JP2006288448A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine which can block an attempt to carry out a game despite the actual acceptance of no game media by a dishonest act against a detection sensor in a type equipped with the detection sensor for monitoring the acceptance of the game media. <P>SOLUTION: The game machine needs the loading of a prescribed number of game balls for playing games and starts the game after the completion of the loading of the game balls. The loading of the game balls is carried out with a loading unit 30 having loading devices 35-37 built successively. An upstream path as a game ball passageway, a loading path and a discharge path are formed within a housing of the loading devices 35-37 and the loading of the game balls is carried out through the loading path. The game balls blocked from being loaded through the loading path can be discharged through the discharge path. In this case, the loading path is provided a counting sensor and a fraudulence detection sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine.

  A slot machine, which is a type of gaming machine, includes a plurality of reels, and a part of a plurality of symbols assigned to the outer peripheral portion of each reel is visible through a display window. In the slot machine, each reel starts rotating when a player inserts a medal and operates a start lever, and then each reel stops when a stop button is operated or a predetermined time elapses. . When all the reels are stopped and a predetermined symbol is arranged on a preset active line, a privilege such as occurrence of a predetermined game (special game state) advantageous to the player is given.

  In such a gaming machine, the insertion of a medal by the player is confirmed by detection of a medal passing by a detection sensor arranged along a guide path for guiding the medal into the gaming machine. However, in recent years, there has been a case in which an illegal act of playing a game without inserting a medal is performed by misrecognizing the passage of the medal by an action such as reciprocating the medal near the detection sensor. Therefore, in order to suppress such illegal acts, a configuration has been proposed in which two detection sensors are connected in series and the detection order of detection of medals by these detection sensors is confirmed to suppress illegal acts (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In recent years, a ball-cylinder revolving game machine that can play a game similar to a slot machine using a game ball instead of a medal has been considered (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In such a gaming machine, a take-in device is provided, and after a predetermined number of game balls are taken in by the take-in device from the game balls stored in the upper plate as a storage portion formed in the front portion of the game machine When the lever is operated, the reel is circulated, and the symbol variation display is performed. If such a gaming machine is used in place of a slot machine, the game ball can be handled as a common game medium with the pachinko machine in a gaming hall such as a pachinko hall and the gaming characteristics of the slot machine can be maintained. In addition, in this case, problems such as the burden on equipment due to the separate handling of medals and game balls and restrictions on the location of game machines, which are often seen in current game halls where pachinko machines and slot machines are mixed, are solved. In addition, there is an advantage that flexibility such as installing the game machine on the island of the pachinko machine is generated.

  In this case, for example, a game ball passage for taking in a game ball is formed in the take-in device, and the passage of the game ball through the game ball passage is blocked or allowed by the gate member. Is done. Then, the fact that the game ball has been taken in via the game ball passage is confirmed by detection of the passage of the game ball by a detection sensor arranged on the downstream side of the gate member of the game ball passage.

Also in the gaming machine, an illegal act is assumed in which a game ball is misunderstood by an action such as reciprocating the game ball in the vicinity of the detection sensor, and the game is played without the game ball being taken in. Therefore, as shown in Patent Document 2, a configuration has been proposed in which two detection sensors are connected in series and fraudulent acts are suppressed by confirming the detection order in which the detection sensors detect the game balls.
JP 2002-282413 A JP 2004-166756 A

  However, even in a configuration in which two detection sensors are connected in series as described above, an illegal act of playing a game without accepting a game medium by using a fraudulent jig is assumed. For example, in the case where the detection sensor is a photo sensor, the improper behavior may be one using a jig in which two light emitters are embedded in a film or the like corresponding to the interval between the two detection sensors. In this case, a film is inserted so that each light emitter is positioned at a detection position of each detection sensor, and each light emitter flashes in correspondence with the detection order of the detection sensor, thereby erroneously detecting that the game medium has been accepted. it is conceivable that.

  Therefore, the countermeasures for fraud as shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are not sufficient, and further countermeasures against fraud are required.

  In particular, in the ball-cylinder-type game machine as described above, it is necessary to drive the gate member immediately after the completion of taking in a predetermined number of game balls to prevent passage of the game ball passage. It is necessary to provide a detection sensor on the side. Furthermore, since it is common for players to be invisible or difficult to see between the upper plate and the gate member of the take-in device, in a configuration in which a large number of game balls are stored at that position However, there is a possibility that the player may mistakenly think that the player has used all of the game balls in spite of having a large number of game balls. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the gate member on the upper plate side (upstream side of the game ball passage) as much as possible. From the above, the position of the detection sensor is naturally on the upper plate side, and it is easy to insert a fraudulent jig or the like.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a gaming machine equipped with a detection sensor for monitoring the reception of game media, by performing cheating on the detection sensor, even though the game media is not actually received. It is a first object to provide a gaming machine that can suppress an act of trying to perform.

  In addition, in a gaming machine equipped with a take-in device for taking in game media, even though the game media is not actually taken in by cheating on a detection sensor provided in the take-in device. A second object is to provide a gaming machine capable of suppressing an act of playing a game.

  Hereinafter, effective means for solving the above-described problems will be described while showing effects and the like as necessary. In the following, for easy understanding, the corresponding configuration in the embodiment of the invention is appropriately shown in parentheses, but is not limited to the specific configuration shown in parentheses.

Means 1. A plurality of revolving bodies (reels 71 to 73) in which a plurality of kinds of patterns are arranged in the circumferential direction, while revolving in the circumferential direction;
A display window (transparent panel 65) that makes it possible to visually recognize a part of each of the patterns for each orbiting body,
An entrance (game ball entrance 35a-37a) capable of receiving game media;
A game medium path (upstream path 167, intake path 168) for guiding the game medium received from the receiving port;
Detection means (count sensors 201 and 202, fraud detection sensor 210) that outputs a detection signal indicating that when a game medium passing through the game medium passage is detected;
Start operation means (start lever 101) operated to start rotation of each of the circuit bodies;
Drive means (stepping motors 74 to 76) that are provided for each of the rotating bodies and rotate the rotating bodies;
Stop operation means (stop buttons 102 to 104) operated to stop the rotation of each of the circulating bodies,
After the detection signal is output from the detection means, the start operation means is operated to start the rotation of each circuit body, and the rotation of each circuit body is stopped based on the operation of the stop operation means. Drive control means (function for performing reel control processing of the main control device 131) for driving and controlling each of the drive means,
After stopping each orbiting body, a specific pattern (“cherry” symbol) or a combination of specific symbols (for example, a combination of “bell” symbols) formed by the pattern at an effective position visible from the display window is established. In the case of a gaming machine that gives a privilege to the player in the case of
The detection means includes a plurality of first detection means (count sensors 201 and 202) arranged in the flow direction of the game medium in the game medium passage, and the first detection means arranged downstream of the first detection means. With a second detection means (fraud detection sensor 210) having a different game medium detection method,
Furthermore, detection order confirmation means (function for performing steps S1002 to S1005 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) for confirming the order in which the plurality of first detection means output detection signals;
When the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation unit is different from the preset detection order, the first abnormality process execution unit (step S1009 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) performs the abnormality process by regarding the result as an abnormality. And the function of performing step S1010),
Measuring means (fraud detection timer) capable of measuring an elapsed period after a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means;
Judgment means for judging whether or not a detection signal is output from the second detection means until the elapsed period measured based on the measurement result of the measurement means reaches a predetermined period (injustice detection processing of the main control device 131) In step S1301 to step S1305 in FIG.
When it is determined by the determination means that a detection signal has not been output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, second abnormality processing execution means for performing abnormality processing with the result regarded as abnormal (incorrectness of the main controller 131) A gaming machine comprising a function of performing steps S1306 and S1307 in the detection process.

  In the means 1, the rotation of each rotating body is started by operating the start operation means after a specific detection signal is output from the detection means. In this case, the detection means is composed of a plurality of first detection means and second detection means. The order in which the detection signals are output by the plurality of first detection means is confirmed, and when the detection order is different from the preset detection order, the abnormality processing is performed by regarding the abnormality. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an illegal act that causes the game medium to reciprocate in the vicinity of the detection position of each first detection unit and misidentifies the passage of the game medium.

  Further, an elapsed period after the detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means is measured, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal is output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. . Then, if a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, the abnormality process is performed assuming that it is abnormal. In this case, since the detection method of the second detection means is different from that of the first detection means, it is difficult to perform a fraudulent act that misidentifies the passage of the game medium to the detection means using a fraudulent jig or the like. Cheating can be suppressed.

  Further, since the second detection means is disposed downstream of the first detection means for detecting the detection order, monitoring of the second detection means is started only when a detection signal is output from the first detection means. It can be configured. This makes it possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load as compared to a conventional gaming machine provided with only detection means for detecting the detection order.

Mean 2. A plurality of revolving bodies (reels 71 to 73) in which a plurality of kinds of patterns are arranged in the circumferential direction while rotating in the circumferential direction;
A display window (transparent panel 65) that makes it possible to visually recognize a part of each of the patterns for each orbiting body,
An entrance (game ball entrance 35a to 37a) capable of receiving game media;
A game medium path (upstream path 167, intake path 168) for guiding the game medium received from the receiving port;
Detection means (count sensors 201 and 202, fraud detection sensor 210) for outputting a detection signal indicating that when a game medium passing through the game medium passage is detected;
Start operation means (start lever 101) operated to start rotation of each of the circuit bodies;
Drive means (stepping motors 74 to 76) that are provided for each of the rotating bodies and rotate the rotating bodies;
Stop operation means (stop buttons 102 to 104) operated to stop the rotation of each of the circulating bodies,
After the detection signal is output from the detection means, the start operation means is operated to start the rotation of each orbiting body, and the rotation of each orbiting body is stopped based on the operation of the stop operation means. Drive control means (function to perform reel control processing of the main control device 131) for driving and controlling each of the drive means,
After stopping each orbiting body, a specific pattern (“cherry” symbol) or a combination of specific symbols (for example, a combination of “bell” symbols) formed by the pattern is established at an effective position visible from the display window. In the case of a gaming machine that gives a privilege to the player in the case of
The detection means includes a plurality of first detection means (count sensors 201 and 202) that are arranged in the game medium flow direction in the game medium passage and detect the passage of the game medium using electromagnetic waves, and the first detection means A second detection means (fraud detection sensor 210) that is arranged on the downstream side and detects the passage of the game medium without using electromagnetic waves;
Furthermore, detection order confirmation means (function for performing steps S1002 to S1005 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) for confirming the order in which the plurality of first detection means output detection signals;
When the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation unit is different from the preset detection order, the first abnormality process execution unit (step S1009 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) performs the abnormality process by regarding the result as an abnormality. And a function of performing step S1010),
Measuring means (fraud detection timer) capable of measuring an elapsed period after a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means;
Judgment means for judging whether or not a detection signal is output from the second detection means until the elapsed period measured based on the measurement result of the measurement means reaches a predetermined period (injustice detection processing of the main control device 131) In step S1301 to step S1305 in FIG.
When it is determined by the determination means that a detection signal has not been output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, second abnormality processing execution means for performing abnormality processing with the result regarded as abnormal (incorrectness of the main controller 131) A gaming machine comprising a function of performing steps S1306 and S1307 in the detection process.

  In the means 2, the rotation of each circulating body is started by operating the start operation means after the specific detection signal is output from the detection means. In this case, the detection means is composed of a plurality of first detection means and second detection means. The order in which the detection signals are output by the plurality of first detection means is confirmed, and when the detection order is different from the preset detection order, the abnormality processing is performed by regarding the abnormality. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an illegal act that causes the game medium to reciprocate in the vicinity of the detection position of each first detection unit and misidentifies the passage of the game medium.

  Further, an elapsed period after the detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means is measured, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal is output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. . Then, if a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, the abnormality process is performed assuming that it is abnormal. In this case, the first detection means detects the passage of the game medium using electromagnetic waves, whereas the second detection means is configured to detect the passage of the game medium without using electromagnetic waves. The detection method of the means and the detection method of the second detection means are different. Therefore, it is difficult to perform a fraudulent act that misidentifies the passage of the game medium with respect to the detection means using a fraudulent jig or the like, and the fraudulent act can be suppressed.

  Further, in the configuration in which the detection method of the second detection means is different from that of the first detection means by adopting a detection method that uses electromagnetic waves as the first detection means and a detection method that does not use electromagnetic waves as the second detection means. The area where at least a plurality of first detection means are arranged can be narrowed. The detection means using electromagnetic waves is, for example, an optical type using visible light or a detection type using ultraviolet rays, and since the detection range is generally narrow, a plurality of first detection means are placed close to each other. It is because it can arrange. As a result, the time required to detect the game medium can be shortened as much as possible, and the time required to start the game can be shortened as much as possible.

  Further, since the second detection means is disposed downstream of the first detection means for detecting the detection order, monitoring of the second detection means is started only when a detection signal is output from the first detection means. It can be configured. This makes it possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load as compared to a conventional gaming machine provided with only detection means for detecting the detection order.

  Means 3. In the means 1 or 2, the determination means is configured to start monitoring the second detection means when a detection signal is output from the first detection means.

  According to the means 3, when the detection signal is output from the first detection means, monitoring of the second detection means is started. This makes it possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load as compared to a conventional gaming machine provided with only detection means for detecting the detection order.

  Means 4. In any one of the means 1 to 3, the plurality of first detection means are arranged close to each other so that at least adjacent first detection means can simultaneously confirm the passage of one game medium, 2 detection means with respect to the first detection means so that the passage of one game medium cannot be confirmed simultaneously with the first detection means located on the most downstream side of the plurality of first detection means A gaming machine characterized by being spaced apart.

  In the means 4, the plurality of first detection means are arranged close to each other so that at least adjacent first detection means can simultaneously confirm the passage of one game medium. The requirement that the “adjacent first detection means output detection signals simultaneously” can be added, and variations in the detection order can be increased. Thereby, it becomes difficult to carry out an illegal act, and an illegal act can be suppressed.

  On the other hand, the second detection means is spaced apart from the first detection means so that the passage of one game medium cannot be confirmed simultaneously with the first detection means located on the most downstream side. Thereby, since the 2nd detection means will be located in the lower stream side of a game media passage, it becomes difficult to perform a fraudulent act, and a fraudulent act can be controlled.

  Further, in the configuration provided with the means 2, the first detection means is constituted by an optical detection means having a narrow detection range, so that the plurality of first detection means are easily arranged close to each other. Yes.

  Means 5. In any one of the means 1 to 4, the drive control means outputs detection signals from all the first detection means, and the detection order confirmed by the detection order confirmation means is a preset detection order. A gaming machine configured to start rotation of each of the revolving bodies when the start operation means is operated when there is.

  According to the means 5, when the detection signals are output from all the first detection means and the order in which these detection signals are output is a preset detection order, the start operation means By operation, rotation of each orbiting body is started. That is, it is determined that the reception of the game medium is completed without determining whether or not the detection signal is output from the second detection means within the predetermined period. By adopting such a configuration, the time until it is determined that the acceptance of the game medium is completed (the time required to start the game) is longer than that of the conventional game machine in which only the detection means for detecting the detection order is provided. Can be suppressed.

  Further, when the configuration of the means 5 is provided, the effect of disposing the second detection means on the downstream side of the first detection means becomes remarkable. That is, since the first detection means for confirming the detection order has higher detection accuracy than the second detection means for not confirming the detection order, the determination of acceptance of the game medium is made by setting the first detection means upstream. It can be done reliably. And if it can be determined reliably that the game medium is accepted, it can be suppressed that the reception of the game medium is completed due to noise or the like that is not an illegal act. If it is determined that the acceptance of the game medium is completed due to noise or the like, the detection means is not output from the detection means located on the downstream side, so that abnormal processing is finally executed. . In this case, for example, not only the game times become meaningless, but if the specific picture or a combination of specific pictures is established at the effective position, the player loses the privilege that should have been originally obtained. May cause a decline in gaming motivation. On the other hand, if it is the structure in this means, the above inconveniences can be suppressed. Further, in the configuration provided with the means 2, the first detection means is an optical type with higher detection accuracy than the proximity switch type, and thus the above effect becomes more remarkable.

  Even in the configuration of the means 5, an abnormal process is performed when a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, so that the effect of suppressing fraud is ensured.

Means 6. In the means 5, the branch passage (discharge passage 169) branched from the game medium passage and the switching means (take-in gate member 175, discharge gate member 190) for switching the passage so that the game medium is guided to the branch passage. And
A gaming machine, wherein the plurality of first detection means are arranged immediately downstream of the switching means.

  According to the means 6, a branch passage branching from the game medium passage is provided, and the passage is switched by the switching means so that the game medium is guided to the branch passage. In this case, since the plurality of first detection means are arranged immediately downstream of the switching means, the time until the game medium is detected by the plurality of first detection means can be shortened as much as possible. Thus, the time until it is determined that the acceptance of the game medium is completed (the time required to start the game) can be shortened as much as possible.

  Further, when the configuration of the means 6 is provided, the effect of disposing the second detection means on the downstream side of the first detection means becomes remarkable. That is, in the configuration in which the first detection means is arranged immediately downstream of the switching means, there is no room for arranging the second detection means between the switching means and the first detection means, and the second detection means is switched. This is because the game medium guided through the branch passage will be detected by the second detection means if it is arranged upstream of the means.

  Mean 7 A gaming machine according to means 5 or 6, wherein the second detection means is arranged on the most downstream side of the game medium passage.

  According to the means 7, since the second detection means is arranged on the most downstream side of the game medium passage, it is difficult to cheat against the second detection means, and the cheating can be further suppressed.

Means 8. A plurality of revolving bodies (reels 71 to 73) in which a plurality of kinds of patterns are arranged in the circumferential direction while rotating in the circumferential direction;
Drive means (stepping motors 74 to 76) provided for each of the rotating bodies and rotating the rotating bodies;
Drive control means (function for performing reel control processing of the main control device 131) for driving and controlling the drive means;
A display window (transparent panel 65) that makes it possible to visually recognize a part of each of the patterns for each orbiting body,
A storage part (upper plate 18) provided in the front part of the gaming machine for storing game media;
A game medium passage (upstream passage 167, intake passage 168) for taking in game media stored in the storage section, and a gate member (take-in gate member 175 for preventing or allowing passage of game media through the game medium passage) ), And detection means (count sensors 201 and 202, fraud detection sensor 210) that outputs a detection signal indicating that a game medium that is disposed downstream of the gate member and is allowed to pass by the gate member is detected. ) Having a capture device (capture device 35-37),
A take-in start operating means (max bet switch 109) operated to start taking-in of game media by the take-in device;
Start operation means (start lever 101) operated to start rotation of each of the circuit bodies;
Stop operation means (stop buttons 102 to 104) operated to stop the rotation of the respective circling bodies,
The gate member allows the game medium to pass through the game medium passage due to the operation of the take-in start operation means, and the detection signal is output a predetermined number of times by the detection means. Block the passage of game media in the aisle,
The drive control means starts rotation of each circuit body by operating the start operation means after confirming that the detection signal is output a predetermined number of times from the detection means, and based on the operation of the stop operation means To control the driving of the driving means so as to stop the rotation of the rotating bodies,
After stopping each orbiting body, a specific pattern (“cherry” symbol) or a combination of specific symbols (for example, a combination of “bell” symbols) formed by the pattern is established at an effective position visible from the display window. In the case of a gaming machine that gives a privilege to the player in the case of
The detection means includes a plurality of first detection means (count sensors 201 and 202) arranged in the flow direction of the game medium in the game medium passage, and the first detection means arranged downstream of the first detection means. With a second detection means (fraud detection sensor 210) having a different game medium detection method,
Furthermore, detection order confirmation means (function for performing steps S1002 to S1005 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) for confirming the order in which the plurality of first detection means output detection signals;
When the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation unit is different from the preset detection order, the first abnormality process execution unit (step S1009 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) performs the abnormality process by regarding the result as an abnormality. And a function of performing step S1010),
Measuring means (fraud detection timer) capable of measuring an elapsed period after a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means;
Judgment means for judging whether or not a detection signal is output from the second detection means until the elapsed period measured based on the measurement result of the measurement means reaches a predetermined period (injustice detection processing of the main control device 131) In step S1301 to step S1305 in FIG.
When it is determined by the determination means that a detection signal has not been output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, second abnormality processing execution means for performing abnormality processing with the result regarded as abnormal (incorrectness of the main controller 131) A gaming machine comprising a function of performing steps S1306 and S1307 in the detection process.

  In the means 8, a take-in device having a game medium passage is provided, and the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked or allowed by the gate member, and the game medium allowed to pass by the gate member is detected by the detection means. Is done. Then, after the detection signal is output a predetermined number of times from the detection means, the start operation means is operated, whereby the rotation of each circulating body starts.

  In this case, the detection means is composed of a plurality of first detection means and second detection means. The order in which the detection signals are output by the plurality of first detection means is confirmed, and when the detection order is different from the preset detection order, the abnormality processing is performed by regarding the abnormality. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an illegal act that causes the game medium to reciprocate in the vicinity of the detection position of each first detection unit and misidentifies the passage of the game medium.

  Further, an elapsed period after the detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means is measured, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal is output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. . Then, if a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, the abnormality process is performed assuming that it is abnormal. In this case, since the detection method of the second detection means is different from that of the first detection means, it is difficult to perform a fraudulent act that misidentifies the passage of the game medium to the detection means using a fraudulent jig or the like. Cheating can be suppressed.

  Further, since the second detection means is disposed downstream of the first detection means for detecting the detection order, monitoring of the second detection means is started only when a detection signal is output from the first detection means. It can be configured. This makes it possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load as compared to a conventional gaming machine provided with only detection means for detecting the detection order.

Means 9. A plurality of revolving bodies (reels 71 to 73) in which a plurality of kinds of patterns are arranged in the circumferential direction while rotating in the circumferential direction;
Drive means (stepping motors 74 to 76) provided for each of the rotating bodies and rotating the rotating bodies;
Drive control means (function for performing reel control processing of the main control device 131) for driving and controlling the drive means;
A display window (transparent panel 65) that makes it possible to visually recognize a part of each of the patterns for each orbiting body,
A storage part (upper plate 18) provided in the front part of the gaming machine for storing game media;
A game medium passage (upstream passage 167, intake passage 168) for taking in game media stored in the storage section, and a gate member (take-in gate member 175 for preventing or allowing passage of game media through the game medium passage) ), And detection means (count sensors 201 and 202, fraud detection sensor 210) that outputs a detection signal indicating that a game medium that is disposed downstream of the gate member and is allowed to pass by the gate member is detected. ) Having a capture device (capture device 35-37),
A take-in start operating means (max bet switch 109) operated to start taking-in of game media by the take-in device;
Start operation means (start lever 101) operated to start rotation of each of the circuit bodies;
Stop operation means (stop buttons 102 to 104) operated to stop the rotation of the respective circling bodies,
The gate member allows the game medium to pass through the game medium passage due to the operation of the take-in start operation means, and the detection signal is output a predetermined number of times by the detection means. Block the passage of game media in the aisle,
The drive control means starts rotation of each circuit body by operating the start operation means after confirming that the detection signal is output a predetermined number of times from the detection means, and based on the operation of the stop operation means To control the driving of the driving means so as to stop the rotation of the rotating bodies,
After stopping each orbiting body, a specific pattern (“cherry” symbol) or a combination of specific symbols (for example, a combination of “bell” symbols) formed by the pattern is established at an effective position visible from the display window. In the case of a gaming machine that gives a privilege to the player in the case of
The detection means includes a plurality of first detection means (count sensors 201 and 202) that are arranged in the game medium flow direction in the game medium passage and detect the passage of the game medium using electromagnetic waves, and the first detection means A second detection means (fraud detection sensor 210) that is arranged on the downstream side and detects the passage of the game medium without using electromagnetic waves;
Furthermore, detection order confirmation means (function for performing steps S1002 to S1005 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) for confirming the order in which the plurality of first detection means output detection signals;
When the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation unit is different from the preset detection order, the first abnormality process execution unit (step S1009 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) performs the abnormality process by regarding the result as an abnormality. And a function of performing step S1010),
Measuring means (fraud detection timer) capable of measuring an elapsed period after a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means;
Judgment means for judging whether or not a detection signal is output from the second detection means until the elapsed period measured based on the measurement result of the measurement means reaches a predetermined period (injustice detection processing of the main control device 131) In step S1301 to step S1305 in FIG.
When it is determined by the determination means that a detection signal has not been output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, second abnormality processing execution means for performing abnormality processing with the result regarded as abnormal (incorrectness of the main controller 131) A gaming machine comprising a function of performing steps S1306 and S1307 in the detection process.

