JP2008061920A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine which prevents a player from getting bored in a game. <P>SOLUTION: When a player wins the prize of bell, whether the current time is between ten and twelve o'clock or not is decided. When the time zone of winning a prize of bell is between ten and twelve o'clock, referring to a draw-in range table, the draw-in range of the bell symbol is decided on the basis of temperature and humidity around the slot machine. After deciding the draw-in range from zero to three frames, stop control of a first reel to a third reel is carried out so that the bell symbol is stopped at a prize available line within the decided draw-in range. When the time zone of winning the prize of bell is not between ten and twelve o'clock, stop control of the first reel to the third reel is performed so that the bell symbol is stopped at a prize available line within the four pieces draw-in range. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine used in a game hall such as a pachinko parlor.

  In this specification, a pachislot machine is described as an example of one of the gaming machines. Therefore, a description will be given using a medal as a gaming medium for playing a game, but the gaming medium may be other media such as a pachinko ball. Including. In addition, “inserting a medal” includes not only actually inserting a medal into the medal insertion slot but also inserting (betting) a credited medal with a bet button or the like. In addition, a lottery to determine either a loser or multiple types of winning roles is selected as the winning role lottery, and the symbols that make up the winning role are aligned on the winning active line, and the winning role is selected by the winning role lottery. The state until winning a prize is an internal winning.

  A slot machine used in a pachinko parlor is called a pachislot machine, and a certain value is given to a medal as a game medium, and a medal obtained by playing a game can be exchanged for various prizes. A pachislot machine is provided with a reel in which a plurality of types of symbols are arranged on the outer periphery, and a game is played by rotating and stopping the reel. Since the reel is rotated by the driving of the stepping motor, if the game is played for a long time, the stepping motor generates heat, and the temperature inside the pachislot machine rises, causing a failure of the pachislot machine. For this reason, for example, in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when the room temperature in the pachinko parlor rises, the driving force of the stepping motor is reduced, or when the temperature in the pachislot machine exceeds a certain value, it is supplied to the stepping motor. A method for reducing the current has been proposed.

In the pachislot machine, when the start lever is pressed after the medal is inserted, the game is started, the winning combination lottery is performed, and the reel rotates. If the stop button is pressed while the reel is rotating, the reel stops and the game ends. When the reels are stopped, so-called symbol pull-in control is performed so that if the winning combination is won in the winning combination lottery, the winning combination is easy to win. When the drawing pull-in control is performed, if the winning button corresponding to the winning combination is positioned within the drawing range of, for example, five symbols, if the stop button is pressed, the winning symbol stops on the winning line. This makes it easier for a player with a low level of skill to press the stop button while trying to stop the winning symbol on the winning line, so that the player can win the winning skill. You can play fair games regardless of the difference.
JP 2003-305217 A JP 2005-137475 A

  However, since the winning symbol pull-in range is set in advance, for a player who has played a game for a long period of time, the operation timing of the stop button when the winning symbol is stopped on the winning line is selected as the winning combination. It became the same every time, and this was a factor that made the game feel bored.

  In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that can prevent the player from getting bored with the game.

  In order to achieve the above object, the gaming machine of the present invention has a reel on which a plurality of types of symbols are arranged, and a drawing symbol to be stopped on the winning line is determined based on a result of a lottery that determines a winning or losing. In the gaming machine in which the drawing symbol stops on the winning line when a reel stop operation is performed when the drawing symbol is within a preset drawing range, the ambient temperature or humidity of the gaming machine An observation sensor that measures at least one of them, and a reel stop control means that changes the pull-in range of the pull-in symbol based on the temperature or humidity measured by the observation sensor are provided.

  The reel stop control means preferably changes the pull-in range of the pull-in symbol in a preset specific time zone.

  According to the present invention, since the drawing pattern drawing range is changed based on the ambient temperature or humidity of the gaming machine, it is possible to change the reel stop control and prevent the player from getting bored with the game. .

