JP2008119293A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the visual recognition of a game ball in a game area from being disturbed by a transmissive information display apparatus arranged in the front or rear part of glass, and also to obtain a hardware configuration with high sharability. <P>SOLUTION: A game machine includes the transmissive information display apparatus in the front or rear part of the glass. The prescribed area of the information display apparatus faces a non-flow-down area, where the ball does not flow down, on the board surface of the game machine. Thus, the movement of the ball is not concealed, so as to prevent a situation where trouble occurs in the process of a game since the movement of the ball is not viewed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a pachinko gaming machine, and relates to a gaming machine in which a front surface of a gaming area of a gaming board is covered with a transparent plate.

  As a conventional gaming machine, when the symbol in the variable display device is activated on condition that a ball launched into the gaming area passes through a specific starting area, and the result of the operation shows a predetermined mode, the player It is known what is derived in an advantageous state for the user.

  In recent years, in order to diversify and differentiate the game playability in such gaming machines, the contents of display and the display method in the variable display device have been concentrated. In addition, display areas and production areas tend to be expanded, and various display methods have been proposed and realized.

  As a technique related to this type of gaming machine, a plurality of transparent plates that cover the front surface of the gaming area, or a technique that includes a display area at a position adjacent thereto are known. For example, there is one that projects onto a screen from a projection display device, and one that has an organic electroluminescence display at a position close to a transparent plate.

JP-A-8-266716 JP 2005-211180 A JP 2003-325859 A

However, in order for the image projected by the projection display device to have a certain size, a certain distance is required between the projection display device and the screen. It is necessary to provide a corresponding space on the back side of the.
In addition, when an organic electroluminescence display is arranged at a position close to the transparent plate and an image is displayed, the movement of the sphere in the game area may be hidden and not visible. .

The gaming machine according to claim 1 is provided with a transparent plate (glass plate) that allows a substantially circular gaming area on the gaming board surface fixed to the main body frame to be visually recognized, and a specific entrance provided in the gaming area. Special game determining means for determining whether or not to execute a special game advantageous to the player due to the ball, and special game display means for displaying whether or not the special game is executed by the special game determining means; In a gaming machine equipped with a transparent information display by organic electroluminescence provided before or after the transparent plate, and a predetermined area of the information display corresponding to the non-flowing area where the game ball on the gaming area does not flow down, And a related information display means for displaying information related to the determination of the special game determination means.
The game board fixed to the main body frame may be directly fixed to the main body frame of the gaming machine that fixes the gaming machine to the island facility of the pachinko hall, or may be fixed to the main body frame via another member.
The predetermined area of the information display corresponding to the non-flowing area where the game ball on the gaming area does not flow down may be within the area of the information display facing the non-flowing area where the game ball on the gaming area does not flow down, There may be multiple. This predetermined area is preferably set in advance for each model having different board surface configurations such as a prize opening and game nail arrangement, and is preferably stored in a ROM in the game control board. Further, the data related to the predetermined area stored in the ROM or the like can be one indicating the position and size of the non-flowing area.

  The gaming machine according to claim 2 is provided with a special game determination means on the game control board for controlling the progress of the game, and a related information display means on the related information display control board, respectively, and the game control board is a predetermined area of the information display. The related information display control board determines the display area based on the data received from the game control board, and stores and holds data related to the related information display control board. This is a gaming machine.

  The gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein the related information display control board is attached to the main body frame, and when the power is turned on, the game control board transmits the data to the related information display control board. It is a gaming machine. Attaching the related information display control board with the related information display means to the main body frame is fixed directly or indirectly to the main body frame, and when so-called changing the surface to replace the game board and the game control board of the gaming machine It may be configured to be used as existing equipment.

  The gaming machine according to claim 4 is characterized in that when the content stored in the RAM in the game control board is cleared, the game control board transmits data relating to a predetermined area to the related information display control board. A gaming machine according to claim 2.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the movement of the sphere is not concealed by displaying information by organic electroluminescence, which is an information display, in the non-flowing area where the ball on the game board does not flow down. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the movement of the ball is not known and the game process is hindered. Since the organic electroluminescence display is provided before or after the glass, a large area for a display device is not required on the game board surface or the game board back side. In addition, by using an organic electroluminescence display that employs transparent electrodes, it is transparent when it is not displayed, and functions variously in the non-flowing area on the game board surface, such as displaying images using a liquid crystal display or moving It is possible to provide an effect by a ceremony character or to provide an error notification device.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the related information display control board determines the predetermined area based on the data received from the game control board, so that the related information display control board differs in the non-flowing area without changing the specification. It becomes possible to correspond to a gaming machine. Therefore, the same related information display control board can be diverted to different gaming machines, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 3, a related information display control board provided with related information display means is attached to the main body frame, and when the power is turned on, the game control board transmits data relating to a predetermined area to the related information display control board. As a result, the related information display control board can be used as an existing facility at the time of so-called surface replacement for replacing the game board and the game control board of the gaming machine, which leads to cost reduction.

