JP2008194293A - Pinball game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pinball game machine having increasing interest by providing a performance device for emitting light behind a game board which is transparent. <P>SOLUTION: The game board 3 is made transparent and a light transmission part 54 capable of transmitting light is formed to a sheet material 5 pasted to the front of the game board 3. On the back side of the game board 3, a light emission part 61 is provided to make the light transmission part 54 transmit the light from the light emission device 61. When a decoration content of the light transmission part 54 is changed, a decoration content of the sheet material 5 is changed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball game machine, and more particularly to a ball game machine in which a game board is transparent and a light emitting device is provided on the rear surface of the game board.

  As is well known, in a ball game machine, various winning holes are provided in the game area of the game board surface equipped in the game machine. In this game area, game balls are launched, and bachinko balls flow downward from the top. At this time, the game ball flows down while touching or passing obstacle nails, guide nails, other objects, etc., by the movement of the game ball at this time, by paying out the prize ball by winning the winning prize, etc. Interestingness is demonstrated.

  In such a ball game, in addition to the movement of the game ball, an effect device for producing the expectation degree for the lottery is provided, the image on the liquid crystal screen installed in the center of the game board is changed, or the glass An effect is produced by, for example, lighting a decoration device around the frame.

  In addition to such a production method, as shown in Patent Document 1, a ball game in which a game board is used as a transparent plate and a liquid crystal display device having an area extending over substantially the entire game area is provided on the rear side. A machine has also been proposed.

Furthermore, a plurality of housing holes are formed at arbitrary positions on the game board, light emitting elements are loaded in the housing holes, and light is applied from the rear side of the sheet material covering the front surface of the game board to be applied to the sheet material. There has also been proposed a directing device configured to lift up the pattern.
JP 2004-283555 A

  As represented by the gaming machine disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in the conventional ball game machine, since the liquid crystal screen is arranged on almost the entire game area, it is necessary to use a large liquid crystal display device. However, there is a problem that the cost is high and it is limited to the production by the liquid crystal screen, and it is difficult to exhibit the production effect which is more varied. In addition, in the production device in which the light emitting element is loaded into the accommodation hole formed in the game board, it is necessary to change the position of the accommodation hole formed in the game board every time the content of the production is changed, and the processing cost of the game board is reduced. There was a problem of increasing.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a ball game machine with higher interest by providing a rendering device that emits light on the rear side of the game board while making the game board transparent.

  The present invention for solving the above problems has the following configuration.

(1) A ball ball game machine in which a game ball is sent from a launching device to a game area provided in front of the game board, and the game ball flows down in the game area,
The game board is made of a translucent material,
A sheet material superimposed on the game board and having a translucent portion;
A light emitting means disposed on the back side of the game board and disposed at a position where light can pass through the light transmitting portion of the sheet material;
Light emission control means for controlling the light emission mode of the light emitting means;
A ball game machine characterized by comprising:

(2) The light emitting means has a plurality of light sources,
The bullet ball game machine according to (1), wherein the light emission control means includes light source control means for selectively controlling a light source to emit light.

(3) The light emitting means is a liquid crystal display device,
The bullet ball game machine according to (1), wherein the light emission control means includes image control means for controlling an image displayed on the liquid crystal display device.

(4) A moving device that holds the light emitting means and moves it along the back of the game board surface;
The bullet ball game machine according to any one of (1) to (3), further including a driving device that drives the moving device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the light emitted from the light emitting means reaches the front side of the game board through the light-transmitting portion of the sheet material, and causes a visual effect on the player. Can do. Here, the game board is made of a translucent material, and the translucent part is provided on the sheet material side, so the shape and position of the translucent part are changed by changing the configuration of the sheet material. Since the change on the game board side is not necessary, the contents of the production can be changed at a low cost. When changing the production content, it is only necessary to change the control content by the light emission control means, so there is no need to change the configuration of the light emission means itself, and the light emission means can be reused or shared with other models. It becomes possible.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, by controlling the turning on and off of the plurality of light sources by the light source control means, it becomes possible to produce a more complicated effect and improve the interest.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, by using the liquid crystal display device as the light emitting means, it becomes possible to control the shape, color, movement, etc. of the light source in a more complicated manner, improving the production effect, The property can be further improved.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the light emitting means held by the moving device itself can be moved by driving the driving device, thereby making it possible to produce effects due to the continuous movement of the light source, thereby improving the interest. Can do.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing a bullet ball game machine according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a bullet ball. It is. Hereinafter, in this specification, with respect to the gaming machine, the side on which the player of the gaming machine is arranged is expressed as the front side or the front side, and the opposite side of the gaming machine is the rear side or the rear side with respect to the arrangement position of the player. And