  In the means 9, a take-in device having a game medium passage is provided, and the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked or permitted by the gate member, and the game medium permitted to pass by the gate member is detected by the detection means. Is done. Then, after the detection signal is output a predetermined number of times from the detection means, the start operation means is operated, whereby the rotation of each circulating body starts.

  In this case, the detection means is composed of a plurality of first detection means and second detection means. The order in which the detection signals are output by the plurality of first detection means is confirmed, and when the detection order is different from the preset detection order, the abnormality processing is performed by regarding the abnormality. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an illegal act that causes the game medium to reciprocate in the vicinity of the detection position of each first detection unit and misidentifies the passage of the game medium.

  Further, an elapsed period after the detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means is measured, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal is output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. . Then, if a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, the abnormality process is performed assuming that it is abnormal. In this case, the first detection means detects the passage of the game medium using electromagnetic waves, whereas the second detection means is configured to detect the passage of the game medium without using electromagnetic waves. The detection method of the means and the detection method of the second detection means are different. Therefore, it is difficult to perform a fraudulent act that misidentifies the passage of the game medium with respect to the detection means using a fraudulent jig or the like, and the fraudulent act can be suppressed.

  Further, in the configuration in which the detection method of the second detection means is different from that of the first detection means by adopting a detection method that uses electromagnetic waves as the first detection means and a detection method that does not use electromagnetic waves as the second detection means. The area where at least a plurality of first detection means are arranged can be narrowed. The detection means using electromagnetic waves is, for example, an optical type using visible light or a detection type using ultraviolet rays, and since the detection range is generally narrow, a plurality of first detection means are placed close to each other. It is because it can arrange. As a result, the time required to detect the game medium can be shortened as much as possible, and the time required to start the game can be shortened as much as possible.

  Further, since the second detection means is disposed downstream of the first detection means for detecting the detection order, monitoring of the second detection means is started only when a detection signal is output from the first detection means. It can be configured. This makes it possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load as compared to a conventional gaming machine provided with only detection means for detecting the detection order.

  Means 10. In the means 8 or 9, the determination means is configured to start monitoring the second detection means when a detection signal is output from the first detection means.

  According to the means 10, when the detection signal is output from the first detection means, monitoring of the second detection means is started. This makes it possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load as compared to a conventional gaming machine provided with only detection means for detecting the detection order.

  Means 11. In any one of the means 8 to 10, the plurality of first detection means are arranged close to each other so that at least adjacent first detection means can simultaneously confirm the passage of one game medium, 2 detection means with respect to the first detection means so that the passage of one game medium cannot be confirmed simultaneously with the first detection means located on the most downstream side of the plurality of first detection means A gaming machine characterized by being spaced apart.

  In the means 11, the plurality of first detection means are arranged close to each other so that at least adjacent first detection means can simultaneously confirm the passage of one game medium. The requirement that the “adjacent first detection means output detection signals simultaneously” can be added, and variations in the detection order can be increased. Thereby, it becomes difficult to carry out an illegal act, and an illegal act can be suppressed.

  On the other hand, the second detection means is spaced apart from the first detection means so that the passage of one game medium cannot be confirmed simultaneously with the first detection means located on the most downstream side. Thereby, since the 2nd detection means will be located in the lower stream side of a game medium passage, it becomes difficult to perform a fraudulent act to the 2nd detection means, and a fraudulent act can be controlled.

  Further, in the configuration provided with the means 9, the first detection means is constituted by an optical detection means having a narrow detection range, so that a plurality of first detection means can be arranged close to each other. Yes.

Means 12. In any one of the means 8 to 11, when detection signals are output from all the first detection means and the detection order confirmed by the detection order confirmation means is a preset detection order, Each time a bet history storage means (bet count, step in the game ball detection process of the main controller 131) stores a bet history as a history indicating that detection signals are output from the first detection means in a preset detection order. S1008 function)
The drive control means is configured to start rotation of each of the circulating bodies by operating the start operation means in a state where the number of bet histories stored by the bet history storage means is a predetermined number. A featured gaming machine.

  According to the means 12, when the detection signals are outputted from all the first detection means and the order in which these detection signals are outputted is a preset detection order, the bet is made each time. A history is stored. Then, when the start operation means is operated in a state where a predetermined number of bet histories are stored, the rotation of each circulating body is started. That is, it is determined that the game medium has been taken in without determining whether a detection signal is output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. By adopting such a configuration, the time (time required for starting the game) until it is determined that the game medium has been taken in is longer than that of a conventional gaming machine in which only detection means for detecting the detection order is provided. Can be suppressed.

  Further, when the configuration of the means 12 is provided, the effect of disposing the second detection means downstream of the first detection means becomes remarkable. That is, since the first detection means for confirming the detection order is higher in detection accuracy than the second detection means for not confirming the detection order, it is determined that the game medium is taken in by setting the first detection means upstream. It can be done reliably. If it is possible to reliably determine whether the game medium has been taken in, it is possible to suppress the determination that the game medium has been taken in due to noise or the like that is not an illegal act. If it is determined that the game medium has been completely imported due to noise or the like, a detection signal is not output from the detection means located on the downstream side, so that abnormal processing is finally executed. . In this case, for example, not only the game times become meaningless, but if the specific picture or a combination of specific pictures is established at the effective position, the player loses the privilege that should have been originally obtained. May cause a decline in gaming motivation. On the other hand, if it is the structure in this means, the above inconveniences can be suppressed. In the configuration including the means 9, the first detection means is an optical type with higher detection accuracy than the proximity switch type, and thus the above effect becomes more remarkable.

  Moreover, even if it is the above structures, since an abnormal process will be performed when a detection signal is not output from a 2nd detection means within a predetermined period, the effect which suppresses fraud is ensured.

  The bet history storage means increments the bet counter by 1 each time a detection signal is output in a preset order from a bet counter (bet counter) for storing a bet history and a plurality of first detection means. With the configuration including the bet counter control means (the function of performing step S1008 in the game ball detection process of the main controller 131), the bet history can be easily stored, and the processing load of the bet history storage means Can be reduced.

  Means 13. The gaming machine according to claim 12, wherein the plurality of first detection means are arranged immediately downstream of the gate member.

  In the gaming machine, the rotation of the circulating body is started by operating the starting operation means after a predetermined number of game media are taken in. In this case, if more than a predetermined number of game media are taken in, the player suffers as much as the extra number of game media taken in. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately capture a predetermined number of game media. In this case, according to the means 13, since the plurality of first detection means are arranged immediately downstream of the gate member, the game medium immediately after passing through the position where the gate member of the game medium passage is arranged is the first. 1 is detected by the detecting means. Therefore, the passage of the game medium passage can be prevented immediately after the predetermined number of game media are taken in, and the predetermined number of game media can be taken in accurately.

  Further, when the configuration of the means 13 is provided, the effect of disposing the second detection means on the downstream side of the first detection means becomes remarkable. That is, in the configuration in which the first detection means is arranged on the downstream side of the gate member, there is no room for arranging the second detection means between the gate member and the first detection means, and the second detection means is used as the gate member. This is because the game medium that is prevented from passing through the game medium passage will be detected by the second detection means if it is arranged on the upstream side.

  Means 14. In the means 12, the gate member is configured to block or allow passage of the game medium in the game medium passage by appearing in and out of the game medium passage, and the plurality of first detection means are arranged immediately downstream of the gate member. A gaming machine characterized by being arranged in

  In the gaming machine, the rotation of the circulating body is started by operating the starting operation means after a predetermined number of game media are taken in. In this case, if more than a predetermined number of game media are taken in, the player suffers as much as the extra number of game media taken in. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately capture a predetermined number of game media. In particular, in a configuration in which the gate member moves in and out of the game medium passage to prevent or permit the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage, it is necessary to operate the gate member immediately after a predetermined number of game media are taken in. . In this case, according to the means 14, the plurality of first detection means are arranged immediately downstream of the gate member, so that the game medium immediately after passing through the position where the gate member of the game medium passage is arranged is the first. 1 is detected by the detecting means. Therefore, the gate member can be operated immediately after the predetermined number of game media are taken in to prevent passage of the game medium passage, and the predetermined number of game media can be taken in accurately.

  Further, when the configuration of the means 14 is provided, the effect of disposing the second detection means on the downstream side of the first detection means becomes remarkable. That is, in the configuration in which the first detection means is arranged on the downstream side of the gate member, there is no room for arranging the second detection means between the gate member and the first detection means, and the second detection means is used as the gate member. This is because the game medium that is prevented from passing through the game medium passage will be detected by the second detection means if it is arranged on the upstream side.

  In addition, the structure of the gate member can be simplified by adopting a configuration in which the gate member moves in and out of the game medium passage to prevent or allow the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage.

  Means 15. In the means 13 or the means 14, the take-in device includes a branch passage (discharge passage 169) branched from the upstream side of the position where the gate member is provided in the game medium passage, and the passage of the game medium through the branch passage. A game machine comprising: a branch gate member (discharge gate member 190) that prevents or allows the above.

  According to the means 15, it is possible to guide the game medium that is prevented from passing through the game medium passage to the outside of the take-in device or the like through the branch passage.

  Further, when the configuration of the means 15 is provided, the effect of disposing the second detection means on the downstream side of the first detection means becomes remarkable. That is, in the configuration in which the first detection means is arranged immediately downstream of the gate member as in the above means 13 or 14, there is no allowance for arranging the second detection means between the gate member and the first detection means. If the second detection means is arranged upstream of the gate member, the game medium that is blocked from passing through the game medium passage and the game medium guided through the discharge passage are detected by the second detection means. Because.

  Means 16. A game machine according to any one of means 12 to 15, wherein the second detection means is arranged on the most downstream side of the game medium passage.

  According to the means 16, since the second detection means is arranged on the most downstream side of the game medium passage, it is difficult for the second detection means to cheat, and the cheating can be further suppressed.

Means 17. In any one of the means 8 to 16, the take-in device includes a plurality of the game medium passages, and guides the game media supplied from upstream to the entrances (game ball inlets 35a to 37a) of the game medium passages. With a configuration to
A gaming machine, wherein the gate member, the first detection means, and the second detection means are provided corresponding to each game medium passage.

  According to the means 17, the take-in device is provided with a plurality of game medium passages, and further, the gate member, the first detection means and the second detection means are provided corresponding to each game medium passage. Thus, it is possible to simultaneously take in game media in a plurality of game media paths. Thereby, a plurality of game media can be handled in a short time.

  Further, in the configuration provided with the means 12, it is possible to combine the respective game medium passages on the downstream side, and to provide one second detection means on the downstream side of the merging position. Inconveniences such as clogging of game media may occur at the merge position. On the other hand, since the second detection means is provided corresponding to each game medium path as in the present means 17, it is not necessary to join the game medium paths, so that the above inconvenience occurs. Absent.

  Means 18. In any one of the means 1 to 17, specific detection determination means for determining whether a detection signal is output from a specific first detection means among the plurality of first detection means (first determination processing of the main control device 131) In step S1102), and the measurement of the elapsed period based on the measurement unit is started when it is determined that the detection signal is output by the specific detection determination unit. Gaming machine.

  In the means 18, whether the detection signal is output from the specific first detection means is determined by the specific detection determination means, and the measurement of the elapsed period is started based on the determination result. In this case, when measuring the period, it is not necessary to determine whether or not detection signals have been output from all the first detection means, so that an increase in processing load can be suppressed.

  Means 19. In the means 18, the elapsed period is measured when it is determined that the detection signal is output by the specific detection determination means, and each time it is determined that the detection signal is output by the specific detection determination means, A gaming machine characterized in that the measurement of the period up to that point is cleared and the measurement is newly started.

  According to the means 19, every time a detection signal is output from the specific first detection means, the measurement of the elapsed period is cleared and the measurement of the elapsed period is newly started. That is, when game media are continuously received (taken in), the elapsed time since the last game media was detected by the specific first detection means is measured. By adopting such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of measuring means, so that the processing load can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified.

  In the configuration including the means 17, a plurality of first detection means are provided for each of the plurality of game medium paths, and a specific first detection means exists for each game medium path. In this case, every time it is determined that a detection signal is output from any one of the first detection means, the measurement of the elapsed period is cleared and the measurement of the elapsed period is newly started. In the configuration including the game medium passage, the processing load can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified.

Means 20. In any one of the means 1 to 19, the determination means stores a detection history each time a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means, and from the second detection means. A detection history storage means for erasing the detection history each time a detection signal is output;
The second abnormality processing execution means is configured to perform the abnormality processing when the elapsed period becomes a predetermined period or more in a state where the detection history is stored by the detection history storage means. To play.

  The means 20 stores a detection history each time a detection signal is output from at least one first detection means of the plurality of first detection means, and each time a detection signal is output from the second detection means. Is configured to be erased. If a detection history remains when the period from when the detection signal is output from the first detection means becomes equal to or longer than a predetermined period, abnormality processing is performed. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to easily determine an abnormality and reduce the processing load of the determination unit.

  The detection history storage means includes a detection counter (detection counter) for storing the detection history and a detection counter each time a detection signal is output from a specific first detection means among the plurality of first detection means. Detection counter control means for incrementing by 1 and decrementing the detection counter by 1 every time a detection signal is output from the second detection means (function of performing step S1104 in the first determination process of the main control device 131, illegality of the main control device 131) The detection history can be easily stored and the processing load on the detection history storage means can be reduced.

  Means 21. In the means 20, specific detection determination means for determining whether a detection signal is output from a specific first detection means among the plurality of first detection means (function of performing step S1102 in the first determination processing of the main controller 131) ), And the detection history storage means stores the detection history when it is determined that the detection signal is output by the specific detection determination means.

  In the means 21, whether the detection signal is output from the specific first detection means is determined by the specific detection determination means, and the detection history storage means stores the detection history based on the determination result. In this case, when storing the detection history, it is not necessary to determine whether or not detection signals have been output from all the first detection means, so that an increase in processing load can be suppressed.

Means 22. Any one of the means 1 to means 21 comprises a payout means (a function of performing a game ball payout process of the payout control device 136, a payout device 28) for paying out a predetermined number of game media to the player as the privilege.
The second abnormality processing execution means, after it is determined that the detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period by the determination means, after all of the circulating bodies have stopped rotating, A gaming machine configured to perform an abnormal process before a payout means performs a payout process.

  According to the means 22, if no detection signal is output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, after all of the circulating bodies have stopped rotating and before the payout process by the payout means is started. By adopting a configuration in which abnormal processing is performed during this period, it is possible to reduce the processing load related to the game. When the abnormality processing is performed when the detection signal is not output from the second detection means within the predetermined period, for example, when each rotating body is rotating, processing for rotating and stopping each rotating body and abnormal processing are performed. This is because the processing load is concentrated.

  On the other hand, when an abnormality occurs, it is desirable to perform the abnormality process promptly. Therefore, by adopting a configuration in which the abnormal process is performed before the payout process is performed by the payout means, it is possible to perform the abnormal process relatively quickly while reducing the processing load related to the game. In addition, it is possible to avoid an increase in the disadvantage suffered by a game hall or the like. This is because it is possible to avoid paying out game media accompanying at least a result of a game due to fraud if the processing for paying out game media as an abnormal process is prohibited.

  Furthermore, in the configuration in which the abnormality processing is performed when the detection signal is not output from the second detection means within the predetermined period, even when the occurrence of noise or the like is erroneously recognized as the passage of the game medium, for example. Abnormal processing will be performed at that time. This unnecessarily interrupts the game of the player who has not performed the illegal act, and may significantly reduce the game motivation of the player who has not performed the illegal act. On the other hand, in the present configuration in which the abnormal processing is performed after all the rotating bodies stop rotating, a series of games from the start of each rotating body to the operation of the stop operation means until the rotating bodies are stopped. Since the abnormal process is performed after the completion of the game, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the game motivation of the player who has not performed the illegal act.

  As a result, it is possible to reduce the processing load related to the game, while avoiding the disadvantage that the player who has not performed the fraudulent acts, and appropriately suppressing the fraudulent acts.

  Means 23. In the means 22, the second abnormal process executing means prohibits at least the payout of game media by the payout means as an abnormal process.

  According to the means 23, if a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, even if a specific picture or a combination of specific pictures is established at an effective position when each circulating body stops, the game medium Is not paid out. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to avoid an increase in the damage caused to the game hall or the like due to the game media being paid out after an illegal act of playing the game without accepting the game media. .

Means 24. Any one of the means 1 to means 21 comprises a payout means (a function of performing a game ball payout process of the payout control device 136, a payout device 28) for paying out a predetermined number of game media to the player as the privilege.
The second abnormality processing execution means, after the determination means determines that a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, after the rotation of the rotating body is stopped and the payout means A gaming machine configured to perform an abnormal process after the payout process is completed.

  According to the means 24, when the detection signal is not output from the second detection means within the predetermined period, the abnormality process is performed after the rotation of the rotating body is stopped and the payout process by the payout means is completed. With the configuration, it is possible to reduce the processing load related to the game. If the abnormality processing is performed when the detection signal is not output from the second detection means within the predetermined period, the abnormality processing and the processing for rotating and stopping each circulating body and the processing for paying out the game medium are performed in parallel. This is because the processing load becomes centralized.

  Furthermore, in the configuration in which the abnormality processing is performed when the detection signal is not output from the second detection means within the predetermined period, even when the occurrence of noise or the like is erroneously recognized as the passage of the game medium, for example. Abnormal processing will be performed at that time. This unnecessarily interrupts the game of the player who has not performed the illegal act, and may significantly reduce the game motivation of the player who has not performed the illegal act. In addition, when an abnormal process is performed when a specific pattern or a combination of specific patterns is established at an effective position, a player who is not performing an illegal act may be disadvantaged.

  On the other hand, in this configuration, after a series of games from the start of rotation of each orbiting body until the operation of the stop operation means to stop each of the orbiting bodies is completed and the payout process by the payout means is completed, Since the abnormal process is performed, it is possible to prevent a player who is not cheating from suffering a disadvantage and to suppress a decrease in game motivation. As a result of the above, it is possible to reduce the processing load related to the game, while avoiding the disadvantage of the player who has not been cheating, and preferably preventing the cheating.

  Means 25. In any one of the means 1 to 24, the first abnormality processing execution means, when the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation means is different from a predetermined detection order, at least before the rotation of the circulating body is started. A gaming machine characterized by executing abnormal processing.

  According to the means 25, when the detection order detected by each first detection means is different from the predetermined detection order, the abnormality process is executed at least before the rotation of the rotating body is started. With this configuration, it is possible to perform abnormality processing before the drive control means starts driving control of each driving means, and it is possible to quickly perform abnormality processing while reducing the processing load related to the game. It becomes.

  Means 26. In any one of the means 1 to 25, a detection signal is output from at least one first detection means of the plurality of first detection means in a state where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked. A game machine characterized by comprising third abnormality process execution means (function to perform steps S1011 to S1014 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) that regards the result as abnormal and performs an abnormal process .

  According to the means 26, when the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked, the detection result of at least one of the plurality of first detection means is confirmed. In the situation where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked, it is difficult to assume that the passage of the game medium is detected by the first detection means, so check only at least one detection result. Thus, it is possible to prevent fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load.

  In the above means 8 and 9, the “state in which the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked” means that the operation of the take-in start operation means is not valid or the take-in start operation means is operated. The state that is not.

  Further, it is preferable that the driving control unit is configured to be in a “state in which the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked” while the drive control unit is driving and controlling each driving unit. Further, in a configuration provided with a payout means for paying out a predetermined number of game media as a privilege, while the payout process is being performed by the payout means, “the state where the passage of game media in the game medium passage is blocked” It is preferable to adopt a configuration as follows.

  Further, in a configuration including a branch passage that branches off from the game medium passage, the case where the game medium is guided to the branch passage is also included in the “state in which the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked”.

Means 27. The means 26 includes a payout means (a function for performing a game ball payout process of the payout control device 136, a payout device 28) for paying out a predetermined number of game media to the player as the privilege.
The third abnormality process executing means is configured to detect at least one of the plurality of first detection means from the first detection means by the detection signal monitoring means in a state where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked. A gaming machine, wherein when a detection signal is output, an abnormality process is performed after all of the rotating bodies have been rotated and before the payout means performs a payout process.

  According to the means 27, when the detection signal is output from the first detection means in a situation where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked, the rotation of all the circulating bodies is stopped. By adopting a configuration in which the abnormal process is performed before the payout process by the payout means is started, the processing load related to the game can be reduced. If the abnormality processing is performed when the detection signal is output from the first detection means in a situation where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked, This is because the processing for rotating and stopping the rotating body and the abnormality processing need to be performed in parallel, and the processing load increases.

  On the other hand, when an abnormality occurs, it is desirable to perform the abnormality process promptly. Therefore, by adopting a configuration in which the abnormal process is performed before the payout process is performed by the payout means, it is possible to perform the abnormal process relatively quickly while reducing the processing load related to the game. In addition, it is possible to avoid an increase in the disadvantage suffered by a game hall or the like. This is because it is possible to avoid paying out game media accompanying at least a result of a game due to fraud if the processing for paying out game media as an abnormal process is prohibited.

  Furthermore, in a configuration in which abnormality processing is performed at the time when a detection signal is output from the first detection means in a situation where the passage of the game medium in the game medium path is blocked, for example, the occurrence of noise or the like is detected in the game medium. Even if it is erroneously recognized as passing, abnormality processing is performed at that time. This unnecessarily interrupts the game of the player who has not performed the illegal act, and may significantly reduce the game motivation of the player who has not performed the illegal act. On the other hand, in the present configuration in which the abnormal processing is performed after all the rotating bodies stop rotating, a series of games from the start of each rotating body to the operation of the stop operation means until the rotating bodies are stopped. Since the abnormal process is performed after the completion of the game, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the game motivation of the player who has not performed the illegal act.

  As a result, it is possible to reduce the processing load related to the game, while avoiding the disadvantage that the player who has not performed the fraudulent acts, and appropriately suppressing the fraudulent acts.

  Means 28. In the means 27, the third abnormal process execution means prohibits at least the payout of game media by the payout means as an abnormal process.

  According to the means 28, when the detection signal is output from the first detection means in a situation where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked, the specific picture or the combination of the specific pictures when each circulating body stops. Even if is established at the valid position, the game medium is not paid out. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to avoid an increase in the damage caused to the game hall or the like due to the game media being paid out after an illegal act of playing the game without accepting the game media. .

Means 29. The means 26 includes a payout means (a function for performing a game ball payout process of the payout control device 136, a payout device 28) for paying out a predetermined number of game media to the player as the privilege.
The third abnormality process executing means is configured to detect at least one of the plurality of first detection means from the first detection means by the detection signal monitoring means in a state where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked. A gaming machine configured to perform an abnormal process after a payout process by the payout means is completed when a detection signal is output.

  According to the means 29, when a detection signal is output from the first detection means in a state where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked, the abnormality process is performed after the payout process by the payout means is completed. With the configuration, it is possible to reduce the processing load related to the game. When the abnormality processing is performed when the detection signal is output from the first detection means in a situation where the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked, the abnormality processing and, for example, the process of rotating and stopping each circulating body This is because it is necessary to perform the process of paying out the game medium and the game medium in parallel, and the processing load increases.

  Furthermore, in a configuration in which abnormality processing is performed at the time when a detection signal is output from the first detection means in a situation where the passage of the game medium in the game medium path is blocked, for example, the occurrence of noise or the like is detected in the game medium. Even if it is erroneously recognized as passing, abnormality processing is performed at that time. This unnecessarily interrupts the game of the player who has not performed the illegal act, and may significantly reduce the game motivation of the player who has not performed the illegal act. In addition, when an abnormal process is performed when a specific pattern or a combination of specific patterns is established at an effective position, a player who is not performing an illegal act may be disadvantaged.

  On the other hand, in this configuration, after a series of games from the start of rotation of each orbiting body until the operation of the stop operation means to stop each of the orbiting bodies is completed and the payout process by the payout means is completed, Since the abnormal process is performed, it is possible to prevent a player who is not cheating from suffering a disadvantage and to suppress a decrease in game motivation. As a result of the above, it is possible to reduce the processing load related to the game, while avoiding the disadvantage of the player who has not been cheating, and preferably preventing the cheating.

  Means 30. In any one of the means 1 to 29, each abnormal process executing means invalidates at least the operation or the operation result of the start operation means and the stop operation means as the abnormal process.

  According to the means 30, when an abnormality occurs, the operations or operation results of the start operation means and the stop operation means are invalidated. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prohibit a game from being performed after an abnormal process has been performed, and it is possible to avoid an increase in disadvantage suffered by a game hall or the like.

  Means 31. In any one of the means 1 to 29, the second abnormal process executing means prevents at least the game medium from passing through the game medium path as the abnormal process.

