JP2008237287A - Mahjong pinball machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mahjong pinball machine which makes game balls entering visually recognizable directly by being projected onto light-permeable screen members provided on the side of the respective ball entry ports facing players. <P>SOLUTION: In the mahjong pinball machine, the ball entry ports 11c, 11d, 11e, ... includes: opening parts 61c, 61d, 61e, ...; the light-permeable screen members 97; and LEDs 98, respectively. As a result, even when the mahjong pinball machine is arranged on a bank of slot machines, the game balls make their silhouettes project onto the light-permeable screen members 97 when entering the ball entry ports, thereby enabling the players to clearly recognize which ball entry port each game ball enters. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sparrow ball game machine, and more particularly, to a sparrow ball game machine that plays a game so as to enter a plurality of entrances provided in a game area and complete a rising hand.

  Conventionally, a sparrow ball game machine and an arrangement type game machine are known as enclosed circulation type game machines. For example, in a sparrow ball game machine, a predetermined number of entrances with a mahjong tile pattern are provided at the bottom of the game board on which various game parts are arranged, and a game medal (hereinafter simply referred to as “medal”) is provided at the medal slot. For example, when 14 game balls per game are launched on the game board and each game ball enters one of the entrances, mahjong corresponding to the entrance A function (manual arrangement function) is performed so that the symbol of the bag is displayed on the image display device arranged on the game board.

  In recent years, a game medal inserted in the medal slot is detected based on a detection switch, and then a function of automatically displaying a mahjong tile pattern in an appropriate combination on the image display device (automatic distribution function) is provided. A sparrow ball game machine is also known (see Patent Document 1). In this sparrow ball game machine, when unnecessary spears (unnecessary spears) are discarded from the hand spears displayed on the image display device, one game ball can be re-launched. The scoring operation) and the re-launching operation are repeatedly performed within a predetermined number of times, and when a predetermined rising combination is completed, a score is calculated, and a number of game medals corresponding to the score are paid out.

  By the way, such a sparrow ball game machine may be arranged in an area called a so-called slot island in a game arcade because of the size of the housing. In that case, since the slot island is usually in a relatively dark state so as to be advantageous for the reel stop operation (to push forward), a sparrow ball game machine is used to launch one ball one by one. When performing the game, it may be difficult to see which entrance the game ball launched into the game area has entered. In that case, the player may be confused without instantaneously knowing which entrance the game ball that has been launched has entered, so in order to provide better game play, It is necessary to improve the visibility of the ball entering the mouth.

  Here, there is an arrangement type gaming machine in which a combination display of a entrance into which a hit ball has entered is displayed in an easy-to-see manner for the player, and the display can be appealed to the player (see Patent Document 2). The arrangement type gaming machine has a plurality of light emitting devices respectively corresponding to a plurality of entrances in the game unit, and a partition wall for housing the plurality of light emitting devices and separating each light emitting device individually. A storage member, a translucent film attached to the front side of the storage member, and a lens unit for diffusing light from the light emitting device provided integrally with the film at a position corresponding to each light emitting device on the film surface The entrance display part which consists of.

JP-A-7-39620 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-136314

  However, even if it tries to solve the problem of the above-mentioned sparrow ball game machine using the technology such as the light emitting device of the arrangement type game machine described in Patent Document 2, the technique of Patent Document 2 In addition, it does not directly show the state of entry to the separately placed entrance part, and the player is notified through the film and lens part by causing the light emitting device corresponding to the entrance to the entrance part to emit light. As a result, the presence of the ball is lacking in the presence of the ball, and a ball-indicating display unit composed of a large number of light emitting devices and lens units must be arranged separately from the ball-in-ball unit, thus increasing the number of parts. This may cause problems such as an increase in the size of the apparatus.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a light transmissive screen member on the side of the entrance facing the player, and is configured to project the entered game ball onto the screen member so that it can be directly recognized. It is an object to provide a sparrow ball game machine that has solved the problem.

