JP2006081827A - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To output information required for an inspection to outside and to avoid taking am unnecessarily long period of time for an inspection by minimizing an unnecessary time for the inspection. <P>SOLUTION: In this slot machine, an internal lottery is carried out when the starting condition of reels 8a, 8b and 8c is formed. After starting the reel, when all the reels come into a prescribed rotation state, the slot machine accepts the stoppage operation of the reels by a player, and stoppage control of the reels is carried out based on the result of the internal lottery. The slot machine is provided with an inspection connector 51 for outputting information required for the inspection including at least information concerning the result of the internal lottery to outside; and a controller for outputting information concerning the result of the internal lottery to the connector 51 before discriminating all the reels coming into the prescribed rotation state at the latest by discriminating each reel coming into the prescribed rotation state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a slot machine that executes an internal lottery for each game and controls a reel stop operation based on the lottery result. In particular, the present invention relates to whether the game process based on the internal lottery or the lottery result is correctly executed. The present invention relates to a slot machine that can be inspected.

  In general, slot machines and pachinko machines are subject to internal lottery using random numbers in games, so in the process of developing machines, game machine manufacturers inspect the operational status of game processing based on internal lottery and lottery results. There is a need. In addition, in the case of pachinko machines and slot machines, it is obliged to undergo inspections on predetermined inspection items at a specific inspection organization in order to put the machines on the market.

  A typical pachinko machine has a symbol variation display in the center of the board, and an internal lottery is executed every time a pachinko ball enters a specific winning slot, and the symbol variation display operation of the symbol variation indicator is performed according to the lottery result. Is controlled. If the game program operates normally, a lottery will be won with a predetermined probability, and a variable display operation corresponding to the lottery result will occur, but if there is a bug etc. in the game program, the lottery will not win with a predetermined probability, It may be a variable display operation that does not correspond to the lottery result. In order to prepare for this type of inspection, an information output circuit unit for outputting information necessary for the inspection to the outside is provided on the control board. Providing is also proposed (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-300144 A

  By the way, in the slot machine, three reels are started by inserting medals and operating a start lever, and at this time, an internal lottery is executed. Thereafter, when there is a reel stop operation by the player, the reel stop operation is controlled based on the lottery result. If a predetermined prize is won by lottery processing, the reel stop operation is controlled so that the symbols related to the winning prize stop on a predetermined winning line.

  In the pachinko machine, the change display operation in the symbol change display is automatically stopped in the machine, and no stop operation by the player is involved. Therefore, when the variation display operation for inspection is repeatedly executed, the time required for one variation display operation is short and there is no dead time, so that efficient inspection is possible. On the other hand, in the case of a slot machine, a stop operation by the player is involved in the reel stop operation, so that it takes a long time to execute one game, and a dead time is likely to occur. That is, in the slot machine, the reel stop operation is not accepted until the reel reaches a predetermined rotation speed after the reel is started, and in addition, the player performs a stop operation after the reel reaches the predetermined rotation speed. At that stage, the result of the lottery process is read from the memory, the reference position is detected to detect the rotation angle position of the reel, and the reel stop operation is performed based on the result of the signal lottery process. It is controlled.

For example, when inspecting whether the probability of winning a special prize or a small prize by an internal lottery is appropriate, or whether stop control is executed according to the lottery result, etc., the game operation is performed a considerable number of times (for example, 1000 times), it is necessary to execute the game, but the time required to execute one game is longer and the inspection time is longer than the pachinko machine because of the stop operation by the player. In addition, since a dead time is likely to occur, even if it is a short dead time, if it is repeated 1000 times, it takes a considerable amount of time, which takes an enormous amount of time longer than necessary.
Incidentally, the conventional slot machine is not provided with an output unit for outputting information necessary for inspection to the outside in preparation for this type of inspection.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and enables information necessary for inspection to be output to the outside, and minimizes unnecessary time for inspection and does not take an enormous amount of time more than necessary for inspection. An object of the present invention is to provide a slot machine configured as described above.

