JP2002306766A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display information concerning a variety of drawing and execute only dramatization operation to certain drawing. SOLUTION: As a main control section 200 transmits a command for control of dramatization when transmitting commands for controlling special pattern display for control of display concerning drawing as to the necessity of making a jackpot condition occur, and on the other hand, does not send a command for control of dramatization when sending commands for control of display of ordinary pattern for control of display concerning drawing as to the necessity of making a small success occur, the control load on the main control section 200 can be reduced, and a player can be made to concentrate on dramatization to be executed to drawing for a jackpot condition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a display control relating to a lottery for generating a specific game state and a display control relating to a lottery for generating a quasi-specific game state by transmitting and receiving a command group to each of them. Related to a gaming machine to be performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, gaming machines for displaying special symbols and ordinary symbols have been proposed.
The gaming machine described in Japanese Patent No. 682 displays a special symbol and a normal symbol on the same display device. And
In order to perform these displays by command transmission, it is conceivable that the main CPU that controls the game operation manages them.

However, in such a gaming machine, when transmitting a command group for displaying a special symbol and a command group for displaying a normal symbol, the same staging operation is performed. In this case, the control burden on the main CPU increases. In addition, if the same performance operation is performed for an extremely important thing such as a big hit lottery result and a relatively insignificant thing such as a small hit lottery result, the player itself will not be able to take any lottery results. It is difficult to grasp whether the effect has been performed, and since the display of both lottery results often progresses at the same time, for a player who is interested in the jackpot lottery result, there is also a problem that both directing operations overlap. Was.

The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and provides a gaming machine which displays information relating to various lotteries and performs only a staging operation for a certain lottery. The purpose is to.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a main control means for controlling a game operation in a gaming machine configured to perform various lotteries and display information relating to the lottery. Are a first command group for performing display control relating to a lottery whether or not to generate a specific game state, and a second command group for performing display control relating to a lottery whether or not to generate a quasi-specific game state. The sub-control unit includes a display control unit that controls the operation of the display device in accordance with the received command group, and the transmission unit includes:
Means for transmitting an effect control command to the effect device when transmitting the command group, but means for not transmitting an effect control command to the effect device when transmitting the second command group.

In the present invention, when transmitting the first command group for performing the display control relating to the lottery as to whether or not to generate the specific game state, the effect control command is transmitted, while the quasi-specific game state is transmitted. At the time of transmitting the second command group for performing the display control relating to the lottery of whether or not to generate, the effect control command is not transmitted, so that the control load on the main control means is reduced correspondingly, The player can be concentrated on the effect performed for the lottery in the specific game state.

[0006] The effect device may be provided with effect control means for controlling an effect operation of the device in response to the received effect control command. The effect device may be a device for outputting audio information and / or a device for turning on and off light.

[0007] The display control means displays a symbol indicating a lottery result as to whether or not to generate a specific game state and a symbol indicating a lottery result as to whether or not to generate a quasi-specific game state in a single display. It may be configured to include a unit for displaying on the device and a unit for outputting information related to display control to the outside. Then, the effect control commands for any of the effect devices may have the same length data. Also, by providing the transmission means of the production command in the sub-control means, the control load on the main control means can be reduced, and the synchronization of the display of the design and the output of the production sound for the decoration can be easily achieved.

[0008] Such control can be realized by recording a control program on a computer-readable recording medium, and reading and executing the control program recorded on the recording medium by a computer. Examples of such a recording medium include a semiconductor recording medium such as a ROM and a semiconductor IC, an optical recording medium such as a DVDROM and a CDROM, a magnetic recording medium such as a flexible disk, and a magneto-optical recording medium such as an MO. Further, the control program can be downloaded from the information processing device via a communication network.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the general configuration and operation of the gaming machine will be described, and then the characteristic operation of the present invention will be described to facilitate the understanding of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of the game board 10. As shown in FIG. At a substantially central portion of the game board 10, various lottery result display devices 100 capable of displaying various lottery results indicating whether or not to provide a game state advantageous to the player are provided, and a special symbol is provided immediately below the device. A starting port 104 is provided, and a normal symbol operating gate 10 is provided on both sides of the special symbol starting port 104.
2, 102 are provided. Also, a pair of opening / closing members 1
20 and 120 are provided so as to be separated and openable so as to form the special symbol starting port 104. In addition, the various lottery result display device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention can display a special symbol and a normal symbol for displaying various lottery results on the same display screen. In addition, the lottery result display device 100 can display a character image in a specific game state, an error notification image in which an error has occurred, and the like.

Further, a special winning opening 106 and an out opening 114 are arranged in this order below the special symbol starting opening 104, and a lamp display device 110 is provided diagonally above both sides of the special symbol starting opening 104. , 110, and lamp display devices (more specifically, LED devices) 112, 112 are also provided near both side ends of the game board 10.