  According to the means 31, when the abnormal process is executed by the second abnormal process executing means, the passage of the game medium in the game medium path is blocked. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prohibit a game from being started after an abnormal process has been performed, and it is possible to avoid an increase in disadvantages such as a game hall.

  In addition, in the structure provided with the 3rd abnormality process execution means, it is good also as a structure which blocks passage of the game medium of a game medium path | route as an abnormality process based on a 3rd abnormality process execution means.

  In the configuration including the means 8 and the means 9, the operation of the take-in start operation means may be invalidated in order to “prevent the passage of game machine media in the game media path”.

  Means 32. In any one of the means 1 to 31, when any one of the abnormality processing execution means performs abnormality processing, abnormality occurrence notification means for notifying the outside of the gaming machine of occurrence of abnormality (external notification processing of the main controller 131). A gaming machine characterized by having a function to perform).

  According to the means 32, when performing abnormality processing, the occurrence of abnormality is notified to the outside of the gaming machine. Therefore, it becomes possible to clearly tell the game hall manager that an abnormality has occurred. In addition, it is possible to suppress a person who intends to perform an illegal act from reaching an actual act.

  Means 33. In any one of means 1 to means 32, when any one of the abnormality processing execution means performs abnormality processing, a second abnormality occurrence is notified to the outside of the gaming machine that abnormality has occurred before performing abnormality processing. A gaming machine comprising a notification means (function of performing an external notification process of the main controller 131).

  According to the means 33, when performing the abnormal process, it is possible to notify the occurrence of the abnormality to the game hall manager or the like prior to the execution of the abnormal process, and it is possible to suitably suppress the fraud. In addition, it is possible to suppress a person who intends to perform an illegal act from reaching an actual act.

Means 34. A plurality of pattern display areas (reels 71 to 73, transparent panel 65) provided at positions that are visible from the front of the gaming machine and in which a plurality of types of patterns are variably displayed;
An entrance (game ball entrance 35a to 37a) capable of receiving game media;
A game medium path (upstream path 167, intake path 168) for guiding the game medium received from the receiving port;
Detection means (count sensors 201 and 202, fraud detection sensor 210) for outputting a detection signal indicating that when a game medium passing through the game medium passage is detected;
Start operation means (start lever 101) operated to start the display of the variation of the pattern in each of the pattern display areas;
A plurality of stop operation means (stop buttons 102 to 104) which are provided for each of the pattern display areas and are operated to stop the variable display of the patterns in each of the pattern display areas;
After the detection signal is output from the detection means, the start operation means is operated to start the variable display of the pattern in each picture display area, and each picture display area based on the operation of each stop operation means A display control means for controlling each of the pattern display areas (a function of performing a reel control process of the main controller 131) so as to stop the display of the variation of the pattern in
After the stop of the variable display of the pattern, if a combination of predetermined patterns (for example, a combination of “Bell” patterns) is established by the patterns displayed in each of the pattern display areas, a privilege is given to the player In the gaming machine
The detection means includes a plurality of first detection means (count sensors 201 and 202) arranged in the flow direction of the game medium in the game medium passage, and the first detection means arranged downstream of the first detection means. With a second detection means (fraud detection sensor 210) having a different game medium detection method,
Furthermore, detection order confirmation means (function for performing steps S1002 to S1005 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) for confirming the order in which the plurality of first detection means output detection signals;
When the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation unit is different from the preset detection order, the first abnormality process execution unit (step S1009 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) performs the abnormality process by regarding the result as an abnormality. And a function of performing step S1010),
Measuring means (fraud detection timer) capable of measuring an elapsed period after a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means;
Judgment means for judging whether or not a detection signal is output from the second detection means until the elapsed period measured based on the measurement result of the measurement means reaches a predetermined period (injustice detection processing of the main control device 131) In step S1301 to step S1305 in FIG.
When it is determined by the determination means that a detection signal has not been output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, second abnormality processing execution means for performing abnormality processing with the result regarded as abnormal (incorrectness of the main controller 131) A gaming machine comprising a function of performing steps S1306 and S1307 in the detection process.

  In the means 34, when the start operation means is operated after a specific detection signal is output from the detection means, the variable display of the picture in the picture display area is started. Thereafter, by operating the stop operation means, the variable display of the pattern in the picture display area corresponding to the operated stop operation means is stopped. Then, after the stop of the variable display of the pattern, if the combination of the predetermined pattern is established by the pattern displayed in each pattern display area, a privilege is given to the player.

  In this case, the detection means is composed of a plurality of first detection means and second detection means. The order in which the detection signals are output by the plurality of first detection means is confirmed, and when the detection order is different from the preset detection order, the abnormality processing is performed by regarding the abnormality. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an illegal act that causes the game medium to reciprocate in the vicinity of the detection position of each first detection unit and misidentifies the passage of the game medium.

  Further, an elapsed period after the detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means is measured, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal is output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. . Then, if a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, the abnormality process is performed assuming that it is abnormal. In this case, since the detection method of the second detection means is different from that of the first detection means, it is difficult to perform a fraudulent act that misidentifies the passage of the game medium to the detection means using a fraudulent jig or the like. Cheating can be suppressed.

  Further, since the second detection means is disposed downstream of the first detection means for detecting the detection order, monitoring of the second detection means is started only when a detection signal is output from the first detection means. It can be configured. This makes it possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load as compared to a conventional gaming machine provided with only detection means for detecting the detection order.

  The “predetermined pattern combination” includes a case where a predetermined pattern is represented by a pattern displayed in each pattern display area.

  Further, by applying the means 3 to means 7 and the means 18 to means 33 to the means 34, the effect of each means can be added. However, in this case, “rotation of the endless belt” is the variation display of the pattern in the pattern display area.

Means 35. A plurality of pattern display areas (reels 71 to 73, transparent panel 65) provided at positions that are visible from the front of the gaming machine and in which a plurality of types of patterns are variably displayed;
Pattern display control means (function for performing reel control processing of the main control device 131) for controlling the display of variation of the pattern in each of the pattern display areas;
A storage part (upper plate 18) provided in the front part of the gaming machine for storing game media;
A game medium passage (upstream passage 167, intake passage 168) for taking in game media stored in the storage section, and a gate member (take-in gate member 175 for preventing or allowing passage of game media through the game medium passage) ), And detection means (count sensors 201 and 202, fraud detection sensor 210) that outputs a detection signal indicating that a game medium that is disposed downstream of the gate member and is allowed to pass by the gate member is detected. ) Having a capture device (capture device 35-37),
A take-in start operating means (max bet switch 109) operated to start taking-in of game media by the take-in device;
Start operation means (start lever 101) operated to start the display of the variation of the pattern in each of the pattern display areas;
A plurality of stop operation means (stop buttons 102 to 104) that are provided for each of the pattern display areas and are operated to stop the variable display of the patterns in each of the pattern display areas;
The gate member allows the game medium to pass through the game medium passage due to the operation of the take-in start operation means, and the detection signal is output a predetermined number of times by the detection means. Block the passage of game media in the aisle,
The pattern display control means starts the variable display of the pattern in each of the pattern display areas by operating the start operation means after confirming that the detection signal has been output a predetermined number of times from the detection means, and Control each pattern display area so as to stop the variable display of the pattern in each pattern display area based on the operation of the operating means,
In the gaming machine that gives a privilege to the player when a combination of predetermined patterns is established by the patterns displayed in each of the pattern display areas after the variable display of the patterns is stopped,
The detection means includes a plurality of first detection means (count sensors 201 and 202) arranged in the flow direction of the game medium in the game medium passage, and the first detection means arranged downstream of the first detection means. With a second detection means (fraud detection sensor 210) having a different game medium detection method,
Furthermore, detection order confirmation means (function for performing steps S1002 to S1005 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) for confirming the order in which the plurality of first detection means output detection signals;
When the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation unit is different from the preset detection order, the first abnormality process execution unit (step S1009 in the game ball detection process of the main control device 131) performs the abnormality process by regarding the result as an abnormality. And a function of performing step S1010),
Measuring means (fraud detection timer) capable of measuring an elapsed period after a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means;
Judgment means for judging whether or not a detection signal is output from the second detection means until the elapsed period measured based on the measurement result of the measurement means reaches a predetermined period (injustice detection processing of the main control device 131) In step S1301 to step S1305 in FIG.
When it is determined by the determination means that a detection signal has not been output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, second abnormality processing execution means for performing abnormality processing with the result regarded as abnormal (incorrectness of the main controller 131) A gaming machine comprising a function of performing steps S1306 and S1307 in the detection process.

  In the means 35, a take-in device having a game medium passage is provided, and the passage of the game medium in the game medium passage is blocked or allowed by the gate member, and the game medium allowed to pass by the gate member is detected by the detection means. Is done. Then, after the detection signal is output from the detection means a predetermined number of times, the start operation means is operated, whereby the display of the variation of the picture in each picture display area is started. Thereafter, by operating the stop operation means, the variable display of the pattern in the picture display area corresponding to the operated stop operation means is stopped. Further, after the stop of the variable display of the pattern, if the combination of the predetermined pattern is established by the pattern displayed in each pattern display area, a privilege is given to the player.

  In the above configuration, the detection means includes a plurality of first detection means and second detection means. The order in which the detection signals are output by the plurality of first detection means is confirmed, and when the detection order is different from the preset detection order, the abnormality processing is performed by regarding the abnormality. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an illegal act that causes the game medium to reciprocate in the vicinity of the detection position of each first detection unit and misidentifies the passage of the game medium.

  Further, an elapsed period after the detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detection means is measured, and it is determined whether or not the detection signal is output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. . Then, if a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period, the abnormality process is performed assuming that it is abnormal. In this case, since the detection method of the second detection means is different from that of the first detection means, it is difficult to perform a fraudulent act that misidentifies the passage of the game medium to the detection means using a fraudulent jig or the like. Cheating can be suppressed.

  Further, since the second detection means is disposed downstream of the first detection means for detecting the detection order, monitoring of the second detection means is started only when a detection signal is output from the first detection means. It can be configured. This makes it possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the monitoring processing load as compared to a conventional gaming machine provided with only detection means for detecting the detection order.

  The “predetermined pattern combination” includes a case where a predetermined pattern is represented by a pattern displayed in each pattern display area.

  Moreover, the effect of each means can be added by applying the above means 10 to means 33 to this means 35. However, in this case, “rotation of the endless belt” is the variation display of the pattern in the pattern display area.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment relating to a gaming machine in which a game is started after taking a game ball will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The gaming machine in the present embodiment requires a game ball (for example, a game ball similar to a pachinko machine: a pachinko ball) as a predetermined number of game media (game value) in the game, and a plurality of game balls when a predetermined condition is satisfied. Game balls, and in some cases, a large amount of game balls are paid out. The game balls are not limited to pachinko balls, and may be steel balls in a broad sense.

  First, the outline of the external configuration and internal structure of the gaming machine 1 will be described. Here, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire gaming machine 1, FIG. 2 is a front view of the gaming machine 1, FIG. 3 is a front view showing the front configuration of the gaming machine body, and FIG. 4 is a line AA in FIG. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the gaming machine 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the gaming machine 1 includes an outer frame 2 as a main body frame, and a front frame that is provided at a front portion of the outer frame 2 and is openable and closable at one side of the outer frame 2. 3 is provided. In this case, the outer frame 2 and the front frame 3 are connected by hinges 31 and 32 so that they can be opened and closed at the upper and lower portions of the left end. The outer frame 2 is configured by connecting wooden plate members to four sides, and has a rectangular shape as a whole. Further, the front frame 3 is made of a square frame-like plate material whose outer dimension is slightly smaller than that of the outer frame 2, and is provided so as to contact the front surface of the outer frame 2. A back set board 16 extending from the back side to the back side along the inner peripheral surface of the outer frame 2 is attached and fixed to the front frame 3, and a reel unit or a game ball described later is attached to the back set board 16. A device for taking in or paying out (so-called back set), various control boards, and the like are mounted. In the present embodiment, the gaming machine main body is basically constituted by the outer frame 2, the front frame 3, and the back set board 16 provided on the front frame 3.

  A front door 4 as an openable / closable door that can be opened and closed with respect to the front frame 3 is provided on the front side of the front frame 3, and a lower dish unit 5 is provided below the front door 4. That is, the front side of the front frame 3 is covered with the front door 4 and the lower plate unit 5, and the front frame 3 and the upper plate 3 above the lower plate unit 5 are opened by opening the front door 4. Various mechanisms (such as a belt unit) mounted thereon are exposed forward. The front frame 3 and the front door 4 are connected in an openable and closable manner by upper and lower hinges 33 and 34 at the left end. Accordingly, the right side of the front door 4 is rotated around the left side of the front frame 3.

  The front surface of the front door 4 and the lower tray unit 5 is formed in a continuous three-dimensional shape so as to form an integrated appearance as a whole gaming machine, and is formed in a ring shape on the entire outer periphery of the gaming machine 1 and the front surface of the gaming machine. Have annular portions 6 and 7 projecting from the bottom. The annular portions 6 and 7 are substantially symmetric when viewed from the front of the gaming machine. A large number of light emitters 8 and 9 made of light emitting diodes or the like are embedded in these annular portions 6 and 7 (see the partially broken portion at the lower right of FIG. 2), and the light emitters 8 and 9 emit light during the game. Thus, for example, the annular portions 6 and 7 illuminate all at once or around the outer periphery of the gaming machine. Of the annular part 6, the top part 6a located at the uppermost part protrudes further forward than the other parts, and the top part 6a is provided with a pair of left and right lamp display parts 10 as well as a pair of left and right speakers. 11 is provided. Further, in the annular portion 6, a constricted portion 6 b that is constricted on the inside is provided near the central portion in the height direction, and lamp display portions 12 and 13 are also provided on the constricted portion 6 b.

  The annular portions 6 and 7 (light emitters 8 and 9) and the lamp display portions 10, 12, 13 and the like are for performing an auxiliary effect during the game while intending to diversify the display contents and make the display effect heavy. It is provided and executes various display effects as the game progresses. For example, when it becomes possible to acquire a big bonus game, the annular portions 6 and 7 (light emitters 8 and 9) are caused to emit light all at once or around, or all the lamp display portions 10, 12, and 13 are lit. The player is notified by turning on or blinking.

  The gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment is configured such that a game is performed on the condition that acceptance of an actual game ball is a necessary condition, and a predetermined number of game balls are paid out when the predetermined condition is satisfied. A configuration for using a game ball as a game medium will be described below. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper plate forming body 17 is detachably attached to the back set board 16 attached and fixed to the front frame 3 below the front side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the upper plate forming body 17.

  The upper plate forming body 17 is formed with an upper plate 18 as a storage portion, and the upper plate 18 is positioned on the upstream side of a main upper plate portion 18a that leads to a loading port to an intake unit 30 described later. And an auxiliary upper dish portion 18b. Basically, the main upper tray portion 18a stores game balls paid out from a payout mechanism to be described later, while the auxiliary upper tray portion 18b is a game ball supplied from a nozzle of a ball rental machine (not shown). The game ball in the main upper plate 18 a flows into the insertion port through the ball guide unit 19. The ball guide unit 19 is configured so that game balls can be arranged in a line and supplied to the slot, and a stainless cover (protective cover) 20 is attached to the ball guide unit 19. The main upper plate portion 18a and the sub upper plate portion 18b are provided so as to be folded back and forth, the sub upper plate portion 18b is inclined slightly downward toward the left side of FIG. It is inclined somewhat downward toward the right side of FIG. Therefore, the game balls in the main upper plate 18a and the sub upper plate 18b flow in the downstream order in order and flow into the inlet as described above.

  At both left and right ends of the upper plate forming body 17, mounting fixing portions 21 are provided. By fastening the mounting fixing portion 21 to the back set board 16 side, the upper plate forming body 17 is attached to the back set board 16. It has come to be. By releasing the fastening of the mounting fixing portion 21, the upper plate forming body 17 is detached from the back set board 16. The attachment fixing part 21 may be any fastening method as long as it can be attached to and detached from the back set board 16, and a fastener (for example, Nylatch (registered trademark)) is pushed into a fastening hole provided on the back set board 16 side. A push-type fastening method, a method of screwing a male screw into a screw hole provided on the back set board 16 side, or the like can be applied.

  When the front door 4 is closed while the upper plate forming body 17 is mounted on the back set board 16, the upper plate forming body 17 is fixed between the back set board 16 and the front door 4. The upper plate forming body 17 is provided with a flange 22 extending in the longitudinal direction, and the flange 22 is sandwiched between the back surface of the front door 4. That is, since a holding recess is formed at a corresponding position on the back surface of the front door 4 so as to sandwich the flange 22, the upper plate forming body 17 is prevented from falling off when the front door 4 is closed. The weight of a large amount of game balls stored in the upper plate 18 can also be supported. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a portion of the front door 4 corresponding to the upper plate forming body 17 (operation unit 100) is bulged to the front side, and the upper surface of the bulged portion is open. is doing. For this reason, when the front door 4 is in the closed state, the upper plate 18 of the upper plate forming body 17 is opened above the bulging portion (operation unit 100). With the above configuration, the upper plate forming body 17 can be easily removed from the gaming machine main body or the front door 4, and the upper plate 18 (in particular, the ball guide portion 19) is cleaned after the upper plate forming body 17 is removed. Work becomes easier. In addition, inspection, repair, and the like of the operation unit 100 described later can be easily performed from the back side of the front door 4. In other words, maintenance is improved. The bulging portion of the front door 4 is an operation unit 100, and a back wall 64 is provided in the front door 4 immediately above the operation unit 100. The configurations of the operation unit 100 and the back wall 64 will be described later.

  The take-in unit 30 (see FIG. 3) is provided on the back set board 16, and a predetermined number of game balls are taken in via the take-in unit 30 based on an operation by the player. A predetermined number of game balls are taken in, so that a game (game) start condition is established, and preparations for game start are made. At this time, the captured game ball is discharged to the outside of the gaming machine 1 through a discharge path (not shown).

  Here, the configuration of the capture unit 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7 in which the entire take-in unit 30 is shown, the take-in unit 30 is provided with three take-in devices 35, 36, and 37 so as to overlap each other. (In the following description, the capturing device 35 located on the near side in FIG. 7 is referred to as “first capturing device”, and the capturing device 36 located in the center is referred to as “second capturing device.” ”, The capturing device 37 located on the far side is referred to as“ third capturing device 37 ”). This take-in unit 30 is arranged with the first take-in device 35 as the front side of the gaming machine and the third take-in device 37 as the rear side. In addition, game ball inlets 35a, 36a, 37a are formed on the upper surfaces of the respective take-in devices 35-37, and these game ball inlets 35a-37a are arranged in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the game balls stored in the upper plate 18 flow into the respective take-in devices 35 to 37 through the ball distribution passage 38. The ball distribution passage 38 communicates with the inlet of the upper plate 18 and extends upward of the take-in unit 30. Further, the ball distribution passage 38 is inclined so that the game ball flows down toward the take-in unit 30 side, and the downstream side is branched by the partition plates 38a and 38b. Specifically, the downstream side of the ball distribution passage 38 is first branched in two directions by the first partition plate 38a, and further branched in two directions by the second partition plate 38b on the downstream side of the branched one passage. . In this case, the upstream ends of the partition plates 38a and 38b are inclined toward one or both of the passages so that the game balls are smoothly distributed to the branched passages. A drop hole 38c is formed at the downstream end of the passage branched by the partition plates 38a and 38b so as to correspond to the game ball inlets 35a to 37a. With the configuration as described above, the game balls stored in the upper plate 18 flow down the ball distribution passage 38 and are guided to one of the drop holes 38c by the partition plates 38a and 38b. Will flow into each of the take-in devices 35-37. In addition, it is good also as a structure which distributes a game ball on the upper plate 18 instead of distributing the game ball to each taking-in apparatus 35-37 by the ball distribution channel | path 38 as mentioned above. In this case, the partition plate and the drop hole are provided on the upper plate 18.

  Next, the structure of the capture devices 35-37 is demonstrated using FIGS. 9-11. However, since each of the capture devices 35 to 37 has a substantially similar configuration, the third capture device 37 is basically described as an example here. 9 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the capture device 37, FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the capture device 37, and FIG. It is. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, the respective directions of up, down, left and right are described in the state shown in FIG.

  The third take-in device 37 includes a pair of front and back housing members 161 and 162, both of which are made of a resin molded product (hereinafter, the housing member 161 is a "first housing" and the housing member 162 is a "second housing". Called). The first housing 161 has a substantially rectangular shape, whereas the second housing 162 has a shape in which the lower right side is cut away as compared with the first housing 161. The housings 161 and 162 are coupled with each other by screws or the like, thereby forming a substantially square box-shaped housing having an opening on the right side of the front surface. Further, notches 161a and 162a for forming the above-described game ball entrance 37a are formed on the upper surfaces of the first housing 161 and the second housing 162.

  Further, the third take-in device 37 is formed with a game ball passage 165 for allowing game balls to pass in a row. Specifically, the first housing 161 is provided with a substantially equal width passage wall 161b extending from the wall portion W1 of the first housing 161 toward the inside of the housing, and the second housing 162 is similarly provided with a passage wall (not shown). ) Are provided, and a game ball passage 165 is defined by being surrounded by four side passage walls including them. Most of the passage walls of the intake device 37 are formed on the first housing 161 side, and a passage wall having a low height is formed on the second housing 162 side. The structure formed in the side may be sufficient. In other words, the configuration may be such that the game ball passing through the game ball passage 167 does not contact the boundary between the first housing 161 and the second housing 162 in the game ball passage 167. This is because dust is likely to accumulate in such a boundary, and if the passing game ball is in contact with this boundary, the passage of the game ball may be hindered by the dust. is there. The first housing 161 and the second housing 162 are formed of a transparent resin material. Thereby, the game balls stored in the passage can be visually recognized in addition to the game ball passage 165 inside the apparatus, the gate drive mechanism described later, and the like without disconnecting the two housings 161 and 162.

  The game ball passage 165 is bifurcated near the center of the housings 161 and 162, and an upstream passage 167 extending from the game ball inlet 37a to the passage branch position, and an intake passage 168 extending vertically from the passage branch position. And a discharge passage 169 extending obliquely downward to the left from the passage branch position. Note that the extending direction of the intake passage 168 and the discharge passage 169 is different from the above configuration as long as at least the discharge passage 169 extends to the outside rather than the inside of the corner portion of the upstream passage 167 and the intake passage 168. It may be a thing. A predetermined number of game balls as game start conditions are taken in through the take-in passage 168. Further, when the game balls are settled at the end of the game, the game balls stored in the upper plate 18 and the third take-in device 37 are discharged to the lower plate 41 through the discharge passage 169.

  The upstream passage 167 is provided in a substantially horizontal direction, but is slightly inclined downward in detail. As a result, the game balls that have entered the third take-in device 37 from the game ball inlet 37a flow down to the downstream side while being aligned in the horizontal direction in the upstream passage 167. The upstream passage 167 is provided with a rectifying unit 170 for keeping the flow of game balls constant. The configuration of the rectifying unit 170 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a plan sectional view in which the central portion of the rectifying unit 170 is cut along a horizontal line. The upper side of the drawing shows the wall surface (wall portion W1) of the first housing 161, and the lower side shows the wall surface (wall portion) of the second housing 162. W2). As shown in FIG. 12, in the rectifying unit 170, an arc-shaped recess 171 is formed in the first housing 161, and a triangular mountain-shaped protrusion 172 is formed facing the recess 171 in the second housing 162. Has been. In such a case, when the game ball B flowing downstream in the upstream passage 167 reaches the rectifying unit 170, the game ball B collides with the protrusion 172, changes the direction of the flow as shown by the arrow, and further faces the protrusion 172. It collides with the inner wall of the concave portion 171 to be In this way, the game ball B flows downstream so as to detour to the recess 171 while changing the flow direction.

  At this time, every time the game ball passes through the rectifying unit 170, the momentum of the flow is extinguished and the subsequent flow speed is reduced, so that a detection error at the time of game ball detection described later after the passage is reduced. In addition, when a large number of game balls are connected in a daisy chain and taken into the third take-in device 37, when passing through the rectifying unit 170, there is a space between adjacent game balls due to the speed difference. There is no problem of erroneous detection as one game ball. That is, the presence of the rectifying unit 170 ensures the detection of the game ball after the passage. Moreover, since the rectification | straightening part 170 is detoured in the front-back direction (thickness direction of the 3rd taking-in apparatus 37), it says that sufficient rectifying effect can be provided to a game ball, making the 3rd taking-in apparatus 37 compact. A synergistic effect is obtained. In addition, as a structure of the said rectification | straightening part 170, it does not provide the recessed part 171 and the processus | protrusion 172 in the housings 161 and 162, but it is also possible to make the game ball passage 165 into a crank shape in the thickness direction of the third intake device 37 Good. Also in this case, when the game ball collides with the inner wall of the crank-shaped part, the momentum of the flow of the game ball is extinguished, and the same effect as the rectifying unit 170 can be obtained.