  In the slot machine according to the present invention, the internal lottery is executed when the reel start condition is satisfied, and after starting the reels, when all the reels reach a predetermined rotation state, the player accepts the reel stop operation by the player and The reel stop control based on the lottery result is executed, and at least an output unit for outputting information necessary for inspection including information related to the result of the internal lottery to the outside, and a predetermined value for each reel A determination means for determining that the rotation state has been reached, and information relating to the result of the internal lottery is output to the output unit until the determination means determines that the predetermined rotation state has been reached for all reels at the latest. Control means.

  In the slot machine of the present invention, when the internal lottery is executed when the reel start condition is satisfied, information related to the result of the internal lottery is output to the output unit until the reel reaches a predetermined rotation state. When the reel reaches a predetermined rotation state, the reel stop operation is accepted and the reel stop control based on the result of the internal lottery is immediately executed. Information related to the result of the internal lottery may be configured to be output from the output unit only when the inspection mode is set by a mode setting switch or the like, or configured to be always output from the output unit. May be.

In the above-described configuration of the present invention, the “information related to the result of the internal lottery” is information including the presence / absence of the internal lottery and the contents of the win, and specifically, it is set corresponding to the winning prize. This means flag information (for example, a bonus flag, a small part flag, a replay flag, etc.).
Further, “until it is determined that a predetermined rotation state has been reached” means, for example, until it is determined that the reel has reached a rotation state that is considered to have reached a predetermined rotation speed. In a preferred embodiment, the determination means inputs a reference position signal for each rotation for detecting the rotation angle position of the reel immediately after the reel is assumed to have reached a predetermined rotation speed. At that time, it is determined that the reel has reached a predetermined rotation state.
The “output unit” that is a component of the present invention is preferably configured as a connector that can be connected to an external inspection device, but is not limited thereto, and is a lead wire that can be provided with the connector as necessary. There may be. The “discriminating means” and “control means” can be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit, but can also be realized by a programmed computer.

  The slot machine according to the present invention further includes an input unit for inputting at least a signal for stopping the rotation of the reel in addition to the above-described configuration. When it is determined that a predetermined rotational state has been reached, it is possible to accept an input of a signal for stopping the reel from the input unit. According to this embodiment, when it is determined that the reel has reached a predetermined rotation state, a signal for stopping the reel can be received from the input unit, so that a signal for stopping the reel in the inspection apparatus is input by the input unit. Then, the reel stop control is executed based on the result of the internal lottery.

In addition to the above-described configuration, the slot machine according to the present invention further includes an output unit for outputting a signal capable of detecting the rotational angle position of the reel to the outside. According to this embodiment, in order to stop the rotation of the reel, a stop operation corresponding to the pushing operation can be performed. In particular, the reference position signal for each rotation for detecting the rotation angle position of the reel is output from the output unit when the determination means determines that all the reels have reached a predetermined rotation state or before that. By doing so, a stop operation corresponding to the eye pressing operation can be immediately executed.
It should be noted that an input unit for inputting a reel stop signal and an output unit for outputting a signal capable of detecting the rotation angle position of the reel may also be used as an input / output unit used during normal games.

  According to the present invention, since the output unit for outputting information necessary for the inspection to the outside is provided, the convenience of the inspection is improved. Also, since information related to the result of the internal lottery is output to the output unit until it is determined that the reel has reached the predetermined rotation state, the reel stop process corresponding to the lottery result when the predetermined rotation state is reached. Can be carried out promptly, the dead time in the inspection can be minimized, and it can be prevented that the inspection takes an enormous amount of time more than necessary.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the slot machine of the illustrated example, the body 1 is configured with a door 3 attached to the front surface of a housing 2 so as to be openable and closable. The door 3 includes a front panel 11, an upper panel 12, and a lower panel 13, and sound effect output speakers 15 and 16 are arranged on both sides of the upper panel 12.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a reel block 4, a circuit board unit 5, a bass output speaker 14, a power supply unit 10, a medal dispenser 6, a mode setting switch 30, and the like are incorporated in the housing 2. Yes. The circuit board portion 5 is composed of a main board or an auxiliary board on which the control device 40 shown in FIG. 4 is mounted. The main board is provided with inspection connectors 51 and 52 to be described later. One connector 51 is for outputting information necessary for inspection to the outside, and the other connector 52 is for inputting a pseudo start signal for starting the reel, a pseudo stop signal for stopping the rotation of the reel, and the like from the outside. belongs to. The control device 40 is constituted by a microcomputer, and details of the configuration and control will be described later.

