JP2008284087A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a fraudulence committed by pachinko game parlors which carry out business by an illegal operation technique. <P>SOLUTION: When a start lever is depressed during the off-business time at a pachinko game parlor, the frequency of depression is counted incrementally. The frequency of the depression of the start lever made during the off-business time of the game parlor is compared with the reference frequency. When the frequency of depressions of the start lever exceeds the reference frequency, the operation of the start lever is invalidated thereafter. The invalidation of the start lever disables the reception of a game start signal even when a token is cast to depress the start lever and the token is left in credit. Thereafter, at 10:00 as the business start time of the pachinko game parlor, the invalidation of the start lever is released. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

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

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

  Slot machines used in pachinko parlors are called pachislot machines, and medals earned by playing games can be exchanged for various prizes. In a pachislot machine, it is important to shift to a bonus game mode such as the BB mode or the RB mode in order to increase the number of acquired medals, so the player plays a game for the purpose of playing in the bonus game mode. It is common. In the pachislot machine, the game start operation is performed by pressing the start lever, and when the start lever is pressed, multiple types of winning combinations or loses are determined in the winning combination lottery, and reel rotation starts after the winning combination lottery ends Is done. In order to shift to the BB mode or the RB mode, it is necessary to win a bonus combination such as BB or RB in the winning combination lottery and win a prize by pressing a stop button.

On most pachislot machines, the probability of winning a bonus role is much lower than that of other winning roles so that the pachinko parlor can secure operating profits while preventing the player's gambling . For this reason, if the winning bonus role cannot be won and the right to win is lost, the player will be forced to make a great investment until he wins the bonus role again. It becomes. For this reason, when winning a bonus combination, the right to win is carried over until winning, and consideration is given to avoiding a significant penalty for the player. And the winning probabilities for bonus combinations are set in multiple stages in association with values called set values, and pachinko parlors can secure planned profits by selecting set values every business day. I have to. However, in recent years, fraudulent acts called goto acts have been performed during business hours, and the pachinko stores have been changed to settings with a higher probability of winning the bonus role than the settings selected by the pachinko stores. The problem is that it is damaged. For this reason, in Patent Document 1, it is proposed that if a setting value is changed during business hours, it is determined that an illegal act has been performed.
JP 2003-260167 A

  As described above, an illegal act may be performed not only by the player side but also by a pachinko parlor. As one of the fraudulent acts performed by pachinko parlors, employees of pachinko parlors have won bonus roles on some pachislot machines using special devices called driving machines after the end of business hours, A sales method is known in which this is advertised in advance, and the rate of attracting customers immediately after the start of business the next day is increased. This means that the fairness of the game is lost between the players who visited the store immediately after the start of business and the players who visited the store after that, and it is unfair among other pachinko stores that do not use such sales methods. Therefore, it has become a problem as an illegal sales method. Then, a player who visits a pachinko parlor that conducts such illegal sales selects an arbitrary pachislot machine and checks whether or not the bonus combination wins, and knows that the bonus combination has not been carried over. There is a tendency to repeatedly check whether the bonus combination is being carried over again with another pachislot machine. In this way, when a player plays a game one after another with a plurality of pachislot machines, it is possible to increase the investment of the player, which is a cause of promoting the acts of the pachinko parlor that conducts illegal sales as described above. It was. This is very unfair for pachinko stores that conduct regular sales and for players who cannot visit the store immediately after the start of business, and each manufacturer is required to make early improvements to prevent such illegal activities. ing.

  In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that can prevent an illegal act of a pachinko parlor that conducts business by an unauthorized sales technique.

  In order to achieve the above object, the gaming machine of the present invention enables a game start operation when a game medium is inserted prior to the start of the game, and a plurality of types of winning roles when the game start operation is performed. Or a game number counting means for counting the number of operations of the activated start operation in a gaming machine in which at least one of the winning combinations is carried over until winning, Determining whether or not the number of operations in a preset specific time period exceeds a reference number, and if the number of operations exceeds the reference number, start until the time is out of the specific time period And an inoperable control means for invalidating the operation.

  According to the present invention, when the number of operations of the game start operation in a specific time zone set in advance exceeds the reference number, the game start operation is invalidated until it is out of the specific time zone. If a specific time zone is set outside business hours, it becomes difficult to win a bonus role outside business hours, and it is possible to prevent fraudulent acts at pachinko parlors that conduct business using illegal business methods. In addition, since the game can be started up to the standard number of times after a certain period of time, the game remaining in the player who did not finish the game at the end of business hours, or to perform an operation test of the gaming machine This makes it possible to improve convenience while preventing fraudulent acts at pachinko parlors.