  Further, the upstream passage 167 is provided with a straight protrusion 173 from the most upstream side, and the protrusion 173 is provided to the most downstream side of the intake passage 168 (however, in the rectifying unit 170). The installation of the protrusion 173 is optional). The protrusion 173 is formed on at least one of the four passage walls defining the upstream passage 167 and the intake passage 168, and in the present embodiment, the passage that holds the game ball from the side in the first housing 161. A ridge 173 is formed at substantially the center of the wall. The height of the protrusion 173 is about 0.5 mm, and thereby the passage widths of the upstream passage 167 and the intake passage 168 are narrowed. That is, the upstream passage 167 and the intake passage 168 basically have a passage width of about 12 mm, but by providing the protrusions 173, the substantial passage width is narrowed to about 11.5 mm. Thereby, the play in the upstream passage 167 and the intake passage 168 can be reduced, and the game ball flows down in a stable state. In particular, in the take-in passage 168, as described later, game ball detection is performed, so that detection errors can be reduced.

  An intake gate member 175 is provided in the intake passage 168 immediately downstream of the branch position. The take-in gate member 175 has a long shape extending in the vertical direction, and is taken in through a base 175a supported by a support shaft 176 disposed outside the passage and a notch 179 provided in the passage wall. And a claw portion 175 b that appears and disappears in the insertion passage 168. The take-in gate member 175 is disposed in a region inside the corner portion between the upstream passage 167 and the take-in passage 168, and the claw portion 175 b protrudes and retracts in the take-in passage 168, thereby The passing of game balls is prevented or allowed.

  Here, a drive mechanism of the take-in gate member 175 will be described with reference to FIG. A solenoid 181 is used as a drive source for the take-in gate member 175. The solenoid 181 includes a main body 181a and an output shaft 181b as main components, and is energized based on the input of an electrical signal to the main body 181a, so that the output shaft 181b moves in the expansion / contraction direction. The solenoid 181 is arranged on the right side of the take-in gate member 175 so that the output shaft 181b protrudes downward. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, it is fixed to the housing 161 by a solenoid cover 182. Further, since the position where the solenoid 181 is disposed is the lower right portion of the third take-in device 37, it corresponds to the position where the second housing 162 is notched, and the solenoid 181 is covered by the second housing 162. No (see FIG. 7). With this configuration, the third capture device 37 is thinned. Since the main body 181a of the solenoid 181 has a predetermined size, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the housings 161 and 162 in the configuration in which the second housing 162 is not cut as described above. is there. Further, since the solenoid 181 generates heat according to its driving, the heat dissipation can be improved by adopting a configuration in which the solenoid 181 is not covered by the second housing 162.

  A guide 183 is attached to the tip of the output shaft 181b of the solenoid 181. A part of the rotating piece 184 is engaged with the guide 183, and the other part of the rotating piece 184 is drivingly connected to the rear end of the take-in gate member 175. Reference numeral 185 denotes a coil spring that constantly urges the output shaft 180 in the extending direction, and reference numeral 186 denotes a support shaft that is provided at substantially the center of the rotating piece 184 and rotatably supports the rotating piece 184. .

  According to this configuration, when the solenoid 181 is not energized, the output shaft 181b is extended by the urging force of the coil spring 185 as shown in the drawing, and the claw portion 175b of the take-in gate member 175 is taken in. It protrudes into the passage 168 and the intake passage 168 is closed. At this time, the rear end portion of the take-in gate member 175 is in contact with the stopper 187, and the take-in gate member 175 is restricted from rotating further in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing. That is, in an actual use state, a game ball is put on the claw portion 175b of the take-in gate member 175 and the passage of the game ball is prevented in that state, but the take-in gate member 175 is shown in the figure by the weight of the game ball. Receives force in the counterclockwise direction. At this time, the movement of the take-in gate member 175 is stopped by the stopper 187.

  When the output shaft 181b moves in the contracting direction against the biasing force of the coil spring 185 as the solenoid 181 is energized, the take-in gate member 175 rotates through the guide 183 and the rotating piece 184 (FIG. 9 is turned clockwise). At this time, the claw portion 175 b of the take-in gate member 175 is retracted out of the take-in passage 168. When the energization of the solenoid 181 is stopped, the output shaft 181 b is moved in the extending direction by the urging force of the coil spring 185, and the claw portion 175 b of the take-in gate member 175 is projected into the take-in passage 168.

  In addition, by setting the drive source of the capture gate member 175 to the solenoid 181, the operation of the capture gate member 175 can be controlled by ON / OFF control of the solenoid 181. Therefore, the operation control of the take-in gate member 175 is facilitated. Further, as compared with the case where another electric actuator is used as the drive source, space saving in which the drive source for the take-in gate member 175 is disposed is realized.

  On the other hand, a discharge gate member 190 is provided in the discharge passage 169 immediately downstream of the passage branch position. The discharge gate member 190 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 is a front view showing the discharge gate member 190. FIG. 14 is a plan view showing the discharge gate member 190. In FIG. 14, the upper side of the drawing is the discharge passage 169 side, and the lower side of the drawing is the upstream passage 167 side.

  The discharge gate member 190 is made of synthetic resin and has three passage shielding portions 191a and a connecting portion 191b for connecting them at the lower end of each passage shielding portion 191a as shown in FIG. ing. In addition, three ball guide portions 191c are formed in the connecting portion 191b so as to be alternately arranged with the passage shielding portions 191a. Further, a proximal end portion 192 to which a force is applied to hold the discharge gate member 190 at a predetermined position in the thickness direction of the housings 161 and 162 is formed at the front side end portion of the connecting portion 191b. . There is a game ball passage area between the base end 192 and the adjacent passage shield 191a and between the two adjacent passage shields 191a, and the length between them is at least that of the game ball. The length is possible.

  Through holes 193a and 193b corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the discharge gate member 190 are formed in the inlets of the discharge passages 169 in the housings 161 and 162 of the respective intake devices 35 to 37. The through holes 193a, The discharge gate member 169 is inserted through the entire intake devices 35 to 37 through 193b. However, the base end portion 192 is not located in the housings 161 and 162 but is housed in a cover 194 fixed to the outer surface of the second housing 162 of the first take-in device 35. A through hole 194a is formed in the cover 194, and a protrusion 192a formed integrally with the base end 192 protrudes from the through hole 194a to the near side (see FIG. 7).

  As shown in FIG. 11, a spring 195 is interposed between the base end 192 and the second housing 162, and the base end 192 is always urged forward by the spring 195. . In this case, the cover 194 serves as a stopper that restricts the forward movement of the base end 192. Further, the combined length of the passage shielding portion 191a and the distance between adjacent passage shielding portions 191a is the same as the thickness of the housings 161 and 162 of the take-in device. 162, the passage shielding part 191a and the ball guiding part 191c are positioned one by one.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 13A, in a state where the base end portion 192 is in contact with the cover 194 by the biasing force of the spring 195 (a state where the discharge gate member 190 is disposed at the blocking position), A passage shielding portion 191a protrudes from the discharge passage 169 of the intake devices 35 to 37 so as to block more than half of the discharge passage 169. Thereby, the passage of the game ball flowing from the upstream passage 167 (discharge of the game ball through the discharge passage 169) is blocked. However, the passage shielding portion 191a is configured not to block the entire discharge passage 169. Thus, the amount of sliding movement of the discharge gate member 190 when opening and closing the discharge passage 169 is set to be as short as possible.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13B, the protrusion 192a of the base end 192 is pushed to the back side, and the discharge gate member 190 slides to the back side against the biasing force of the spring 195. In the state (the state in which the discharge gate member 190 is disposed at the allowable position), the ball guide portion 191c is positioned in the discharge passage 169 of each of the capture devices 35 to 37. Thereby, the passage of the game ball flowing down from the upstream passage 167 (discharge of the game ball through the discharge passage 169) is allowed.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 15, the ball guide portion 191c extends from the connecting portion 191b toward the upstream passage 167, and is provided so as to match the angle at which the discharge passage 169 is formed. Thereby, the inflow of game balls into the discharge passage 169 is smoothly performed. However, the length in the direction extending to the upstream passage 167 side of the ball guide portion 191c does not reach the vicinity of the center of the intake passage 168 in order to prevent the ball guide portion 191c from contacting the take-in gate member 175. It is about.

  The protrusion 192a is connected to a settlement switch 111 provided on the front door 4 via an interlocking mechanism (not shown). When the settlement switch 111 is pressed by the player, the interlocking mechanism is interposed. The protrusion 192a is pushed.

  Moreover, as shown to Fig.14 (a), the front-end | tip part (left side edge part of FIG. 14) of the side which protrudes in the discharge channel | path 169 in the channel | path shielding part 191a has a tapered shape. In the tapered portion, the surface on the upstream passage 167 side is a vertical surface with respect to the passage direction, and the surface on the discharge passage 169 side is an inclined surface with respect to the passage direction. Therefore, from the state where the passage of game balls in the discharge passage 169 is allowed as shown in FIG. 14B, the state where the passage of game balls in the discharge passage 169 is blocked as shown in FIG. 14C. When shifting to, the game ball B1 located on the ball guide portion 191c is pushed toward the discharge passage 169 side by the passage shielding portion 191a. In the configuration in which the upstream passage 167 and the discharge passage 169 are formed so as to extend in the gravity drop direction, the game ball B1 is pushed out to the discharge passage 169 side as described above, thereby smoothly shifting the state. Can be done. In addition, for example, in a configuration in which the tip of the passage shielding portion 191a is not tapered as described above, the game ball B1 may be sandwiched between the passage wall and the passage shielding portion 191a. On the other hand, if it is the said structure, there is no possibility that such a problem may arise.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 15, the claw portion 175 b of the intake gate member 175 protrudes into the intake passage 168, and the passage shielding portion 191 a of the discharge gate member 190 is located at the inlet of the discharge passage 169. In this case, a large number of game balls B are stored in a state where the top game ball B is supported by the claw portion 175b and the passage shielding portion 191a in the upstream passage 167. In this state, when the claw portion 175b is drawn out of the intake passage 168, the game ball B flows toward the intake passage 168, and conversely, the ball guide portion 191c is positioned at the entrance of the discharge passage 169. Then, the game ball B flows to the discharge passage 169 side. When the game ball B flows to the intake passage 168 side, the passage shielding portion 191a forms a part of the passage wall, and the game ball B collides with the passage shielding portion 191a and changes its direction to the downstream side (vertical direction). Flowing. Further, when the game ball B flows to the discharge passage 169 side, the claw portion 175b and the ball guide portion 191c constitute part of the passage wall, and pass through the claw portion 175b and the ball guide portion 191c to the downstream side. Flowing.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a pair of upper and lower count sensors 201 and 202 are installed in the intake passage 168 immediately downstream of the intake gate member 175. The count sensors 201 and 202 detect a game ball passing through the take-in passage 168 when the take-in passage 168 is opened by the take-in gate member 175. The sensors 201 and 202 start the game. Incorporation of a predetermined number of game balls, which is a condition, can be confirmed.

  Here, the configuration of the count sensors 201 and 202 will be described with reference to FIG. Each sensor 201, 202 is configured by a known optical sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Specifically, the optical sensor includes a sensor main body 205 extending from the wall W1 side of the first housing 161 toward the wall W2 of the second housing 162 (in the front-rear direction), and both ends of the sensor main body 205. Are provided as a sensor unit 200 integrally formed with arm portions 203 and 204 extending along the housings 161 and 162 toward the intake passage 168 side. The light receiving elements constituting the count sensors 201 and 202 are arranged vertically on one arm portion 203 on the tip side, and the other arm portion 204 is similarly positioned at a position opposite to the light receiving elements. Light emitting elements constituting 201 and 202 are provided. As described above, since the light emitting element and the light receiving element are integrally provided as the sensor unit 200, the alignment accuracy between the light emitting element and the light receiving element can be increased, and the detection accuracy can be improved. . Furthermore, noise can be reduced. In addition, since the light emitting element used for the count sensors 201 and 202 has strong directivity, the detection range of each count sensor 201 and 202 is narrow. Therefore, the period during which each count sensor 201, 202 detects one game ball is shortened, and the game balls that pass continuously can be detected individually.

  The distance between both arm parts 203 and 204 is slightly longer than the width of the intake passage 168. The sensor main body 205 is inserted into a through window 188 provided between the intake gate member 175 and the solenoid 181, which is an area inside the corner portion of the upstream passage 167 and the intake passage 168. Further, the sensor unit 200 is disposed in a state where both the arm portions 203 and 204 straddle the take-in gate member 175 and sandwich the take-in passage 168. As a result, the sensor unit 200 is configured to be integrated with the take-in gate member 175 and other driving mechanisms.

  In this case, the sensor body 205 has the same thickness in the thickness direction (front-rear direction) of the housings 161, 162 as the thickness of the housings 161, 162. 161 and 162 are configured to hardly protrude outward from the outer surface. Further, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 9, the ends of the arm portions 203 and 204 are located in the vicinity of the center of the intake passage 168 so as not to contact the ball guide portion 191 c of the discharge gate member 190. Along with this, since the count sensors 201 and 202 are located on the side of the intake gate member 175 with respect to the center line (the protrusion 173) of the intake passage 168, the game balls that continuously flow down are collected. It can be detected reliably. That is, the game ball has a spherical shape, and the passing time when passing the front of each sensor (that is, the gaming ball detection time by the sensor) is shorter at the position outside the center than the position near the center. This is because by shifting the positions of the count sensors 201 and 202 from the center line of the intake passage 168, it is possible to secure a long time from detection of one game ball to detection of the next game ball. .

  Further, the outer surfaces of the first housing 161 and the second housing 162 have a depth similar to the thickness (length in the front-rear direction) of the arm portions 203 and 204, respectively, and the vertical direction of the arm portions 203 and 204. A fitting groove 189 having a width approximately equal to the length of the fitting groove 189 is formed, and the arm portions 203 and 204 are accommodated in the fitting groove 189. The sensor main body 205 houses a sensor substrate (not shown) having functional circuits for causing the light emitting element and the light receiving element to function. By accommodating the sensor substrate in the sensor main body 205 extending in the thickness direction of the housings 161 and 162 in this manner, the dimension in the thickness direction of the sensor unit 200 can be made substantially the same as the thickness of the housings 161 and 162. . Since the sensor substrate is accommodated in the sensor unit 200, the signal lines connected to the light emitting elements and the light receiving elements of the count sensors 201 and 202 can be combined into one in the sensor unit 200. Simplification of wiring can be realized.

  The sensor board is provided with a connector portion 205a to which a signal line connected to the main control device 131 is connected. The connector part 205a faces the solenoid 181. As the solenoid 181 and the sensor main body part 205 are close to each other, the connector part 205a is also close to the solenoid 181. The signal lines of the sensor unit 200 are gathered together with the signal line of the solenoid 181 as a drive source for the gate member 175 for taking in from the side wall side of the housing 161 on the side where the sensor unit 200 and the solenoid 181 are collectively arranged. Has been pulled out. Moreover, wiring can be facilitated by adopting a configuration in which the signal lines from the sensor units 200 of the capture devices 35 to 37 are collectively connected to the main control device 131 via the relay board.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the intake passage 168 is provided with a fraud detection sensor 210 having a substantially flat plate shape at the most downstream portion thereof. Specifically, the passage walls of the housings 161 and 162 that constitute the most downstream portion of the intake passage 168 are set back to the outside of the passage in accordance with the shape of the fraud detection sensor 210 (see FIG. 10), the fraud detection sensor 210 is disposed in the retracted portion. The fraud detection sensor 210 is fixed at the position of the most downstream part by contacting the wall parts W1 and W2 of the housings 161 and 162.

  The fraud detection sensor 210 is configured by a well-known proximity sensor, and converts a magnetic field change caused by a game ball passing through the detection unit 210a of the sensor into an electric signal and outputs it. With this fraud detection sensor 210, the passage of the game ball detected by the count sensors 201 and 202 can be confirmed at the most downstream portion of the intake passage 168. The connector portion 210b to which the signal line connected from the fraud detection sensor 210 to the main control device 131 is connected is provided on the side surface 210b on the side close to the solenoid 181. The signal line connected to the connector part 210b is drawn out from a recess 161c formed on the side wall of the housing 161. Thereby, all the signal lines pulled out from the third capturing device 37 are pulled out from one side wall (the side wall on the side where the sensor unit 200 and the solenoid 181 are collectively arranged) side of the third capturing device 37. It has become.

  Next, referring to FIG. 16, an actual game ball take-in operation by the third take-in device 37 will be described. FIG. 16A shows the initial state, FIG. 16B shows the state where the game ball B is taken in, and FIG. 16C shows the state where the game ball B is discharged. Note that in the actual game, the game balls B enter the upstream passage 167 one after another, but only five game balls B are shown in FIGS.

  In the initial state shown in FIG. 16A, since the solenoid 181 is in a non-energized state, the claw portion 175b of the take-in gate member 175 protrudes into the take-in passage 168, and the discharge gate member 190 is in the initial state. Therefore, the passage shield 191a is located at the entrance of the discharge passage 169. Therefore, the passage of the game ball B through the take-in gate member 175 and the discharge gate member 190 is not allowed. That is, among the plurality of game balls B in the upstream passage 167, the top game ball is supported by the claw portion 175b and the passage shielding portion 191a.

  In the state where the game ball B is taken in as shown in FIG. 16B, the claw portion 175b is retracted out of the take-in passage 168 by energization of the solenoid 181. As a result, the game ball B flows through the take-in passage 168 and the game ball is taken in. The game ball B flowing down in the upstream passage 167 collides with the passage shielding portion 191a, and at that time, the momentum of the flow is absorbed by the passage shielding portion 191a and stopped for a moment. It flows to 168. At this time, the front and rear game balls flow down in the take-in passage 168, and the passage of the game ball B is reliably detected by the count sensors 201 and 202.

  Further, in the discharged state of the game ball B shown in FIG. 16 (c), when the settlement switch 111 is pressed, the projection 192a is pushed to the back side, and the discharge gate member 190 moves to the back side. The ball guide 191c is located at the entrance of the discharge passage 169. As a result, the game ball B flows downstream in the discharge passage 169 and the game ball is discharged. At this time, the game ball B passes while rolling on the claw portion 175b and the ball guide portion 191c.

  In the take-in unit 30 configured as described above, the game balls are taken in by the respective take-in devices 35 to 37. Specifically, for example, when 15 game balls are taken in, in all the take-in devices 35 to 37, the take-in gate members 175 are simultaneously moved to the open position, and the game balls are taken in. It starts all at once. In this case, when any of the three capture devices 35 to 37 is not filled with a game ball or when the solenoid 181 is out of order, only the capture device that is not malfunctioning is used. A game ball is taken in. For example, when the first take-in device 35 or the third take-in device 37 is not filled with a game ball or when the solenoid 181 or the like of these take-in devices 35, 37 is out of order, the second take-in device 36 Fifteen game balls are taken in.

  On the other hand, when the game balls stored in the upper plate 18 and the take-in devices 35 to 37 are discharged to the lower plate 41, the discharge gate member 190 is moved to the back by pressing the adjustment switch 111. The inlets of the discharge passages 169 of all the intake devices 35 to 37 are opened. As a result, the game balls are discharged through all the capturing devices 35 to 37.

  In the above configuration, the number of the capture devices 35 to 37 constituting the capture unit 30 is three, but each capture device 35 to 37 has a substantially similar configuration, and further includes a discharge gate. Since one member of the member 190 is configured to prevent and allow the passing of the game ball to the discharge passage 169 in each of the take-in devices 35 to 37, the take-in device having the same configuration is used as the first take-in device. The number of intake devices 35 to 37 is increased by increasing the number of passage shielding portions 191a and ball guide portions 191c of the discharge gate member 190. It can be easily increased to 5, or 6 or more.

  On the back side of the back set board 16, a payout mechanism for paying out game balls when a predetermined condition is established during the game is provided. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a tank 25 is provided at the uppermost part on the back side of the back set board 16, and game balls supplied from the island facilities of the game hall are sequentially supplied to the tank 25. A tank rail 26 is connected to the lower side of the tank 25, and a case rail 27 is connected to the downstream side of the tank rail 26. The payout device 28 is provided on the downstream side of the case rail 27, and a required number of game balls are paid out by a predetermined electrical configuration such as a payout motor. The game balls paid out from the payout device 28 are supplied to the upper plate 18 through the game ball passage unit 29.

  The payout mechanisms such as the tank rail 26, the case rail 27, and the payout device 28 are arranged so as to bypass a reel unit 70 (actually a protective cover 135 surrounding the reel unit 70) described later. Further, in FIG. 5 (rear view of the gaming machine 1), the front frame 3 is pivotally supported by the upper and lower portions at the right end so as to be openable and closable, and the above-described payout mechanism is disposed on the shaft side. In this case, a large number of game balls are stored in the payout mechanism and its weight naturally increases. However, since the payout mechanism is provided on the shaft side, the front frame 3 can be opened and closed without hindrance. Moreover, since the weight burden concerning a shaft member (hinges 31 and 32) is reduced at this time, the effect which protects a coaxial member (hinges 31 and 32) is also acquired collectively. Since the take-in devices 35 to 37 are also provided on the shaft side as with the payout mechanism, all the mechanisms relating to the handling of the game balls are integrated on the shaft side, making it easier to deal with problems related to the flow of the game balls. Furthermore, the act of opening the front door 4 and illegally paying out or taking in the game ball can be suppressed.

  When the take-in devices 35 to 37 are activated, a predetermined number of game balls in the upper plate 18 are taken in accordingly. Further, when a predetermined condition is established during the game, the payout device 28 is operated, whereby the game balls stored in the tank 25 are basically returned to the upper plate 18 via the game ball passage unit 29 and the like. To be paid out.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, a lower plate 41 is formed in the lower plate unit 5 provided below the front surface of the front door 4, and a lower plate discharge port 42 is formed on the back side of the lower plate unit 5. ing. When the game balls are fully stored in the upper plate 18 or the like and the game balls are further paid out from the payout device 28, the game balls are paid out to the lower plate 41 through the lower plate discharge port 42. It is. An ashtray 44 is formed adjacent to the lower plate 41.

  The lower surface of the operation unit 100 including the bulging portion on the front surface of the front door 4 is cut out in a trapezoidal shape (convex shape) (in fact, a lower part of a stop button operation surface 113 described later is cut out). The space below the operation unit 100 (the space formed by the cutout) is also a space into which a hand is inserted in order to scrape out the game balls stored in the lower plate 41.

  A ball punching hole 45 is formed in the lower tray unit 5, and a ball punching mechanism (not shown) is interlocked by pressing the ball punching button 46, and the game balls stored in the lower tray 41 are discharged downward from the ball punching hole 45. It has come to be.

  An upper panel 59 is disposed below the top portion 6 a of the annular portion 6. The upper panel 59 is formed of a transparent synthetic resin, and a translucent film on which a model name, a character related to a game, and the like are drawn on the rear surface thereof can identify the character from the front of the gaming machine. It is pasted. An upper light 59a for illuminating the upper panel 59 from the inside is disposed inside the upper panel 59, and a character or the like drawn on the film is illuminated by the light of the upper light 59a. The player can easily see the character and the like. The transparent upper panel 59 may have a configuration in which the model name, characters related to games, and the like are directly printed. Further, since the upper panel 59 is disposed to be inclined, the front surface of the upper panel 59 is configured to face slightly downward. The height of the eyes of the player who plays a game on the gaming machine 1 is located near the lower edge of the upper panel 59. Therefore, when the front surface of the upper panel 59 faces downward, the front of the upper panel 59 is visually recognized. Improves.

  A case body 60 having a three-dimensional shape is disposed below the upper panel 59 so as to protrude from the upper panel 59 to the front of the gaming machine 1. The case body 60 is made of a synthetic resin colored in black, has an upper end along the lower end of the upper panel 59, and left and right ends are the left and right constricted portions of the annular portion 6. It has a shape along the inner side of 6b, and has a shape such that the lower end is along the upper end of the upper plate 18. The case body 60 is disposed in a region surrounded by the upper panel 59, the constricted portion 6b, and the upper plate 18. The case body 60 includes an upper inclined portion 61, a frame portion 62, a lower inclined portion 63, and a back wall 64 in order from the top, and the frame portion 62 projects most forward. The frame 62 has an opening at the center, and the opening is provided with a transparent panel 65 that is formed of a transparent synthetic resin and allows a part of the symbol attached to the reel to be visually recognized. ing. As described above, since the frame portion 62 projects most forward in the case body 60, the transparent panel 65 is positioned in front of the gaming machine with respect to the upper panel 59. As shown in FIG. 4, the case body 60 is located immediately in front of the reel unit 70, and forms an accommodation area for the reel unit 70 together with the outer frame 2, the front frame 3, and the protective cover 135. Since the transparent panel 65 protrudes ahead of the gaming machine from the upper panel 59, the reel unit 70 having a relatively large size can be arranged. However, in order to prevent the transparent panel 65 from overhanging the front of the gaming machine, the reel unit 70 is positioned so that the rear end of the reel unit 70 is positioned near the rear end of the protective cover 135. Further, a control board or the like is not provided on the back side of the protective cover 135. The configuration of the reel unit 70 will be described in detail later.