  In FIG. 1, a ball game machine 100 is for opening and closing mounted on a front surface of an outer frame 1 that is formed in an outer rectangular frame size and constitutes a vertically long fixed holding frame, and is formed in a rectangular frame size in accordance with the outer frame 1. The front frame 2 is provided.

  The front frame 2 is attached to the outer frame 1 by hinge brackets 3A and 3B attached to the front right and upper sides of the outer frame 1 so as to be openable and closable, and is further locked by a locking device 12 provided on the front left side of the outer frame 1. It is held in a closed state.

  Inside the front frame 2, an inner member 20 that is fitted inside the front frame 2 is provided. The game board 3 is further accommodated and supported inside the inner member 20. A display device 60 is provided on the rear surface side of the inner member 20. The inner member 20 includes a frame portion 201 fitted inside the front frame 2 and a plate portion 202 that covers the entire inner surface of the frame portion 201, and an inner side defined by the frame portion 201 and the plate portion 202. The game board 3 is stored and held in the storage unit.

  The display device 60 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device. The display device 60 is disposed at a position corresponding to the window portion formed in the center of the game board 3, and as shown in FIG. 2, light emitting means is provided between the game board 3 and the board portion 202. An accommodation space 6B for accommodating a certain light source moving device is formed. Thus, the inner member 20 functions as an insertion material (spacer) for forming a game area, and also functions as a holding member for fixing the game board 3 to the front frame 2. As will be described later (FIG. 7), the display device 60 functions as the symbol variation display device 6j and as the normal symbol variation display device 264d.

  A glass frame 22 to which the transparent plate 21 is attached is provided on the front frame 2 so as to be openable and closable via hinge fittings attached to the front right and upper sides. The glass frame 22 is provided with rod-like support portions 22a and 22b protruding rearward, and the transparent plate 21 is attached to and supported by the support portions 22a and 22b. A window 220 is provided in the center of the glass frame 22 so that a player can visually recognize a game area 6F described later.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the game board 3, the display device 60, and the transparent plate 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the game board 3 is disposed between the transparent plate 21 of the glass frame 22 and the plate portion 202 of the inner member 20 with the glass frame 22 closed. Is supported on the inside of the front frame 2. The game board 3 may be directly supported by the front frame 2.

  The game board 3 is made of a transparent plate material, and is made of, for example, a resin such as polycarbonate or tempered glass. The material constituting the game board 3 may be a material having such a light transmittance that a part of the light on the back side can reach the front side, and may be a translucent material. Unlike the wood plywood, these constituent materials can be recycled by changing the shape by heating and melting the material itself. That is, even when it is necessary to change the design of the game board, the same material can be reused in different forms, which is extremely useful for cost reduction.

Part of the game board 3 may be made of a transparent material (for example, only a part corresponding to a game area 6F or a light emitting device described later). Between the front surface 30F of the game board 3 and the transparent plate 21, a game area 6F in which game balls flow down is formed.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the game board 3.

  On the lower side of the front surface of the front frame 2, below the glass frame 22, a dish unit 13 provided with an integrated dish or the like constituting a ball tray is supported by the front frame 2 so as to be openable and closable. The dish unit 13 is normally held in a closed state by a locking device (not shown). The tray unit 13 is provided with a launching handle (not shown) at the lower right side of the front of the tray, and an ashtray (not shown) at the lower left of the front, as well as the tray where the game balls are present. Yes.