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

  A display window 14 is provided on the upper door 13a. A first reel 15a, a second reel 15b, and a third reel 15c are provided in the back of the display window 14. A plurality of types of symbols are arranged on the outer peripheral surfaces of the first to third reels 15a to 15c, and three symbols per reel are displayed through the display window 14 when the reels stop. In the slot machine 11, a total of five winning effective lines 16, consisting of three laterally and two diagonally, are set. Then, it is displayed whether or not the winning combination has won by the combination of the stopped symbols stopped on the winning winning line 16 when the first to third reels 15a to 15c are stopped. The winning combination includes a bonus combination BB, a small combination in which only medals are paid out, and a replay in which the next game can be performed without inserting medals. The winning right of the BB is carried over until the BB wins, and when the BB wins, the BB mode shifts to a BB mode in which the payout rate (the ratio of the number of medals paid out with respect to the insertion of one medal) is higher than the normal mode. A liquid crystal display 17 is provided on the side of the display window 14. From the liquid crystal display 17, an effect image or the like during the game is displayed.

  The lower door 13b has a medal slot 19 into which a medal is inserted prior to the start of the game, a start lever 20 for starting the rotation of the first to third reels 15a to 15c, and a reel that is rotating during the game is stopped. There are provided stop buttons 21a to 21c, a payout opening 23 for paying medals to the medal tray 22, and the like. When the start lever 20 is pressed (game start operation), the game is started and a winning combination lottery is performed, and any of the above-described multiple types of winning combinations or a loss is determined.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation of the slot machine 11 is basically controlled by the control board 60. The control board 60 includes a CPU 60a and a memory 61. The CPU 60 a includes a control unit (non-gameable control means) 62. In addition to the control unit 62, the CPU 60 a includes a winning combination determination unit 63 that performs a lottery winning combination, a game number counting unit (game number counting means) 64 that counts the number of times the start lever 20 is activated, and the current time A clock 65 is provided for engraving. The ROM area of the memory 61 stores a game execution program and game execution data used in the game execution process, image data of an image to be displayed from the liquid crystal display 17, and the like. The control unit 62 reads out a game execution program and game execution data from the memory 61 to perform processing related to the operation of the slot machine 11. The RAM area of the memory 61 is used for temporary storage or rewriting of a winning flag (a flag indicating the type of winning combination won in the winning combination lottery) and data used for each game.

  The medal sensor 67 detects an appropriate medal inserted from the medal insertion slot 19 and inputs a medal detection signal to the control unit 62. The control unit 62 counts the number of inserted 1 to 3 medals based on the detection signal from the medal sensor 67, determines the number to activate the winning effective line 16, and validates the operation of the start lever 20. Turn into.

  The start signal sensor 68 detects that the start lever 20 has been pressed. When pressing of the start lever 20 is detected after the operation is validated, a game start signal is input from the start signal sensor 68 to the control unit 62.

  The control unit 62 operates the winning combination determining unit 63 in response to the game start signal. In the winning combination determination unit 63, any of BB, small combination, replay, or loss is determined by a winning combination lottery using random numbers. When any winning combination is won in the winning combination lottery, a winning flag indicating the type is written in the RAM area of the memory 61. The BB flag is cleared when BB wins, and the other flags are cleared when the game in which the flag is written ends. Thereby, when BB is won, BB is carried over until BB wins. When the winning combination lottery is completed, the control unit 62 starts the rotation of the first to third reels 15a to 15c, and starts the game process according to the game execution program stored in the ROM area of the memory 61.

  The stop signal sensor 69 detects that the stop buttons 21a to 21c are pressed while the first to third reels 15a to 15c are rotating. When the stop buttons 21 a to 21 c are pressed, a stop signal is input to the control unit 62. In response to this, the controller 62 operates the reel drive controller 70 to start stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c. As the stop control of the first to third reels 15a to 15c, known pull-in control is performed. In the pull-in control, the number of frames required until the first to third reels 15a to 15c are stopped ranges from 0 to 4 frames for 5 symbols including the symbols on the winning winning line 16, that is, a range of 5 frames (hereinafter, “ (Referred to as “retraction range”). If the winning symbol (the symbol corresponding to the winning combination won in the winning combination lottery) is included in the drawing range of 5 frames when the stop buttons 21a to 21c are pressed, the winning symbol is a winning line. Stop on 16.

