JP2009207674A - Image performance device and game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve image performances by polarization action utilizing the coherence of the display light of a liquid crystal display device in the direction of polarization. <P>SOLUTION: The device includes: a polarizing filter 404 which is arrayed ahead of a liquid crystal panel 401 and has the direction of its polarization axis orthogonal to the direction of polarization of the light emitted from the liquid crystal panel 401; and a sheet 402 which is arrayed between the liquid crystal panel 401 and the polarizing filter 404 and partially includes a polarizing filter 4021 which has the direction of its polarization axis at an angle of 45° to the direction of the polarization of the light emitted from the liquid crystal panel 401. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image effect device including a liquid crystal display device and a gaming machine.

  A gaming machine (slot machine) that includes a change display section (hereinafter referred to as a reel) that changes a symbol in accordance with a lottery performed for each game, and determines the success or failure of a winning combination by a combination of symbols displayed by rotation and stop of each reel. Etc.) are known.

  In such a gaming machine, the production on the game board that makes the player feel the expectation and thrill of the big hit is an important factor. In particular, an image effect using a liquid crystal display device is used for various effects because the effect is high.

  In general, a liquid crystal display device is configured by stacking a light source, a first polarizing filter, a liquid crystal layer, and a second polarizing filter in order from the viewpoint. The first polarizing filter and the second polarizing filter have polarization axes that are orthogonal to each other. The light emitted from the liquid crystal layer includes polarized light such as a straight line, a circle, and an ellipse. Of these, only the linearly polarized light transmitted through the second polarizing filter is emitted as display light and reaches the human eye. For this reason, it is known that the liquid crystal display device has a uniform polarization direction of the emitted light.

Examples of image effects using the polarization action are disclosed in Patent Literature 1, Patent Literature 2, and the like.
A slot machine disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a polarizing sheet fixed on an outer peripheral surface or an inner peripheral surface of a reel, a polarizing axis disposed between the reel and the display window, and oriented in a direction perpendicular to the polarizing axis of the polarizing sheet. The display of the reel design is controlled by the polarization action.
In the gaming machine disclosed in Patent Document 2, the first polarizing sheet is fixed to the outer peripheral surface or the inner peripheral surface of the reel of the slot machine so as to overlap a plurality of symbols excluding a specific symbol. The second polarizing sheet having the polarization axis in the direction substantially orthogonal to the first polarizing axis overlaps with the first polarizing sheet so that only a specific pattern can be seen, thereby realizing an assist effect such as pressing. .

JP 2007-396 A JP 2004-166853 A

  However, none of the liquid crystal display devices perform the image effect by the polarization action by utilizing the fact that the polarization direction of the display light is uniform.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to perform various image effects using the characteristics of a liquid crystal image.

  An image effect device according to the present invention is an image effect device provided with a liquid crystal display device, and is disposed in front of the liquid crystal display device, and a direction of a polarization axis is relative to a polarization direction of light emitted from the liquid crystal display device. a first polarizing filter having an angle of α, and disposed between the liquid crystal display device and the first polarizing filter, and a direction of a polarization axis is an angle of θ with respect to a polarization direction of light emitted from the liquid crystal display device And a sheet partially including the second polarizing filter, wherein 0 <α ≦ 90 degrees and 0 <θ <α.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize various image effects without controlling the liquid crystal display device itself by utilizing the fact that the polarization directions of the display light of the liquid crystal display device are aligned. For example, when α is 90 degrees, only the display light emitted from the liquid crystal display device that has passed through the second polarizing filter can pass through the first polarizing filter. Can reach the eyes.
Further, when α is smaller than 90 degrees, the image of the liquid crystal display device can be controlled to look thinner than the actual image, and the image of the portion that has passed through the second polarizing filter is not transmitted. You can make it look brighter than the image.

In addition, the sheet includes a plurality of regions in which the second polarizing filters are arranged in different patterns, and the predetermined regions are disposed between the liquid crystal display device and the first polarizing filter. It is desirable to be movable so that it can be placed.
Thereby, it is possible to realize more various image effects according to the effect contents by simple processing.
Note that the directions of the polarization axes of the second polarizing filters arranged in the respective regions may be set to be different from each other.
As a result, it is possible to display the image by changing the brightness of each region.