  The reel block 4 has three reels 8a, 8b, and 8c and stepping motors 9a, 9b, and 9c for driving the reels integrally assembled to a frame 7. The motor drive circuit of each stepping motor 9a, 9b, 9c receives the drive pulse from the control device 40 and drives the stepping motors 9a, 9b, 9c. The drive pulse is set so that the period is gradually shortened, whereby the rotational speed of the stepping motors 9a, 9b, 9c is gradually increased. When the predetermined rotational speed is reached, the cycle of the drive pulse becomes constant, and thereafter, the stepping motors 9a, 9b, 9c are in a state of constant speed rotation.

  Each of the reels 8a, 8b, and 8c is formed by attaching a strip-like tape to the outer periphery of a synthetic resin reel frame. There are several kinds of symbols on the strip, such as a symbol that creates special prizes such as “Big Bonus” and “Regular Bonus”, a symbol that establishes a small role award, a symbol that gives you the right to re-game, and a symbol that is out of play. Are printed at regular intervals.

The mode setting switch 30 is a change-over switch for setting the operation mode of the machine to either the inspection mode or the game mode.
FIG. 3 shows a flow of control by the control device 40 for setting the operation mode. In the figure, “ST” is an abbreviation of “STEP” and indicates each procedure in the flow of control.
First, when the power switch of the power supply unit 10 is turned on, the determination of ST1 is “YES”, and the control device 40 determines which of the inspection mode and the game mode is selected by the mode setting switch 30 ( ST2). If the inspection mode is selected, the operation mode is set to “inspection mode” (ST3), and if “game mode” is selected, the operation mode is set to “game mode” (ST4).

  Returning to FIG. 1, the front panel 11 is provided with a symbol display window 20 that faces the outer peripheral surfaces of the reels 8a, 8b, and 8c. The symbol display window 20 has a horizontal length of three reels 8a, 8b, and 8c, and a vertical length of at least three symbols when the reel is stopped. It has a long rectangular shape.

  Although not shown on the surface of the front panel 11, three horizontal winning lines that connect three symbols of the reels 8a, 8b, and 8c visible from the symbol display window 20 in the horizontal direction, Two diagonal winning lines that are connected in the diagonal direction of the lower left are shown. When the reels are stopped, the symbols of the reels 8a, 8b, and 8c are aligned on these five winning lines.

Further, stop lamps 60a, 60b, 60c are arranged at positions below the symbol display window 20 of the front panel 11 so as to correspond to the reels 8a, 8b, 8c. These stop lamps 60a, 60b, 60c are turned on when a stop operation for each reel 8a, 8b, 8c is activated, that is, when a stop button switch 26a, 26b, 26c described later is activated, When a stop operation is performed, the corresponding stop lamp is turned off.
In this embodiment, the stop button switches 26a, 26b, and 26c are effective when the stepping motors 9a, 9b, and 9c that drive all the reels 8a, 8b, and 8c reach a predetermined rotational speed and rotate at a constant speed. And the three stop lamps 60a, 60b, 60c are lit.

  The front panel 11 is further provided with a stored number indicator 21, a payout number indicator 22, and the like. The stored number display 21 displays the number of stored medals stored (credited) in the machine, and the payout number display 22 displays the number of medals paid out as a payout in the game. The stored medal is a medal that is inserted from the medal slot 24 and stored (credited) in the machine prior to the execution of the game, and the game can be executed using the stored medal. .

  Below the front panel 11, a medal slot 24, a start lever 25, three stop button switches 26a, 26b, 26c, a bet switch 27, and a settlement switch 28 are provided. A medal discharge port 17 and a medal tray 18 are provided below the lower panel 13. The start lever 25 is operated by the player to start the three reels 8a, 8b and 8c all at once. The three stop button switches 26a, 26b, and 26c are operated by the player to individually stop the corresponding reels 8a, 8b, and 8c.