  Also, in addition to the ambient temperature or humidity of the gaming machine, the drawing-in range of the drawing pattern is changed during a specific time period, so it becomes possible to give interest to the game during a specific time period and the operation of the gaming machine. The rate can be increased.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the slot machine (game machine) 11 includes a slot machine main body 12 and a front door 13. The slot machine body 12 includes a storage box 12a. The storage box 12a stores various devices such as a reel and a control board for executing a game. The front door 13 is vertically divided into two and includes an upper door 13a and a lower door 13b. The inside of the slot machine body 12 is opened and closed by an upper door 13a and a lower door 13b.

  A display window 14 is provided on the upper door 13a. A first reel 15a, a second reel 15b, and a third reel 15c are provided in the back of the display window 14. A plurality of types of symbols are arranged on the outer peripheral surfaces of the first to third reels 15a to 15c, and three symbols per reel are displayed through the display window 14 when the reels stop. In the slot machine 11, a total of five winning effective lines 16, consisting of three laterally and two diagonally, are set. Then, whether or not the winning combination has been won is displayed by the combination of symbols stopped on the winning winning line 16 when the first to third reels 15a to 15c are stopped. A liquid crystal display 17 is provided on the side of the display window 14. An effect image is displayed from the liquid crystal display 17 during the game. A pair of speakers 18 are provided above the display window 14 for outputting a production sound during the game.

  The lower door 13b has a medal slot 19, a start lever 20 for starting the rotation of the first to third reels 15a to 15c, stop buttons 21a to 21c for stopping the reel rotating during the game, and a medal receiving tray. A payout port 23 for paying out the money 22 is provided. When the start lever 20 is pressed, a winning combination lottery is performed, and one of a plurality of types of winning combinations (winning) or a loss is determined. In the winning combination, the BB that shifts to the BB mode in which the payout rate (the ratio of the number of medals paid out with respect to the insertion of one medal) is higher than that in the normal mode, and the next game can be performed without inserting the medal. A small role is set for replay and a specified number of medals. There are multiple types of small roles such as a cherry that pays out 2 medals, a watermelon that pays out 15 medals, and a bell that pays out 8 medals so that the number of medals to be paid out is different.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation of the slot machine 11 is basically controlled by the control board 60. The control board 60 includes a CPU 60a and a memory 61. The CPU 60 a includes a control unit (reel stop control means) 62. The ROM area of the memory 61 stores a game execution program for performing a process for executing a game and game execution data used in the game execution process. The control unit 62 reads out a game execution program and game execution data from the memory 61 to perform processing related to the operation of the slot machine 11. The RAM area of the memory 61 is used for temporary storage and rewriting of flags and data used for each game.

  In addition to the control unit 62, the CPU 60a is provided with a winning combination determination unit 63 that executes a winning combination lottery, a drawing range table 64 that stores a drawing range of a bell symbol corresponding to the bell, and a clock 65 that records the current time.

  The medal sensor 67 detects an appropriate medal inserted from the medal insertion slot 19 and inputs a medal detection signal to the control unit 62. The control unit 62 counts the number of inserted 1 to 3 medals based on a detection signal from the medal sensor 67 and determines the number of activated payline 16.

  The start signal sensor 68 detects that the start lever 20 has been pressed. When pressing of the start lever 20 is detected, a game start signal is input from the start signal sensor 68 to the control unit 62. The control unit 62 rotates the first to third reels 15a to 15c in response to the game start signal, and starts game processing according to the game execution program stored in the ROM area of the memory 61. The stop signal sensor 69 detects that the stop buttons 21a to 21c are pressed during the game. When the stop buttons 21 a to 21 c are pressed, a stop signal is input to the control unit 62. In response to this, the controller 62 operates the reel drive controller 70 to start stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c.