  According to the invention of claim 4, it is the RAM of the RAM provided in the game control board that informs the related information display control board of the non-flowing area of the sphere on the board based on the information transmitted from the game control board. By clearing, it is not necessary to add a new functional structure to the game control board. For this reason, it is possible to share the board and components with a model that does not have a related information display control board, and to make the configuration common, leading to a reduction in manufacturing cost.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and it goes without saying that various forms can be adopted as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a pachinko machine 10 that is a typical example of a gaming machine, and is called a so-called card-type pachinko machine. The pachinko machine 10 has hinge mechanisms 12 and 12 provided vertically on an outer frame 11 for installation and fixing on an amusement machine installation island of a game store, and a front frame 13 is pivotally mounted so as to be opened and closed. A glass frame 15 equipped with glass for seeing through the game area of the game board 14 is screwed from the front surface of the front frame 13 so as to be opened and closed.

  Below the front frame 13, an upper plate 16 is provided for guiding the game balls to the launching device while causing the game balls to flow in an aligned manner. The upper plate 16 is provided with a ball lending button 17a, a card return button 17b, and a card balance display portion 17c for operating the ball lending unit.

  A lower plate 18 is disposed below the upper plate 16. The lower plate 18 has an outlet 18 a overflowing from the upper plate 16 or an outlet 18 a from which a rental ball flows out and a stored game ball. Is provided with a lower tray ball removing lever 18b for discharging the water into a ball box or the like. A firing handle 20 having a firing lever 19 is attached to the right end of the lower plate 18, and the player can rotate the firing lever 19 to an arbitrary position on the game board 14. Can fire.

  The game board 14 is surrounded by a guide rail 21 in a circular shape, and an area surrounded by the guide rail 21 is a game area 22. The game area 22 is provided with innumerable guide nails (not shown) over almost the entire area, and the game balls launched into the game area 22 by the guide nails are guided to arbitrary positions. A center accessory 23 is attached to a substantially central portion of the game area 22. A liquid crystal display device 24 is mounted at the center of the center accessory 23. Further, around the center accessory 23, there are arranged windmills 26 and 26, a normal symbol starting gate 27, side lamps 28 and 28, and an electric tulip-type prize-winning ordinary electric accessory 29 having an open / close blade. . An out port 30 is disposed at the lowermost part of the guide rail 21.

  Further, the ordinary electric accessory 29 also serves as a specific start port, and when entering the specific start port, the CPU of the main control unit in the game control board 44 performs a lottery determination. Based on the result of lottery determination, an instruction for the variation time and the display form is transmitted to the special symbol display unit 33. The special symbol display unit 33 operates according to an instruction from the main control unit and displays a predetermined display form. In conjunction with the variation time and display form of the special symbol display unit 33, various effects are provided by a plurality of devices provided in the gaming machine. The display unit 62 of the related information display device 61 provided in the liquid crystal display device 24 and a glass frame to be described later displays a plurality of symbols and characters to enhance the effect. Similarly, the panel lighting display unit 76 and the main body lighting display unit 77 enhance the effect by outputting a sound corresponding to the effect state from the speaker unit 32 by blinking of an LED or a lamp.

  A ball lending unit 36 is attached to the left side of the pachinko machine 10 in a vertically long shape. The ball lending unit 36 has a card insertion slot 37 and a display lamp 38. When a card is inserted into the card insertion slot 37, the display lamp 38 is turned on and the ball lending provided on the upper plate 16 is turned on. The balance is displayed on the card balance display portion 17c of the unit operation panel 17. If the balance is displayed, a predetermined number of balls are discharged from the outlet in the upper plate 16 by pressing the ball lending button 17a. Further, the card on which the balance has been recorded is returned from the card insertion slot 37 by pressing the card return button 17b.