  Below the display device 60, a special winning opening 6d is provided, and further below that, an out opening 111 for collecting out balls is provided. The out opening 111 corresponds to the lower end of the rear space 6B. Located where you want.

  Next, the configuration of the game board 3 and the configuration of the light emitting effect device will be described. In the game board 3, a receiving hole 41a, 41b, 41c constituting a winning opening, receiving holes 31a, 31b, 31c, and a window 32 and a special winning opening 6d are formed at positions corresponding to the display device 60 described above. An accommodation hole 31d for accommodating the special prize driving device 6dd is formed. In addition, a recess 31e constituting the out port 111 is formed below the accommodation hole 31d.

  A sheet material 5 is attached to the front surface of such a game board 3. The surface of the sheet material 5 is decorated with a desired figure, character, pattern or the like, and a light transmitting portion 54 through which light irradiated from the rear side transmits to the front side and a non-light transmitting portion 55 that does not transmit. Have The translucent unit 54 includes a first translucent unit 54a and a second translucent unit 54b that change the color of the transmitted light to different colors. Such a translucent part 54 and the non-translucent part 55 are comprised by carrying the ink which has various colors on the surface of a transparent film-like base material sheet. These inks give the desired decoration. The ink has a light-transmitting property and a light-blocking property, and the position where the light-transmitting ink is carried is configured as a light-transmitting portion. Further, a colored sheet material that can transmit light and a sheet material that cannot transmit light may be stacked without using ink.

  The sheet material 5 has receiving holes 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d, and a recess 51e at positions corresponding to the windows 32, receiving holes 31a, 31b, 31c, 31d, and the recess 31e formed in the game board 3, respectively. Is formed. With this configuration, when the sheet material 5 is stacked on the surface of the game board 3, the receiving holes 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d, and the recesses 31e are formed in the windows 32, the receiving holes 31a, 31b, 31c, and 31d, respectively. And the recessed part 51 is comprised so that it may each overlap. The sheet material 5 may be attached to the rear surface of the game board 3 so as to overlap therewith.

  A light emitting device 61 that is a light emitting means constituting the effect device 6 is disposed on the rear surface side of the light transmitting portion 54 provided on the sheet material 5 with the game board 3 interposed therebetween. FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the light emitting device 61. The light emitting device 61 includes a substrate 611 and a plurality of light emitting elements 612 disposed on the substrate 611. The light emitting element 612 is, for example, a light emitting diode or a light bulb.

  The light emitting elements 612 are preferably arranged vertically and horizontally, with three elements emitting three different primary colors as one set. Instead of such a light emitting element, a planar light emitting element such as an electroluminescent element can be used.

  The surface of the light emitting device 61 on which the light emitting element 612 is disposed is directed toward the game board 3 and faces the light transmitting portion 54. The light emitting elements 612 are turned on and off individually by a light emission control device that is a light emission control unit.

  Arbitrary light emission patterns are made to appear by appropriately controlling the light emission modes such as the lighting timing, the lighting timing, the lighting time, the lighting time, the color of light emitting elements to be turned on and the combination thereof, and the illuminance of the light emitting elements. It becomes possible. For example, the colors other than the three primary colors are developed by adjusting the illuminance of the light emitting element 612 that emits each of the three primary colors.

  As the light emitting means, in addition to the light emitting device 61, a liquid crystal display device 62 as shown in FIG. When the liquid crystal display device 62 is used, the display screen 621 is disposed so as to face the translucent portion 54. Since an arbitrary image can be displayed on the display screen 621, the width of the effect increases and the decorative design can be changed more complicatedly. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the vortex 623 is displayed on the display screen, for example, the center of the vortex 623 is aligned with the center of the windmill 67 provided in the game area, and the vortex 623 is rotated. By performing such an effect, the rotation of the windmill 67 and the rotation of the vortex 623 overlap, so that the player's vision is obscured and the effect of the effect is improved. That is, by arranging the light emitting means at a position corresponding to the movable accessory (on the back side of the movable accessory), the effect of production can be remarkably improved by the synergistic effect of both. Examples of the movable accessory include a windmill, a blade that opens and closes in an electric tulip, and an open door in a big prize opening (attacker).