When a game ball is won in the special symbol starting port 104 and a random number lottery is performed, and when the random number selected is a big hit value (a value that causes a specific game state),
The variable display of the special symbol is started in a special symbol display area 2800 to be described later, and thereafter, a predetermined pattern (for example, “7, 7, 7”) is displayed on the various lottery result display devices 10.
0, and the opening and closing of the special winning opening 106 is controlled in a predetermined pattern, so that a big hit game state (specific game state) advantageous to the player is achieved. In addition, there are a plurality of probabilities that the jackpot value is selected by the random number lottery described above (probability of displaying the predetermined pattern) when the probability is low (for example, 1/300) and when it is high (for example, 1/50). I do. This high probability state is called a probability variation state or a probability variation state.

When the normal symbol operation gate 102 detects the passing of a game ball, a random number lottery is performed. When the random number selected is a small hit value (a value that causes a quasi-specific game state), various lottery results are obtained. The winning result is displayed on the normal symbol display area 2810 of the display device 100, and thereafter, the opening / closing member 120 is opened for only a few seconds (semi-specific gaming state), and the game ball wins the special symbol starting port 104. Also in this case, a random number lottery is similarly performed, and when this random number is a big hit value, a special symbol display area 28 described later will be used.
00, a predetermined display pattern (for example, “7, 7, 7”) is displayed by the lottery result display device 100, and the special winning opening 106 is controlled to open and close in a predetermined pattern. It becomes a big hit state that is advantageous to the player. On the other hand, the shot that is not won is the out mouth 114
Is discharged through. When the special symbol has a high probability, the fluctuation time of the ordinary symbol is shortened.

In the open state in which the game balls easily enter the large winning opening 106, when the game balls are won, the game balls pass through a V zone (not shown) which is a specific area. If there is a game ball, the special winning opening 106 is closed once, and then the special winning opening 106 is opened again to facilitate the winning of the game ball. This is called one round, and when a maximum of 15 rounds have been completed, the big hit operation control that brings the special winning opening 106 into an advantageous state for the player is ended.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing only the main part of the gaming machine in which such gaming machine control is performed according to the progress of the game. The main control unit 200 includes a microprocessor having a built-in CPU, and stores command data for storing various control commands including at least various commands for controlling the various lottery result display devices 100, which will be described later. A table area 202, a ROM 201 for storing a control program or control data describing a series of gaming machine control procedures, and a RAM 203 for forming a work area are provided, forming an integrated one-chip microcomputer.

The main control unit 200 includes a special symbol start switch 304 provided inside the special symbol start port 104 through the input port 210 for detecting a winning of the game ball into the special symbol start port 104, a normal symbol operation gate. A normal symbol operation switch 306 provided inside the 102 and detecting a game ball passing through a gate, and a large winning opening switch 308 provided inside the large winning opening 106 and detecting a winning of the gaming ball in the large winning opening 106. The main control unit 200 is connected and can receive each detection signal. The V zone winning switch and the like are not shown.

The main control unit 200 includes an output port 2
15, various lottery result display devices 100 realized by an LCD or the like, and a lamp display device 11 for controlling lighting of lamps
0, 112, a sound effect generator 116 for generating a sound effect,
A starting port operating solenoid 300 for opening and closing the opening and closing member 120 of the starting port, and a special winning opening operating solenoid 302 for controlling opening and closing of a wide opening and closing member of the special winning opening 106 are connected. A control signal for controlling each device can be transmitted.

The main control section 200 can transmit a predetermined number of display control commands to the various lottery result display devices 100 at a predetermined timing.
The CPU of the various lottery result display devices 100 performs fine display control based on the received command without depending on the main control unit 200. Further, the main control unit 2
The communication mode is one-way communication in which only commands are transmitted from 00 to various lottery result display devices 100. This command includes a special symbol display control command group and a normal symbol display control command group, and a signal line used for transmission of both command groups is shared so that the hardware scale does not increase. ing.

A power supply circuit 212 for supplying power and a reset circuit 213 for outputting a reset signal at predetermined time intervals are connected to the main control unit 200. A pulse signal generated by the periodic timer counter is input from the control unit 200, and a monitor signal for monitoring the current supply state from the power supply circuit 212 is input.

Now, as shown in FIG.
The command for display control sent from 0 to the various lottery result display devices 100 is a mode (MOD) which is an identifier for identifying the classification of the command and is 1-byte digital information.
E) and an event (EVENT), which is 1-byte digital information indicating the content (function) of the command to be executed, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, FIG. 15, FIG.
FIG. 21 and FIG. 23 show a part of the display control command data in the command data table area 202 stored in the ROM 201.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the special symbol display control command group includes a command for designating a variation pattern for varying the special symbol and instructing the start of the variation (first command for the special symbol). ) "," Command for specifying stop symbol on left of special symbol (second command for special symbol) "," Command for specifying stop symbol in special symbol (second command for special symbol) "," Special symbol There is a command for designating the right stop symbol (second command for special symbol) and a command for stopping the special symbol (third command for special symbol). As described above, each mode data of the special symbol display control command group is “$ A0, $ B
1, $ B2, $ B3, $ C0 ", and one byte of event data is set for each mode data. It has a byte-length command structure.