The present invention according to claim 1 (see, for example, FIG. 1 to FIG. 7) includes a plurality of entrances (11 c, 11) provided in a game area (2 a) corresponding to a mahjong tile pattern composed of a plurality of species. 11d, 11e,...), A game ball (Ba) is launched into the game area (2a), and at least one of a plurality of rising combinations in which a combination of hand and hand symbols is set in advance is settled. In a sparrow ball game machine (1) that can be
Each of the entrances (11c, 11d, 11e,...) Is provided with an opening (61c, 61d, 61e,...) That opens to the front side of the game area (2a) and closes the opening. A light transmissive screen member (97), and a light source (98) that projects light toward the light transmissive screen member (97) from the rear side of the entrance (11c, 11d, 11e,...). Become
It is in the sparrow ball game machine (1) characterized by this.

The present invention according to claim 2 (see, for example, FIG. 5) is that the light-transmissive screen member (97) provided at each of the entrances (11c, 11d, 11e,...) Has a pattern of the mahjong tile. The silhouette of the game ball (Ba) projected by the light emission of the light source (98) in the drawn state is projected.
It exists in the sparrow ball game machine (1) of Claim 1.

  Note that the reference numerals in the parentheses are for comparison with the drawings, but this is for convenience to facilitate understanding of the invention and has no influence on the description of the claims. It is not a thing.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, each entrance has an opening that opens to the front side, a light-transmitting screen member provided in the opening, and projects light from the back of the entrance to the screen member. Even if the sparrow ball game machine is placed on the slot island, the silhouette of the game ball is projected onto the light-transmitting screen member when the game ball enters the entrance. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of inconvenience that makes it difficult to see the entry situation even in a relatively dark place. In addition, since the game ball that has entered the ball is projected onto the screen member so that it can be directly viewed, it is possible to give the player a sufficient sense of realism when entering the ball, and a conventional ball display unit. And the ball-entry portion are integrated, the apparatus configuration can be made compact without increasing the number of parts. Moreover, since the light source is arrange | positioned at each entrance, each entrance can be functioned as a lamp house.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the light-transmitting screen members provided at the respective entrances reflect the silhouette of the game ball projected by the light source emission in a state where the mahjong tile pattern is drawn. In the absence of a ball, while displaying the mahjong tile design, you can also display the silhouette of the game ball along with the mahjong tile design display when entering the game. It is possible to clearly recognize whether or not the ball has been entered.

  Hereinafter, as an embodiment of a gaming machine according to the present invention, a sparrow ball gaming machine installed in a game hall or the like will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view showing a sparrow ball game machine in the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an excerpt of the game board surface portion in FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing a configuration of an operation panel. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of a screen displayed on the image display apparatus in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, an explanation will be given by taking as an example the sparrow ball game machine 1 in which a game is performed using a total of 108 spears, each of 27 kinds of spear symbols. For example, the 27 types of cocoon symbols are: 9 types of lions from “Ichigo” to “Jiu”, 9 types of “Ichitsu” to “Nine”, There are 2 types of “Kujo”, and 7 types of character are “Eastern”, “South”, “West”, “North”, “White”, “Amber”, and “Middle”. Therefore, the eggplant and the tube are several, and the chords “Ichigo” and “Jukuko” are not included in the character font because they cannot form the Junko. Thereby, the cocoon seed | species in this embodiment shows three types of said "lion", "tuber", and "character".