  The upper inclined portion 61 has an upper end in contact with the lower end of the upper panel 59 and connects the upper panel 59 to the frame portion 62 and the transparent panel 65 disposed in the frame portion 62. ing. Further, the upper inclined portion 61 is located above the front side of the reel unit 70. And, by being formed of a synthetic resin colored in black, light from the ceiling lighting and the upper light 59a in the game hall is blocked by the upper inclined portion 61. This prevents the light from being irradiated on the reel unit 70 and the visibility of the symbol at the irradiated position from being lowered. In the case where such a means for blocking the transmission of light is not provided, the light is irradiated onto the reel unit 70, and the symbol visibility at the position irradiated with the reflected light is remarkably high. It will be reduced. The game of the gaming machine 1 is performed at a predetermined timing so as to stop a combination of predetermined symbols on a preset effective line by visually recognizing a symbol that passes through an area visible to the player through the transparent panel 65. This is done by stopping the variation of symbols. Therefore, a decrease in the visibility of the symbol may be a factor that causes a decrease in the entertainment interest of the game. On the other hand, with the configuration of the present embodiment, there is no possibility that such inconvenience will occur. Further, since the upper inclined portion 61 is formed of a synthetic resin colored in black, the internal structure of the gaming machine 1 cannot be visually recognized from the outside. Further, the front surface of the upper inclined portion 61 is inclined downward from the back side toward the near side. As a result, even if the upper panel 59 is located behind the transparent panel 65, the content displayed on the upper panel 59 is visually recognized by the player without being obstructed by the transparent panel 65. Can be made. If the front surface of the upper inclined portion 61 is not inclined as described above and is, for example, substantially horizontal, the lower edge of the upper panel 59 and the upper edge of the transparent panel 65 are at the same height. This is because, in a situation where the player's eyes are near the upper edge of the transparent panel 65, part of the content displayed on the upper panel 59 may not be visible.

  The transparent panel 65 disposed in the frame portion 62 has a planar shape. This prevents light such as ceiling lighting in the game hall from being reflected by the transparent panel 65. If the transparent panel 65 is on a curved surface, the reflection of the light of the illumination is remarkably generated, and there is a possibility that the visibility of the symbol is remarkably lowered. However, in this embodiment, such inconvenience is caused. There is no risk of occurrence. Further, the front surface of the transparent panel 65 faces upward. Thereby, the improvement of the visibility of a symbol is achieved. On the other hand, since the frame portion 62 is formed of the synthetic resin colored black as described above, the structure around the reel unit 70 cannot be visually recognized from the outside.

  The front surface of the downward inclined portion 63 is inclined downward from the lower end of the frame portion 62 toward the back side. The back end portion corresponds to the upper end of the back wall 64. Thereby, the back wall 64 can be disposed on the back side to some extent as compared to the transparent panel 65. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower part on the near side of the reel unit 70 is located on the back side of the downward inclined part 63 and the back wall 64, and the part has a curved surface. Then, by tilting the downward inclined portion 63 so as to conform to the curved surface, the rear wall 64 can be disposed as far as possible in the range where the rear wall 64 is not in contact with the reel unit 70. Moreover, even if it is the structure where the back wall 64 is located in the back | inner side rather than the transparent panel 65 because the front surface of the downward inclination part 63 inclines as mentioned above, it is provided in the back wall 64. The contents displayed on the acquired number display section 122 and the like can be visually recognized by the player without being obstructed by the transparent panel 65. If the front surface of the downward inclined portion 63 is substantially horizontal, the lower edge of the transparent panel 65 and the upper edge of the back wall 64 are the same height, and the height of the player's eyes is high. This is because the content displayed on the acquisition number display unit 122 or the like may not be visible under the circumstances near the upper edge of the transparent panel 65. Further, since the downward inclined portion 63 is formed of a synthetic resin colored in black, the internal structure of the gaming machine 1 cannot be visually recognized from the outside.

  The back wall 64 extends substantially vertically downward from the lower end of the downward inclined portion 63 over a predetermined range, and its center is opened. In the opening, an acquisition number display unit 122 and an information display unit 123 are provided. Further, below the back wall 64, the upper plate 18 having the operation unit 100 disposed on the front surface is located. The back wall 64 is located on the back side of the transparent panel 65 and is further located near the center of the upper plate 18 in the depth direction. With this configuration, a space for the player to replenish game balls to the upper plate 18 is secured while suppressing the operation unit 100 from protruding forward of the gaming machine as much as possible. If the rear wall 64 is not located behind the transparent panel 65 and, for example, is configured to protrude to the front of the gaming machine to the same extent as the transparent panel 65, the player moves to the upper plate 18. In order to secure a space for refilling game balls, it is necessary to bulge the upper plate 18 forward of the game machine. In this case, the operation unit 100 is positioned in front of the upper plate 18, and as a result, the operation unit 100 is projected forward of the gaming machine. The game of the gaming machine 1 is performed by a player sitting in a fixed chair disposed in front of the gaming machine 1 operating the operation unit 100 for each game. If the game machine is projected forward, the distance between the player's trunk and the operation unit 100 becomes short, and the operation of the operation unit 100 for each game time becomes tight. This may be a heavy burden for a player who continues to play games. Further, if the distance between the gaming machine 1 and the chair is increased in order to eliminate the inconvenience, the distance from the transparent panel 65 to the player's eyes becomes longer, which may cause a decrease in the visibility of the symbol. . Furthermore, in this case, the distance between the chairs is shortened, and the passage space for employees and customers in the game hall is narrowed. Further, when the operation unit 100 protrudes in front of the gaming machine, the movement range of the front end of the operation unit 100 when the front door 4 is rotated in a game hall or the like is widened, and the front end of the operation unit 100 is the player. There is a risk of hitting. On the other hand, in this embodiment, there is no possibility that such inconvenience occurs. The back wall 64 is made of a synthetic resin colored in black. Thereby, the internal structure cannot be visually recognized from the outside of the gaming machine 1.

  For the sake of convenience of explanation, although description by illustration is omitted, a front light member having a panel shape is similarly attached to the back surface of the case body 60 so as to overlap. The front light member constitutes a light emitting means, and is a light source (light) and a transparent light guide that introduces light from the light source along the panel surface and reflects it in a direction substantially perpendicular to the panel surface and emits it to the outside of the panel. And a panel. That is, according to the front light member, surface light emission is performed substantially vertically toward the rear thereof, and a belt surface (design) of the belt unit 70 described later is illuminated brightly. In this case, surface light emission is performed with respect to the visible range of the symbol by the transparent panel 65.

  Next, the configuration of the reel unit 70 as a display device will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 17, and 18. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the reel unit 70 taken out from the gaming machine main body. In FIG. 17, the front surface of the reel unit 70, that is, the symbol display surface is shown on the left front side. FIG. 18 is an assembled perspective view of the left reel.

  The reel unit 70 constitutes variable display means, and is installed on the back set board 16 from the front on the back side of the front door 4. That is, the belt unit 70 includes a metal base 80 (base member). The base 80 includes a rear portion 80a on the rear side of the reel unit 70, an upper surface portion 80b on the upper side, and a lower surface portion 80c on the lower side. Two support fixing portions 81 as fixed portions are provided at the front end portion of the upper surface portion 80b by bending a part of the end portion. Each support fixing part 81 is formed with one insertion hole 81a. On the other hand, a support fixing portion 82 as a fixed portion is provided at the front end portion of the lower surface portion 80c by bending the entire end portion. The support fixing portion 82 has one insertion hole 82a at each end. The reel unit 70 is fixedly attached to the back set board 16 by screwing screws inserted through the insertion holes 81a and 82a into the back set board 16.

  The base 80 accommodates a left reel 71, a middle reel 72, and a right reel 73 that are formed in a cylindrical shape (annular shape). Each reel 71, 72, 73 is rotatably supported such that its central axis is the rotation axis of the reel. The rotation axes of the reels 71, 72, and 73 are disposed on the same axis extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and a part of the surface of each reel 71, 72, 73 is in a state that can be visually recognized through the transparent panel 65. ing. Further, when the reels 71, 72, and 73 are rotated forward, the surfaces of the reels 71, 72, and 73 are projected through the transparent panel 65 as if they are moving from top to bottom.

  Each of these reels 71, 72, 73 is connected to stepping motors 74, 75, 76, and each reel 71, 72, 73 is individually driven by each stepping motor 74, 75, 76, that is, independent of each other. Thus, it can be rotationally driven. Since these reels 71, 72 and 73 have the same configuration, the left reel 71 will be described as an example here with reference to FIG.

  The left reel 71 includes a cylindrical skeleton member 50 that forms a cylindrical cage, and a belt-like belt wound endlessly on the outer peripheral surface thereof. And it is affixed on the cylindrical skeleton member 50 through a pair of seal parts formed along the both sides of the long side of the belt so as to maintain the wound state. A large number of symbols as identification information are printed at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the belt. A boss portion 51 is formed at the center of the cylindrical skeleton member 50, and is attached to the drive shaft of the left reel stepping motor 74 via a disk-like boss reinforcing plate 52. Accordingly, when the drive shaft of the left reel stepping motor 74 rotates, the cylindrical skeleton member 50 rotates about the drive shaft, and the left reel 71 circulates along the annular reel surface. It has become.

  The left reel stepping motor 74 is fixed to the side surface of the motor plate 53 arranged in an upright state in the reel unit 70 (FIG. 17) with screws 54. The motor plate 53 is provided with a reel index sensor (rotational position detection sensor) 55 in which a light emitting element 55a and a light receiving element 55b are held at a predetermined interval. On the other hand, a base end portion 56 b of a sensor cut bun 56 extending in the radial direction is fixed to the boss reinforcing plate 52 integrated with the left reel 71 with a screw 57. The front end portion 56a of the sensor cut bun 56 is bent at a substantially right angle and is positioned so as to pass between both elements 55a and 55b of the reel index sensor 55. Each time the left reel 71 makes one revolution, the reel index sensor 55 detects the passage of the front end portion 56a of the sensor cut bun 56, and a detection signal is output to the main controller 131 described later each time the detection is made. Therefore, the main controller 131 can check and correct the angular position of the left reel 71 every rotation based on the detection signal.

  The stepping motor 74 is set to rotate once by giving, for example, a drive signal of 504 pulses (also referred to as an excitation signal or an excitation pulse; the same applies hereinafter). The rotation position of the stepping motor 74, that is, the left position is determined by this excitation pulse. The rotational position of the reel 71 is controlled.

  On each belt of each of the reels 71, 72, 73, a plurality of, specifically, 21 symbols are drawn in the long side direction (circumferential direction). Therefore, 24 pulses (= 504 pulses ÷ 21 symbols) are required to switch from one symbol to the next symbol at a predetermined position. Based on the number of pulses from the time when the detection signal of the reel index sensor 55 is output, it is possible to recognize which symbol is visible from the transparent panel 65 or to visually recognize an arbitrary symbol from the transparent panel 65. It is possible to perform control to achieve a proper state.

  Of the symbols attached to each of the reels 71, 72, 73, the number of symbols that can be visually recognized through the transparent panel 65 is limited to a predetermined number mainly determined by the vertical length of the transparent panel 65. Yes. In this embodiment, three reels are provided. For this reason, when all the reels 71, 72, 73 are stopped, 3 × 3 = 9 symbols are visible to the player.

  Further, for convenience of explanation, although illustration explanation is omitted, the reel unit 70 is provided with a backlight (rear light emitting means) for illuminating a symbol visible through the transparent panel 65 from behind. . This backlight is composed of a fluorescent lamp or the like, and is arranged so as to illuminate a symbol visible from the rear through the transparent panel 65 on the inner peripheral side of each reel.

  Here, the symbols attached to the reels 71, 72, 73 will be described. FIG. 19 shows a symbol arrangement drawn on the belt wound around each of the left reel 71, the middle reel 72, and the right reel 73. As shown in the figure, each of the reels 71, 72, 73 is provided with 21 symbols in a row. Numbers 1 to 21 are assigned to the reels 71, 72, and 73, but are given for convenience of explanation, and are not actually assigned to the reels 71, 72, and 73. . However, in the following description, the number is used for explanation.

  As the symbols, there are a “7” symbol (for example, the left belt 20th) and a “youth” symbol (for example, the left belt 19th) as the first special symbol for shifting to the big bonus game. In addition, there is a “BAR” symbol (for example, the 14th left belt) as the second special symbol for shifting to the regular bonus game. Further, there is a “replay” symbol (for example, the eleventh left belt) as a third special symbol for shifting to the replay game. In addition, a “watermelon” symbol (for example, the left belt ninth), a “bell” symbol (for example, the left belt eighth), and a “cherry” symbol (for example, left) as the small character symbols from which the small character is paid out. Belt 4th). As shown in FIG. 19, the number of various symbols and the arrangement order are completely different in the belt wound around each reel 71, 72, 73.

  In the present embodiment, when the “7” symbol and the “youth” symbol are aligned with the left, middle, and right on the effective line described later, 75 game balls are paid out and the big bonus game is played. A rush is made. When the “BAR” symbols are aligned with the left, middle, and right on the active line, 75 game balls are paid out and a regular bonus game is entered. Further, when the “replay” symbols are aligned with the left, middle, and right on the active line, the game ball is not paid out and the player enters the replay game.

  Furthermore, regarding the small role design, when the “Watermelon” design is aligned with the left, middle, and right on the active line, 75 game balls are paid out, and the “Bell” design is on the left, middle, and right on the active line. In the event that they are aligned, 40 game balls will be paid out. Further, when the “cherry” symbol of the left reel 71 is stopped on the active line, 10 game balls are paid out. That is, the “cherry” symbols of the middle reel 72 and the right reel 73 are irrelevant to the payout of the game ball, and are meaningless symbols. In addition, for the “cherry” symbols, the game balls are paid out regardless of the combination with other symbols, and therefore the positions where the plurality of effective lines of the left reel 71 overlap (specifically, the upper or lower level). When the “cherry” symbol is stopped at the same time, game balls are paid out by multiplying the number of overlapping active lines. As a result, in this embodiment, 20 game balls are paid out. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a main control device (control device) 131 for performing various controls relating to the game is installed on the back set board 16 on the back of the gaming machine 1. The main control device 131 includes a CPU that performs main control, a ROM that stores game programs, a RAM that stores necessary data according to the progress of the game, an IO port that communicates with various devices, and an input / output port that functions as a buffer. The control circuit board includes a random number circuit used in various lotteries, a reset circuit for outputting a reset signal, and the like.

  Similarly, the back set board 16 is provided with a sub-control device 132 for controlling the various lamps 8 to 10, 12, 13 and the speaker 11 so as to be accommodated in the protective cover 135. Similarly, the sub-control device 132 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and adopts a one-way communication configuration that receives a control signal from the main control device 131 but does not transmit a signal to the main control device 131 side. Yes. A payout control device 136 is installed on the back set panel 16 so as to be aligned with the main control device 131. The payout control device 136 also includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like, and adopts a bidirectional communication configuration with the main control device 131 via an input / output buffer. The main control device 131, the sub control device 132, and the payout control device 136 are all housed in a transparent or non-transparent control board box, and are fixed to the back set board 16 with the control board box sealed. ing. The reel unit 70 is housed and integrated in a colorless and transparent protective cover 135 as a case member.

  A power supply device 133 is installed on the back set panel 16 so as to be in contact with the side surface of the protective cover 135 (reel unit 70). The power supply device 133 accommodates a power supply board for supplying necessary power to the control device such as the main control device 131, the sub control device 132, the payout control device 136, and the other payout device 28, and the power supply substrate. A colorless and transparent substrate box and a metal plate for noise countermeasures for eliminating noise generated inside and outside the power supply substrate are provided, and these are integrally assembled. The back set board 16 is provided with a vertically long concave portion 134 immediately next to the reel unit 70, and the side portion of the power supply device 133 is accommodated in the concave portion 134. Thereby, the power supply device 133 is attached in a state in which the power supply device 133 is arranged vertically in a direction extending in the depth direction of the gaming machine 1.

  The arrangement of the main control device 131, the sub control device 132, the power supply board 133, the payout control device 136, etc. is not limited to the arrangement described above.

  The power supply device 133 is provided with a power switch, a reset switch, a setting key insertion hole, and the like. The power switch is a start switch for supplying power to each unit including the main control device 131. The reset switch is a switch for resetting various states of the gaming machine 1. This game machine 1 has a backup function for various data, and even if a power failure occurs, it retains the state at the time of the power failure and returns to the state at the time of the power failure at the time of recovery from the power failure (power recovery). It can be done. Therefore, for example, when the power supply is turned off in the normal procedure, such as when the game hall is closed, the state before the turn-off is stored, but if the power switch is turned on while pressing the reset switch, the backup data is reset. It has become. If the reset switch is pressed while the power switch is on, the error state is reset. The setting key insertion hole is used by a hall manager or the like to adjust the ball appearance. That is, the setting state (winning probability setting process) of the gaming machine 1 can be changed from, for example, “Setting 1” to “Setting 6” by operating the hole manager or the like by inserting the setting key into the setting key insertion hole. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 20, a total of five active lines are set on the transparent panel 65 of the gaming machine 1 such that three lines are parallel to the horizontal direction and two lines are diagonally crossed. ing. That is, as the effective lines, upper, middle, and lower horizontal lines (upper line, center line, and lower line) and a pair of diagonal lines (upward and rightward lines) are set. Of course, the maximum number of effective lines may be 6 or more, or less than 5, and the maximum number of effective lines may be changed according to a predetermined condition. In order to make it easier for the player to understand the effective line, a line display unit that explicitly displays the line activated according to the number of bets may be provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the left side of the operation unit 100 provided in the bulging portion of the front door 4, the reels 71 to 73 are started simultaneously (not necessarily simultaneously). A start lever 101 is provided which is operated by the user. The start lever 101 constitutes start operation means that is operated to start variable display.

  A stop button operation surface 113 is provided on the right side of the start lever 101, and stop buttons 102, 103, and 104 are provided on the stop button operation surface 113 for individually stopping the rotating reels 71 to 73. ing. The stop buttons 102 to 104 are provided for the reels 71 to 73 to be stopped, respectively. The stop buttons 102 to 104 constitute stop means for stopping the variable display and stop operation means operated to stop the variable display. In the present embodiment, the reels 71 to 73 are configured to stop when a predetermined time elapses without the stop buttons 102 to 104 being pressed.

  A flat operation assisting surface 105 is formed on the upper surface of the operation unit 100 (the bulging portion of the front door 4). The operation assisting surface 105 is provided in an arch shape so as to surround the upper tray 18 behind it, and an opening 106 having substantially the same shape as the upper tray 18 is formed between the operation assisting surface 105 and the gaming machine front surface. When the front door 4 is closed, the upper plate 18 opens upward through the opening 106. The operation assisting surface 105 is provided with a slight inclination so as to descend toward the front (front side). However, the inclination may not be present, and conversely, the inclination may be lowered downward.

  Here, the portion directly above the stop buttons 102 to 104 (stop button operation surface 113) on the operation assisting surface 105 has a substantially uniform width in the front-rear direction, and the rear edge portion (L portion in FIG. 1) of the operation assisting surface 105. ) Is configured in a straight line. In this case, assuming that the player presses each of the stop buttons 102 to 104 with the thumb, another finger such as an index finger or a middle finger may be put on the rear edge portion (L portion) of the operation assisting surface 105. By moving the hand to the left and right in this state, the stop buttons 102 to 104 can be continuously pressed along the operation assisting surface 105. In other words, the above pressing operation can be performed by placing a finger on the upper plate portion. In short, since the operation assisting surface 105 is flat and the rear edge thereof is a straight line, the operation assisting surface 105 is used to perform the continuous pressing operation of the stop buttons 102 to 104 quickly and smoothly. Can do.

  Further, the upper plate 18 (in this embodiment, in particular, the sub-upper plate portion 18b shown in FIG. 5 and the like) may be provided with a step or an inclination so that the operation assisting surface 105 side is somewhat raised. Good. That is, a height difference is provided so that the front of the upper plate 18 is high and the rear is low. According to this, even if game balls are stored in the upper plate 18, many of them are stored in a lower part of the upper plate 18 (that is, a part away from the operation assisting surface 105). Therefore, in the case where the upper plate 18 is used as a finger rest, the inconvenience that the finger and the game ball interfere can be avoided.

  Above the start lever 101 (that is, on the left hand side for the player), the operation assisting surface 105 of the operation unit 100 is provided with a button-like bet switch that constitutes an input operation means for taking in a game ball. . In the present embodiment, a max bet switch 109 is provided as a bet switch.

  The max bet switch 109 is provided with a light-emitting body (light-emitting member) for notifying that an operation is effectively accepted. The light emitter is built in the button pressing portion of the max bed switch 109, and the button pressing portion emits light when the light emitter emits light. The illuminator is turned on (or flashes) when the operation of the max bet switch 109 is effectively accepted, and after the operation of the max bet switch 109 is effectively accepted or when the operation is not accepted. Turns off. Alternatively, the light emitter emits red light when the operation of the max bet switch 109 is effectively accepted, and after the operation of the max bet switch 109 is effectively accepted or when the operation is not accepted. It may emit blue light.

  Each time the max bet switch 109 is pressed, “15” game balls on the upper plate 18 are taken in by the take-in devices 35 to 37. As a result, all the five valid lines are validated. This state is the maximum bet state. In other words, when the maximum bet switch 109 is pressed once, no more game balls are taken in. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the maximum bet state is reached and the maximum bet switch 109 is further pressed, the operation is invalidated. However, in a jack-in game in a big bonus game that is in a special gaming state, five (one bet) game balls are taken in by one press operation of the max bet switch 109. . In this case, only the center line of the five effective lines is activated.

  Further, the display unit 63 of the front door 4 includes an acquisition number display unit 122 for displaying the number of acquired game balls, and an information display unit 123 for displaying information during the big bonus game (for example, the number of games). Each is provided. In this embodiment, each of the display units 122 and 123 is constituted by a three-digit seven-segment display. However, the number of digits is not particularly limited, and can be replaced by a liquid crystal display or the like. It is.

  Note that various notification units (not shown) such as a big notification unit, a replay notification unit, and a small role notification unit may be appropriately provided on the upper portion of the gaming machine 1 (front door 4). These various notification units may be provided in places other than the upper part of the gaming machine 1, or different types of notification may be performed by a common notification unit. Moreover, you may utilize the annular parts 6 and 7 as this alerting | reporting part. For example, when the “7” symbols are aligned on the active line when the reels 71 to 73 are stopped, the big notification unit displays and notifies that the big bonus game has been acquired by lighting, flashing, or the like. When the “replay” symbols are aligned on the active line when the rotation of the reels 71 to 73 is stopped, the replay notification unit notifies the player that the replay game has been acquired by lighting, flashing, or the like. When the rotation of each reel 71 to 73 is stopped, the small role notification unit displays that a predetermined number of game balls have been acquired by lighting, flashing or the like when the “watermelon” symbols as the small role symbols are aligned on the active line. Inform. In addition, although each of these alerting | reporting parts decided to alert | report by display, you may alert | report by the audio | voice with the speaker 11 with which it replaces with this or in addition to this, the gaming machine 1 (upper part of the front door 4).

  Next, the electrical configuration of the gaming machine 1 will be described based on the block diagram of FIG. For convenience of explanation, only one capturing device is shown for the capturing devices 35 to 37.

  The main control device 131 is equipped with a microcomputer centering on a CPU 151 as arithmetic processing means. In addition to the power supply device 133, the CPU 151 is connected to a clock circuit 154 that outputs a rectangular wave having a predetermined frequency, an input / output port 155, and the like via an internal bus. The main controller 131 functions as a main base built in the gaming machine 10. Note that power from the power supply device 133 is supplied directly or indirectly to the sub-control device 132, the payout control device 136, etc. in addition to the main control device 131. Further, various signals based on the operation of the reset switch 138 provided in the power supply device 133 are transmitted to the main control device 131 and the payout control device 136, thereby executing the above-described ball removal processing and the like.