In addition, it is preferable that the image displayed by the liquid crystal display device 62 is superimposed on these movable objects. In particular, in the case of a moving image, a further effect can be obtained.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although the translucent part 54 is formed in the shape of a flame, the shape of the translucent part 54 does not change. By displaying on the display screen 621 an image in which flames of approximately the same size are flickering superimposed on the translucent part 54, a synergistic effect with the fixed translucent part 54 produces a state where the flames flicker more realistically. Can do. The image displayed on the display screen 621 is controlled by an image control means described later.

  Further, in both cases of the light emitting device 61 and the liquid crystal display device 62, the display content of the light transmitting portion 54 is changed by selectively emitting light of the same system color as the color of the light transmitting portion 54 and a color of a different system. You may produce as you do. For example, characters are displayed in red on a transparent portion that is not transparent, and red (or red color or warm color) is emitted by the light emitting device 61 and the liquid crystal display device 62 to erase the characters, By emitting light other than red (for example, a cold-colored color), it is possible to produce an effect that makes the character stand out.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the light emitting device 61 itself may be configured to be movable. The rendering device 63 in this case includes a light emitting device 61, a moving device 632 that moves the light emitting device 61 while guiding the light emitting device 61 in the vertical direction, and a drive device 631 that drives the moving device 632.

  The drive device 631 is a stepping motor capable of controlling the rotation angle. The moving device 632 is driven by the rotation of the motor. The moving device 632 includes a rotating plate 631a connected to the output shaft of the motor, a pin 632b erected on the rotating plate 631a, and a swinging member 632c whose one end is swingably supported by the main body of the ball game machine. And. A rocking shaft 632d is provided at the base end of the rocking member 632c, and the rocking shaft 632d is rotatably supported on the ball game machine main body side.

  The swing member 632c has a long hole 632b at the center and a long hole 632f at the tip. A pin 632b is inserted through the central long hole 632b, and a pin 632g protruding from the back surface of the light emitting device 61 is inserted through the long hole 632f at the tip. In such a configuration, when the motor 631 is rotated, the pin 632b moves while drawing an arc. By the movement of the pin 632b, the swinging member 632c swings, and the tip portion thereof reciprocates with a width greater than the amplitude of the pin 632b. With this reciprocation, the light emitting device 61 reciprocates up and down. The end of the light emitting device 61 is fitted into the guide rail 632h, and the light emitting device 61 reciprocates along the guide rail 632h. The movement amount and movement position of the light emitting device 61 can be controlled by controlling the rotation amount of the stepping motor 631.

  In the light emitting device 61 described above, the light emitting elements are arranged according to a predetermined rule, and the light emitting mode of the light emitting elements of the light emitting device 61 is controlled to produce the effect. In this case, it is not necessary to change the light emitting device 61 itself, and the content of the light emission mode control is changed. For this reason, the light emitting device 61 itself can be reused. Similarly, the liquid crystal display device 62 can also be reused, and both the devices 61 and 62 can be shared between gaming devices having different control contents. Further, in this embodiment, the light emitting device 61 and the liquid crystal display device 62 are arranged on a part of the game board 3, but the game board 3 has a range of the game area or the entire range visible from the front side. The light emitting device 61 and the liquid crystal display device 62 may be disposed on the rear side.

  Next, the control system of the ball game machine 100 will be described.

In FIG. 7, the game control means 200 is a means for overall control of the entire ball and ball game machine 100 including the progress and effects of the game. The game control means 200 includes a CPU that performs calculations, a ROM that stores programs necessary for the progress of the game, data for production, and the like, and data that is captured when the CPU performs various controls. RAM and the like that are temporarily stored.

The game control means 200 is provided on a control board provided on the back side of the game board 3.

Here, the game control means 200 is not limited to one control board, and may be provided over a plurality of control boards. In the present embodiment, the game control means 200 includes the following means.

(Winning ball detection means)
The winning ball detection means 21 detects a winning when a game ball wins the start winning port 6c and the special winning port 6d. The start winning opening 6c and the special winning opening 6d are respectively provided with a starting winning opening sensor 6cs and a special winning opening sensor 6ds, and are electrically connected to the winning ball detecting means 21, respectively.

