step 010 is a process of editing the signal information output from the external connection terminal board or the trial test signal terminal 116 and storing it in the game information storage area. In the editing process of the signal information, a prize ball signal outputted every time a predetermined number of balls are paid out, a special symbol decision signal outputted every time the special symbol finishes changing and stops, and a normal symbol finishes changing and stops. Normal symbol confirmation signal output every time,
Output monitoring and setting of a special symbol hold signal for signaling and outputting the number of reserved special symbols and a normal symbol hold signal for signaling and outputting the number of reserved ordinary symbols are performed.

In the main random number updating process of step 011, a synchronization prevention random number corresponding to each stop symbol is extracted, and the random number for the stop symbol extracted in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 29) described later is respectively corresponded to the symbol random number. By adding the synchronization preventing random numbers, the symbols are prevented from stopping in the same order.

Steps 008 to 011 are repeatedly executed in the main processing. During this time, the timer interrupt operates and the timer interrupt process is executed in parallel, so that the gaming machine main unit 1 is in a playable state, and the game information storage area is updated.

The stack pointer return processing in step 012 is the power failure flag confirmation processing in step 004 described above.
The process moves when the power failure flag is ON (1). The stack pointer, which is part of the game information saved at the time of the power failure, is reset here.

The timer interrupt activation processing in step 013 is almost the same as step 007, except that the register return processing in step 014 is inserted between the activation processing in step 013 and the interrupt permission processing in step 015. After the return process is completed, the timer interrupt process can be performed.

When the return processing from step 012 to step 014 is completed, the CPU 102 is operated from the power failure execution address of a part of the game information storage area saved at the time of power failure. The process of setting the power failure flag OFF in step 016 is such that the process is not shifted to the power failure recovery process at the next power-on.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the operation of the main board 100 for timer interrupt processing. When the timer interrupt processing is enabled and becomes executable in steps 007 and 015 of the above-described main processing (FIG. 28), the timer interrupt processing is executed at set time intervals. During the repetitive processing from step 008 to step 011 of the main processing, a timer interrupt is activated and the processing described below is executed.

First, in the register save processing of the first step 101, C at the time when the timer interrupt processing is started is set.
The registers of the PU 102 are saved to the stack area. The input process of step 102 is performed by using information on various devices connected to the CPU 102 (starting port switch 121, winning port switches 122 and 123, ordinary symbol display device operation gate switch 126, glass door open detection switch 132, overflow switch 133, Shot ball out switch 13
1, a signal of the prize ball detection switch 130, etc.) is read from the input port via the input / output interface and stored in the game information storage area.

In the output processing of step 103, the game state information edited by other processing centering on step 010 of the main processing is read out from the game information storage area, and the output port is output through the input / output interface connected to the CPU 102. And outputs it as a signal to the special winning opening solenoid 134, the ordinary electric accessory solenoid 136, the ordinary symbol display device 310, the external terminal for the panel, and the external terminal for the frame.

In the command transmission processing of step 104,
The game control information edited by other processes is read from the game information storage area, and is output to various devices connected to the CPU 102 from the output port via the input / output interface. The output destination is a display control board 300, a lamp control board 400, a payout control board 200, a voice control board 500, and the like.

In the timer interrupt random number updating process of step 105, in addition to the content of step 011 in the main process, a random number for jackpot determination, a symbol random number, a reach execution random number, a control pattern random number, and the like used in the jackpot lottery are updated. I do.

[0230] The random number for the hit determination is determined by the special symbol display device 31.
This is a random number for determining in advance the probability for determining whether to generate a jackpot as a result of the variable display of the symbol at 0. The random number for the hit determination is composed of, for example, a numerical value of 0 to 299. The random number is counted up by one every random number updating process, and after one round (0 to 299), the next start position is selected and the lottery result is set as the start position. It is configured to count up again by one. For example, when the lottery result is 59, 59 to 58
Count up one by one.