  On the input side of the main control device 131, a settlement detection sensor 111a that detects a pressing operation of the settlement switch 111, a maximum bed detection sensor 109a that detects a pressing operation of the maximum bed switch 109, and a start detection that detects an operation of the start lever 101. Various sensors such as a sensor 101a, stop detection sensors 102a, 103a, and 104a that individually detect operations of the stop buttons 102 to 104, and a reel index sensor 55 that individually detects the rotation positions (origin positions) of the reels 71 to 73 Is connected.

  On the output side of the main control device 131, stepping motors 74 to 76 mounted on the reel unit 70, and an acquisition number display unit 122 and an information display unit 123 provided in the display unit 63 are connected.

  The main control device 131 is connected to take-in devices 35 to 37. Specifically, the count sensors 201 and 202 and the fraud detection sensor 210 of the capture devices 35 to 37 are connected to the input side of the main control device 131, and the capture devices 35 to 37 are connected to the output side of the main control device 131. The solenoid 181 is connected.

  In addition, a payout control device 136 is connected to the main control device 131 so that bidirectional communication can be performed. Accordingly, the payout control device 136 can receive a command from the main control device 131, and the main control device 131 can receive a signal from the payout control device 136. In addition, a payout device 28 is connected to the payout control device 136.

  Further, a sub control device 132 is connected to the output side of the main control device 131. The light emitters 8 and 9, the lamp display units 10, 12 and 13, and the speaker 11 are connected to the output side of the sub-control device 132. From the main control device 131, game information at that time is transmitted as a signal to the sub-control device 132. The sub-control device 132 to which signals relating to each game information are input executes various effects based on various control signals based on its own control program.

  The CPU 151 described above stores various control programs executed by the CPU 151 and a ROM 152 storing fixed value data, and temporarily stores various data when the control program stored in the ROM 152 is executed. In addition to the RAM 153 for securing the area, although not shown, various processing circuits necessary for the gaming machine 1 such as a timer circuit such as a fraud detection timer including an interrupt circuit, a data transmission / reception circuit, a bet counter described later, and detection Various counters such as counters are built in. The ROM 152 and the RAM 153 constitute a main memory as storage means, and a program for executing the processes shown in the various flowcharts shown in FIG. 22 and subsequent figures is stored in the ROM 152 described above as a part of the control program.

  The RAM 153 has a configuration in which a backup voltage is supplied from the power supply device 133 provided in the power supply box 121 and the data can be held (backed up) even after the gaming machine 1 is powered off. A backup area is provided in addition to a memory and an area for temporarily storing various data such as a passage flag described later.

  The backup area indicates the values of the stack pointer, registers, I / O, etc. when the power is shut down due to the occurrence of a power failure, etc. This is an area to be stored, and when the power failure is resolved (including power-on by operating the power switch; the same applies hereinafter), the state of the gaming machine 1 is in the state before power-off based on the information in the backup area You can return. Writing to the backup area is executed when the power is shut off by the power failure process (see FIG. 24), and restoration of each value written in the backup area is executed in the main process (see FIG. 25) when the power is turned on. The NMI terminal (non-maskable interrupt terminal) of the CPU 151 is configured to receive a power failure signal from the power supply device 133 when the power is interrupted due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like. NMI interrupt processing as generation processing is immediately executed.

  Next, each control process executed by the CPU 151 in the main controller 131 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. The main controller 131 is roughly divided into a main process that is started when the power is turned on, a timer interrupt process that is started periodically (in a cycle of 1.49 msec in the present embodiment), and an NMI terminal (non-maskable). NMI interrupt processing activated by the input of a power failure signal to the terminal). For convenience of explanation, NMI interrupt processing and timer interrupt processing will be described first, and then the main processing will be described.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the NMI interrupt process. When the power supply is cut off due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like, a power failure signal is output from the power supply device 133 to the NMI terminal (non-maskable interrupt terminal) provided in the CPU 151 of the main controller 131. In the main controller 131 that has received the power failure signal via the NMI terminal, NMI interrupt processing is executed.

  In the NMI interrupt processing, first, in step S101, the data of the used register provided in the CPU 151 is saved in the backup area of the RAM 153. Subsequently, in step S102, the power failure flag is set in the power failure flag storage area of the RAM 153. Thereafter, the data saved in the backup area of the RAM 153 in step S103 is restored to the use register of the CPU 151 again. With this return processing, the NMI interrupt processing ends. If the power failure flag can be set without destroying the data in the register used by the CPU 151, the saving and restoring processing to the backup area can be omitted.

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart of timer interrupt processing periodically executed by the main control device 131, and a timer interrupt is generated by the CPU 151 of the main control device 131 every 1.49 msec, for example.

  First, in the register saving process shown in step S201, the values of all the registers in the CPU 151 used in the normal process described later are saved in the backup area of the RAM 153. In step S202, it is confirmed whether or not a power failure flag is set. If the power failure flag is set, the process proceeds to step S203, and a power failure process is executed.

  Here, the power failure process will be described with reference to FIG. Since the power failure process is performed immediately after the register saving process in the timer interrupt process, other interrupt processes can be executed without interruption. Therefore, for example, during the process of transmitting various commands, during the process of reading the switch state (on / off), the process at the time of power failure is not executed by interrupting each process. It is no longer necessary to create a power failure processing program that also takes into account This simplifies the processing program for power failure processing and reduces the program capacity. This also applies to a processing program for power recovery processing described later.

  In step S301, it is determined whether command transmission has been completed. If the transmission has not been completed, the process is terminated and the process returns to the timer interrupt process to terminate the command transmission. In this way, it is determined whether or not the command transmission is completed at the initial stage of the power failure process, the transmission process is prioritized when the transmission is incomplete, and the power failure process is executed after the unit command transmission process is completed. By doing so, it is no longer necessary to construct a power failure processing program that takes into account that power failure processing is executed during command transmission. As a result, the power failure processing program can be simplified and the ROM 152 can be reduced in capacity.

  If YES in step S301, that is, if command transmission is complete, the process proceeds to step S302, and the value of the stack pointer of the CPU 151 is stored in the backup area in the RAM 153. Thereafter, in step S303, a RAM determination value, which will be described later, is cleared as a stop process, and the output state of the output port in the input / output port is cleared, and all actuators (not shown) are turned off. In step S304, a RAM determination value is calculated and stored in the backup area. The RAM determination value is specifically a 2's complement of the checksum at the work area address of the RAM 153. By storing the RAM determination value in the backup area, the checksum of the RAM 153 becomes zero. By setting the checksum of the RAM 153 to 0, subsequent RAM access is prohibited in step S305. After that, an infinite loop is entered in preparation for the case where the power supply is completely shut down and processing cannot be executed. In consideration of, for example, a case where the power failure flag is erroneously set due to noise or the like, it is confirmed whether or not a power failure signal is output until the infinite loop is entered. If the power failure signal is not output, the power failure state is restored, so that writing to the RAM 153 is permitted, the power failure flag is reset, and the process returns to the timer interrupt process. If the power outage signal is continuously output, the infinite loop is entered.

  Note that the power supply unit of the power supply device 133 holds the output of the stabilization voltage (5 volts) used as the drive voltage for the control system for a time sufficient to execute the above-described NMI interrupt processing and power failure processing. It is configured as follows. In the present embodiment, the drive voltage is continuously output for 30 msec.

  Returning to the description of the timer interrupt process, if the power failure flag is not set in step S202, various processes after step S204 are performed.

  That is, in step S204, a watchdog timer clearing process for initializing the value of the watchdog timer for monitoring the occurrence of malfunction is performed. In step S205, an interrupt end declaration process for giving an interrupt permission to the CPU 151 itself is performed. In step S206, in order to rotate each reel 71, 72, 73, a stepping motor control process for driving the stepping motors 74 to 76, which are the respective rotary drive motors, is performed. In step S207, sensor monitoring processing is performed to monitor the state of various sensors (see FIG. 21) connected to the input / output port. In step S208, a game ball take-in process for controlling the take-in of game balls by the take-in devices 35 to 37 is performed. The game ball taking process will be described later in detail. In step S209, a timer subtraction process for subtracting the value of each counter or timer is performed. In step S210, counter processing is performed to output the result of counting the number of game balls bet and the number of payouts to the external concentration terminal board. Incidentally, the information output to the external concentration terminal board is transmitted to the hall management device or the like through the external concentration terminal board.

  In step S211, command output processing for transmitting a command or the like to the sub-control device 132 is performed. In step S212, a segment data setting process for setting the segment data displayed on the acquired number display unit 122 and the information display unit 123 is performed. In step S213, segment data set processing in the segment data setting processing is supplied to the display units 122 and 123, and segment data display processing for displaying the corresponding numbers, symbols, and the like is performed. In step S214, port output processing for outputting data corresponding to the I / O device from the input / output port is performed. In step S215, the value of each register saved in the backup area in the previous step S201 is restored to the corresponding register in the CPU 151. Thereafter, in step S216, an interrupt permission process for permitting the next timer interrupt is performed, and this series of timer interrupt processes is terminated.

  Next, the main process in the main controller 131 that is executed after the power is turned on will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The main processing is executed when power is turned on by recovery from a power failure or by turning on a power switch.

  First, in step S401, as initialization processing, the value of the stack pointer is set in the CPU 151, and an interrupt mode that permits interrupt processing is set. Thereafter, various settings for the register group in the CPU 151, the I / O device, and the like are set. And so on.

  When these initialization processes are completed, it is next determined in step S402 whether or not the reset switch 138 has been turned on. If the reset switch 138 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S403, and all data stored in the RAM 153 is cleared as a RAM clear process.

  Thereafter, in step S404, it is determined whether or not the setting key is inserted into the setting key insertion hole. If the setting key has been inserted, the process proceeds to step S405 to perform setting change processing. As the setting change process, first, all data stored in the RAM 153 is cleared. Then, after determining which setting state is selected from a plurality of preset setting states (for example, “setting 1” to “setting 6”), internal processing corresponding to the selected setting state is executed. To do.

  In step S406, it is confirmed whether or not a power failure flag is set. When the power failure flag is not set, that is, when the data in the RAM 153 is cleared in the previous step S403 or step S405, the process proceeds to a normal process described later, and this process ends.

  When the power failure flag is set in step S406, the process proceeds to power recovery processing shown in step S408 and thereafter. The fact that the power failure flag is set means that subroutine processing such as RAM clear processing in step S403 and setting change processing in step S405 is not executed at all. Therefore, the data in the RAM 153 is not rewritten at all, and the power recovery process requires confirmation processing such as whether or not the data in the RAM 153 is normal. For this purpose, first, in step S408, it is confirmed whether or not the RAM determination value is normal. Specifically, the value of the checksum in the RAM 153 is checked to check whether the value is normal, that is, whether the value of the checksum including the RAM determination value is 0. If the checksum value including the RAM determination value is 0, it is determined that the data in the RAM 153 is normal.

  If the RAM determination value is abnormal in step S408, that is, if the checksum value is not zero, there is a high possibility that the data in the RAM 153 has been destroyed. Therefore, in such a case, an error display process is performed in step S409. As error display processing, first, interrupt processing is prohibited, and all output ports in the input / output port are cleared to control all actuators connected to the input / output port to an off state. Thereafter, an error display for notifying the occurrence of an error to the hall manager or the like is performed, and this state is maintained until the reset switch is turned on.

  If it is determined in step S408 that the RAM determination value is normal, the process proceeds to step S410, the stack pointer value stored in the backup area is written to the stack pointer of the CPU 151, and the stack state before the power is shut off is written. Return to the state. Next, in step S411, a power recovery command used during power recovery processing is transmitted to the sub-board 132. Thereafter, in step S412, the game state is stopped and automatic settlement setting storage processing is performed. In step S413, various sensors such as the start detection sensor 101a are initialized. After the above processing is completed, the power failure flag is reset in step S414, and the processing returns to the address before the power is shut off. Specifically, the process returns to the timer interrupt process described above, and the watch interrupt timer clear process for the timer interrupt is executed.

  Next, normal processing for performing main control relating to the game will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S501, it is determined whether or not a bet flag is set in a bet flag storage area provided in the RAM 153, that is, whether or not a game ball is bet. The bet flag is set in the game ball take-in process of the timer interrupt process. Therefore, the game ball take-in process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the game ball take-in process, first, in step S601, it is determined whether or not a bet operation flag is set. The bet operation flag is set in a bet operation flag storage area provided in the RAM 153 when the max bet switch 109 is operated by the player and the main controller 131 receives an ON signal from the max bet detection sensor 109a. It is. However, even if the max bet switch 109 is operated while the reels 71 to 73 are rotating or while a game ball is being paid out (that is, in the take-in disallowed state), the bet operation flag is not changed. Not set. This is to prevent the game balls from being taken in while the reels 71 to 73 are rotating.

  If the bet operation flag has not been set, this process is terminated as it is. On the other hand, if the bet operation flag is set, in step S602, the intake solenoids 181 of all the intake devices 35 to 37 are turned ON (the intake solenoid 181 is excited). As a result, the take-in gate member 175 is driven to allow the game ball to pass through the take-in passage 168, and the take-in of the game ball by all the take-in devices 35 to 37 is started. Note that, as described above, since the game ball take-in process is performed in the timer interrupt process performed at a cycle of 1.49 msec, the take-in of a predetermined number of game balls is not completed in one game ball take-in process. Thus, although the intake solenoid 181 is already turned on, the intake solenoid 181 is turned on again in step S602. In this case, the drive state of the intake solenoid 181 is only continued.

  Thereafter, in step S603, it is determined whether or not the value of the bet counter is 15. Here, the bet counter is a counter for storing the number of game balls taken in by the take-in devices 35 to 37, and it is confirmed that the game ball has been taken in the sensor monitoring process (see step S207, FIG. 23) in the timer interrupt process. Is counted up. The game ball detection process in this sensor monitoring process will be described in detail later.

  If the value of the bet counter is 15, a bet flag is set in the bet flag storage area in step S604, the value of the bet counter is set to 0, and the process proceeds to step S605. In step S605, the intake solenoids 181 of all the acquisition devices 35 to 37 are turned OFF (excitation of the intake solenoids 181 is terminated). As a result, the driving of the take-in gate member 175 is stopped, thereby preventing the game balls from passing through the take-in passage 168, and the taking-in of the game balls by all the take-in devices 35 to 37 is completed. In step S605, the bet operation flag stored in the bet operation flag storage area is deleted.

  In the configuration in which the intake passage 168 extends vertically downward as in the present embodiment, when one game ball flows down continuously, after one game ball passes through the position of the intake gate member 175. It takes about 70 msec for the next game ball to pass the position. On the other hand, the game ball take-in process is performed at a cycle of 1.49 msec as described above, and the count sensors 201 and 202 are arranged on the downstream side of the take-in gate member 175. Further, the take-in solenoid The response time of 181 is about 30 msec. Therefore, even if it is determined that the value of the bet counter becomes 15 and the take-in solenoid 181 is turned off, the take-in passage 168 before the 16th game ball passes the position of the take-in gate member 175. Can be prevented from passing.

  On the other hand, if the value of the bet counter is not 15 in step S603, it is determined in step S606 whether the allowable intake time has elapsed since the intake solenoid 181 was first turned on in step S602. Determine. If the allowable capture time has not elapsed, the present process is terminated. If the allowable capture time has elapsed, the process is terminated after performing the above-described step S605. In this way, by determining whether or not the allowance time has passed, it is possible to prevent the take-in solenoid 181 from being excited even though the game ball is not stored in the upper plate 18. Can do.

  Returning to the description of the normal process, the process proceeds to step S502 when the bet flag is set, and the process of step S501 is performed again when the bet flag is not set. In step S502, a capture non-permission process is executed. In such an acquisition non-permission process, even if the max bet switch 109 is operated, the operation is set to an acquisition non-permission state in which the operation is invalidated. Thereafter, in step S503, it is determined whether or not the start lever 101 has been operated. If the start lever 101 has been operated, the lottery process in step S504, the reel control process in step S505, the payout monitoring process in step S506, and the special game state process in step S507 are executed in order, and in step S508, the acquisition permission is performed. Execute the process. In such a take-in permission process, when the max bet switch 109 is operated, a take-in permission state is set in which a bet operation flag is set. And after performing the above process, it returns to step S501. On the other hand, if the start lever 101 has not been operated in step S503, the process waits in step S503.

  Hereinafter, the lottery process in step S504, the reel control process in step S505, and the payout monitoring process in step S506 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 28, 29, and 30. In the special game state process in step S507, a big bonus game is executed with the establishment of the big bonus flag. However, since the game content is well known, description thereof is omitted here.

  First, the lottery process in step S504 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S701, a random number table for determination of success / failure is selected based on the current setting state of the gaming machine 1 and the level of the small role probability. Here, the setting state of the gaming machine 1 is any one of “setting 1” to “setting 6”. When “setting 1”, the random number table having the lowest winning probability of the combination is selected, and “setting 6” is selected. Sometimes the random number table with the highest winning probability is selected. In addition, there are two types of small role probabilities: a random number table with a high small role winning probability is selected when the current payout rate is below a predetermined expected value, and small when it exceeds a predetermined expected value. A random number table with a low winning probability is selected. Note that the random number table for determination of success / failure may have a configuration in which something other than those described above is set, or may have a configuration in which only a table based on the setting state is set.

  In step S702, the random number table selected in this way is used for lottery in light of the random numbers latched by the random number counter when the start lever 101 is operated. In step S703, it is determined whether or not any combination is won. If any combination is not selected, the process is terminated. If any of the winning combinations is won, the process proceeds to step S704, where a winning flag corresponding to the winning combination is set and an effective line to be aligned is determined. In step S 705, a slip table for reel stop control is determined and stored in the slip table storage area of the RAM 153. Here, when the symbols on the predetermined effective line at the timing when the stop buttons 102 to 104 are pressed are different from the symbols to be stopped on the effective line, the slip table is a predetermined symbol to be stopped. This is a table that defines how much the reels 71 to 73 are slid so as to stop on the effective line.

  Next, the reel control processing in step S504 will be described based on the flowchart in FIG.

  In the reel control process, first, a wait process is performed in step S801. This wait process is a process of waiting without starting the reel rotation in the current game until a predetermined time (for example, 4.1 seconds) elapses from the time when the reel rotation is started in the previous game. For this reason, even if the start lever 101 is operated after the maximum bet switch 109 is operated, the reels 71 to 73 may not immediately rotate.

  Following the wait process, the reel start process in step S802 is performed to rotate the reels 71 to 73. Thereby, the change display (circulation display) of the symbol attached | subjected to the surface of each reel 71-73 is started. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S803, where it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the left reel 71 started to rotate. If not, the process waits until the predetermined time elapses. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S804, where one of the stop buttons 102 to 104 is pressed to generate a reel stop command, more specifically from the stop detection sensors 102a to 104a. It is determined whether an ON signal is received. That is, in the present embodiment, a period from when the left reel 71 starts to rotate until a predetermined time elapses is set as an invalid period, and the stop buttons 102 to 104 are pressed during the invalid period. Also, the ON signal from the stop detection sensors 102a to 104a is invalidated. If no stop command has been issued, the process advances to step S805 to determine whether or not a predetermined maximum rotation time (for example, 40 seconds) of each reel 71 to 73 has elapsed. If the maximum rotation time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S804. If the maximum rotation time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S806 to perform a forced stop process for forcibly stopping all the rotating reels.

  On the other hand, if any of the stop buttons 102 to 104 is pressed in step S804 to generate a stop command, the process proceeds to step S807 to perform a reel stop process. In this reel stop process, the reel corresponding to the pressed stop button is stopped. If a winning combination is won in the winning lottery, and the winning flag is set, the reel is stored in the sliding table storage area of the RAM 153. With reference to the sliding table, control is performed so that the winning combinations are arranged on a predetermined effective line as much as possible. For example, if the “Watermelon” symbol is lined up on the lower line and the stop button is pressed at the timing when the “Watermelon” symbol stops on the upper line, the symbol 2 will stop on the lower line. Slide the reel as much as you can. However, since the range that can be slid is predetermined (for example, up to four symbols), the “watermelon” symbol may not stop on the lower line depending on the timing of pressing the stop button. Even in the forced stop processing in step S806, if the winning flag is set, the same processing is performed.

  Subsequently, in step S808, it is determined whether or not the current stop command is the first stop command, that is, whether or not the stop button has been pressed when all three reels are rotating. In the case of the first stop command, the process proceeds to step S809, and the slip table changing process is performed. In this slide table change process, for example, it is determined whether or not a combination of combinations occurs when trying to align a combination on the selected active line, and when a combination of combinations does not occur, the process proceeds to the next step as it is. When a combination of combinations occurs, the selected effective line is changed to another effective line, and after changing to a sliding table suitable for the changed effective line, the process proceeds to the next step. Here, “combination of a combination” means that, for example, when a “watermelon” symbol is arranged on the upper line, a “cherry” symbol appears on the lower line when the “cherry” symbol appears on the lower line. Refers to cases. The slip table changing process may be performed other than when avoiding the combination of the combinations.

  On the other hand, if the current stop command is not the first stop command in step S808, the process proceeds to step S810, whether the second stop command is received, that is, one of the three reels is stopped and the two reels are rotating. Whether or not the stop button has been pressed is determined. If it is the second stop command, the process proceeds to step S811, and a stop eye determination process is performed. In this stop eye determination process, when two reels are stopped, it is determined whether or not the two are aligned with a bonus symbol such as “7” symbol. If they are not aligned, the process proceeds to the next step as it is. When sound effects are generated from the speaker 11, the process proceeds to the next step. In the stop eye determination process, it may be determined whether another condition other than the two bonus symbols is met, or an effect using the lamp display units 10, 12, and 13 other than the sound effect is performed. May be.

  Then, after the forced stop process in step S806, after the slip table change process in step S809, when the current stop instruction is not the second stop instruction in step S810, or the stop eye determination process in step S811 is performed. After that, in step S812, it is determined whether or not all rotations of the left, middle, and right reels 71, 72, and 73 have stopped. If the rotation has not stopped, the process returns to step S804. If the rotation has stopped, it is determined in the subsequent step S813 whether or not an error flag is set. The error flag will be described later.

  If the error flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S814, a payout determination process is performed, and this process ends. The payout determination process is a process of setting the payout number of medals as one of the conditions that the winning combinations are arranged on the active line. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the winning combination is arranged on the effective line. When the winning combination is not aligned on the effective line, 0 is set in the payout scheduled number storage area of the RAM 153, and the winning combination is aligned on the effective line. When it is, it is determined whether or not the winning combination matches the winning combination, and when they do not match, an error is displayed on the lamp display unit 10 or the like and 0 is set in the scheduled payout number storage area. When the winning combination on the active line matches the winning combination, the payout number corresponding to the winning combination in the payout amount storage area is set, and information on the payout amount is further stored in the payout control device 136. To output, a payout number command including payout number information is set. On the other hand, if the error flag is set in step S813, the game prohibition process in step S815 is executed, which will be described in detail later.

  Next, the payout monitoring process of step S506 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. Here, the payout monitoring process is a process for monitoring a later-described game ball payout process performed by the payout control device 136.

  In the payout monitoring process, it is first determined in step S901 whether the value of the payout counter matches the planned payout number stored in the payout planned number storage area. If the value of the payout counter does not match the planned payout number, it is determined in step S902 whether or not a payout command has been input from the payout control device 136. The payout command is a command that is output every time one game ball is paid out in the game ball payout process of the payout control device 136. If a payout command has been input, the payout counter is incremented by 1 in step S903, and the process returns to step S901 again. At this time, main controller 131 increments the display of acquisition number display section 122 by one. If the payout command has not been input, the process waits in step S902 until the payout command is input.

  On the other hand, if the symbol (“Cherry” symbol) or symbol combination (“Bell” symbol combination) related to the payout of the game ball is not stopped on the active line in the game times related to the normal processing, or the above-described steps If the value of the payout counter matches the planned payout number by the processing of S902 and Step S903, an affirmative determination is made in Step S901, and the flow proceeds to Step S904. In step S904, it is determined whether or not an error flag is set in an error flag storage area provided in the RAM 153. If it is not set, the process is terminated. At this time, the main controller 131 resets the display of the acquisition number display unit 122. If the error flag is set, a game prohibition process is executed in step S905. These error flag and game prohibition processing will be described in detail later.

  Next, the game ball detection process performed in the sensor monitoring process of the timer interrupt process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the present embodiment, since three capture devices 35 to 37 are provided, the game ball detection process is set in correspondence with each capture device 35 to 37. Furthermore, when game balls are continuously inserted, in order to perform the process of detecting the previous game ball and the process of detecting the subsequent game ball in parallel, a game is performed for each of the capture devices 35 to 37. Two sphere detection processes are set. Accordingly, in the sensor monitoring process, six game ball detection processes may be performed in parallel. Note that a passage flag described later is set in correspondence with each game ball detection process, but a bet counter, a detection counter described later, and a fraud detection timer are shared. In the following description, of the count sensors 201 and 202, the upper count sensor 201 is also referred to as a “first sensor”, and the lower count sensor 202 is also referred to as a “second sensor”.