In addition, it is preferable that a shutter provided between the first polarizing filter and the sheet is provided, and the shutter is closed while the sheet is moving, and is opened when the movement of the sheet is completed.
As a result, it is possible to hide the image while the sheet is moving from the user.

The image effect device according to the present invention can be applied to a gaming machine.
Here, the gaming machine is not limited, but includes, for example, pachinko machines (including first-class pachinko machines and second-class pachinko machines), rotary gaming machines (hereinafter referred to as “slot machines”), and the like.

  According to the present invention, various image effects can be realized by utilizing the characteristics of a liquid crystal image.

  Hereinafter, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, one applied to a gaming machine (slot machine) installed in a game hall or the like will be exemplified. The following embodiments are merely examples of application of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and can be applied in various modifications.

(Embodiment)
The present embodiment relates to a gaming machine including an image effect device according to the basic configuration of the present invention.
First, the case configuration will be described.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of the slot machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, a front panel 20 is attached to a front surface portion of a housing of the slot machine 10 according to the present embodiment so as to be freely opened and closed. The upper part of the front panel 20 is a display area in which an effect display device (image effect device) 40 having a display function is provided, and an operation unit is provided in the center.

  An effect display device 40 having a display function is provided in the upper part of the housing. The effect display device 40 is configured to include a liquid crystal panel as will be described later, and is configured to be able to display images for various effects and information necessary for the game in the display area. One transparent display window 21 is provided at the center of the effect display device 40. The area of the display window 21 is not provided with a liquid crystal panel for displaying an image, and transmits light.

  Three reels (rotating drums) are arranged in a position inside the housing and visible through the display window 21. From the left side when viewed from the front, the left reel 31L, the middle reel 31C, and the right reel 31R are arranged in this order.

  The reels 31L, 31C and 31R are formed in a ring-shaped hollow structure. The outer periphery of the reel is formed in the width of the reel tape that is affixed to the outer peripheral surface, and a plurality of openings are provided on the outer peripheral surface in accordance with the shape of the pattern printed on the reel tape. The inside of the reel is hollow, and the rotating shaft is supported by a frame extending from the outer peripheral surface.

  Each reel tape on which a winning symbol (a symbol constituting a winning combination) is printed is affixed to the outer peripheral surface of the reel. On each reel tape, for example, 21 symbols are printed at regular intervals. The arrangement of the symbols is different for each reel tape. The design of the reel tape corresponds to the opening provided on the outer peripheral surface of the reel. From the display window 21, the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R are observed through the display window. The size of the display window 21 is such that three consecutive symbols in the vertical direction of the outer peripheral surface of each reel can be seen. Is set. In FIG. 1, a circle shown on the reel group 31 (meaning a group of reels 31L, 31C, and 31R) represents one symbol.

  Stepping motors (not shown) are connected to the respective rotation shafts of the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R. This stepping motor is capable of rotating the reels 31L, 31C and 31R at an arbitrary speed or stopping at an arbitrary angle (position). When each reel rotates, the symbols of the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R are visually recognized as moving up and down in the display window 21.

  A back lamp (not shown) is provided inside the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R. Three back lamps are arranged for each reel, and light is emitted through the openings on the outer peripheral surface of the reel for a total of nine symbols visible from the display window 21 when the reels are stopped.

  A broken line on the display window 21 shown in FIG. 1 indicates an effective line group 22 including effective lines 22a, 22b, and 22c. The effective line group 22 includes a horizontal effective line 22a in the horizontal direction, two effective lines 22b in the upper and lower horizontal directions, and two effective lines 22c in the diagonally downward and leftward directions. ing. The symbols attached to the reels 31L, 31C and 31R are spaced so that all nine symbols visible from the display window 21 are positioned on these effective line groups 22 when the reels 31L, 31C and 31R are stopped. Is arranged in.

  A medal slot 23 is provided at a position corresponding to the lower right side of the effect display device 40 in the center of the casing of the slot machine 10. When medals are inserted from the medal insertion slot 23, one to five lines of the effective lines 22a, 22b and 22c are activated according to the number of inserted medals. That is, the inserted medals are collected as a consideration for the game. When one inserted medal is used, one effective line 22a is effective. When two medals are inserted, three effective lines 22a and 22b in the horizontal direction are effective. Is effective, and in addition to three, in addition to the two effective lines 22c in the diagonal direction, a total of five effective lines 22a to 22c become effective. These controls are performed by a later-described main CPU (central processing unit) 51 (see FIG. 2). For example, when three medals are inserted, if a combination of specific symbols is stopped on at least one of the effective lines 22a to 22c when the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R are stopped, the combination is selected. It will be a prize for the corresponding role.