(Lottery means)
The lottery means 22 performs a lottery regarding the stop symbol displayed on the symbol variation display device 6j which is a variable display means, on condition that the winning ball detecting means 21 detects the winning of the game ball to the start winning opening 6c. In this embodiment, (1) presence / absence of winning, (2) stop symbol after symbol variation display of symbol variation display device 6j, and (3) variation pattern during symbol variation display Make a lottery. The lottery means 22 includes a winning lottery means 22a, a stop symbol lottery means 22b, and a variation pattern lottery means 22c in order to perform these lotteries (1) to (3).

(Winning lottery means)
In this embodiment, the winning lottery means 22a includes a winning determination random number generating means, a winning determination random number acquiring means, and a winning determination means.

The hit determination random number generating means generates a hit determination random number having a predetermined cycle (for example, a cycle of 0 to 65535 by a 16-bit random number) by a control program or the like. The hit determination random number acquisition means detects one hit determination random number among the hit determination random numbers generated by the hit determination random number generation means, at a predetermined time, in the present embodiment, a detection signal transmitted from the start winning opening sensor 6cs. Is acquired when the winning ball detecting means 21 receives the.

The winning determination means determines whether the winning is determined or not based on the winning determination random number acquired by the winning determination random number acquiring means.

When it is determined that the game is won, a command is sent to the image control means 27 described later.

(Stop symbol lottery means)
The stop symbol lottery means 22b draws a stop symbol to be stopped and displayed on the symbol variation display device 6j based on the determination result of the hit determination means of the hit lottery means 22a.

(Variation pattern lottery means)
The fluctuation pattern lottery means 22c draws a fluctuation pattern of symbols to be displayed on the symbol fluctuation display device 6j.

Based on the determination result by the determination means of the winning determination means of the winning lottery means 22a, one of the variation patterns is selected with reference to the data table storing the variation patterns of a plurality of types of symbols.

(Design display control means)
The symbol display control means 23 performs symbol variation display and stop display of the symbol variation display device 6j on condition that the winning ball detection means 21 has received a detection signal due to the winning of a game ball in the start winning opening 6c. Is to control.

(Special game control means)
In the special game control means 24, the symbol in which the winning determination random number acquired by the winning determination random number acquiring means of the winning lottery means 22a is stopped and displayed by the winning symbol variation display device 6j becomes the winning symbol (for example, “777”). In the case of the game, the game is shifted to a special game, and the special game is executed until the end condition is satisfied. Here, “special game” means that a state in which a game ball is more likely to win than a normal game is created. Specifically, the special game port 6d is opened and a game ball can be easily received. This is a game that can be expected to win prize balls.

(Ball carry-out control means)
The ball carry-out control means 25 controls the drive of the ball carry-out device 25d for paying out a prize ball. As described above, when the winning ball detecting means 21 receives the detection signals from the start winning port sensor 6cs and the special winning port sensor 6ds, the ball unloading device pays out the number of winning balls corresponding to the winning ball. 25d is controlled. When driven, the ball carry-out device 25d pays out the ball to the tray 701a of the ball game machine 1.

(Normal design control means)
The normal symbol control means 26 is for controlling the fluctuation display and stop display of the above-described normal symbol fluctuation display device 264d, and includes the following means.

(Entry detection means)
The incoming ball detecting means 262 detects when a game ball passes through the activated normal symbol starting port 6i.

When the game ball passes through the normal symbol start port 6i, a detection signal at that time is transmitted from the normal symbol start port sensor 6is to the ball detection means 262. When this detection signal is received, the incoming ball detecting means 262 detects that the game ball has passed through the normal symbol starting port 6i.

(Normal symbol lottery means)
The normal symbol lottery means 263 determines a symbol to be stopped and displayed on the normal symbol variation display device 264d by lottery on the condition that the game ball has passed through the valid normal symbol start port 6i.