  First, in step S1001, it is confirmed whether or not the reel-in control state and the game ball payout process are in the take-in permitted state. If it is in the capture-permitted state, detection order confirmation processing shown in steps S1002 to S1005 is performed. That is, whether or not the first sensor 201 is turned on in the first determination process in step S1002, and whether or not both the first and second sensors 201 and 202 are turned on in the second determination process in step S1003. It is determined whether only the second sensor 202 is turned ON in the third determination process in step S1004, and whether both the first and second sensors 201, 202 are turned OFF in the fourth determination process in step S1005. By performing each of these determination processes in the above order, it is confirmed whether or not the game ball has been properly detected.

  Therefore, each determination process will be described. In the first determination process, as shown in FIG. 32, first, in step S1101, the first passage flag is set in the passage flag storage area provided in the RAM 153 of the main controller 131. It is determined whether or not. If the first passage flag is not set, it is checked in step S1102 whether the first sensor 201 is turned on. If the first sensor 201 is turned on, the passage flag is stored in step S1103. A first passing flag is set in the area. That is, the first passage flag is a flag indicating that when one game ball is taken in, the game ball has already passed the detection position of the first sensor 201. After the first passage flag is set in step S1103, the detection counter is incremented by 1 in step S1104, the fraud detection timer is reset (time is reset), and this process ends. The detection counter and the fraud detection timer will be described in the fraud detection process described later.

  On the other hand, if the first sensor 201 is not ON in step S1102, it is checked in step S1105 whether the second sensor 202 is ON. If the second sensor 202 is not ON, this process is terminated as it is. If the second sensor 202 is ON, an affirmative determination is made in step S1105, and the processes of steps S1009 and S1010 in FIG. 31 are executed. These processes will be described later.

  Here, in the first determination process, when the first passage flag is set, an affirmative determination is made in step S1101, and the first determination process is ended as it is. The reason for this processing format is that the game ball detection process is performed in the timer interrupt process performed every 1.49 msec. That is, since the time required for the game ball to pass through the detection position of the first sensor 201 and finish passing through the detection position of the second sensor 202 is longer than 1.49 msec, the detection signals are received in the order described above. This is because it is not possible to confirm whether or not the game has been performed in a single game ball detection process.

  Next, in the second determination process, as shown in FIG. 33, it is first determined in step S1201 whether or not the second passage flag is set in the passage flag storage area described above. If the second passage flag is not set, it is checked in step S1202 if both the first and second sensors 201, 202 are turned on. If both are turned on, the process proceeds to step S1203. . In step S1203, it is determined whether or not the first passage flag is set in the passage flag storage area. If the first passage flag is set, the second passage flag is set in the passage flag storage area in step S1204. After this, this process is terminated. That is, the second passing flag is a flag indicating that when one gaming ball is taken in, the gaming ball has already passed through both detection positions of the first and second sensors 201 and 202 at the same time. Therefore, if the second passage flag is set, an affirmative determination is made in step S1201, and the second determination process is terminated as it is.

  On the other hand, if both the first and second sensors 201 and 202 are not ON in step S1202, whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the first passage flag was set in the first determination process in step S1204. Determine. In this case, in the present embodiment, the determination as to whether or not the predetermined time has elapsed is made based on the number of times checked in step S1204. That is, since it takes more time to perform one game ball detection process from when the first sensor 201 is turned on to when both the first and second sensors 201 and 202 are turned on, the passage flag storage area This is because in the situation where the first passage flag is set, the process of step S1204 is repeatedly performed at a cycle of 1.49 msec until the second passage flag is set. If the number checked in step S1204 is within the allowable number range, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the number checked in step S1204 is not within the allowable number range, the processing in steps S1009 and S1010 in FIG. 31 is executed. These processes will be described later. In addition, even when the first passage flag is not set in step S1203, the processing of step S1009 and step S1010 in FIG. 31 is executed.

  Next, in the third determination process, a process similar to the second determination process is executed. Specifically, in the process corresponding to step S1201, it is determined whether the third passage flag is set. In the process corresponding to step S1202, whether only the second sensor 202 is ON is determined. judge. In the process corresponding to step S1203, it is determined whether or not the first pass flag and the second pass flag are set. In the process corresponding to step S1204, one game ball is taken in. A third passage flag indicating that the game ball has already passed only the detection position of the second sensor 202 is set. In the process corresponding to step S1205, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has passed since the second passage flag was set. The predetermined time (the number of checks in the process corresponding to step S1205) is the second. This is different from the predetermined time in the determination process.

  Similarly, in the fourth determination process, a process similar to the second determination process is executed, and in the process corresponding to step S1201, it is determined whether the fourth passage flag is set, and the process corresponding to step S1202 is performed. It is determined whether or not both the first and second sensors 201 and 202 are turned off. Further, in the process corresponding to step S1203, it is determined whether or not the first to third passage flags are set. In the process corresponding to step S1204, when one game ball is taken in, the game A fourth passing flag indicating that the ball has already passed the detection position of the second sensor 202 is set. In the process corresponding to step S1205, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the third passage flag was set. The predetermined time (the number of checks in the process corresponding to step S1205) is the second. This is different from the predetermined time in the determination process and the third determination process.

  When the first to fourth determination processes in steps S1002 to S1005 are completed, it is determined in step S1006 whether or not the first to fourth all-pass flags are set in the pass flag storage area. If the all-pass flag is not set, the process is terminated as it is. If the all-pass flag is set, the fourth pass flag is set after the first pass flag is set in step S1007 (after the first sensor 201 is turned on) (first and first pass). It is confirmed whether or not the time required until the two sensors 201 and 202 are both turned off is within an allowable time. If an affirmative determination is made in step S1007, the value of the bet counter is incremented by 1 in step S1008, and the all-pass flag is reset (erased), and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the time required until the all-pass flag is set is not within an allowable time, it is determined that an illegal act has been performed. Further, as described above, when the second sensor 202 is turned on without the first sensor 201 being turned on in the first judgment processing (when affirmative judgment is made in step S1105 in FIG. 32), the second to fourth judgments are made. Similarly, when it is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed in the processing (when affirmative determination is made in the processing corresponding to step S1204 and step S1204 in FIG. 33), it is determined that an illegal act has been performed. In such a case, the process proceeds to step S1009, where error information is transmitted to the hall management device or the like through the external concentration terminal board, and an external notification process for displaying the letter “E” indicating the occurrence of an error on the information display unit 123 is performed. In subsequent step S1010, a game prohibition process (game progress stop process) for prohibiting subsequent games is performed. In the game prohibition process, first interrupt processing is prohibited and all output ports in the input / output port are cleared, so that all actuators connected to the input / output port are controlled to be in the off state, and gaming is impossible. And Then, an error is displayed on the lamp display units 10, 12, 13 and the like so as to notify the hall manager of the occurrence of the error, and this state is maintained until the reset switch 138 is turned on. The reason for this is to suppress an illegal act of causing a game ball to reciprocate in the vicinity of the count sensors 201 and 202 and misidentifying it as a game ball taking-in.

  Further, when the reel control process and the game ball payout process are being performed, the detection result confirmation process shown in step S1011 and step S1012 is performed in the case where the acquisition is not permitted (when a negative determination is made in step S1001). In step S1011, it is confirmed whether or not the first sensor 201 is ON. In step S1012, it is confirmed whether or not the second sensor 202 is ON. If both the first and second sensors 201 and 202 are OFF (when a negative determination is made in both step S1011 and step S1012), the present process ends. On the other hand, when at least one of the first and second sensors 201 and 202 is ON (when affirmative determination is made in either step S1011 or step S1012), it is determined that an illegal act has been performed. In such a case, the external notification process is executed in step S1013, and an error flag for storing and holding the error occurrence is set in the error flag storage area provided in the RAM 153 in the subsequent step S1014, and this process is terminated. .

  When the error flag is set as described above, the game prohibition process is executed in the reel control process or the payout monitoring process described above according to the timing when the error flag is set. Specifically, if the timing at which the error flag is set is when the game ball is not paid out, an affirmative determination is made in step S813 of the reel control process, and a game prohibition process is executed in step S815. Execute. On the other hand, if the timing when the error flag is set is when the game ball is being paid out, an affirmative determination is made in step S904 of the payout monitoring process, and a game prohibition process is executed in step S905. In the game prohibition process, interrupt processing is prohibited, and by clearing all output ports in the input / output port, all the actuators connected to the input / output port are controlled to be in the OFF state, and the game is disabled. To do. Then, an error is displayed on the lamp display units 10, 12, 13 and the like so as to notify the hall manager of the occurrence of the error, and this state is maintained until the reset switch 138 is turned on.

  Here, an outline of the game ball detection process will be described using the time chart of FIG. FIG. 34 (a) shows the passing positions of the game balls with respect to the sensors 201 and 202, and shows the game balls in each passing process of B1, B2, and B3 in the figure. FIG. 34 (b) shows the output waveforms (rectangular waveforms after waveform shaping) of the sensors 201 and 202 as the game ball passes, and shows the logic that is turned ON when the game ball passes for convenience.

  After the game ball has passed through the take-in gate member 175, when it reaches the B1 position in FIG. 34 (a), the output of the upper sensor 201 is turned ON (timing at t1), and when it reaches the B2 position, The output of the side sensor 202 is turned ON (timing at t2). Thereafter, the output of the upper sensor 201 is turned off (timing at t3), and when the position B3 is further reached, the output of the lower sensor 202 is turned off (timing at t4). In this case, as described above, it is determined that the game ball is properly taken in only when the sensors are turned on in the order of the upper sensor 201 → the lower sensor 202 under a predetermined time condition. That is, when a predetermined time elapses from when the upper sensor 201 is turned on to when the lower sensor 202 is turned on, each sensor in the order of the lower sensor 202 → the upper sensor 201 contrary to the normal time. When is turned on, an error occurs and a message to that effect is given and the game is prohibited.

  In the present embodiment, the fraud detection process is performed in parallel with the game ball detection process in the sensor monitoring process. The fraud detection process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, the fraud detection sensor 210 is also referred to as a “third sensor”.

  First, in step S1301, it is determined whether or not the detection counter is zero. If the detection counter is 0, this process is terminated as it is. That is, the processing after step S1302 is not executed until the passage of the game ball is detected by the first sensor 201 of any of the capture devices 35 to 37. On the other hand, when the detection counter is not 0 (when it is 1 or more), it is determined in step S1302 whether or not the third sensor 210 of any of the capture devices 35 to 37 is turned on. If the third sensor 210 is ON, the detection counter is decremented by 1 in step S1303, and then the process proceeds to step S1304. If the third sensor 210 is not ON, the process proceeds to step S1304. Here, the detection counter is counted up when it is confirmed that the first sensor 201 is turned on in the first determination process of the gaming ball detection process described above, and the third sensor 210 is turned on. This counter is counted down when it is confirmed. That is, the value of the detection counter indicates the number of game balls whose passage has not been detected by the third sensor 210 among the game balls whose passage has been detected by the first sensor 201.

  Since the fraud detection process is performed at a cycle of 1.49 msec, the process of step S1302 is performed a plurality of times until one game ball finishes passing through the third sensor 210. In this case, in order to prevent the value of the detection counter from being decremented by 2 or more due to the passage of one game ball, in step S1302, after a positive determination is made, until the third sensor 210 is turned off. The configuration is such that no positive determination is made.

  In step S1304, it is determined whether or not the fraud detection timer that has been reset (time is reset) in the first determination process of the gaming ball detection process described above is zero. The fraud detection timer is a countdown method, and is a timer for confirming whether or not the time from when the first sensor 201 is turned on to when the third sensor 210 is turned on is within a predetermined time. In addition, the fraud detection timer is reset every time the first sensor 201 is turned on in the first determination process. Therefore, when a plurality of game balls are continuously captured, The passing time from the first sensor 201 to the third sensor 210 will be monitored. The time set in the fraud detection timer is 250 msec. In the configuration of the intake passage 168 and the arrangement position of the first sensor 201 and the third sensor 210 in the present embodiment, it takes 150 msec to 200 msec for the game ball that has passed the first sensor 201 to pass the third sensor 210. It is.

  If the fraud detection timer is not 0, a negative determination is made in step S1304, and this processing is terminated. On the other hand, if the fraud detection timer is 0, it is determined in step S1305 whether or not the detection counter is 0. In this case, if no fraud has been performed, the detection counter should be 0, affirmative determination is made in step S1305, and the present process is terminated. However, if an illegal act has been performed, the detection counter is not 0, and a negative determination is made in step S1305. In such a case, an external notification process is executed in step S1306, and an error flag is set in an error flag storage area provided in the RAM 153 in step S1307. Thereby, the above-described external notification process is executed, and the above-described game prohibition process is executed in step S815 of the reel control process. When the error flag is set in the fraud detection process, the game prohibition process is not executed in the payout monitoring process. This is because the error flag is not set in the fraud detection process under the situation where game balls are paid out.

  Here, an outline of the fraud detection process will be described with reference to the time chart of FIG.

  First, fraud detection processing when no fraud is performed will be described with reference to FIG. When the first sensor 201 detects the passing of the game ball at the timings t1 and t2, the detection counter is incremented by 1, and the value of the detection counter becomes 2. In this case, the fraud detection timer once set at the timing of t1 is reset at the timing of t2 (measurement starts from the beginning). Thereafter, when the third sensor 210 detects the passing of the game ball at the timing of t3 and the timing of t4, the detection counter is decremented by 1 respectively, and the value of the detection counter becomes 0. Thereafter, the value of the fraud detection timer becomes 0 at the timing of t5, and since the value of the detection counter is already 0 as described above, the error flag is not set.

  Next, a fraud detection process when a fraud is performed will be described with reference to FIG. When the first sensor 201 detects the passing of the game ball at the timings t6, t7, t8, t9, and t10, the detection counter is incremented by 1, respectively, and the value of the detection counter becomes 5. In this case, as described above, the fraud detection timer is reset at each timing. Thereafter, the fraud detection timer becomes 0 at the timing of t11 without the third sensor 210 detecting the passing of the game ball. In this case, since the value of the detection counter remains 5 and is not 0, an error flag is set. At this time, the external notification process described above is also executed. Thereafter, the game prohibition process is executed until the reset switch 138 is turned ON at the timing t12.

  Next, game ball payout processing executed by the CPU of the payout control device 136 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In the game ball payout process, first, it is determined whether or not the payout number counted by the payout detection counter in step S1401 matches the planned payout number determined from the command stored in the RAM of the payout control device 136. . When the number of payouts does not match the planned payout number, the payout device 28 is driven in step S1402 to pay out the game balls to the upper plate 18. At this time, in step S1403, the number of payouts is incremented by 1 according to the detection signal of the payout detection sensor provided in the payout device 28. At this time, a payout command indicating that the payout number is incremented by 1 is output to the main controller 131. Then, the process returns to step S1401. When the number of payouts matches the planned payout number in step S1401, the payout device 28 is stopped in step S1404, and this process is terminated. The number of payouts is reset when the number of game balls to be paid out is paid out.

  According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following excellent effects are obtained.

  Two count sensors 201 and 202 as first detection means are provided in the take-in passage 168 of the take-in devices 35 to 37, and the detection order in which the count sensors 201 and 202 detect the passage of the game ball is confirmed. By adopting the configuration, the game ball is misrecognized by an action such as reciprocating the game ball in the vicinity of each of the count sensors 201 and 202 or using a similar fraud jig, and the game ball is taken in. It is possible to suppress fraudulent acts of playing without playing.

  In this case, a fraud detection sensor 210 as a second detection means is provided downstream of the count sensors 201 and 202 in the take-in passage 168, and the number of game balls detected by the count sensor 201 and the fraud detection sensor 210 are The number of game balls detected is confirmed and compared. As a result, the fraudulent jig in which the light emitter is embedded corresponding to the position of each count sensor 201, 202 is arranged near the detection portion of the count sensor 201, 202, and each light emitter is blinked in a predetermined order. Thus, it is possible to cause each count sensor 201, 202 to misrecognize the passage of the game ball in a predetermined order, and to suppress an illegal act of playing a game without taking in the game ball. In particular, since the detection method of the fraud detection sensor 210 is different from the detection method of the count sensors 201 and 202 (the detection method of the count sensors 201 and 202 is optical, the detection method of the fraud detection sensor 210 is a proximity switch type), An act of misusing the passing of the game ball including the fraud detection sensor 210 by using a fraudulent tool or the like becomes difficult. Therefore, the said fraudulent act can be suppressed more reliably.

  Further, when detection signals are output from the count sensors 201 and 202 in a predetermined order, the number of detection signals output from the count sensor 201 is not compared with the number of detection signals output from the fraud detection sensor 210. By adopting a configuration in which it is determined that one game ball has been betted, compared to a conventional gaming machine in which only the detection order confirmation sensor (that is, the count sensors 201 and 202) is provided in the intake passage 168. It can suppress that the time which takes in of a game ball becomes long. Therefore, it is possible to suitably suppress the cheating. If the time required for taking in a game ball increases, the time for which the game is forcibly interrupted increases, which may reduce the actual operating rate of the game machine in the game hall and may eliminate the player's willingness to continue the game. Because there is.

  In addition, the fraudulent act can be suitably suppressed by providing the fraud detection sensor 210 in the intake passage 168 on the downstream side of the count sensors 201 and 202. That is, in the gaming machine, the reels 71 to 73 start rotating by operating the start lever 101 after a predetermined number (for example, 15) of gaming balls are taken in, but there are more than the predetermined number of gaming balls. If it is taken in, the player suffers a disadvantage as many as extra game balls. Therefore, since it is necessary to accurately take in a predetermined number of game balls, the count sensors 201 and 202 are arranged immediately downstream of the take-in gate member 175. In this case, if the fraud detection sensor 210 is to be arranged upstream of the count sensors 201 and 202, there is no space to be arranged between the take-in gate member 175 and the count sensors 201 and 202. The fraud detection sensor 210 must be arranged on the upstream side of the gate member 175. However, if the fraud detection sensor 210 is arranged on the upstream side of the intake gate member 175, the fraud detection sensor 210 includes the game ball flowing down from the upstream passage 167 to the discharge passage 168. End up. Therefore, as described above, by providing the fraud detection sensor 210 on the downstream side of the count sensors 201 and 202, the fraud can be suitably suppressed.

  Furthermore, since the count sensors 201 and 202 that confirm the detection order have higher detection accuracy than the fraud detection sensor 210 that does not confirm the detection order, control of the bet count can be performed by setting the count sensors 201 and 202 upstream. Can be performed reliably. If the bet count can be reliably controlled, it is possible to suppress the determination that a predetermined number of game balls have been taken in due to causes such as noise that is not an illegal act. If it is determined that a predetermined number of game balls have been taken in due to causes such as noise, a detection signal is not output from the detection means located on the downstream side. It will be executed. In this case, not only will the game times become meaningless, but if the winning combination of symbols is on the active line, the player will lose the benefits that should have been originally obtained. This could cause a decline in gaming motivation. On the other hand, the occurrence of the inconvenience as described above can be suppressed by arranging the count sensors 201 and 202 with high detection accuracy on the upstream side. Note that the count sensors 201 and 202 are configured by photosensors, and have higher detection accuracy than the proximity sensors that constitute the fraud detection sensor 210. Also from this point, it is possible to accurately determine whether the game ball is taken in by disposing the count sensors 201 and 202 on the upstream side.

  In the fraud detection process shown in FIG. 34, the processes after step S1202 are executed only when the value of the detection counter is not zero. That is, when the detection signal is output from the count sensor 201, monitoring of the fraud detection sensor 210 is started. Thereby, it is possible to suppress as much as possible the increase in the monitoring processing load as compared with the conventional gaming machine in which only the detection order confirmation sensor (that is, the count sensors 201 and 202) is provided in the intake passage 168. .

  Further, by adopting a configuration in which the fraud detection sensor 210 is disposed on the most downstream side of the intake passage 168, it is intended to misidentify the passage of the game ball including the fraud detection sensor 210 using a fraud tool. The act becomes difficult. Therefore, the said fraudulent act can be suppressed more reliably. In particular, in the gaming machine, in order to prevent the player from misidentifying that the possessed game balls are lost even though the game balls remain in the capture devices 35 to 37, The length of the upstream passage 167 for storing game balls is set short. In this case, the distance from the game ball entrance 35a to 37a of the take-in device 35 to 37 to the take-in gate member 175 is shortened, and accordingly, the distance from the game ball entrance 35a to 37a to the count sensors 201 and 202 Is also shorter. And game ball entrance 35a-37a is connected with the upper plate 18 provided in the game machine front part. Therefore, the fraudulent jig is easily arranged at the position of the count sensors 201 and 202. On the other hand, in the configuration in which the distance from the game ball inlets 35a to 37a to the count sensors 201 and 202 is shortened by arranging the fraud detection sensor 210 on the most downstream side of the intake passage 168, fraud Can be suitably suppressed.

  In addition, in the configuration in which a plurality of capture devices 35 to 37 are provided, the fraud detection sensor 210 is configured to correspond to each capture device 35 to 37. For example, a configuration is possible in which guide passages for guiding game balls that have passed through the respective intake passages 168 are joined and one fraud detection sensor 210 is provided on the downstream side of the joining position. However, inconveniences such as ball clogging may occur at the joining position. On the other hand, since the fraud detection sensor 210 is provided so as to correspond to each of the capture devices 35 to 37, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the inconvenience as described above.

  In addition, by detecting a detection signal from the count sensor 201 located upstream of the two count sensors 201 and 202, the detection counter is incremented by 1, and the fraud detection timer is reset. Since it is possible to collectively determine whether the detection counter is incremented by 1 and whether to reset the fraud detection timer, it is possible to suppress an increase in processing load. Further, since it is not necessary to determine whether or not detection signals are output from both the count sensors 201 and 202, an increase in processing load can be suppressed from this point.

  In addition, the fraud detection timer is configured so that every time a detection signal is output from the count sensor 201 located on the upstream side, the measurement of the previous time is cleared and a new time measurement is started. Since it is not necessary to provide a plurality of detection timers, the processing load can be reduced.

  When the measurement time of the fraud detection timer becomes 0 (when a predetermined time has elapsed), if the value of the detection counter is not 0, the result is regarded as an error occurrence, and an error flag is set. By adopting a configuration in which the game prohibition process is performed after all the reels 71 to 73 are stopped, the control load on the main control device 131 can be reduced. When the game prohibition process is performed when the value of the detection counter is not 0 when the measurement time of the fraud detection timer becomes 0, it is necessary to perform the game prohibition process in parallel with the reel control process. This is because the control load of the main controller 131 will increase. Therefore, by checking the presence / absence of the error flag set after all the reels 71 to 73 are stopped and performing the game prohibition process, it is possible to suppress an illegal act while suppressing an increase in the control load of the main controller 131. can do. On the other hand, when an error occurs, it is desirable to perform a game prohibition process promptly to suppress fraud. Therefore, when the error flag is set when all the reels 71 to 73 are stopped, the game prohibition process is performed before the game ball payout process is started, so that the processing load related to the game is increased. It is possible to perform the game prohibition process relatively quickly while reducing the above. In addition, by configuring the game prohibition process before performing the game ball payout process, the game ball is paid out after an illegal act of playing the game without taking in the game ball, and so on. It is possible to avoid an increase in the damage suffered. Furthermore, in the configuration in which the game prohibition process is performed when the value of the detection counter is 0 when the measurement time of the fraud detection timer becomes 0, for example, the occurrence of noise or the like is erroneously recognized as the passing of the game ball. Even if the cheating is not actually performed, the game prohibition process is performed at that time. This unnecessarily interrupts the game of the player who has not performed the illegal act, and may significantly reduce the game motivation of the player who has not performed the illegal act. In addition, when the game prohibition process is performed in the middle of a game in which a winning combination is won in the lottery of the winning combination, the winning flag is reset, which causes a great disadvantage to the player. On the other hand, in this configuration, since the game prohibition process is performed after a series of games is completed, it is possible to suppress a decrease in gaming motivation of a player who is not performing an illegal act. As a result of the above, it is possible to prevent the player who has not been cheating from being disadvantaged while preventing an increase in the control load of the main control device 131 and to appropriately prevent cheating. .