  The first to third reels 15a to 15c are attached to the drive shafts of the stepping motors 71a to 71c, respectively. The first to third reels 15a to 15c are controlled by controlling the driving of the stepping motors 71a to 71c.

  The stepping motors 71a to 71c rotate at a rotation angle corresponding to the number of drive pulses supplied from the control unit 62. For this reason, the control unit 62 controls the rotation angle of the first to third reels 15a to 15c by controlling the number of drive pulses supplied to the stepping motors 71a to 71c, and cuts the supply of the drive pulses to the reels. Stop. The first to third reels 15a to 15c are integrally formed with reflection signal portions 72a to 72c at their reference positions. Then, every time the first to third reels 15a to 15c make one rotation, the photosensors 73a to 73c detect passage of the respective reflection signal portions 72a to 72c. Detection signals from the photosensors 73a to 73c are input to the control unit 62 as a reset signal indicating the reference position of the reel.

  The control unit 62 is provided with a pulse counter that counts the number of drive pulses supplied to each of the stepping motors 71a to 71c. When the reset signal is input from the photosensors 73a to 73c, the control unit 62 clears the count value of the corresponding pulse counter. Therefore, the number of drive pulses corresponding to the rotation angle within one rotation of each reel is stored in each pulse counter while being sequentially updated.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the outer peripheral surfaces of the first to third reels 15 a to 15 c are divided into a plurality of frames for each predetermined range (21 frames will be described as an example in the present embodiment). Are assigned one by one. Each frame is assigned a frame number “1” to “21”, and the ROM area of the memory 61 corresponds to each frame number and the number of drive pulses corresponding to the rotation angle from the reference position of each reel. The attached symbol table is stored. The control unit 62 can identify the frame number on the winning effective line 16 by monitoring the value of the pulse counter for each reel while referring to the symbol table. Can be identified. In the example of FIG. 3, “7” is the BB symbol, “Bell” is the bell symbol, “Watermelon” is the watermelon symbol, “Cherry” is the cherry symbol, and the bell symbol is the “retractable symbol” in the claims. ".

  When the rotation of the first to third reels 15a to 15c is started and the rotation speed of the first to third reels 15a to 15c reaches a steady speed, the control unit 62 validates the operation of the stop buttons 21a to 21c. . When the stop button 21a-21c is pressed and a stop signal is input, the controller 62 and the reel drive controller 70 perform stop control of the first to third reels 15a-15c based on the winning combination lottery result. The stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c is performed by a table method, and the stop table stored in the ROM area of the memory 61 is used for the stop control of the table method.

  The control unit 62 refers to any one of the plurality of stop tables each time the stop buttons 21a to 21c are pressed. In the stop table, the frame number located on the winning winning line 16 when the stop buttons 21a to 21c are pressed corresponds to the number of frames required for the first to third reels 15a to 15c to stop at this time. It is attached. When the stop buttons 21a to 21c are pressed, the control unit 62 refers to the stop table and determines the frame number to be stopped on the winning effective line 16, that is, the type of the symbol to be stopped on the winning effective line 16.

  In the stop table, the number of frames required until the first to third reels 15a to 15c are stopped is a range of 0 to 4 frames for 5 symbols including symbols on the winning winning line 16, that is, a range of 5 frames (hereinafter, “ (Referred to as “retraction range”). For this reason, stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c is performed within a range of five frames. If the winning symbol (the symbol corresponding to the winning combination won in the winning combination lottery) is included in the drawing range of 5 frames when the stop buttons 21a to 21c are pressed, the winning symbol is displayed as the winning line. The stop table is selected so that it can be stopped on 16. The stop table is selected so that the pull-in range varies depending on the type of the winning combination won, the order in which the first to third reels 15a to 15c are stopped, and the type of symbols already stopped on the winning effective line 16. The As described above, the reel stop control that delays the reel stop time so that the symbols within the pull-in range stop on the winning pay line 16 is referred to as pull-in control.