In the timer updating process of step 106, the special symbol display device 310 outputs the time from the start to the stop of variable display of various symbols, the display (lighting) time of the ordinary symbol display device 140, and the payout control signal for a fixed time. Update the software timer (counter) and so on. In these control processes, the signal is turned on while monitoring this timer.
/ OFF is controlled.

The error updating process in step 107 is a process of monitoring payout sensor information, which is one of the information obtained in step 102, for a certain period of time, and detecting an error by confirming the movement of the ball. If the movement of the ball cannot be confirmed by the payout sensor, the error information is updated because it is considered that the ball is clogged on the passage before the sensor position. In addition to the error monitoring based on the payout sensor information, the open / close state information of the glass frame on the front of the gaming machine is monitored in the same manner, and when the glass frame is opened, the error information is updated.

In the switch monitoring processing in step 108, the state information of each sensor and switch input in step 102 is read from the game information storage area, and the game state information is updated. The target sensors and switches here are the starting port switch 121, each winning port switch 1
22, 123, an accessory continuous operation operation switch 124, a count switch 125, a prize ball detection switch 130, a normal symbol display device operation gate switch 126, etc. relating to ball detection. It is generated and edited as state information and stored in the game information storage area.

In the register return processing in step 109, the contents of the register saved in step 101 are returned to the CPU 102 from the stack area. The timer interrupt permission process of step 110 permits the next timer interrupt process.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing the operation of the NMI interrupt processing of the main board 100. The NMI interrupt process is started by a power failure detection signal output from a power failure detection circuit 709 in the power supply board 700. CPU1
When a power failure detection signal is input to the 02, NMI interrupt processing is executed, and the following contents are processed.

First, in the register saving process of step 201, the register of the CPU 102 at the time of detecting a power failure is saved in the stack area. At this time, the contents of the register are saved, but before this, the address immediately before the NMI interrupt is automatically saved. The power failure flag ON setting process of step 202 is a process of detecting a power failure and setting the execution of the power failure detection process as a flag in the game information storage area.

The game information storage area access prohibition process in step 203 is a setting process for prohibiting access (read / write) to the game information storage area by hardware. Access to the game information storage area becomes impossible in the subsequent processing, and the game information storage area is protected.

With this, the evacuation action of the game information storage area at the time of the power outage is ended, and the NMI interrupt processing itself is not ended, but an infinite loop is entered, the processing of the CPU 102 is substantially stopped, and the power supply is completely cut off. wait. This is because if the NMI interrupt processing is terminated, there is time until the power supply is completely cut off, so that the timer interrupt is processed and the operation becomes undefined.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and even if there are changes and additions without departing from the gist of the present invention. Included in the invention. For example, the division of the plurality of display areas on the screen of the special symbol display device is not limited to a rectangular shape arranged in three horizontal rows, but may be arranged in a plurality of rows vertically, or may be divided by a line obliquely crossing the screen. Various modes are conceivable.

Further, the various symbols used as the identification information used in the display game are not limited to simple symbols such as numbers and symbols of 0 to 9, but may be, for example, those imitating a specific character. . Similarly, the concealment symbol is not limited to the illustrated type. For example, the concealment symbol can be regarded as a door or an elevator, and by opening and closing it, the identification information below the concealment information can be concealed or made visible.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the gaming machine according to the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine. However, the gaming machine is not limited to a pachinko machine, and a smart ball game machine controlled by a program, The present invention can be similarly applied to other game machines such as ball game machines. Further, the special symbol display device 310 can be applied to a slot machine.

[0242]

According to the gaming machine of the present invention, in the process of executing the variable display on the variable display device, the concealment symbol can be changed while all the identification information appearing in each display area is covered with the concealment symbol. Display, and when the variable display of the concealment symbol is completed, by executing display control to make the identification information obscured by the concealment symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area visible, thereby providing the identification information. And a concealed symbol can be combined to produce a novel variable display, which can give the player a fresh and interesting experience.