  Next, the configuration of the back surface of the pachinko machine 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the pachinko machine 10. As shown in the drawing, a mechanism board 40 is mounted on the back surface of the pachinko machine 10, and a game board 14 is detachably mounted on the mechanism board 40. A ball tank 41 for storing a game ball to be discharged as a prize ball or a rental ball is provided at the upper part of the mechanism board 40, and the game ball is viewed from above in a state where the pachinko machine 10 is installed on the game machine installation island. Is supplied to the ball tank 41. Below the ball tank 41, a prize ball cage and a ball rental cage are formed, and a tank rail 43 is provided for allowing the game balls to flow down to the basket while being divided. Can be discharged to the upper plate 16 by the winning ball paying device 71 and the ball lending paying device 72 in the paying mechanism portion 42 via the curve rod.

  A board case 45 that houses a game control board 44 on which a game control microcomputer or the like is mounted is disposed substantially at the center of the mechanism board 40. Also, below the substrate case 45, a payout control board 46 for controlling the winning ball paying device 71 and the paying ball paying device 72 to discharge the winning ball or the paying ball is disposed. On the left side of the substrate case 45, a sound control board 73 for controlling sound generation from the speaker unit 32, a lamp control for controlling a lighting method such as a lamp for enhancing a game effect provided on the surface of the game board 14. An effect control board 47 provided with a board 74 is provided. In addition, an image control board 48 is provided above the game control board 44.

  On the lower right side of the mechanism panel 40 is provided a power supply board 49 on which a power supply circuit that generates a plurality of DC voltages from externally supplied power is mounted, and a game ball is launched to the left of the power supply board 49. A firing control board 50 for controlling the launching device is provided at a position adjacent to the payout control board 46. In addition, an external connection terminal plate 51 having terminals for outputting various information related to the game to the outside of the gaming machine is installed at the upper right corner of the mechanism board 40.

  Next, the configuration of the back surface of the glass frame 15 will be described with reference to FIG. A multi-layer glass 60 composed of two glasses 65 and 65 and a display unit 62 (organic electroluminescence display) is detachably provided at substantially the center of the glass frame 15. The double-glazed glass 60 keeps a vacuum state by sealing between two glasses. A related information display device 61 is provided on the right side of the multilayer glass 60, and the related information display device 61 is connected to a related information display control board 64 via a harness 63. The related information display control board 64 processes the display area information and the command command transmitted from the relay board 70, transmits the display area instruction and the command data corresponding to the command command to the related information display device 61, and displays the display unit. An image is displayed at 62.

  The display unit 62 is disposed between the two glasses 65 and 65 as shown in the partial cross-sectional view of the multilayer glass in FIG. This is also to prevent deterioration of the organic electroluminescence display as the display unit as much as possible by preventing the display unit from directly impacting from the outside and making it difficult to directly touch outside air.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 10 described above will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. As shown in the figure, the electrical circuit of the pachinko machine 10 includes a game control board 44, a relay board 70, a payout control board 46, a launch control board 50, a related information display control board 64, a sound control board 73, a lamp control board 74, and an image. The control board 48 is configured.

  The game control board 44 performs game control related to the progress of the game, and is provided with a game control circuit, and manages commands to various boards. An external input / output circuit for inputting / outputting various switches and actuators (not shown) is also provided. Further, the special symbol display unit 33 that displays a special symbol for notifying the player of whether or not it is a big hit is also controlled.

  The payout control board 46 is provided with a payout control circuit for performing payout control relating to payout of game balls, and is for driving and controlling the prize ball payout device 71 and the ball lending payout device 72. The winning ball payout device 71 is a device that drives a ball cutting motor provided inside the gaming machine 10 and pays out a gaming ball as a winning ball to the upper plate 16 when a winning is made. The ball lending / dispensing device 72 drives the ball cutting motor provided therein when the player operates the above-described ball lending button 17a provided on the upper plate 16 to play a game as a ball lending to the player. A device that dispenses balls.

  The relay board 70 transmits the command transmitted from the game control board 44 to the related information display control board 64, the sound control board 73, the lamp control board 74, and the image control board 48. Depending on the specifications, the command transmitted from the game control board 44 is temporarily held by the relay board 70 in order to make the presentation more uniform. In some cases, a detailed command is transmitted.

  The image control board 48 is configured to include a ROM that stores an image control program, a RAM that functions as a work area for operations, and a logical operation circuit (image control circuit) centered on a central processing unit CPU. This is for controlling display of various effect images in the unit 75.

  The sound control board 73 includes a sound source IC, an amplifier, and the like, and is used for driving and controlling the speaker unit 32 in response to a command from the game control board 44 via the relay board 70.

  The lamp control board 74 is mainly composed of a driving element such as a transistor, and receives an instruction from the game control board 44 via the relay board 70, so that the main body illumination display unit 77 and the panel illumination display unit 76 receive the command. It is for lighting and displaying various existing lamps and LEDs.