  In addition, when the detection order detected by each of the count sensors 201 and 202 is different from a predetermined detection order, an illegal act of playing a game without taking in a game ball by performing a game prohibition process immediately. Can be done as soon as possible. Even if the game prohibition process is performed when the detection order detected by the count sensors 201 and 202 is different from the predetermined detection order, the control load on the main control device 131 does not increase. This is because the reel control process is not performed when the detection order is confirmed.

  Further, while the take-in permission flag is not set (for example, while the reel control process or the game ball payout process is being performed), the detection order of the count sensors 201 and 202 is not confirmed. By configuring such that only the count sensors 201 and 202 are turned on, it is possible to suppress fraud while suppressing an increase in the control load of the main control device 131. That is, while the reel control process of the main controller 131 is being performed, for example, a process of controlling to rotate at a constant speed, a process of confirming what number of symbols pass through the effective line, etc. Since it is necessary to carry out with respect to the reels 71, 72, 73, the control load of the main controller 131 is large only by the reel control processing. In this case, if the process of confirming the detection order of the count sensors 201 and 202 is performed in parallel with the reel control process, the control load on the main controller 131 becomes excessive. On the other hand, when the capture permission flag is not set, the main control is performed by checking only whether the count sensors 201 and 202 are turned on rather than checking the detection order. An illegal act can be prevented while suppressing an increase in the control load of the device 131.

  In addition, when a detection signal is output from at least one of the count sensors 201 and 202 in a situation where the capture permission flag is not set, the result is regarded as an error occurrence, an error flag is set, and all reels 71 are set. It is possible to reduce the control load of the main control device 131 by adopting a configuration in which the game prohibition process is performed after stopping .about.73. When the game prohibition process is performed when the detection signal is output from at least one of the count sensors 201 and 202 in a situation where the capture permission flag is not set, the game prohibition is performed in parallel with the reel control process. This is because it is necessary to perform processing, and the control load of the main controller 131 is increased. Therefore, by checking the presence / absence of the error flag set after all the reels 71 to 73 are stopped and performing the game prohibition process, it is possible to suppress an illegal act while suppressing an increase in the control load of the main controller 131. can do. On the other hand, when an error occurs, it is desirable to perform a game prohibition process promptly to suppress fraud. Therefore, when the error flag is set when all the reels 71 to 73 are stopped, the game prohibition process is performed before the game ball payout process is started, so that the processing load related to the game is increased. It is possible to perform the game prohibition process relatively quickly while reducing the above. In addition, by configuring the game prohibition process before performing the game ball payout process, the game ball is paid out after an illegal act of playing the game without taking in the game ball, and so on. It is possible to avoid an increase in the damage suffered. Furthermore, in a configuration in which the game prohibition process is performed when a detection signal is output from at least one of the count sensors 201 and 202 in a situation where the capture permission flag is not set, for example, noise is generated. Even if a fraudulent act such as a misrecognition of passing a game ball is not actually performed, a game prohibition process is performed at that time. This unnecessarily interrupts the game of the player who has not performed the illegal act, and may significantly reduce the game motivation of the player who has not performed the illegal act. In addition, when the game prohibition process is performed in the middle of a game in which a winning combination is won in the lottery of the winning combination, the winning flag is reset, which causes a great disadvantage to the player. On the other hand, in this configuration, since the game prohibition process is performed after a series of games is completed, it is possible to suppress a decrease in gaming motivation of a player who is not performing an illegal act. As a result of the above, it is possible to prevent the player who has not been cheating from being disadvantaged while preventing an increase in the control load of the main control device 131 and to appropriately prevent cheating. .

  If an error occurs, the game prohibition process that prohibits subsequent games can be prohibited, so that it is possible to prohibit the game from being played after the error occurs, and the damage suffered by the game hall, etc. will increase. Can be avoided.

  When an error occurs, an external notification process is immediately performed, so that an error occurs prior to the execution of the game prohibition process to the game hall manager, etc. Can be taught, and it is possible to suitably prevent fraud. This is because the manager of the game hall can know the fraud before the person who has committed the fraud is aware that the fraud has been noticed. In addition, it is possible to suppress a person who intends to perform an illegal act from reaching an actual act.

  In addition to the embodiment described above, for example, the following may be implemented.

  (A) In the above embodiment, it is determined that one game ball has been taken in when a detection signal is output in a predetermined order from the count sensors 201 and 202 serving as the first detection means, and the fraud detection process ends. In this configuration, it is determined that a predetermined number of game balls have been taken in without waiting, but this may be changed. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which it is determined that a predetermined number of game balls have been taken in after waiting for the fraud detection process to end. In this case, when an illegal act using a fraudulent jig or the like is performed, the fraud can be detected before the rotation of the reels 71 to 73 is started. However, in this configuration, the position of the fraud detection sensor 210 needs to be arranged closer to the count sensors 201 and 202 than in the above embodiment in order to suppress as much as possible the increase in the time required to start the game.

  (B) In the above-described embodiment, the count sensors 201 and 202 are configured by photosensors (optical). However, a sensor that uses invisible light such as ultraviolet rays may be used as the photosensor. Further, although the fraud detection sensor 210 is configured by a proximity sensor (proximity switch type), it may be configured by an ultrasonic sensor or a microswitch type sensor. The microswitch type sensor includes a detection piece projecting into the game ball passage portion of the sensor and a switch portion that is turned ON / OFF by the movement of the detection piece, and the game ball passes through the game ball passage portion. In this case, the detection piece comes into contact with the game ball, and the detection piece detects the passage of the game ball by turning on the switch unit.

  Further, if the detection methods are different between the count sensors 201 and 202 and the fraud detection sensor 210, the respective detection methods may be different from those in the above embodiment. For example, the count sensors 201 and 202 may be proximity sensors and the fraud detection sensor 210 may be a photo sensor.

  (C) In the above-described embodiment, two count sensors 201 and 202 are provided. However, three or more count sensors may be provided.

  (D) In the above embodiment, the fraud detection process shown in FIG. 34 is performed for all the capture devices 35 to 37. However, the fraud detection process is performed for each capture device 35 to 37. May be set. In this case, it is necessary to set the detection counter and the fraud detection timer individually for each of the capture devices 35 to 37.

  (E) In the above embodiment, in the fraud detection process shown in FIG. 34, the detection signal is not output from the upstream count sensor 201 by determining whether or not the detection counter is 0 in step S1201. As long as the fraud detection sensor 210 is not monitored, the fraud detection sensor 210 may be constantly monitored without performing the process of step S1201.

  (F) In the above embodiment, when the detection signal (ON signal) is output from the upstream count sensor 201, the detection counter is incremented by 1, and the fraud detection timer starts measuring time. However, when the detection signal is output from the count sensor 202 on the downstream side, the detection counter may be incremented by 1, and the fraud detection timer may start measuring time. Further, when the detection signal is output from the upstream count sensor 201, the detection counter is incremented by 1, and when the detection signal is output from the downstream count sensor 202, the fraud detection timer starts measuring time. It is good also as a structure to carry out, and good also as a reverse structure.

  (G) In the above embodiment, a fraud detection timer is provided, and the time after the detection signal is output from the downstream count sensor 202 is measured by the fraud detection timer. If possible, the configuration may be changed. For example, the time may be indirectly measured by counting the number of times the fraud detection process has been performed. The fraud detection process is performed in the sensor monitoring process in the timer interrupt process, and the timer interrupt process is performed at a cycle of 1.49 msec. Therefore, it is possible to measure time depending on the number of times the fraud detection process is performed.

  (H) In the above-described embodiment, the three capture devices 35 to 37 are provided. However, only one capture device may be provided. In this case, since the time required for taking in becomes longer than in the above embodiment, the effect of determining whether or not a bet is made by checking only the detection order of the count sensors 201 and 202 is more remarkable. Become.

  (I) In the above embodiment, the detection history storage means is provided with the detection counter, but this may be changed. For example, the detection flag may be set in accordance with the number of game balls necessary to determine that the bet is completed. In this case, each game ball is individually monitored. However, in this configuration, it is necessary to provide a fraud detection timer corresponding to each detection flag.

  (J) In the above embodiment, when the error flag is set in the fraud detection process shown in FIG. 34, the game prohibition process is executed in the reel control process. It is good also as a structure which performs a game prohibition process. In this case, since the game prohibition process is performed after the series of games is completed and the game ball payout process is completed, it is avoided that the player who has not performed the illegal act suffers a disadvantage and the game motivation is reduced. This can be suppressed. That is, if the game prohibition process is performed before the game ball payout process is completed, for example, when the occurrence of noise or the like is mistakenly recognized as the passage of a medal, the game balls detected by the count sensors 201 and 202 are taken in the intake passage 168. The game ball is paid out even though the combination of the “bell” symbol has stopped on the active line, even though the fraudulent act is not performed as in the case of clogging in front of the fraud detection sensor 210 in FIG. This is because the inconvenience of not occurring occurs.

  Further, when fraud is detected in the fraud detection process, the game prohibition process may be executed immediately instead of setting the error flag. In this case, when an illegal act is performed, the game can be prohibited immediately.

  (K) In the above-described embodiment, when any of the count sensors 201 and 202 is turned on in the acquisition non-permission state, the game prohibition process may be executed in the reel control process. However, when the error flag is set in this process, the game prohibition process may always be executed in the payout monitoring process. In this case, since the game prohibition process is performed after the series of games is completed and the game ball payout process is completed, it is avoided that the player who has not performed the illegal act suffers a disadvantage and the game motivation is reduced. This can be suppressed. That is, if the game prohibition process is performed before the game ball payout process is completed, for example, when the occurrence of noise or the like is mistakenly recognized as the passage of a medal, the game balls detected by the count sensors 201 and 202 are taken in the intake passage 168. The game ball is paid out even though the combination of the “bell” symbol has stopped on the active line, even though the fraudulent act is not performed as in the case of clogging in front of the fraud detection sensor 210 in FIG. This is because the inconvenience of not occurring occurs.

  In addition, when any of the count sensors 201 and 202 is turned on in the capture non-permission state, a game prohibition process may be immediately executed. In this case, when an illegal act is performed, the game can be prohibited immediately. In addition, when any of the count sensors 201 and 202 is turned on in the take-in disallowed state, the game prohibition process may always be executed by the reel control process.

  (L) In the above embodiment, if any of the count sensors 201 and 202 is turned on during the game ball payout process (payout monitoring process), the game is prohibited at the end of the payout monitoring process. Although it is configured to perform processing, it is not limited to such timing, but is configured to perform game prohibition processing between the end of the payout monitoring processing and before performing the capture permission processing that becomes the next game start opportunity If it is, it will become possible to show the same operation effect as the above-mentioned embodiment.

  (M) In the above embodiment, when external notification processing is performed, the error information is transmitted to a hall management device (not shown) and the letter “E” indicating the error occurrence is displayed on the information display unit 123. However, it may be configured to perform only the process of transmitting error information to a hall management device (not shown). With this configuration, it is possible to make it aware that only those involved in the game hall will be prohibited from playing the game, and avoid the problem of fleeing people who realize that they have been found cheating. It becomes possible to do.

  (N) In the above embodiment, as the game prohibition processing, first, interrupt processing is prohibited, and all output ports in the input / output port 155 are cleared, so that all actuators connected to the input / output port 155 are turned off. Although it was set as the structure which controls to a state and a game is impossible, it is not limited to this structure, What is necessary is just a structure which does not perform a subsequent game. For example, the main control device 131 performs processing (processing for prohibiting interrupt processing) in which detection signals from the start lever 101 and the stop buttons 102 to 104 are not confirmed, but instead of this, the start lever 101 or It is good also as a structure which cannot perform operation itself of each stop button 102-104.

  (O) In the above-described embodiment, it is configured to check whether at least one of the two count sensors 201 and 202 is ON in the capture non-permitted state, but the count sensor is also in the capture non-permitted state. It is good also as a structure which confirms the detection order which 201,202 detected. With such a configuration, it is possible to suppress as much as possible a problem that a player who is not cheating interrupts a subsequent game due to the occurrence of noise or the like. Further, it may be configured that when at least one of the two count sensors 201 and 202 is turned on in a situation where the bet operation flag is not set, it is determined that an illegal act has been performed.

  (P) In the above embodiment, it is configured to check whether or not the error flag is set after all the reels 71 to 73 are stopped, but this may be changed. For example, each time the reels 71, 72, 73 are stopped, it is checked whether or not an error flag is set. If the error flag is set before all the reels 71 to 73 are stopped, a winning symbol is displayed. The reels 71, 72, 73 are controlled so as to be stopped so that the combination is not established on the effective line. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the chance that a winning symbol combination is established on the active line when performing the game prohibition process. For example, when a bonus symbol combination is established on the active line, Prohibition processing is performed, and it is possible to avoid a problem that a player who is not cheating is shocked.

  (Q) In the above-described embodiment, the configuration is such that the passage of the game ball through the take-in passage 168 is prevented or permitted by allowing the take-in gate member 175 to appear in and out of the take-in passage 168. May be changed. For example, it is good also as a structure which provides a rotary body as a gate means in the intake passage 168. FIG. Specifically, the rotating body rotates with the direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the game ball in the passage and the direction of the width of the passage as a rotation axis, and a permission unit that allows passage of the game ball and a blocking unit that blocks passage of the game ball, Are provided alternately. Then, the game ball held by the permission unit is guided into the take-in passage 168 as the rotating body rotates.

  (R) The configuration in the above embodiment may be applied to a game machine of a different type from the above embodiment. For example, you may apply in a slot machine. In the slot machine, each reel starts rotating basically when a player inserts a medal and operates a start lever and then operates a stop button or a predetermined time passes. Stops. In this case, the insertion of the medal by the player is confirmed by detecting the passage of the medal by a detection sensor arranged along the guide path for guiding the medal into the slot machine.

  This specific configuration is shown in FIG. In the slot machine, medals inserted by the player are guided to either the storage passage or the discharge passage by the selector 300. That is, the selector 300 is formed with a guide passage 301 in a curved line that draws an arc from the upper end portion to the lower right portion of the drawing, and a medal passage switching member 302 is provided in the guide passage 301 so as to be able to appear and disappear. Yes. A medal that enters the selector 300 and flows down the guide passage 301 can be switched between the discharge passage side and the storage passage side according to the state of the medal passage switching member 302. . The medal guided to the storage passage is guided to the hopper device housed in the slot machine. On the other hand, the medal guided to the discharge passage is guided to a medal tray provided at the lower front portion of the slot machine and returned to the player. In this case, in the above-described embodiment, the take-in disallowed state refers to a state in which a medal inserted by the player is guided to the discharge passage side by the medal passage switching member 302. On the other hand, the take-in permitted state refers to a state in which a medal inserted by the player is guided to the storage passage side by the medal passage switching member 302.

  When the medal is guided to the storage passage side, the medal passage switching member 302 in the guide passage 301 passes through the downstream side. The downstream side of the guide passage 302 is configured such that medals can pass in one row. Further, on the downstream side, a first inserted medal detection sensor 303 for detecting the passage of medals and a second inserted medal detection sensor 304 are arranged close to each other so as to be arranged upstream and downstream of the guide passage 301. The first inserted medal detection sensor 303 and the second inserted medal detection sensor 304 correspond to the count sensors 201 and 202 in the above embodiment. A third inserted medal detection sensor 305 is provided downstream of both inserted medal detection sensors 303 and 304. This corresponds to the fraud detection sensor 210 in the above embodiment. And in the said structure, the fraudulent act with respect to a slot machine can be suppressed by performing the various processes (game ball detection process, fraud detection process) similar to the said embodiment.

  (S) In the gaming machine 1 of the above embodiment, only the max bet switch 109 is provided as the input operation means. However, the 1 bet switch and the 2 bet switch are also provided. May be. In other words, in a normal game, a 1-bet game or a 2-bet game can be performed.

  (T) Although the gaming machine 1 of the above-described embodiment is configured not to have a credit function (virtual game medium storage function), it may be configured to have this credit function.

  (U) Information providing means for auxiliary effects may be installed in the gaming machine 1. For example, the information providing means is installed integrally with the reel unit 70 on the front side of the reel unit 70, installed near the transparent panel 65 (one of the left, right, top, and bottom) in the case body 60, What is necessary is just to install in the upper part rather than the body 60, or install in the top part 6a among the annular parts 6. As the information providing means, a liquid crystal display device, which is a kind of electrical display device, can be used, and other electrical display devices such as CRT, dot matrix, LED, electroluminescence (EL), fluorescent display tube. Etc. may be used. In addition to the electrical display device, a sound generating device such as a speaker may be used, thereby enabling dynamic sound effects for the player. Furthermore, you may comprise an information provision means as a combination of the speaker 11 which is an audio | voice generator, and a display apparatus.

  (V) The number of games balls received per bet (predetermined number), the maximum number of games received, the number of payouts, etc. of the game balls in the above embodiment are merely examples, and are not particularly limited to the above numerical values.

  (W) In the above embodiment, the reels 71 to 73 are cylindrical skeleton members that form a cylindrical cage, and a belt-like belt (not shown) is wound around the outer peripheral surface thereof. The belt and the belt may be integrally formed, and the design may be individually attached to the outer peripheral surface of the belt. In this case, the cylindrical skeleton member and the belt integrally formed correspond to the “rotary body”. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which makes a belt-shaped belt by which the design was attached | subjected to the outer peripheral surface without providing a cylindrical frame | skeleton member, and uses it instead of the reels 71-73. In this case, the belt-like belt corresponds to the “rotary body”.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which provides a liquid crystal display device instead of the reels 71-73 (reel unit 70). In this case, for example, a plurality of display areas are set on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device, and symbols are displayed in a variable manner (circulation display) in each display area. Then, after the predetermined number of game balls are taken in, the start lever is operated to start the variable display of symbols in each display area, and the corresponding display area is operated by operating the stop button corresponding to each display area. It is set as the structure which stops the change display of the pattern of (2). In this case, when a predetermined symbol combination is established by a combination of symbols displayed in each display area, or when a predetermined pattern is established, a privilege is given to the player.

  (X) In the above embodiment, the medal is paid out when the “bell” symbol and the “watermelon” symbol are aligned with the left, middle, and right on the active line. The arrangement may be such that medals are paid out by aligning left, middle and right on the active line in the order of “watermelon” and “replay”. That is, the “specific pattern combination” refers to a combination of patterns (patterns) set at the design stage of the slot machine.

It is a perspective view which shows the game machine in one embodiment. It is a front view of a gaming machine. It is a front view which shows the structure of a front frame. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the AA line vicinity of FIG. It is a rear view of a gaming machine. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of an upper plate formation body. It is a perspective view which shows the whole taking-in unit. It is a figure which shows simply the flow of the game ball from an upper plate to a taking-in unit. It is sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of a taking-in apparatus. It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows a taking-in apparatus. It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows a part of taking-in unit. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of a rectification | straightening part. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating a motion of the gate member for discharge | emission. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a top view which shows the storage state of the game ball by a gate member. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating operation | movement of a taking-in apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a reel unit. It is an assembly perspective view of a left reel. It is explanatory drawing which shows the symbol arrangement | sequence of the belt of each rotary body. It is a figure for demonstrating the arrangement | sequence of an effective line. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the electrical structure of a game machine. It is a flowchart which shows a NMI interruption process. It is a flowchart which shows a timer interruption process. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of a power failure. It is a flowchart which shows a main process. It is a flowchart which shows a normal process. It is a flowchart which shows a game ball taking-in process. It is a flowchart which shows a lottery process. It is a flowchart which shows a reel control process. It is a flowchart which shows the payout monitoring process. It is a flowchart which shows a game ball detection process. It is a flowchart which shows a 1st determination process. It is a flowchart which shows a 2nd determination process. It is a time chart which shows the outline | summary of a game ball detection process. It is a flowchart which shows a fraud detection process. It is a time chart which shows the outline | summary of a fraud detection process. It is a flowchart which shows a game ball payout process. It is explanatory drawing at the time of applying this invention in a slot machine.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game machine, 2 ... Outer frame, 3 ... Front frame, 4 ... Front door, 28 ... Dispensing device as payout means, 35-37 ... Taking-in device, 35a-37a ... Game ball entrance as receiving port, 65 ... Transparent panel as display window, 70 ... Reel unit, 71 to 73 ... Reel as rotating body, 74 to 76 ... Stepping motor as drive means, 101 ... Start lever as start operation means, 102 to 104 ... Stop operation Stop button as means, 109 ... Max bet switch as take-in start operation means, 131 ... Main control device, 136 ... Dispensing control device, 161, 162 ... Housing member, 167 ... Upstream passage as game medium passage, 168 ... Intake passage as a game medium passage, 169 ... Discharge passage as a branch passage, 175 ... Intake gate portion as switching means or gate member 181 ... Solenoid, 190 ... Discharge gate member as switching means, 191a ... Passage shielding part as blocking part, 191b ... Connection part, 191c ... Ball guide part as guide part, 192 ... Base as biased part Ends, 195... Springs as urging means, 200... Sensor units, 201 and 202... Count sensors as first detection means, 210 ... fraud detection sensors as second detection means.

Claims (2)

A plurality of design display areas provided at positions that can be viewed from the front of the gaming machine, and a plurality of types of designs are variably displayed;
An entrance capable of receiving game media;
A game medium path for guiding the game medium received from the reception port;
Detection means for outputting a detection signal indicating that when a game medium passing through the game medium passage is detected;
Start operation means operated to start the display of the variation of the pattern in each of the pattern display areas,
A plurality of stop operation means provided for each of the pattern display areas and operated to stop the variable display of the patterns in each of the pattern display areas;
After the detection signal is output from the detection means, the start operation means is operated to start the variable display of the pattern in each picture display area, and each picture display area based on the operation of each stop operation means A pattern display control means for controlling each of the pattern display areas so as to stop the variable display of the pattern in
In the gaming machine that gives a privilege to the player when a combination of predetermined patterns is established by the patterns displayed in each of the pattern display areas after the variable display of the patterns is stopped,
The detection means is a plurality of first detection means arranged in the flow direction of the game medium in the game medium passage, and is arranged downstream of the first detection means, and the first detection means is a game medium detection method. With a second detecting means different from each other,
Furthermore, detection order confirmation means for confirming the order in which the plurality of first detection means output detection signals;
A first abnormality process executing means for performing an abnormality process by regarding the result as an abnormality when the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation means is different from a preset detection order;
A measuring unit capable of measuring an elapsed period after a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detecting units;
Determination means for determining whether or not a detection signal is output from the second detection means until the elapsed period measured based on the measurement result of the measurement means reaches a predetermined period;
And a second abnormality processing execution means for performing abnormality processing by regarding the result as an abnormality when the determination means determines that a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. A gaming machine. A plurality of design display areas provided at positions that can be viewed from the front of the gaming machine, and a plurality of types of designs are variably displayed;
A pattern display control means for controlling the variation display of the pattern in each of the pattern display areas;
A storage unit that is provided on the front surface of the gaming machine and stores game media;
A game medium passage for taking in the game medium stored in the storage section, a gate member for preventing or allowing passage of the game medium in the game medium path, and passage permitted by the gate member disposed on the downstream side of the gate member A capture device having detection means for outputting a detection signal indicating that when the played game medium is detected;
Take-in operation means operated to start taking-in of game media by the take-in device;
Start operation means operated to start the display of the variation of the pattern in each of the pattern display areas,
A plurality of stop operation means that are provided for each of the pattern display areas and are operated to stop the variable display of the patterns in each of the pattern display areas;
The gate member allows the game medium to pass through the game medium passage due to the operation of the take-in start operation means, and the detection signal is output a predetermined number of times by the detection means. Block the passage of game media in the aisle,
The pattern display control means starts the variable display of the pattern in each of the pattern display areas by operating the start operation means after confirming that the detection signal has been output a predetermined number of times from the detection means, and Control each pattern display area so as to stop the variable display of the pattern in each pattern display area based on the operation of the operating means,
In the gaming machine that gives a privilege to the player when a combination of predetermined patterns is established by the patterns displayed in each of the pattern display areas after the variable display of the patterns is stopped,
The detection means is a plurality of first detection means arranged in the flow direction of the game medium in the game medium passage, and is arranged downstream of the first detection means, and the first detection means is a game medium detection method. With a second detecting means different from each other,
Furthermore, detection order confirmation means for confirming the order in which the plurality of first detection means output detection signals;
A first abnormality process executing means for performing an abnormality process by regarding the result as an abnormality when the confirmation result of the detection order confirmation means is different from a preset detection order;
A measuring unit capable of measuring an elapsed period after a detection signal is output from at least one of the plurality of first detecting units;
Determination means for determining whether or not a detection signal is output from the second detection means until the elapsed period measured based on the measurement result of the measurement means reaches a predetermined period;
And a second abnormality processing execution means for performing abnormality processing by regarding the result as an abnormality when the determination means determines that a detection signal is not output from the second detection means within a predetermined period. A gaming machine.