In addition, before the display result of the variable display is determined, the direction in which the identification information or the concealed symbol scrolls in each of the display areas is determined by the scroll direction determining means based on a predetermined condition. Is not always the same as above, and changes every time it is determined based on the predetermined condition, so that a novel display effect can be given without relying on characters and the like, and the interest of the entire variable display can be enhanced. .

When the display result of the variable display of the concealed symbol is in a predetermined special stop display mode, the identification information which can be visually recognized at a predetermined position in each display area is further variably displayed. By doing so, the progress of the variable display becomes surprising, and the interest in display can be further enhanced.

Further, before the display result of the variable display in each of the display areas is determined by the scroll direction notifying means based on the result of the determination by the scroll direction determining means, the scroll direction in each of the display areas is determined in a predetermined manner. If notified in advance, the player can confirm the change in the scroll direction in advance, and can further increase the thrill and excitement in the game.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the internal structure of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view showing a game board of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged rear view showing the back side of the game board of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an entire circuit configuration of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a main board included in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of a payout control board included in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a display control board included in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of a lamp control board included in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of an audio control board included in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a launch control board included in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a power supply board included in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged front view showing a special symbol display device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display game developed by the special symbol display device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the notification mode of the scroll direction during the display game developed by the special symbol display device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the display game developed by the special symbol display device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a display game developed by the special symbol display device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a display game developed by the special symbol display device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another example of a display game developed by the special symbol display device for a gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which various symbols covered by a hidden symbol stopped at a predetermined position are made visible. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display method.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing another example of a display game developed by the special symbol display device for a gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which various symbols hidden by a hidden symbol stopped at a predetermined position are made visible. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display method.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of notifying the scroll direction of various symbols in a display game developed by the special symbol display device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a chart illustrating an example of a reach distribution pattern 1 in the display game.

FIG. 23 is a table illustrating an example of a reach distribution pattern 2 in the display game.