  The related information display control board 64 is a ROM that stores an image control program for the related information display device, a RAM that functions as a work area for computations, etc., and that stores and holds the display area 66 in the display unit 62 of the related information display device 61. It is configured to have a logical operation circuit (related information display control circuit) centered on the central processing unit CPU, in order to display and control various effect images and symbol variation images on the display unit 62 via the related information display device 61. belongs to.

CPU mounted on game control board 44 when data of non-flowing area is transmitted from game control board 44 to related information display control board 64 when the content stored in RAM of game control board 44 is cleared FIG. 6 shows the processing when the power is turned on. First, initial processing at power-on (S10) is performed. Specifically, the initial processing includes a CPU security check, a stack pointer is set to an initial value, an interrupt mode is set, and RAM access is permitted. Next, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear switch is on (S11: YES). If the RAM clear switch is on, the process proceeds to a RAM clear process. Even when the RAM clear switch is not turned on (S11: NO), it is confirmed whether the information generated when the power is cut off is normal (S12). If it is determined that the information is not normal (S12: NO), The RAM determination value is calculated (S13), and if it is determined that the RAM determination value is not normal (S14: NO), the process proceeds to the RAM clear process.
A method for confirming whether or not the occurrence information at the time of power-off is normal refers to the value of the NMI flag in the RAM and determines whether or not the backup process at the time of power-off is normally performed. A method for confirming whether or not the RAM determination value is normal is based on whether or not the 1-byte value obtained by adding the contents of the used area in the RAM is the same as the RAM determination value. Incidentally, the value of the RAM determination value is a 1-byte value obtained as a result of adding the contents of the used area in the RAM when the power is turned off.
In the RAM clear process, first, the contents of the RAM are all rewritten to 0 (S19) and cleared, and then the initial setting of the CPU built-in device is performed (S20). Next, initial setting of the sub-board is performed (S21). Thereafter, an initial setting execution command is transmitted to the related information display control board 64, and the area range of the non-flowing area is transmitted (S22). Thereafter, interruption by CTC is permitted (S23), and the game is started.
If the RAM clear switch is not turned on (S11: NO), the information generated when the power is turned off is normal (S12: YES), and the RAM judgment value is also normal (S14: YES), the power is turned off. The generated information is cleared (S15), and command transmission processing at the time of return is performed (S16). This process is a process of backing up data immediately before power-off and transmitting the data to each sub-board when returning. Thereafter, the CPU built-in device is initialized (S17), the CTC interrupt is permitted (S18), and the game is started.

FIG. 7 shows a process when the CPU mounted on the game control board 44 is turned on when data of the non-flowing area is transmitted from the game control board 44 to the related information display control board 64 when the power is turned on. First, initial processing (S40) at power-on is performed. Next, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear switch is on (S41: YES). If the RAM clear switch is on, the process proceeds to a RAM clear process. Even when the RAM clear switch is not turned on (S41: NO), it is confirmed whether or not the information generated when the power is turned off is normal (S42), and when it is determined that the information is not normal (S42: NO), The RAM determination value is calculated (S43), and if it is determined that the RAM determination value is not normal (S44: NO), the process proceeds to the RAM clear process.
In the RAM clear process, first, the contents of the RAM are all rewritten to 0 (S50) and cleared, and then the initial setting of the CPU built-in device is performed (S51). Next, initial setting of the sub-board is performed (S52). Thereafter, interruption by CTC is permitted (S53), and the game is started.
If the RAM clear switch is not turned on (S41: NO), the information generated when the power is turned off is normal (S42: YES), and the RAM judgment value is also normal (S44: YES), The generated information is cleared (S45), an initial setting execution command is transmitted to the related information display control board 64, and the area range of the non-flowing area is transmitted (S46). Thereafter, command transmission processing at the time of return is performed (S47). This process is a process of backing up data immediately before power-off and transmitting the data to each sub-board when returning. Thereafter, initialization of the CPU built-in device is performed (S48), interruption by CTC is permitted (S49), and the game is started.

  Next, the CPU processing in the related information display control board 64 is shown in FIG. After the power is turned on, the CPU of the related information display control board performs an initial process (S30) after the power is turned on. If an initial setting execution command is received from the game control board side, the initial setting flag is turned on (S31: YES). ), The initial setting operation starts. During the initial setting operation, first, the RAM in the CPU of the related information display control board is cleared, and then the game control board 44 or the area range of the non-downflow area is transmitted from the game control board 44 via the relay board 70. (S33). When the initial setting flag is not turned on (S31: NO), the command reception state (S34) is entered. The command transmitted at this time is an execution process flag related to the display symbol of the related information display control board 64. After receiving the command, the display update processing (S35) of the related information display device is executed.