  Various operation switches operated by the player are provided at the center of the housing. For example, in this embodiment, a start switch 41, a stop switch group 42, and a bet switch group 43 are provided.

  The start switch 41 is configured as a switch operated by the player when starting the rotation of the reels 31L, 31C and 31R, for example, a lever. The stop switch group 42 includes a left stop switch 42L that is operated when stopping the left reel 31L, a middle stop switch 42C that is operated when stopping the middle reel 31C, and a right stop that is operated when stopping the right reel 31R. Switch 42R. These stop switches 42L, 42C, and 42R are juxtaposed as buttons, for example.

  The bet switch group 43 is a switch group for designating the number of bets (the number of bets) when the player inserts a medal in the credit. The bet switch group 43 includes a 1-bet / 2-bet switch 43a and a MAX bet switch (3-bet switch) 43b. It is configured. These bet switches 43a and 43b are also arranged as buttons, for example. When the 1-bet / 2-bet switch 43a is operated, one or two medals are bet (collected as a consideration for the game), and when the MAX bet switch 43b is operated, the maximum bet number of three A medal is bet. That is, the number of bets designated by operating the bet switch group 43 is collected from the number of medals that are credited, and the credit is subtracted by the number of bets.

  Further, a medal payout opening 90 is provided in the lower central portion of the housing, and speakers 71 are provided on both sides of the medal payout opening 90. During the game (game), various effects, for example, lighting of a back lamp, image display using the effect display device 40, output of sound from the speaker 71, and the like are performed. Further, as such an effect, there is a case where a notification effect of the possibility of winning is performed.

An outline of the normal game executed in the slot machine having these configurations will be briefly described.
In the slot machine 10, when a player inserts a medal from the medal insertion slot 23 or operates the bet switch group 43, the effective lines 22a to 22c are activated according to the number of bets.

  When the player who has designated the bet number operates the start switch 41, a winning combination according to the bet number is performed and the reels 31L, 31C and 31R start to rotate. When the player operates the stop switches 42L, 42C, and 42R, the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R stop rotating according to the operated button. At this time, if the lottery result of the combination being performed simultaneously with the operation of the start switch 41 is a winning combination, the combination of symbols arranged on the activated effective line group 22 is a predetermined combination of combinations. The reels are controlled so as to match the combination of symbols, and medals are paid out according to the winning combination.

(System configuration)
Next, a system configuration such as an internal configuration of the slot machine 10 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the slot machine 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Inside the casing of the slot machine 10, a main control board 50, a sub control board 60, a reel board 11, a central display board 12, and a power supply board 13 connected to the main control board 50 are arranged.

(Main control board 50)
The main control board 50 is provided with a main CPU 51, ROM 52, RAM 53, and interface circuit (I / F circuit) 54, which are connected to each other via a bus 55.

  The main CPU 51 reads (fetches), interprets (decodes), and executes instructions constituting the program. The main CPU 51 reads out programs, data, and the like stored in the ROM 52, and controls the entire slot machine 10 based on these.

  The ROM 52 stores software programs and data necessary for lottery processing and other game controls based on operations as shown in the flowchart of FIG. The RAM 53 is used when the main CPU 51 performs various controls, and is configured to be able to temporarily store data and the like.

  The I / F circuit 54 performs timing control and the like when signals are transmitted and received between the main control board 50, the sub control board 60, the reel board 11, the central display board 12, and the power supply board 13. It is like that. However, transmission of signals from the main control board 50 to the sub control board 60 is performed between the main control board 50 and the sub control board 60, but transmission of signals from the sub control board 60 to the main control board 50 is not performed. It is configured not to be performed.