The bet switch 27 is used by the player to instruct the machine to consume three stored medals for one game. When the bet switch 27 is pressed, three stored medals are withdrawn. However, if there are only two remaining medals, two stored medals are withdrawn, and if there are only one stored medals, one stored medal is withdrawn. It is. The settlement switch 28 is operated by the player to instruct the settlement of the stored medal.
All five winning lines are activated for the use of three stored medals. Only the central horizontal winning line is enabled for the use of one stored medal, and only three horizontal winning lines are enabled for the use of two stored medal.

When the start lever 25 is operated after the winning line is validated by pressing the bet switch 27, a lottery process relating to a prize is executed internally. As a result of the lottery, when a special prize or a small prize is won, a corresponding winning flag is set and stored in the RAM 43 described later. At the same time, the three reels 8a, 8b, 8c are started, and the winning flag is read from the RAM 43 until all the reels 8a, 8b, 8c reach a predetermined rotational speed and reach a constant speed. A winning flag is output to the inspection connector 51.
When all the reels 8a, 8b, 8c reach a predetermined rotational speed and reach a constant speed, the stop button switches 26a, 26b, 26c are activated. Thereafter, when any one of the stop button switches 26a, 26b, and 26c is pressed, if a lottery is won, a control for drawing the symbol related to the winning prize on the activated winning line and stopping it for the corresponding reel. (Retraction control) is executed. As a result, the symbols related to the winning prize are surely aligned on the winning line, or are easily aligned.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the main board on which the control device 40 is mounted. The control device 40 of this embodiment is a programmed computer, and includes a main CPU 41 that is the main body of control and calculation, a ROM 42 that stores a game and inspection program, a RAM 43 that is used for reading and writing data, and the like. Yes. Input means and output means are connected to the control device 40 via game interface boards 44 and 45 and connectors 46 and 47. The input means includes the start lever 25, the bet switch 27, the stop button switches 26a, 26b, 26c, etc., and the output means includes the motor drive circuit of the stepping motors 9a, 9b, 9c, the medal payer 6, the stop lamp. 60a, 60b, 60c and the like are included.

  Further, the inspection apparatus 100 can be connected to the control apparatus 40 via inspection interface boards 48 and 49 and connectors 51 and 52. One connector 51 is for outputting information necessary for inspection to the outside, and the other connector 52 is for stopping a pseudo start signal for starting the reels 8a, 8b, 8c and rotation of the reels 8a, 8b, 8c. This is for inputting a pseudo stop signal from the outside. Note that one interface board may be used for both gaming and inspection. Information necessary for the inspection includes a result of internal lottery and a signal capable of detecting the rotation angle position (symbol position) of each reel 8a, 8b, 8c, that is, the motors of the stepping motors 9a, 9b, 9c. A drive pulse given to the drive circuit, a reference position signal for each rotation, and the like are included. Although not shown, the reference position signal is output from the optical sensor every time a shutter member provided at an appropriate position on each reel 8a, 8b, 8c crosses the optical path of the optical sensor. The result of the internal lottery is output before all the reels 8a, 8b, 8c rotate at a constant speed.

  Note that the input unit for inputting the pseudo start signal and the pseudo stop signal from the inspection device 100 and the output unit for outputting the reference position signal to the inspection device 100 are for games used in normal games as shown in FIG. The interface boards 44 and 45 and the connectors 46 and 47 may be used together. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the flag data interface board 53 and the flag data output connector 54 for outputting the result of the internal lottery to the inspection apparatus 100 are installed at the time of the inspection. Lead wires 55 are provided from 40 to provide the interface board 53 and the connector 54 in preparation for inspection. In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes an inspection interface.

  FIG. 6 shows a flow of control of the slot machine by the control device 40 in the inspection mode. In ST1 of the figure, the main CPU 41 of the control device 40 stands by for the input of a pseudo start signal. The pseudo start signal corresponds to an operation signal for the start lever 25. When the pseudo start signal is input from the inspection apparatus 100 via the inspection connector 52, the determination of ST1 is “YES”, and the main CPU 41 A lottery process using random numbers is executed, the lottery result is stored in the RAM 43, and the three reels 8a, 8b, 8c are started (ST2-4). If the game program operates normally, an appropriate lottery result according to the determined probability is obtained.