  When the bell is won in the winning combination lottery, the control unit 62 determines the pull-in range of the bell symbol from the pull-in range table 64. The controller 62 is connected to a temperature sensor (observation sensor) 74 that detects the ambient temperature of the slot machine 10 and a humidity sensor (observation sensor) 75 that detects the ambient humidity of the slot machine 10. Detection signals from 74 and 75 are always input to the control unit 62. The control unit 62 refers to the pull-in range table 64 when the time of the clock 65 wins the bell in the time zone (specific time zone) from 10:00 to 12:00. The control unit 62 does not refer to the pull-in range table 64 when the time zone selected for the bell is other than 10 o'clock to 12 o'clock, and controls the stop of the first to third reels 15a to 15c with the pull-in range as 4 frames. I do. The business hours of the pachinko parlor where the slot machine 10 is installed are from 10:00 to 23:00.

In the pull-in range table 64, the temperature / humidity and the bell symbol pull-in range are associated as follows.
・ Temperature is less than 10 degrees and humidity is less than 20% → Pull-in range 0 frame ・ Temperature is less than 10 degrees and humidity is 20% or more → Pull-in range 1 frame ・ Temperature is more than 10 degrees and humidity is less than 20% → Pull-in range 2 Top ・ Temperature is 10 degrees or higher and humidity is 20% or higher → Pull-in range: 3 top

  Then, by setting the bell symbol drawing range as described above, in the arrangement shown in FIG. 3, for example, the bell symbol having the frame number “1” on the first reel 15a is stopped on the winning line. In the case of 0 frames, the bell symbol can be stopped by pressing the stop button 21a when the bell symbol of the frame number “1” is positioned on the winning line. In addition, when the drawing range is one frame, the bell symbol is stopped by pressing the stop button 21a when either the bell symbol with the frame number “1” or the replay symbol with the frame number “2” is positioned on the winning line. be able to. When the draw-in range is 2 frames, the stop button is displayed when either the bell symbol with frame number “1”, the replay symbol with frame number “2”, or the watermelon symbol with frame number “3” is positioned on the winning line. The bell symbol can be stopped by pressing 21a. In addition, when the drawing range is 3 frames, any of the bell symbol with frame number “1”, the replay symbol with frame number “2”, the watermelon symbol with frame number “3”, and the replay symbol with frame number “4” is valid. If the stop button 21a is pressed when positioned on the line, the bell symbol can be stopped. Also, when the pull-in range is 4 frames, a bell symbol with frame number “1”, a replay symbol with frame number “2”, a watermelon symbol with frame number “3”, a replay symbol with frame number “4”, and a frame number “5”. The bell symbol can be stopped by pressing the stop button 21a when any of the BB symbols is positioned on the winning winning line.

  The stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c is performed by, for example, determining the priority order of symbols to be stopped on the winning winning line 16 according to the type of the winning combination won and the timing when the stop buttons 21a to 21c are pressed. An appropriate method such as a control method to be determined may be used. In this case, when the stop buttons 21 a to 21 c are pressed, the symbol having the highest priority within the pull-in range is stopped on the winning pay line 16.

  The control unit 62 operates the winning combination determining unit 63 in response to the start lever 20 being pressed. In the winning combination determination unit 63, any one of BB, three types of small combinations, and replay is determined by a winning combination lottery using random numbers.