Further, in order to realize the effect up to the big hit that the player is most interested in with various contents and, consequently, to improve the interest of the game, the number of commands for the special symbol display control necessarily increases. However, the control data becomes complicated. However, in the present embodiment, the two command structures of the mode, which is the identifier for identifying the classification of the command, and the event indicating the content of the command to be executed are provided. Since they are classified separately, there is an advantage that program development work and analysis work can be easily performed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, other commands for performing a display effect or the like relating to a special symbol can be transmitted. Other commands also have a 2-byte command structure of the mode event. As shown in FIG. 15, the display contents from the determination of the special symbol to the opening of the first special winning opening and the display contents of each round, and the display contents from the closing of the final special winning opening to the change of the special symbol Command to specify the contents, etc., the display contents at the time of abnormality as shown in FIG. 16, the display contents at the time of state change, and the display contents to be displayed when the power supply is restored after the power supply is cut off There are commands to do this. Main control unit 20
0 transmits these commands, the CPU 1020 displays the display contents corresponding to the received commands on the LCD.
It is displayed on panel 1120. These other commands also have a command structure having a total of 2 bytes of the mode event. In addition, similar to the special symbol display control command, the special symbol display is provided by having two command structures of a mode which is an identifier for identifying the classification of the command and an event indicating the content of the executed command. It is easy to grasp that it is a related command.

On the other hand, the normal symbol display control command group includes
As shown in FIG. 21, "command for designating a variation pattern for varying a normal symbol and designating the start of symbol variation (first command for ordinary symbol)", "command for designating a left ordinary symbol (normal symbol)" Command for specifying the right normal symbol (second command for normal symbol), and a command for stopping the normal symbol (third command for normal symbol). The command of the normal symbol display control command group is "@ E1
~ E4, E8, E9, EC, ED, EF ". Also, as shown in FIG. 23, other commands related to the ordinary symbol display have a one-byte length command ($ E
0), which is a command for designating a normal symbol initial display screen.

In addition, a normal symbol has a small hitting factor because the number of prize balls is small to the last, and the player's attention is directed to a special symbol related to a big hit. As a result, if the display effect of the ordinary symbols is performed with various contents, not only will the data capacity and the control load of the main control unit 200 be caused, but also the player may lose interest in the big hit. However, in the present embodiment, the total number and types of the commands for normal symbol display control are set to be smaller than those of the commands for special symbol display control, and only the event indicating the command content to be executed is defined as the command. With such a command structure, the data capacity and the control load on the main control unit 200 are reduced, and the program development work and the analysis work are easily performed. In addition, other commands related to the normal symbol, like the command for the normal symbol display control,
By adopting a command structure in which only an event indicating the content of a command to be executed is set as a command, it is easy to grasp that the command is normally related to the symbol display control.

Note that the first command is a command including designating a pattern variation pattern and an effect operation of a character associated therewith, a background image to be displayed, and the like, and these are collectively referred to as a variation pattern. Name. The main control unit 200 transmits these five commands (or four commands) to the various lottery result display devices 100 at a predetermined timing in one variation display control when a game situation that causes the symbol variation display to be started. Send. Further, the main control unit 200 performs a normal symbol lottery and performs a normal symbol display control command for displaying the lottery result to the various lottery result display devices 100 as appropriate.

[0027] Therefore, since various kinds of lottery result display device 100 perform fine display control such as the change of the display speed of the symbol, the program for the main control unit 200 is simplified, and the program can be changed even if the display content is changed. A general-purpose program can be constructed without having to make any changes, and the main control unit 200 has a command defining a time (included in the fluctuation pattern) from the start of the fluctuation display of the symbol to the stop thereof. Since only the command for designating the symbol and the command for stopping the symbol are transmitted, the program is further simplified. Note that other commands (see FIGS. 15, 16, and 23) are described in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the command is independently transmitted as a fourth command 1700 to the CPU 1020 as appropriate.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the lottery result display device 100. Various lottery result display devices 100
A data receiving circuit 1140 (including a voltage conversion circuit for converting a data level) for receiving a strobe signal or command from the main control unit 200, a power supply circuit 1160 for supplying power to the voltage conversion circuit and the like, A CPU 1020 (display control means) for generating control data necessary for performing display control based on a command and outputting the control data to an image processing LSI (VDP) 1060, and a program R containing a program describing an operation procedure of the CPU 1020
An OM 1040, a RAM 1090 functioning as a work area and a buffer memory, an image processing LSI (VDP) 1060 for performing image expansion processing, and an image processing LSI
(VDP) 1060, a video RAM 1080 for temporarily storing the developed image data, and an image processing LSI (V
DP) 1060 stores character ROM 1180 storing data necessary for image development, and video RAM 10
An LCD panel interface circuit 1100 for receiving and transmitting image data temporarily stored in the memory 80;
An LC that outputs a display image using the image data transmitted from the LCD panel interface circuit 1100
D panel 1120.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the character RO
M1180 is a ROM title area, a ROM management information area, a character image data area storing actual character data, a pallet data area storing character color data, and a scenario data area storing information defining character movement. The character data is stored in the character image data area in a state where it is compressed by a specific compression method. Further, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of pairs of color numbers and color codes are stored.