FIG. 24 is a chart illustrating an example of a reach distribution pattern 3 in the display game.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing another display example for notifying the scroll direction of various symbols in a display game developed by the special symbol display device of the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing a variation of another display example for notifying a predetermined scroll direction in a display game developed by the special symbol display device for a gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing another display example for notifying a predetermined scroll direction in a display game developed by the special symbol display device for a gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a main process in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart of a timer interrupt process in the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 shows N in a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is a flowchart of MI interrupt processing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game machine main body 2 ... Game board 3 ... Top tray 4 ... Bottom tray 5 ... Handle 6 ... Ashtray 7 ... Top tray ball removal lever 8 ... Bottom tray ball removal lever 9 ... Lending button 10 ... Return button 11 ... Glass frame 12 ... frequency display unit 15 ... windmill 16 ... guide rail 21 ... starting opening 22a ... right sleeve winning opening 22b ... left sleeve winning opening 23a ... right down winning opening 23b ... left down winning opening 24 ... large winning opening 29 ... out opening 100 ... Main board (display control means) 101 ... One-chip microcomputer 102 ... CPU 103 ... ROM 104 ... RAM 105 ... NMI 106 ... I / O port 107 ... Internal timer 108 ... Clock circuit 109 ... Clock synchronization / delay circuit 110, 111 ... Gate Circuits 112a to 112g Latch circuit 113 Address decode circuit 114 Buffer 115 Reset 116 Test shooting test signal terminal 121 ... Start-up switch 122a ... Right sleeve winning opening switch 122b ... Left sleeve winning opening switch 123a ... Right down winning opening switch 123b ... Left down winning opening switch 124 ... Continuous actuation device switch 125 ... Count switch 126 … Normal symbol display device operation gate switch 126a… Right ordinary symbol display device operation gate switch 126b… Left ordinary symbol display device operation gate switch 130… Prize sphere detection switch 130a… Right prize ball detection switch 130b… Left sphere detection switch 131 Shooting ball out switch 132 ... Glass frame open detection switch 133 ... Overflow switch 134 ... Big winning opening solenoid 135 ... Direction switching solenoid 136 ... Normal electric accessory solenoid 140 ... Normal symbol display device 200 ... Payout control board 201 ... Wa Chip microcomputer 202 ... Counter circuit 203 ... CPU 204 ... ROM 205 ... RAM 206 ... NMI 207 ... I / O port 208 ... Internal timer 209 ... Clock circuit 210 ... Clock synchronization / delay circuit 211,212 ... Gate circuit 213 ... Address decoding circuit 214, 215: Latch circuit 216: Reset 220: Ball lending detection switch 220a ... Right ball lending detection switch 220b ... Left ball lending detection switch 222 ... Payout motor 223 ... Payout stop solenoid 224 ... Path switching solenoid 300 ... Display control board ( Display control means 301 Display control CPU 302 Display control ROM 303 Display control RAM 304 Image control IC 305 Image data ROM 306 Input / output interface 307 Test shot test signal terminal 310 Special symbol display device (variable display device) 400 lamp control board 401 lamp control CPU 402 lamp control ROM 403 lamp control RAM 404 input / output interface 405 driver circuit 420 special symbol hold LED 421 normal symbol hold LED 422: gaming machine status lamp 423: side case lamp 424: gaming frame status lamp 425: center LED 426 ... gate LED 427 ... attacker LED 428 ... side LED 500 ... voice control board 501 ... voice control CPU 502 ... voice control ROM 503 ... Voice control RAM 504 Voice control IC 505 Voice data ROM 506 Input / output interface 507 Amplifier circuit 510 Speaker 600 Launch control board 601 Oscillator circuit 602 Frequency divider circuit 603 Data drive signal control circuit 604 Driver circuit 650 Handle part 651 Touch sensor 652 Fire stop switch 653 Fire motor 700 Power board 701 Constant voltage power supply 702 Backup power supply 703 Voltage detection circuit 704 Shift register 705 RAM initialization switch 706 clock circuit 707 delay circuit 708 voltage detection circuit 709 power failure detection circuit 800 external terminal board for frame 801 prize ball sphere presence / absence switch 850 external board for panel 900 card unit Connection board a ... Operation panel board b ... Card unit c ... Power supply AC24V

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C088 AA17 AA35 AA36 AA42 BA03 BA04 BA05 BA27 BA37 BA66 BA78 BA88 BA89 BB19 BB21 BC22 BC58 CA27 EB56 EB58

Claims (18)