  The business hours of the pachinko parlor where the slot machine 11 is installed are 10:00 to 23:00. The business hours are written in advance in the RAM of the memory 61 by the manufacturer of the seller when the slot machine 11 is shipped. Therefore, the control unit 62 can identify whether the pachinko parlor is in business hours by comparing the current time recorded by the clock 65 with the business hours written in the RAM area of the memory 61. The control unit 62 then plays the game every time the start lever 20 whose operation is validated is pressed at 23:00 to 10:00 (specific time zone) which is a time zone outside the business hours of the pachinko parlor. The count value of the count unit 64 is counted up “once”. As a result, the number-of-games counting unit 64 counts the number of times the operation of the start lever 20 that has been validated (the number of operations) is performed. The number of presses of the start lever 20 counted by the game number counting unit 64 is compared with a preset reference number. This reference number is also written in the RAM area of the memory 61 by the manufacturer when the slot machine 11 is shipped. The control unit 62 performs processing according to the comparison result between the number of times of pressing and the reference number. Note that the operation of the start lever 20 is effective for one medal insertion.

  Next, the flow of processing in the time zone outside the business hours of the pachinko parlor of the slot machine 11 configured as described above will be described.

  The control unit 62 constantly monitors the clock 65 and determines whether or not the current time is during the business hours of the pachinko parlor. When the current time is outside the business hours of the pachinko parlor, when the start lever 20 is pressed after the medal is inserted, the number of times is counted up by the game number counting unit 64. When the number of times the start lever 20 is pressed is counted up by the game number counting unit 64, the value of the game number counting unit 64, that is, the number of times the start lever 20 is pressed outside the business hours of the pachinko store, is the reference number. To be compared.

  If the number of times the start lever 20 is pressed is less than the reference number, and the time at that time is outside the business hours of the pachinko parlor, the above processing is executed again. Also, if it is during the business hours of the pachinko parlor, the process is terminated, and thereafter normal game processing is performed.

  If the number of times the start lever 20 is pressed exceeds the reference number, the operation of the start lever 20 is invalidated thereafter. When the start lever 20 is invalidated, even if a medal is inserted and the start lever 20 is pressed, the game start signal is not accepted and the medal remains credited. Then, when the business hours of the pachinko store are reached, that is, when the business start time is 10:00, the invalidation of the start lever 20 is cancelled. Thereafter, normal game processing is performed.

  In this way, when the number of times the start lever 20 is pressed outside the business hours exceeds the reference number, the operation is invalidated, so it is difficult for the pachinko parlor to carry over the BB using the driving machine. It is possible to prevent the use of a driving machine. In addition, since the manufacturer sets the reference frequency and the business hours in advance, it is possible to prevent the pachinko parlor from setting them so that the driving machine can be used.

  In the above embodiment, the operation of the start lever 20 is invalidated by canceling the reception of the game start signal. However, for example, the operation of the start lever 20 is disabled by disabling insertion of the medal (returning even if inserted). A method for invalidating the operation of the start lever 20 such as disabling or mechanically disabling the start lever 20 may be appropriately selected.

  In the above-described embodiment, the reference number is set to one preset type. However, the reference number is not limited to one type, for example, the reference number is randomly determined every business day of the pachinko parlor.

  In the above embodiment, BB is carried over as a carry-over combination, but an appropriate winning combination such as RB (regular bonus) having a smaller profit than BB and SB (single bonus) having a smaller profit than RB may be carried over.

  In the above embodiment, the start operation of the game is the press of the start lever 20, but an appropriate operation such as a press of a button or a rotation operation of a launching handle may be set as the start operation of the game.

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

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of a slot machine. It is a block diagram showing an outline of an electrical configuration of the slot machine. It is a flow chart which shows processing of a slot machine outside business hours of a pachinko parlor.

Explanation of symbols

11 Slot machines (game machines)
20 start lever 62 control section (non-game control means)
64 Game count section (Game count means)

Claims (1)

When a game medium is inserted prior to the start of the game, the game start operation is validated, and when the game start operation is performed, one of a plurality of types of winning combinations or loses is determined by lottery, At least one of them will be carried over until winning a prize,
A game number counting means for counting the number of operations of the activated start operation;
It is determined whether or not the number of operations in a specific time period set in advance exceeds a reference number, and when the number of operations exceeds the reference number, the start operation is performed until the operation is out of the specific time period. A game machine characterized by comprising game disable control means for invalidating the game machine.

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