Then, C of various lottery result display devices 100
The PU 1020 converts the control data generated in response to the command received by the data receiving circuit 1140 into an image processing LSI.
(VDP) 1060, the image processing LSI (V
DP) 1060 decompresses the character data obtained from the character image data area, colors it with the color data obtained from the pallet data area, and specifies the video RAM 10 specified by the information obtained from the scenario data area.
Temporarily store the data with the image expanded at the position on 80,
By sending the temporarily stored data to the LCD panel interface circuit 1100, the LCD panel 1
By means of 120, various image displays including a change in the variable display speed are performed in detail.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the command transmission / reception timing of the special symbol command group. As described above, the command of the special symbol command group and other commands related to the special symbol of FIGS. 15 and 16 are composed of a 1-byte length mode (MODE) and a 1-byte length event (EVENT). In this example, the main control unit 200 transmits mode (MODE) information at the first rising edge of the strobe signal (DUSTB) generated by itself when a command changes, and then transmits the strobe signal (DUSTB). The event (EVENT) information is transmitted with the second rising of the event as an opportunity. Then, in response to this, the CPU 1020 of the lottery result display device generates an interrupt when the strobe signal (DUSTB) is transmitted, receives a command by this interrupt processing, and stores the command in the RAM 1090. The other commands shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 are also transmitted in the same manner. On the other hand, although not shown, the main control unit 200 only needs to transmit a one-byte length command to the CPU 1020 side for the commands of the normal symbol command group and other commands related to the normal symbol of FIG. Command communication is completed only by command transmission.

Next, first, a normal control operation performed by the main control unit 200 and the CPU 1020 of the lottery result display device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 (a general flowchart of game control) and FIG. The characteristic control of the present invention will be described to facilitate understanding of the present invention. The main control unit 200 executes a series of processes shown in FIG.
ec) The process is executed from the first step by using a reset signal supplied every time as a trigger.

First, when the power supply circuit 212 is activated by a power switch (not shown), the main control unit 200 is activated. It is determined whether or not the first processing has been performed since the power-on. Step S11
0). In the case of the first processing after turning on the power (Yes)
The process proceeds to step S200, but otherwise (No), the process proceeds to step S120.

In step S200, a clearing process of a storage area is performed as initialization processing of the RAM 203, and then, in step S210, data for performing an initial control process is set in a predetermined area of the RAM 203. On the other hand, in step S120, the count values of various random number generation loop counters (not shown) for large hit determination, small hit determination, and the like formed in the RAM 203 are incremented. Update the timer value of the timer.

Next, in step S140, a special symbol start switch 304, a normal symbol operation switch 306,
An input port process of reading and storing the detection signal output from the special winning opening switch 308 into a register (not shown) via the input port 203 is executed, and then the process proceeds to step S150 to read and store the data read by the port input process. Switch check processing for grasping the condition.

Next, in step S160, each switch 3
A check is made to see if there is a disconnection or short-circuit in the lines 04, 306, 308, etc., and if any of these failures has occurred (Ye
s) The process proceeds to step S220, but otherwise (No), the process proceeds to step S180 (step S180).
170).

In step S180, commands necessary for display control of the various lottery result display devices 100 (including the commands described above with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9) are set to R.
The timer value of each of the various timers is stored in a predetermined area of the AM 203 (step S190). In step S180, the main control unit 200 determines a command of a necessary mode and event according to the game control with reference to the command data table area 202, and stores digital information indicating the determined mode and event in the RAM 203 in a predetermined manner. Store in area.

Next, in step S195, the starting port operating solenoid 300 and the special winning port operating solenoid 302 are driven to control the opening and closing of the special winning opening 106 and the opening and closing member 120 of the special symbol starting opening 104 in a predetermined pattern. Then, in step S220, a prize ball setting process for outputting control information for causing a prize ball payout device (not shown) to perform a payout operation is executed. Further, in steps S230, 240, and 250, a game (not shown) External information processing for outputting various game data to the machine management device, a display lamp control process for storing a command for lighting control of the lamp display devices 110 and 112 in accordance with a game state in a predetermined area of the RAM 203, sound effect generation Device 11
6 executes a sound effect process for storing a command for controlling the sound effect generation in a predetermined area of the RAM 203 in correspondence with the game state.