  The display area 66 is stored in the RAM in the related information display control board 64 and is held by the backup power supplied from the power board 49 unless the RAM in the game control board is cleared.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the display area 66 is managed by coordinate axes in the xy direction of the display unit 62. For example, when there is a non-flowing area at the center of the game board surface, the display unit 62 overlapping the area is set as the display area 66. When the display area 66 is set as the range from the start point coordinates (p, q) to the end point coordinates (p + s, q + t), it is possible to display effects and symbols only within this range. Further, when there are a plurality of display areas 66, there are start point coordinates and end point coordinates corresponding to each of the display areas 66.

If the non-flowing area has a complicated shape, a virtual display area that is slightly larger than the non-flowing area is set, and the virtual display area and the mask image are set using the mask image that models the shape of the non-flowing area. It is also possible to perform masking processing so that only the overlapped portion can be displayed, and set only the mask image area as an actual display area.
Further, even if it is a non-flowing area on the game board surface, if it is not desired to set it as the display area 66, for example, if there is a display for display or an accessory on the game board surface, the display area 66 is set as the non-flowing area. If it is within, it may be arbitrarily reduced.

The front view of a pachinko machine. The back view of a pachinko machine. The back view of a glass frame. The fragmentary sectional view of multilayer glass. The block diagram which shows the structure of a gaming machine. CPU flow chart when the game control board is powered on (transmit non-flowing area when the game control board RAM is cleared). CPU flow chart when the game control board is powered on (transmit non-flowing area when power is turned on). The flowchart of CPU at the time of power activation of a related information display control board. The schematic diagram at the time of performing the display area setting of a display part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Pachinko machine 11 ... Outer frame 12 ... Hinge mechanism 13 ... Front frame 14 ... Game board 15 ... Glass frame 16 ... Upper plate 17 ... Ball rental unit operation panel 18 ... Lower plate 19 ... Launch lever 20 ... Launch handle 21 ... Guide Rail 22 ... Game area 23 ... Center role 24 ... Liquid crystal display device 26 ... Wind turbine 27 ... Normal symbol start gate 28 ... Side lamp 29 ... Normal electric drive (specific start port) 30 ... Out port 31 ... Large prize port 32 ... Speaker part 33 ... Special symbol display part 34 ... Normal symbol display part 36 ... Ball lending unit 37 ... Card insertion slot 38 ... Display lamp 40 ... Mechanism panel 41 ... Ball tank 42 ... Dispensing mechanism part 43 ... Tank rail 44 ... Game control Board 45 ... Board case 46 ... Dispensing control board 47 ... Production control board 48 ... Image control board 49 ... Power supply board 50 ... Launch control board 51 ... External connection terminal board 60 ... Multi-layer glass 61 ... Related information display device 62 ... Display unit 63 ... Harness 64 ... Related information display control board 65 ... Glass 66 ... Display area (predetermined area)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 70 ... Relay board 71 ... Prize ball paying device 72 ... Ball rental paying device 73 ... Sound control board 74 ... Lamp control board 75 ... Effect display part 76 ... Panel surface illumination display part 77 ... Main body illumination display part

Claims (4)

A transparent plate that makes it possible to visually recognize a substantially circular gaming area on the surface of the gaming board fixed to the main body frame;
Special game determining means for determining whether or not to execute a special game advantageous to the player due to entering a specific entrance provided in the game area;
In a gaming machine comprising special game display means for displaying whether or not to execute the special game by the special game determination means,
A transparent information indicator provided before or after the transparent plate;
Related information display means for displaying information related to the determination of the special game determination means in a predetermined area of the information display corresponding to a non-flowing area where the game ball on the gaming area does not flow down;
A gaming machine characterized by comprising: The special game determining means is provided in a game control board for controlling the progress of the game, and the related information display means is provided in a related information display control board,
The game control board stores and holds data related to the predetermined area of the information display and transmits the data to the related information display control board.
The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the related information display control board determines the predetermined area based on the data received from the game control board. Attaching the related information display control board to the main body frame,
3. The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein when the power is turned on, the game control board transmits the data to the related information display control board.   The gaming machine according to claim 2, wherein the game control board transmits the data to the related information display control board when the content stored in the RAM in the game control board is cleared. .

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