(Sub-control board 60)
The sub control board 60 includes a sub CPU 61, ROM 62, RAM 63, interface circuit (I / F circuit) 69, image control unit 64, image data ROM 65a, RAM 65b, video RAM 66, tone generator circuit 67a, sound ROM 67b, amplifier 68, and the like. Is provided. The image control unit 64 includes a CPU 64a and a VDP (Video Display Processor) 64b.
The sub CPU 61 and the CPU 64 a of the image control unit 64 are connected to each other via the bus 70. The image data ROM 65a and the RAM 65b are connected to the CPU 64a, the video RAM 66 is connected to the VDP 64b, and the amplifier 68 is connected to the sound source circuit 67a.

  The sub CPU 61 reads (fetches), interprets (decodes) and executes instructions constituting the program. Then, the sub CPU 61 reads a program, data, and the like stored in the ROM 62, and controls the sub control board 60 as a whole, particularly selecting an effect pattern for the player, sending a command to the CPU 64a of the image control unit 64, and the like. It is like that. Note that there are no restrictions on the processing capability or development language of the sub CPU 61.

  In the ROM 62, the sub CPU 61 stores software programs and data necessary for effects during the game. The RAM 63 is used when the sub CPU 61 performs various controls, and is configured to be able to temporarily store data and the like.

  The sub CPU 61, ROM 62, and RAM 63 have the same functions as the main CPU 51, ROM 52, and RAM 53 provided on the main control board 50, respectively. Note that the ROM 62 and the RAM 63 may be the same as the ROM 52 and the RAM 53, respectively, but those having a larger capacity may be used.

  The I / F circuit 69 performs timing control and the like when receiving a signal from the main control board 50. As described above, the signal is transmitted from the main control board 50 to the sub control board 60, but the signal is not transmitted from the sub control board 60 to the main control board 50. That is, only one-way transmission is possible.

  The CPU 64a of the image control unit 64 reads (fetches), interprets (decodes), and executes instructions constituting the program. Then, the CPU 64a reads a program, data, and the like stored in the image data ROM 65a in accordance with a command given from the sub CPU 61, and performs control for displaying an image according to the effect. The image data ROM 65a stores original image data for generating image data such as characters, characters, and backgrounds displayed on the effect display device 40.

  The VDP 64b is responsible for overall video output to the effect display device 40, and under the control of the CPU 64a, generates frame image data based on the original image data transferred from the image data ROM 65a and develops it in the video RAM 66. I do.

  The video RAM 66 is a memory used when the VDP 64b creates an image to be displayed on the effect display device 107, and can store a plurality of frame image data.

  The sound source circuit 67a includes a sound generation circuit for a predetermined number of channels, for example, eight sound source channels, and can simultaneously reproduce frames for the number of sound source channels. The sound source circuit 67a is controlled by an effect pattern selection command output from the CPU 64a. When the tone generator circuit 67a receives an effect pattern selection command or the like output from the CPU 64a, the tone generator circuit 67a reads the tone generator data of the tone generator channel corresponding to this command from the sound ROM 67b and synthesizes them, and generates them separately for the R channel and L channel. Then, D / A conversion is performed and an analog sound signal is output. The amplifier 68 amplifies the analog sound signals of the R and L channels and outputs them from the speaker 71 as musical sounds.

  Here, between the sub CPU 61 and the CPU 64a of the image control unit 64, not only transmission of signals from the sub CPU 61 to the CPU 64a but also transmission of signals from the CPU 64a to the sub CPU 61 are performed. Specifically, various commands and data are transmitted from the sub CPU 61 to the CPU 64a, and detection results of various check errors (parity error, check sum error, etc.) are transmitted from the CPU 64a to the sub CPU 61.

(Reel board 11)
A stepping motor (not shown) for driving the left reel 31L, the middle reel 31C, and the right reel 31R is connected to the reel substrate 11. Each stepping motor is further connected to the rotation shafts of these reels 31L, 31C and 31R. Control signals for controlling the operations of the reels 31L, 31C and 31R are supplied from the main CPU 51 to the reel substrate 11.

(Central display board 12)
The central display substrate 12 is attached to, for example, a central portion on the back side of the front panel 20.
The central display board 12 includes a selector 81, a 1-bet / 2-bet switch 43a, a MAX bet switch (3-bet switch) 43b, a start switch (lever) 41, a left stop switch (button) 42L, and a middle stop switch (button) 42C. A right stop switch (button) 42R, a setting display section 82, and a setting change switch 83 are connected.