Next, in step S260, R
The data stored in the AM 203 is output to the corresponding device via the output port 215 (port output process), and the device that receives the data performs a control operation based on the data. Then, first, a strobe signal is output to the various lottery result display devices 100, and in step S180, the RAM 20
The data of the mode and the event stored in No. 3 are transmitted as shown in FIG. As a result, for example, the commands shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 are transmitted from the main control unit 200 to the various lottery result display devices 100 and received.

In step S270, the reset circuit 21
The reset standby process is executed until the reset signal is input from Step 3, and when the reset signal is input, the process shifts to Step S110 to continue the gaming machine control. Note that the reset standby process includes updating of the various random number generation counters described above.

Next, the operation of the CPU 1020 of the lottery result display device 100 that has received the command will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S1100, the CPU 1020 sets its own stack pointer, initializes the RAM 1090, initializes itself such as clearing registers, and the like. In step S1102, the CPU 1020 determines whether a new command has been input. If it is determined that a new command for display control has been input (Yes), the process proceeds to step S1104, otherwise (No), the process proceeds to step S1110.

In step S1104, in the interrupt processing described with reference to FIG.
Copies the received command to the RAM 1090, and checks whether the command is normal or not. Next, CPU1
020 determines the start address of a processing table (not shown) in order to obtain a necessary command for performing fine display control independently of the main control unit 200. Then, in step S1108, the image processing LSI 1060 The data in the necessary area of the RAM 1090 is updated in order to output the data to the RAM 1090.

Next, in step S1110, RA
Based on the symbol control data set in M1090, scroll data to be output to the image processing LSI 1060 is obtained and set in the RAM 1090, and the symbol display position is set. Then, in step S1112, the symbol speed control is performed. Necessary data is stored in the program ROM
It is obtained from a speed table (not shown) built in the 1040 and set in the RAM 1090, and then the step S
At 1114, the symbol offset value is updated based on the speed data, and preparations are made for performing symbol fluctuation at the set speed.

Next, in step S1116, RA
Animation data is acquired from an animation processing table (not shown) storing the animation processing data set in M1090, and preparation for displaying a background image is performed.
Set in P output buffer, output enable flag is "1"
It is determined whether or not this is the case (step S1118).

If the output permission flag is not "1" (No), the process returns to step S1102 to repeat a series of processing, while the output permission flag is "1" (Ye
In step S1120, the data set in the VDP output buffer is transferred to the image processing LSI 106 in step S1120.
Output to 0. The image processing LSI 1060 acquires the data in the character ROM 1180 and develops the image in response to this. The developed data is temporarily stored in the video RAM 1080 and then sent to the LCD panel interface circuit 1100 to be sent to the LCD panel 1120. Is displayed. In this manner, at the set display positions on the various lottery result display devices 100, the symbol variation display, the background image display, and the like are performed at the set speed.

Although not shown, the CPU 1020
In addition to these processes, a signal indicating the content of the received command as a lottery result display related signal outside the gaming machine, a signal indicating that various symbols are changing, a signal indicating that various symbols have been determined, various determined symbols An external information transmission process of transmitting a signal indicating the type of the game, a signal indicating that an error is occurring, and the like to the outside of the gaming machine is also executed.

FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are explanatory diagrams of an example of the transmission timing of the special symbol display control command group transmitted from the main control unit 200 to the various lottery result display devices 100, and the transmission commands related to the variation of the special symbol. As can be understood by referring to these figures, when a predetermined condition such as a game ball winning in the special symbol starting port 104 is satisfied, the main control unit 200 firstly starts “design variation and changes A command for designating a pattern is transmitted (), a command for designating a left stop symbol is transmitted after a lapse of T1 time (), and a command for designating a middle stop symbol is transmitted after a lapse of T2 time. (), To send a command to specify the right stop symbol after the elapse of T3 time (), and to stop all the symbols after the elapse of T time from the start of fluctuation It sends a command (),
Further, the CPU 1020 of the various lottery result display devices 100 receiving these commands performs fine display control such as a change in symbol speed in accordance with the designated variation pattern upon receiving the command, and the variation is triggered by the reception of the third command. The display control ends. Each command is 2 bytes long.

The main control unit 200 is also configured to be able to transmit a command group for normal symbol display control to the CPU 1020 side. As can be understood with reference to FIGS. 18, 19, and 20, when the lottery of the ordinary symbol is performed, the main control unit 200 first starts the ordinary symbol variation and designates the first symbol for instructing the variation pattern. Send a command (),
After the elapse of the T1 time, a second command for designating the stop left symbol is transmitted (), and further, from the T2 time.
After a lapse of time, a second command for designating the right stop symbol is transmitted (). Then, a third command () for designating to stop all the symbols after a lapse of T time from the start of the fluctuation is transmitted. In addition, as shown in FIG. 20, T, T1, and T2 are set according to the fluctuation pattern. Each command is 1 byte long.