  Next, in order to detect whether or not the reels 8a, 8b, and 8c are considered to have reached a predetermined rotational speed, the main CPU 41 starts a timer (ST5), and reaches the predetermined rotational speed. It is determined whether or not the timer has timed only for the time required for setting (set time). If the determination in ST6 is “NO”, it is next determined whether or not the lottery result has been output to the inspection connector 51 (ST7). If the determination of ST7 is “NO”, the main CPU 41 reads the lottery result from the RAM 43 and outputs it to the inspection connector 51 (ST8). The determination of ST7 is repeated until all the reels 8a, 8b, 8c are regarded as having reached a predetermined rotational speed and are in a constant speed rotation state. During this time, after the lottery result is output The determination of ST7 is “YES” and ST8 is skipped.

When all the reels 8a, 8b, 8c are in a constant speed rotation state that is considered to have reached a predetermined rotation speed, the determination in ST6 becomes "YES", and then the main CPU 41 determines each reel 8a, 8b, 8c. It is determined whether or not a reference position signal has been detected (ST9). Each time the reference position signal is detected for each of the reels 8a, 8b, 8c, the determination in ST9 is "YES", and the reference position signal for each of the reels 8a, 8b, 8c is output to the inspection connector 51 ( ST10).
Next, in ST11, it is determined whether or not the lottery result has been output. If it has been output, the determination in ST11 is “YES” and the main CPU 41 uses a signal for inspecting that the pseudo stop signal can be accepted for inspection. To the connector 51 and waits for the input of the pseudo stop signal (ST12). If the determination in ST11 is “NO”, error processing is performed.

The pseudo stop signal corresponds to an operation signal of the stop button switches 26a, 26b, and 26c. When the pseudo stop signal is input from the inspection apparatus 100 via the inspection connector 52, the determination in ST13 is “YES”. Thus, any one of the three reels 8a, 8b, 8c (for example, the first reel 8a) stops (ST14). If a special prize or small role prize is won by internal lottery, if the game program operates normally, the pull-in control is executed so that the symbols related to the winning prize stop on the winning line. However, if there is a bug in the game program, proper pull-in control is not executed.
The inspection apparatus 100 can generate a pseudo stop signal capable of performing a stop operation corresponding to the pushing operation if a signal capable of detecting the result of the internal lottery and the rotation angle position of the reel is obtained. Have such an inspection program.

Each time the pseudo stop signal is input, the reels stop, and when all the reels 8a, 8b, 8c stop, the determination of ST15 becomes “YES”, the main CPU 41 determines the prize, and the determination result is inspected. Is output to the connector 51 (ST16).
The above-described series of operations is repeated a predetermined number of times (for example, 1000 times), and the inspection apparatus 100 determines a predetermined inspection item based on the information obtained by the repetition operation.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a slot machine that is one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a front view of the slot machine showing an internal structure. It is a flowchart which shows the setting procedure of the operation mode by a control apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a main board | substrate. It is a block diagram which shows another Example. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control by the control apparatus in test | inspection mode.

Explanation of symbols

8a, 8b, 8c Reel 30 Mode setting switch 51, 52 Connector for inspection 40 Control device

Claims (4)

  The internal lottery is executed when the reel start condition is satisfied, and after starting the reels, when all the reels have reached a predetermined rotation state, the reel is operated by the player and the reels based on the result of the internal lottery are accepted. In the slot machine where the stop control is executed, an output unit for outputting information necessary for inspection including at least information relating to the result of the internal lottery to the outside, and that a predetermined rotation state has been reached for each reel A discriminating means for discriminating; and a control means for outputting information relating to the result of the internal lottery to the output unit until the discriminating means at the latest determines that all the reels have reached a predetermined rotation state. Slot machine.   When the discriminating unit inputs a reference position signal for each rotation for detecting the rotation angle position of the reel immediately after the reel is assumed to have reached a predetermined rotation speed, the reel at that time The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the slot machine is determined to have reached a predetermined rotational state.   3. The slot machine according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit for inputting at least a signal for stopping the rotation of the reels, wherein the control unit is configured such that the determination unit performs a predetermined rotation for all reels. A slot machine capable of accepting an input of a signal for stopping a reel from the input unit when it is determined that a state has been reached.   4. The slot machine according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit for outputting a signal capable of detecting a rotation angle position of the reel to the outside.

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