  In addition, the above-mentioned two kinds of numbers are composed of, for example, nine kinds of symbols from “Ichigo” to “Jiufen” and nine types of symbols from “Ichigo” to “Jukugo”. The spider has a mahjong tile pattern consisting of “One-cylinder” and “Nine-cylinder” of Tsutsuko, and “East”, “South”, “West”, “North”, “White”, “Mid”, and “Middle”. It is also possible to make a ball game machine. Also, for example, the chorder is composed of nine types of symbols from “Ichiro” to “Jukuroku”, and the tube is composed of nine types of symbols from “one tube” to “nine tube”. It is also possible to make a sparrow ball game machine having a mahjong tile pattern composed of “Eastern”, “South”, “West”, “North”, “White”, “Moon”, and “Middle”.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire sparrow ball game machine 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the sparrow ball gaming machine 1 includes a gaming machine main body 1a, and the front surface of the gaming machine main body 1a is basically a gaming board surface (game area) 2a, an operation panel 3, A game ball launch lever 4 provided below the operation panel 3, a medal tray 5, a speaker 6 which is a sound output device for outputting sound and sound effects (hereinafter collectively referred to as sound), a lamp device 7, and the like. The The game board surface portion 2a is a game area provided in the game board 2 shown in FIG. In addition, the code | symbol 1b shows the front door supported so that opening and closing is possible with respect to the game machine main body 1a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a center ornament 12 in a state where an image display device 38 such as a liquid crystal display device for performing a desired effect display is exposed from the opening portion 13 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the game board surface portion 2a. The display unit 37 is disposed above the center ornament 12, and the entrances 11 a and 11 b are disposed below the center ornament 12. On the right side of the center ornament 12, an attacker operating passage 10 through which a game ball can pass is disposed, and an attacker 9 is disposed immediately below the attacker operating passage 10. This attacker 9 forms a variable entrance to open when the rising combination at the time of retirement is a special combination (for example, a big combination) and to allow the player to freely select himself / herself during the subsequent game. .

  Between the entrances 11c to 11e,... In the game board surface portion 2a and the stage S, a number of entrances for restricting the entrance width of each entrance just above the entrances 11c to 11e,. An obstacle nail (not shown) has been driven. The center ornament 12 has an effect device 40 above the opening 13 and a stage S below the opening 13. The game board surface portion 2a is provided with a windmill (not shown) and an obstacle nail (not shown) different from the above.

  Below the stage S, the entrance unit 53 having the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,... Arranged in a plurality (25 in this embodiment) is arranged. 25 of these entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,... Are provided corresponding to 25 kinds of symbols (designs are not shown) of the kites excluding one cable and nine cables. In addition, “Ichigo” and “Kyuugo” are displayed at the entrances 11a and 11b, respectively, “Ichigo” is entered at the entrance 11c, “2” is entered at the entrance 11d, Necessary mahjong tiles are sequentially displayed at the ball outlet 11e, such as “Three bases”. In addition, the code | symbol 53a in a figure has shown the front cover of the ball entering unit 53. FIG.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the operation panel 3 is provided with an image display unit 14 including a liquid crystal display device, a medal slot 15, and various operation buttons. As these various operation buttons, 13 buttons 13a, 16b,..., 16m arranged side by side, self-throwing button 17, reach button 18, bag selection right shift button 19, bag selection left A shift button 20, a self-determination determination button 21, a payout button 22, a game end button 23, a game start button 24, and a reject (REJECT) button 25 are arranged. When the player operates each of these buttons, for example, the self-determination button 21, a self-determination determination signal is generated, and this signal is input to the control unit 100 (see FIG. 4) including a microcomputer. And the software (program) mounted in the control part 100 performs the process preset in order to advance a game for every input signal.

  Various display units are set on the display surface of the image display unit 14, and necessary information, images, and effect images are displayed on the display unit as the game progresses. . For example, as shown in FIG. 7, in the upper horizontal direction of the display surface, a game medal storage number display unit 26, a remaining game ball number display unit 27, a wind screen display unit 28, a front drum display unit 29, and a back drum display unit 30, a rising game display unit 31, a big game rising game display unit 32 that indicates a winning game that can obtain the right of a big game among special games, and a chance that indicates a rising game that can acquire the right of a chance game A game winning combination display portion 33 and a throwing-up spear display portion 34 for displaying a throwing spear symbol are provided, and a spear symbol, a rendering image, a numerical value, and the like are displayed as the game progresses. The above-mentioned winning combination that can obtain the right of the big game and the rising combination that can acquire the right of the chance game are hereinafter referred to as “special role”, and the rising role other than the special role is referred to as the “normal role”. ".