In this embodiment, the departures are "37" and "7".
In case of deviation, the second
Command (for the left symbol) indicates "3" and "7",
"7" and "3" are designated by the second command (for the right symbol). On the other hand, if the hits are “33” and “77”, the second
Command (for the left symbol) indicates "3" and "7",
"3" and "7" are also designated by the second command (for the right symbol). Next, a third command () for stopping the symbol change after T has elapsed from the transmission of the first command ().
Send

On the other hand, the CP of various lottery result display devices 100
U1020 receives the first command, performs fine display control such as a normal symbol speed change in accordance with the designated variation pattern, terminates the variation display control in response to the reception of the third command, and executes the second command. The stop display is performed with the two stop symbols specified by the command. This allows the LCD panel 112
The normal symbol lottery result is displayed in the normal symbol display area other than the special symbol display area in 0. The display position of the normal symbol display area can be determined as appropriate.

Accordingly, the main control unit 200 includes a first command for instructing the start of display control for notifying that a lottery has been performed as to whether or not to generate a quasi-specific game state, and a quasi-specific game state. A second command instructing first display information (left symbol) indicating a lottery result as to whether or not to generate the second display information indicating a lottery result as to whether or not to generate the quasi-specific game state ( A right command), a third command to end the display control,
A command group for normal symbol display control including
Send to

On the other hand, the CPU 1020 starts display control for giving a notification when the first command is received, ends the display control when the third command is received, and is instructed by the second command. Since the symbol display according to the stopped left symbol and the stopped right symbol is performed, the CPU 1020 side performs a display control regarding a lottery as to whether or not to generate a quasi-specific game state by transmitting a command from the main control unit 200, and performs a specific game state. The control load of the main control unit 200 can be reduced when displaying the lottery result of whether or not to generate and the lottery result of whether to generate the quasi-specific game state.

Thus, the main control unit 200 is configured to transmit the special symbol display control command group and the normal symbol display control command group to the CPU 1020 side by sharing the signal line. This simplifies parts by avoiding an increase in wiring. Further, since the special symbol and the ordinary symbol are displayed on a single display device, the parts can be further simplified. The signal line may be serial or a plurality of parallel lines.

(Structure of Buffer) FIG.
90 is a configuration diagram of each buffer formed in the CPU 90; FIG.
020 is a RAM 1090 as a single storage device
It is configured to be able to control the operation of reading and writing of a command group to the device. The CPU 1020 is configured to be able to identify whether it is a special symbol, a normal symbol, or another command based on the received command. The RAM 1090 stores a special symbol command group buffer 2400 for storing a special symbol display control command group, a normal symbol command group buffer 2410 for storing a normal symbol display control command group, and other commands. A buffer 2420 for other commands for receiving is formed. In the example shown in FIG. 24, the command group S1 (special symbol display control command group) is stored in the special symbol command group buffer 2400, while the command group U1 (normal symbol display control command) is stored in the normal symbol command group buffer 2410. Command group) is stored. The storage area for other commands shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 and the storage area for other commands shown in FIG. 23 may be separately provided.

When receiving the special symbol display control command group, the CPU 1020 stores the mode and event data of the received 2-byte command in the special symbol command group buffer 2400. FIG. 26 (a)
Shows a storage example of the special symbol display control command. In this case, the mode and event data corresponding to each command are stored in the special symbol command group buffer 2400 as having a 2-byte length.

Similarly, when receiving the normal symbol display control command group, the CPU 1020 stores the received 1-byte length command in the normal symbol command group buffer 2410. FIG. 26 (ab shows an example of storing a normal symbol display control command. In this case, each command is stored in the normal symbol command group buffer 2410 as a one-byte long command. The other command buffer 242 is a mixture of a 2-byte length command (see FIGS. 15 and 16) and a 1-byte length command (FIG. 23).
0 is stored. Of course, other commands related to special symbols and ordinary symbols may be stored separately.

The CPU 1020 clears the stored command group when the current symbol variation display control is completed, and stores the newly received command group again in the corresponding buffer to accumulate the received commands. I will do it.

(Command Storage Operation) First, the operation up to storage of a command group will be described with reference to FIG. CPU1
020 is the main control unit 200 in step S2500.
In step S2510, it is determined whether this command group is a special symbol display control command group. Specifically, the CPU 1020 determines that the head data of any of the received commands is “$ A0, $ B
If it is determined that the command group is any one of "1, $ B2, $ B3, $ C0" (Yes), it is determined that a special symbol display control command group has been received, and the process proceeds to step S2520 to change the received command group to a special symbol. Command group buffer 240
Store to 0.