The normal symbol lottery means 263 includes a hit determination random number generation means, a hit determination random value acquisition means, and a hit determination means, in the same manner as the above-described winning lottery means 22a.

(Normal design fluctuation control means)
When the game ball passes through the normal symbol change port 6i, the normal symbol change control means 264 performs the change display and stop display of the symbols of the normal symbol change display device 264d based on the lottery result of the normal symbol change means 263. Is to control. The normal symbol fluctuation control means 264 changes the symbol of the normal symbol fluctuation display device 264d for a predetermined time, and finally causes the normal symbol fluctuation display device 264d to stop display the symbol determined by the normal symbol lottery means 263.

(Sphere guidance device control means)
The ball guidance device control means 265 controls the operation of the ball guidance device 265d based on the lottery result of the normal symbol lottery means 263. Specifically, when winning is made by lottery by the normal symbol lottery means 263, the ball guiding device 265d is controlled to operate. On the contrary, when the normal symbol lottery means 263 is not selected in the lottery, the ball guiding device 265 is not operated.

(Production image control means)
The effect image control means 27 controls the effect image displayed on the symbol variation display device 6j.

When the winning image selection means 22a receives a winning command, the effect image control means 27 selects and displays an effect image displayed on the symbol variation display device 6j.

(Light emission control means)
When the light emitting means is an aggregate of the light emitting elements 612 as shown in FIG. 4, the light emission control means 28 includes light source control means for individually controlling the light emission mode of each light emitting element 612. Then, the lighting timing of each light emitting element 612, the lighting timing, the lighting time, the lighting time, the color and combination of the light emitting elements to be lit, the light emitting mode such as the illuminance of the light emitting elements are individually controlled, and the light emitting elements 612 as a whole. Control is performed so that graphics, characters, patterns, and the like including a specific meaning are displayed as a set of or displayed to the player so that the displayed content moves.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the light emission control means 28 has a configuration for moving the light emitting device 61, the light emission control means 28 further includes drive control means for controlling the rotation amount of the motor 631. The drive control means controls the movement position of the light emitting device 61 by controlling the rotation amount of the motor 631. Further, the drive start time and end time can also be controlled.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the light emitting means is the liquid crystal display device 62, the light emission control means 28 has an image control means and displays on the display screen such as a vortex 623, for example. Images to be stored.

  The light emission control means 28 as described above is configured to start driving of the light emission means when, for example, a winning selection command is received by the winning lottery means 22a. Or you may comprise so that a light emission means may be driven according to the specific symbol which the stop symbol lottery means 22b lottery.

It is a whole exploded perspective view of the gaming machine of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional side view of the game board portion in the gaming machine. It is the whole exploded perspective view of a game board. It is a whole perspective view of a light-emitting device. 1 is an overall perspective view of a liquid crystal display device. It is a whole perspective view which shows the moving apparatus which moves a light-emitting device. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a game control means.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Ball game machine 1 Outer frame 2 Front frame 20 Inner member 21 Transparent plate 3 Game board 5 Sheet material 54 Translucent part 6F Game area 6B Space 60 Display device 61 Light-emitting device 611 Substrate 612 Light-emitting element 62 Liquid crystal display device 621 Display screen 631 Driving device 632 Moving device

Claims (4)

A ball game machine that sends a game ball fired from a launching device to a game area provided on the front surface of the game board and in which the game ball flows down in the game area,
The game board is made of a translucent material,
A sheet material superimposed on the game board and having a translucent portion;
A light emitting means disposed on the back side of the game board and disposed at a position where light can pass through the light transmitting portion of the sheet material;
Light emission control means for controlling the light emission mode of the light emitting means;
A ball game machine characterized by comprising: The light emitting means has a plurality of light sources,
2. The bullet ball game machine according to claim 1, wherein the light emission control means includes light source control means for selectively controlling a light source to emit light. The light emitting means is a liquid crystal display device,
The ball game machine according to claim 1, wherein the light emission control means includes image control means for controlling an image displayed on the liquid crystal display device. A moving device that holds the light emitting means and moves it along the back of the game board surface;
The bullet ball game machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a driving device that drives the moving device.

Images