  Further, in the lower horizontal direction of the display surface of the image display unit 14, there are provided a hand bag display unit 35 for displaying 13 hand bag symbols, and a self screen display unit 36 for displaying self-portrait symbols. Yes. It should be noted that button names (A, B, C, D, E, etc.) corresponding to the throwing away buttons 16a, 16b,... Are displayed at the bottom of each symbol displayed on the hand display unit 35 and the self display unit 36. ...) is displayed. The displayed mahjong tiles are displayed in color.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5, the entrance and the display structure thereof in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the incoming unit removed from the game board surface, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the incoming unit shown in FIG. 3 viewed from the back side. FIGS. 5A and 5B are front views showing the entrance when the entrance is enlarged and seen from the front. FIG. 5A shows a state before entering and FIG. 5B shows a state after entering.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the ball entry unit 53 with the front cover 53a (see FIG. 2) removed has a bracket member 55 that is long in the left-right width direction. Has openings 61c, 61d, 61e,... That form the openings 11c, 11d, 11e,. The entrance unit 53 further includes a horizontally long light transmission screen member 97 (see FIG. 5) provided across the left-right width direction so as to close the openings 61c, 61d, 61e,. 11d, 11e,..., A light emitting diode (hereinafter referred to as LED) 98 that is a light source that projects light toward the light transmission screen member 97. The LED 98 is provided in each of the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,. The openings 61c, 61d, 61e,... Are separated from each other by a wall 96.

  The game after the entrance unit 53 enters the entrance 11c, 11d, 11e,... Below the openings 61c, 61d, 61e,... And is checked by the proximity sensors 59, 60 (see FIG. 4). A discharge plate 66 is provided for rolling and discharging the ball Ba. The discharge plate 66 forms discharge passages 67, 68 and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the incoming ball unit 53 detects the game ball Ba that has entered the incoming ports 11c, 11d, 11e,... Having the openings 61c, 61d, 61e,. , Proximity sensors 59, 60... On the back side of the ball entry unit 53, the proximity sensor 59 is arranged in the upper stage, and the proximity sensor 60 is arranged in the lower stage. These proximity sensors 59 and 60 capture magnetic field changes when the game ball Ba passes through the respective detection holes H, and transmit the changes to the control unit 100 as detection signals.

  Further, a horizontally long substrate plate 87 for closing the rear of the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,. The board plate 87 has a connector 62 attached to the back surface, and the front surface has LEDs 98 at positions corresponding to the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,... (That is, the openings 61c, 61d, 61e,...). Has been implemented.

The control unit 100 causes the LED 98 to emit light when the main power supply (not shown) is turned on to illuminate the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,... And enters the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,. The game balls (see Ba ₂ and Ba _{3 in} FIG. 5) are projected onto the light transmissive screen member 97.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the light transmission screen member 97 provided so as to close the front sides of the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,... The silhouette of the projected game ball Ba can be projected and shown to the player. Further, at the bottom of each of the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,..., Convex rails 73 for smoothly rolling and moving the game balls Ba dropped / entered from above to the proximity sensors 59, 60 at the rear. Is formed. And between the LED 98 mounted on the substrate plate 87 which is the last part (the innermost side) of the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,... And the openings 61c, 61d, 61e,. No parts are arranged, and the entire opening of each entrance is effectively illuminated.

  Next, the game procedure of the above-described sparrow ball gaming machine 1 and an outline of each process associated with this procedure will be described.

  One game starts when a player inserts a medal into the medal insertion slot 15, presses the game start button 24, and 14 hands are arranged. Then, one game progresses based on input signals and control signals generated from various operation buttons and sensors such as the throwing-away buttons 16a, 16b,.

  In other words, when a player inserts a medal into the medal slot 15 and presses the game start button 24, the game can be started in one game, and the 14 arrangements necessary for starting the game are continued. The symbol is automatically determined, and the image of the cocoon symbol as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the hand symbol display unit 35 and the self-portrait display unit 36 of the image display unit 14. Furthermore, images of the front and back jars as shown in FIG. 7 are displayed on the front dra display unit 29 and the back dra display unit 30 of the image display unit 14, and the big combination and the chance combination increase in the big game. It is displayed on the combination display unit 32 and the chance game rising combination display unit 33, respectively. Then, the player is notified by screen display or voice that the game start conditions are satisfied.