On the other hand, the CPU 1020 determines that any one of the received first data is “$ A0, $ B1, $ B2, $ B3,
If it is determined that none of the commands is $ C0 (No), the process moves to step S2530, and if the received command is not "$ 90, $ F0, $ 81, $ 82, $ E0", that is, It is determined that the normal symbol display control command group has been received (Yes), and the flow shifts to step S2540 to store the received command group in the normal symbol command group buffer 2410. Then, when the process proceeds to step S2550 (No in step S2530), the received command is stored in the other command buffer 2420 as being another command.

Thus, the special symbol display control command group having a length of 2 bytes is stored in the special symbol command buffer 2400.
The 1-byte-long ordinary symbol display control command group is stored in the ordinary symbol command group buffer 2410.
And other commands are stored in the buffer 2420 for other commands.

The CPU 1020 executes control based on, for example, a command group stored in the order of each buffer, thereby controlling display of a special symbol or a normal symbol. FIG. 33 is a diagram showing an example of this display.
While the special symbol lottery result is displayed in the special symbol display area 2600 of the display screen 1121 of the panel 1120,
Display screen 1 that is narrower than the special symbol display area 2600
A normal symbol lottery result is displayed in a normal symbol display area 2610 provided at the upper left of 121. As a result, information on a plurality of lotteries can be displayed on a single display device, so that the gaze position of the player can be concentrated at one place, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the game area can be expanded.

FIGS. 27 and 28 show the command data table 2 stored in the ROM 201, respectively.
It is explanatory drawing of the command for sound effect output control stored in 02, and the command for lamp on / off control. As shown in FIG. 27, the main control unit 200 is configured to transmit a sound effect output control command set according to the selected variation pattern to the sound effect generator 116. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 28, the main control unit 200 is configured to transmit a lamp on / off control command set according to the selected variation pattern to the lamp display device 110 (112). The sound effect generator 116, the lamp display 110 (11)
All of the control commands transmitted in 2) have a data length of 1 byte, and the amount of information at the time of command transmission is reduced. In this embodiment, when transmitting the special symbol display control command group, both devices 116, 110
Although the control command is transmitted to (112), the control command may be transmitted to only one of the devices.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram of the sound effect generator 116. The sound effect generator 116 includes a ROM 2910 as a recording medium on which an operation program is recorded, a CPU 2900 for executing the operation program, and a CPU 2900.
A voice synthesizing LSI 2920 that is driven and controlled by the controller 900 to output a required voice and a speaker 2930 for outputting a voice are provided. Then, the voice synthesis L is output such that the voice specified by the voice output control command received by the CPU 2900 is output from the speaker 2930.
The drive of the SI 2920 is controlled. Thus, the sound effect generating device 116 is configured to receive a command for controlling sound output and to output sound according to the command.

FIG. 30 shows a lamp display device 110 (112).
3 is a block diagram of the lamp display device 110 (11).
2) R is a recording medium on which an operation program is recorded.
OM3010 and CPU for executing this operation program
3000, and a lighting unit 3020 which is driven and controlled by the CPU 3000 and turns on and off. And CP
The driving of the lighting unit 3020 is controlled such that the lighting unit 3020 performs the lighting / lighting operation as specified by the lighting / lighting control command received by the U3000. Thus, the lamp display device 110 (112) is configured to receive the lamp on / off control command and perform the on / off control according to the command.

(Operation) When transmitting the normal symbol display control command to the various lottery result display devices 100 as described above, the main control unit 200 causes these effect devices to perform an effect operation. Do not send control commands.
Therefore, the effect operation for the ordinary symbol lottery is not performed.

On the other hand, when the special symbol display control command is transmitted to the lottery result display device 100, the main controller 2
00 transmits a control command for causing these effect devices to perform an effect operation.

This operation will be described with reference to FIG. The main control unit 200 grasps the sound effect output control command and the lamp on / off control command as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 corresponding to the selected variable display pattern shown in FIG. Then, the main control unit 200 transmits the command for sound effect output control to the sound effect output device 116 and transmits the first command to the various kinds of lottery result display device 100 as shown in FIG. The control command is transmitted to the lamp display device 110 (112).

Then, the sound effect generator 116 receives the voice output control command and outputs a voice in accordance with the command, and the lamp display device 110 (112)
Receiving the lamp turning-on / off control command, lighting / turn-off control is performed according to the command. In this way, the sound output and the effect of turning off the light are performed in link with the jackpot lottery result display.

Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention,
The main control unit 200 transmits an effect control command when transmitting a special symbol display control command group (first command group) for performing display control relating to a lottery as to whether or not to generate a big hit state. When transmitting a normal symbol display control command group (second command group) for performing display control relating to a lottery as to whether or not to generate a small hit state, no effect control command is transmitted. The control burden of the main control unit 200 is reduced,
The player can concentrate on the effect performed for the lottery in the jackpot state.