[Claims] A variable display device capable of variably displaying a plurality of types of identification information; and display control means for controlling display of the variable display device, wherein a display result of the variable display on the variable display device is determined in advance. In a gaming machine in which a special game state in which a predetermined game value can be given to a player occurs when a specific display mode that is a combination of the identification information is obtained, the variable display device includes a plurality of types of identification information and Together,
A plurality of types of concealment symbols for obscuring the identification information, each having a plurality of display areas that can be variably displayed, wherein the display control means individually sets the identification information or the concealment symbols in a predetermined direction in each of the display areas. The variable display device executes a variable display by scrolling the display device, and has a scroll direction determining unit and a concealed symbol display control unit. The scroll direction determining unit determines the display result of the variable display on the variable display device. Before, the identification information or the direction in which the concealed symbol is scrolled in each of the display areas is determined based on a predetermined condition, and the concealed symbol display control means is configured to execute the identification appearing in each of the display areas during the execution of the variable display. The concealment symbol is variably displayed in a state where all the information is covered with the concealment symbol, and when the concealment symbol is variably displayed, a predetermined symbol is displayed in each display area. Gaming machine and executes a display control for the obscured identity by hiding stopped symbols on location in visible state. 2. The scroll direction determining means according to claim 1, wherein the scroll direction of the identification information or the concealment symbol in each of the display areas can be separately determined for each of the display areas. Gaming machine. 3. The scroll direction determining means, when the scroll direction is determined during variable display on the variable display device, the scroll direction newly determined based on the determination result is different from the scroll direction already being executed. 3. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the display control means changes the scroll direction already being executed to a newly determined scroll direction in the middle. 4. The display control means includes a scroll direction notifying means, and the scroll direction notifying means determines a display result of the variable display in each of the display areas based on a result determined by the scroll direction determining means. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a scroll direction of the identification information or the concealed symbol in each of the display areas is notified in a predetermined manner.
Or the gaming machine according to 3. 5. The scroll direction notifying means can separately notify the scroll direction of the identification information or the concealed symbol in each of the display areas corresponding to each of the display areas. 4. The gaming machine according to 4. 6. The scroll direction notifying means for notifying the scroll direction of the identification information or the concealed symbol in each of the display areas by a predetermined display on the variable display device. Gaming machine. 7. The scroll direction notifying means for notifying the scroll direction of the identification information or the concealed symbol in each of the display areas by a predetermined display different from the variable display device. 5. The gaming machine according to 5. 8. The scroll direction notifying means selectively executes the notification of the scroll direction with a predetermined probability. The display control means, when the scroll direction notifying means notifies the scroll direction, 8. A display control for notifying the occurrence of a reach display mode that is a premise of the specific display mode during the variable display with the notification is performed. Gaming machine. 9. The gaming machine according to claim 8, wherein said display control means changes a reach occurrence rate at which a reach display mode actually appears in accordance with a specific mode of notification of said scroll direction. . 10. The reach display mode includes a plurality of types having different probabilities of being the specific display mode, and the display control means includes a plurality of types in addition to the reach occurrence rate at which the reach display mode appears. 10. The gaming machine according to claim 9, wherein a selectivity for deriving a predetermined reach display mode from among the reach display modes is also changed. 11. The concealed symbol display control means, on the condition that a combination of already stopped identification information becomes a reach display mode which is a prerequisite of the specific display mode in the process of executing the variable display. The gaming machine according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. 12. The concealment symbol display control means, in the variable display execution process, causes the concealment symbol to appear on the condition that a predetermined notice symbol has appeared. 3,4,5,6,7,8,9 or 1
The gaming machine according to item 0. 13. The concealment symbol display control means, when the display result of the variable display of the concealment symbol is a predetermined special stop display mode, sets a state in which the concealment symbol can be visually recognized at a predetermined position in each of the display areas. The variable identification information is further variably displayed.
The gaming machine according to 9, 10, 11 or 12. 14. The concealing symbol display control means, wherein in the process of performing the variable display, the concealing symbol visible in a state in which all of the identification information appearing in each of the display areas is covered with the concealing symbol. 2. A variable display of the invisible identification information is executed separately from the variable display of (1).
14. The gaming machine according to 1, 12, or 13. 15. The concealment symbol display control means, when the variable display of the concealment symbol ends, erases the concealment symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area, so that identification information of the position can be visually recognized. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second states are in a state of being in a predetermined state.
15. The gaming machine according to 1, 12, 13 or 14. 16. The concealing symbol display control means, when the variable display of the concealing symbol is completed, moves the concealing symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area so that the identification information of the position can be visually recognized. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second states are in a state of being in a predetermined state.
15. The gaming machine according to 1, 12, 13 or 14. 17. The concealment symbol display control means changes the transparency of the concealment symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area from an opaque state to a translucent or transparent state when the variable display of the concealment symbol ends. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the identification information at the position is made visible by changing the position.
15. The gaming machine according to 1, 12, 13 or 14. 18. The concealment symbol display control means, when the variable display of the concealment symbol is completed, determines the size or shape of the transparent portion in the concealment symbol stopped at a predetermined position in each display area. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the identification information at the position is made visible by changing both of them.
The gaming machine according to 0, 11, 12, 13 or 14.