  In this state, the player performs an operation of selecting a discarded basket from symbols of the basket displayed on the hand basket display unit 35 and the self-portrait display unit 36. When the player decides the design of the throwing bag, the player selects (turns on) one of the throwing button 16a, 16b, 16c,. Throw away the spear. Then, one game ball is sent to the game ball launch position, and the game ball can be launched into the game board surface 2 by operating the game ball launch lever 4.

  When the player launches a game ball and this game ball enters any of the entrances 11a, 11b, 11c,..., The symbol of the bag corresponding to the entered ball is displayed on the self-displaying portion 36. Is displayed. If the player does not end the game due to self-restraint, the player performs a throw-away operation to throw away one of the 14 traps that is considered unnecessary. Then, the player sequentially executes such operations, and at the time when it is determined that the desired rising role has been heard (tempered), the reach button 18 is operated to reach or not reach. Continue the operation of raising the ball until the number of game balls that can be launched in one game is exhausted.

  In the sparrow ball game machine 1, the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,... Have the openings 61c, 61d, 61e,..., The light transmissive screen member 97, and the LEDs 98. Even in the case where the game ball Ba is placed on the slot island, when the game ball Ba enters the entrance 11c, 11d, 11e,..., The silhouette of the game ball Ba is transmitted to the light transmitting screen member. Projecting to 97, the player can clearly recognize which entrance has entered.

That is, in the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,..., Only the mahjong tiles are brightly displayed on the light transmission screen member 97 when the entrance is not entered (see FIG. 5A). In FIG. 5, for example, when the game ball Ba ₁ enters the entrance 11e, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the silhouette due to light shielding by the game ball is rail 73 as indicated by Ba ₂ and Ba _3. Draw a trajectory of falling toward. For this reason, even if it is comparatively dark, the inconvenience which makes it difficult to see the entrance situation does not occur. In FIG. 5A, the LED 98 is not actually visually recognized as illustrated, but is shown by a broken line in order to clarify the mounting position.

  Further, the sparrow ball gaming machine 1 is configured to project the entered game ball onto the light-transmitting screen member 97 so that it can be directly recognized, so that the player can fully experience the presence at the time of entry. In addition, since the conventional entrance display portion and the entrance portion are integrated, the device configuration can be made compact without increasing the number of parts. Further, since the LEDs 98 are arranged at the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,..., Each entrance can function as a lamp house.

  In the present embodiment, the light-transmissive screen members 97 provided at the entrances 11c, 11d, 11e,... Represent the silhouette of the game ball Ba projected by the LED 98 in a state where the mahjong tile pattern is drawn. Since the screen is displayed, the mahjong tile design is displayed when there is no entry, and the silhouette of the game ball is displayed together with the mahjong tile design at the time of entry. For this reason, it is possible to make the player clearly recognize which mahjong tile has been entered at the entrance where the mahjong tile can be obtained.

  The present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiment, but the sparrow ball game machine of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made from the configuration of the above embodiment. And the sparrow ball game machine which gave the change is also included in the scope of the present invention.

It is a perspective view which shows the sparrow ball game machine in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which extracts and shows the game board surface part in FIG. It is a perspective view shown in the state where the entrance unit was removed from the game board surface part. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the entrance unit of FIG. 3 as seen from the back side. It is the front view shown in the state where the entrance was expanded and it looked at from the front, (a) shows the state before entrance and (b) shows the state after entrance. It is a front view which shows the structure of an operation panel. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a screen displayed on the image display apparatus in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Sparrow ball game machine 2a Game area (game board part)
11c, 11d, 11e,... Entrance 61c, 61d, 61e,... Opening 97 Light transmission screen member 98 Light source (LED)
100 control unit Ba game ball

Claims (2)

There are a plurality of entrances provided in the game area corresponding to the mahjong tile design made up of a plurality of species. In a sparrow ball game machine that can be played so as to settle at least one of the roles,
Each entrance is open to the front side of the gaming area, a light transmissive screen member provided to close the opening, and the light transmissive screen member from the back side of the entrance A light source for projecting light toward,
A sparrow ball game machine characterized by that. The light transmissive screen member provided at each of the entrances reflects the silhouette of a game ball projected by light emission of the light source in a state where the design of the mahjong tile is drawn.
The sparrow ball game machine according to claim 1.

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