The sound effect generating device 116 and the lamp display device 110 (112) as effect devices are provided in response to the effect control commands received.
Since the effect operation control of (12) is performed, the effect operation can be performed only by transmitting the effect control command. In addition,
In the present embodiment, a device for outputting audio information or a device for turning on and off light is used as a device for effecting, but a device for effecting other effects, for example, a device for moving and effecting a moving member may be employed. good.

In the present embodiment, the effect control command for each effect device is simplified to a command system as data of the same length, that is, data of all 1-byte length, and the main control unit is controlled. The control load is further reduced in 200. Further, since the signal line for transmitting the display control command of the special symbol and the normal symbol and the display device are shared, the parts can be simplified.

Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 32, an output terminal 2500 capable of outputting information to the CPU 1020 is provided.
The CPU 1020 outputs a lottery result display-related signal such as command data and display effect contents received by the CPU 1020 at any time, which may be provided for convenience such as gaming machine inspection. Thereby, various data can be grasped more simply.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, various modifications and changes can be made to the above embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the effect control command is shared by two or more variation patterns, and conversely, any one of a plurality of effect operation control commands can be selected by one variation pattern as shown in FIGS. 27 and 28. Having more commands than shown, changing the number of commands and bytes,
And the like.

Further, the various kinds of lottery result display devices 100 may be provided with the effect operation control command data table and the effect operation control command data transmission control means. According to this, since the main control unit 200 only needs to transmit the symbol display control command to the various lottery result display devices 100, the control load of the main control unit 200 can be further reduced. Further, since the various lottery result display devices 100 transmit the effect operation control commands to the lamp display device 110 (112) and the sound effect generator 116, there is an advantage that control synchronization between the symbol display operation and the effect operation can be easily achieved. .

In the above description, a pachinko machine has been described as an example of a gaming machine. However, it is needless to say that the present invention is applicable not only to pachislot machines but also to other gaming machines.

As described above, according to the present invention, the control load on the main control means can be reduced, and the players can concentrate on the effects performed for the lottery in the specific game state. The effect is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of a game board 10;

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the gaming machine.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a lottery result display device 100.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a character ROM memory map and pallet data.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the timing of command transmission and reception.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a command stored in a command data table area 202.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of commands stored in a command data table area 202.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of commands stored in a command data table area 202.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of commands stored in a command data table area 202.

FIG. 10 is a general flowchart for explaining a game control operation of the gaming machine.

FIG. 11 shows a CPU 102 of the lottery result display device 100.
7 is a flowchart for explaining a control operation of a zero.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a data structure of a command.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing a command transmission timing for displaying a special symbol.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining command transmission.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of another command data.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of another command data.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a transmission operation of another command.

FIG. 18 is a timing chart showing a command transmission timing for a normal symbol display.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of command transmission of a normal symbol display control command group.

FIG. 20 shows times T and T set in accordance with a fluctuation pattern.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of T2.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a command in a normal symbol display control command group.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of command transmission for normal symbol display.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of another command.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of various buffers.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram of an operation.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of an example of both command groups.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram of a sound effect output control command.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram of a lamp on / off control command.

29 is a block diagram of the sound effect generator 116. FIG.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram of the lamp display device 110 (112).

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram of an operation.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram of an information output operation from an output terminal.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram of a display example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Game board 100 Various lottery result display devices 102 Ordinary symbol operation gate 104 Special symbol start-up port 106 Special winning opening 110 Lamp display device 112 Lamp display device 114 Out port 116 Sound effect generator 120 Opening / closing member 200 Main control unit 201 ROM 202 Command Data table area 203 RAM 210 Input port 213 Reset circuit 212 Power supply circuit 215 Output port 300 Starting port operating solenoid 302 Large winning opening operating solenoid 304 Special symbol starting switch 306 Ordinary symbol operating switch 308 Large winning opening switch 1020 CPU 1040 Program ROM 1060 Image Processing LSI 1080 Video RAM 1090 RAM 1100 LCD panel interface circuit 1120 LCD panel 1140 Data receiving circuit 160 power supply circuit 1180 character ROM

Claims (3)

[Claims] In a gaming machine configured to perform various lotteries and display information related to the lottery, a main control unit that controls a game operation includes a display control related to a lottery to determine whether or not to generate a specific gaming state. And a second command group for performing a display control relating to a lottery of whether or not to generate a quasi-specific gaming state to the sub control unit. The sub-control unit includes a display control unit that controls the operation of the display device in accordance with the received command group, and the transmission unit transmits a production control command to the production device when transmitting the first command group. On the other hand, the gaming machine further comprises means for not transmitting the effect control command to the effect device when transmitting the second command group. 2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the effect device is a device that outputs audio information in response to a received effect control command and / or a device that turns light on and off. A gaming machine characterized by: 3. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the display control means includes: a symbol indicating a lottery result indicating whether or not to cause a specific gaming state; A gaming machine comprising: means for displaying, on a single display device, a symbol indicating a lottery result indicating whether or not to cause a state; and means for externally outputting information relating to display control.