  Next, the flow of processing when winning the bell in the slot machine 10 configured as described above will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the game is played from the normal mode. When the player inserts a medal into the medal slot 19 and presses the start lever 20, the winning combination determination unit 63 performs a winning combination lottery. When the winning combination lottery is completed, a flag indicating the result is written in the RAM area of the memory 61, and the first to third reels 15a to 15c start to rotate. When the player presses the stop buttons 21a to 21c, stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c is started. At this time, the control unit 62 refers to the RAM area of the memory 62 and checks whether or not a bell flag corresponding to the bell is written. When the bell is won, the control unit 62 refers to the clock 65 and determines whether or not the current time is between 10:00 and 12:00. When the time zone won for the bell is between 10:00 and 12:00, the control unit 62 refers to the pull-in range table 64 and determines the pull-in range of the bell symbol based on the ambient temperature and humidity of the slot machine 10. After determining the drawing range from 0 to 3 frames, the control unit 62 performs stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c so that the bell symbol stops on the winning line within the determined drawing range. If the time zone for winning the bell is not between 10 o'clock and 12 o'clock, the control unit 62 performs stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c so that the bell symbol stops on the winning line within the pull-in range of 4 frames. Do. When the first to third reels 15a to 15c stop and the bell wins, a predetermined number of medals are paid out to the medal tray 22, and the game is finished. Thereafter, the same processing is executed when the bell is won.

  In the above embodiment, the bell symbol drawing range is changed based on the ambient temperature and humidity of the slot machine 10, but the drawing range may be changed based on either temperature or humidity. Moreover, the time slot | zone which changes a drawing-in range may be set suitably, and may be set in multiple times during the business hours of a pachinko parlor.

  In addition, for example, the time zone for changing the pull-in range is set from the start of pachinko store business, and in this time zone, the pull-in range of the winning symbol becomes wider than other time zones, so that the player is advantageous. When the present invention is used as a morning service, it is possible to expect customers immediately after the start of business, which is difficult to attract customers.

  In the above embodiment, the pull-in range of the bell symbol is changed. However, the pull-in symbol for changing the pull-in range may be set as appropriate. For example, when applying the present invention to a slot machine in which a carryover role is set to carry over until winning a prize, the pattern to be stopped on the winning line is different depending on whether or not the carryover role is won internally. Alternatively, the symbol that is the target of the so-called reach eye that displays that the carryover role is internally elected by changing the pull-in range of the same symbol depending on whether the carryover role is internally won or not is used as the pull-in symbol be able to. In this case, for example, while the same drawing range of the specific symbol is used for cases other than the specific temperature or humidity and the specific temperature or humidity, the specific symbol is on the winning line in cases other than the specific temperature or humidity. There is a method of displaying a loss even when stopped, and a reach when a specific symbol stops on the winning line in a specific temperature or humidity. In this example, the same pull-in range is selected when it is lost in a case other than a specific temperature or humidity, and in the case of a specific temperature or humidity, it is selected when the carryover is elected internally. In the range table, the temperature or humidity, the drawing range of the specific symbol, and whether or not the carryover combination is won internally may be associated with each other.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a slot machine that drives a reel. However, for example, a slot machine that rotates a reel displayed on a liquid crystal display (displays a variable display of symbols on the liquid crystal display), a game ball The present invention may be applied to other gaming machines such as a slot machine used as a medium.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of a slot machine. It is a block diagram showing an outline of an electrical configuration of the slot machine. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the arrangement | sequence of a symbol, and a frame number. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the case of changing a drawing range.

Explanation of symbols

11 Slot machines (game machines)
15a 1st reel 15b 2nd reel 15c 3rd reel 20 Start lever 21a-21c Stop button 62 Control part (reel stop control means)
64 Pull-in range table 65 Clock 74 Temperature sensor (observation sensor)
75 Humidity sensor (observation sensor)

Claims (2)

A pull-in symbol to be stopped on the winning line is determined based on a result of a lottery for determining a winning or losing, and the pull-in symbol is located within a preset pull-in range. In a gaming machine in which the drawing symbol stops on the winning line when a reel stop operation is sometimes performed,
An observation sensor for measuring at least one of temperature and humidity around the gaming machine;
A gaming machine comprising: a reel stop control means for changing a drawing range of the drawing symbol based on temperature or humidity measured by the observation sensor.   2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the reel stop control means changes a pull-in range of the pull-in symbols in a predetermined time zone.

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