  The selector 81 is configured to identify whether or not the medal inserted from the medal insertion slot 23 is a genuine one, and to eliminate an illegal medal. The setting display unit 82 is arranged so as to be visible from the back side of the front panel 20, and displays settings relating to probability and payout (for example, settings 1 to 6). The setting change switch 83 is a switch operated when changing the setting related to the probability and the payout.

(Power supply board 13)
A setting change enabling switch 91, a power switch 92, a hopper device 93, and a power device 94 are connected to the power device board 13.
The setting change enable switch 91 is a switch that is operated when a setting change using the setting change switch 83 is enabled. That is, the setting change using the setting change switch 83 can be performed only when the setting change enable switch 91 is in the ON state. The power switch 92 is a switch for switching on / off the power supply device 94. The hopper device 93 is a device for storing and paying out medals. Based on an instruction from the main CPU 51 via the power supply device board 13, a predetermined number of medals are stored in the medal payout opening 90 from medals stored in advance. It comes to pay out.

(Function block on main control board)
Next, a functional configuration of the main control board 50 will be described.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the main control board 50.
As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, for example, the main CPU 51 executes a program recorded in the ROM 52, whereby the following control unit 101, role lottery unit 103, reel control unit 106, winning determination unit 107. The gaming state control unit 108 and the payout control unit 109 are functionally realized. For example, the RAM 53 functions as the following flag information storage unit 105, and the following lottery table 102 data is stored in the ROM 52, for example.

(Role lottery section 103)
The role lottery unit 103 is a functional block for performing lottery of a role (special role, small role, replay, etc.). The combination lottery unit 103 obtains one random number after generating a random number internally for each game, refers to the lottery table 102 stored in the ROM 52, and determines the combination of the combination based on the area to which the acquired random number belongs. The presence / absence of winning and the winning combination are determined.

  For example, the role lottery unit 103 performs a lottery when the start switch 41 is operated, and determines whether the “game” is “winning” or “losing” and “winning” when it is “winning”. decide. That is, the role lottery unit 103 generates a random number within a predetermined range (for example, 0 to 65535 in decimal notation) when the start switch 41 is pressed, and the predetermined lot is selected when the predetermined condition is satisfied. Get a random value. In the lottery table 102, a special role winning area, a small role winning area, a replay winning area, a non-winning area (losing) area, and the like are set at a predetermined ratio with respect to random numbers that can be acquired by the role lottery unit 103. ing.

  Furthermore, if the winning lottery unit 103 “wins” the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R after having pressed each of the stop switches 42L, 42C, and 42R, an arrangement of symbols representing the winning combination. The stop is controlled so that the winning combination is won. Further, when the lottery result is “losing” (non-winning), stop control is performed so that the symbol arrangement does not represent any combination. In any case, the stop symbol does not change even if the pressing timing of the stop switches 42L, 42C, and 42R is changed.

The lottery performed by the combination lottery unit 103 may determine the winning combination by performing one lottery for one game, but may be configured to perform multiple lotteries. Good.
In addition to the configuration led by the role lottery unit 103 in which a lottery is performed at the timing of pressing the start switch 41 or the stop switches 42L, 42C, and 42R and the lottery result is determined, the reels can be operated without any special pull-in operation. The group 31 may be stopped, and as a result, the winning determination unit 107 may detect the positions where the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R are stopped, and determine whether there is a winning or a winning combination. In this case, there is no concept of lottery or winning combination, and the combination lottery unit 103 may not exist. Further, depending on the type of game, whether or not the role lottery unit 103 is led, that is, whether to make a lottery or make a winning determination by reel may be switched.

(Control unit 101)
The control unit 101 is a central functional block that controls the operation timing of the combination lottery unit 103, the reel control unit 106 and the winning determination unit 107, which will be described later.
For example, on the condition that the start switch 41 is operated, the control unit 101 causes the combination lottery unit 103 to perform combination lottery, causes the reel control unit 106 to start the rotation of the reel group 31, and the stop switch. The reel control unit 106 is controlled to stop the reel group 31 on the condition that the group 42 has been operated, and further, the winning determination unit 107 performs the winning determination on the condition that the reel group 31 has stopped. It is.
Note that the operation of the control unit 101 is not limited to these, and governs general control required for the main control board 50.

(Flag information storage unit 105)
The flag information storage unit 105 is configured to be able to store the type of the winning combination and the fact that the flag is turned on when a flag for a certain combination is turned on by the lottery result of the combination lottery unit 103.

(Reel control unit 106)
The reel control unit 106 is a functional block that controls the rotation and stop of the reel group 31 (reels 31L, 31C, and 31R) based on an instruction from the control unit 101.
More specifically, the reel control unit 106 has a gaming state (for example, a normal gaming state, a special gaming state, etc.), a lottery result by the combination lottery unit 103, and a stop switch group 42 (stop switches 42L, 42C, and 42R). Based on the operated timing, etc., the stop positions of the reels 31L, 31C and 31R are determined, and the driving of the stepping motor is controlled to stop the rotation of the reels 31L, 31C and 31R at the determined positions. It has become.

  For example, if the winning lottery unit 103 results in “losing” and no winning combination is won, each reel is set so that the combination of symbols of any winning combination is not stopped on the activated effective line. The stop positions of 31L, 31C and 31R are determined, and each reel is stopped at the determined position. On the other hand, if a winning combination is selected for a certain role, the symbol combination is determined so that the winning symbol combination is stopped on the active line that is active, and the symbol combination is valid at that time. The stop positions of the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R are determined so as to appear in the effective lines, and each reel is stopped at the determined position.

In particular, when the special combination is “winned”, the stop combinations of the reels 31L, 31C, and 31R are controlled so that the combination of the special combination symbols is stopped on the active line that is enabled (for example, (Within 4 symbols), pull-in control is performed so that the symbols related to the special role are aligned as much as possible. However, even if the special role is “winned”, the combination of symbols of the special role will not stop on the activated active line when “winning” for a small role or replay. Then, stop positions of the reels 31L, 31C and 31R are determined, and stop control is performed.
Such control when stopping the reels 31L, 31C and 31R may be performed using a reel control table.

(Winning determination unit 107)
The winning determination unit 107 is a functional block for determining the final winning state.
The winning determination unit 107 determines whether or not a combination of symbols in the active line group 22 is arranged in any of the active lines that are active, and if there is an in-line combination, it is determined in the game. It is determined that the winning combination has been won. The lottery of the combination is determined in advance by the combination lottery unit 103. However, when a mechanical reel is used, the reel may not be stopped as scheduled, so the position of the finally stopped reel is detected. Because you have to do it.

  The winning determination unit 107 determines a symbol positioned on the active line by detecting, for example, an angle at the time when the stepping motor is stopped, the number of steps, and the like, and based on this, determines the presence / absence of a winning combination.

  Instead of pre-determining a combination by the combination lottery unit 103 and stopping the reels 31L, 31C and 31R together, the reels are stopped one after another at a retractable position, and finally the actual reels 31L, The positions of 31C and 31R may be detected, and the winning determination unit 107 may determine the combination of symbols and determine the combination.

(Game state control unit 108)
The gaming state control unit 108 is a functional block for controlling the special game from the next game until the predetermined end condition is satisfied when the winning determination unit 107 has won a special role as a result of the determination. It is.

  For example, the game state control unit 108 causes the reel control unit 106 to perform reel control for special games according to the lottery result of the role lottery unit 103 during the special game, or causes the sub control board 60 to perform special game effects. Or let it be done.

(Payout control unit 109)
The payout control unit 109 is a functional block for causing the hopper device 93 to pay out medals according to the winning combination as a result of the determination by the winning determination unit 107.

(Functional block on sub control board)
Next, a functional configuration of the sub control board 60 will be described.
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration of the sub control board 60.
The sub-control board 60 includes an effect control unit 201, an effect pattern storage unit 202, and an image control unit 260.

  The effects implemented by the sub-control board 60 are effects by an image displayed in the image display area around the display window 21 by the effect display device 40 and effects by sound generated from the speaker 71. Unlike the operations on the main control board 50, these effects do not change the direction of the game itself, such as a lottery of a role. However, the effects of the images and sounds give the player a stimulus and win the prize. It plays an important role in raising expectations and eliminating monotony.

(Production control unit 201)
The effect control unit 201 is functionally realized by the sub CPU 61 executing a computer readable program recorded in the ROM 62. The effect control unit 201 is a command that represents a lottery result (such as a small role winning or a big win) that is output from the role lottery unit 103 of the main control board 50, or a player's operation content (an operation of hitting a lever or an operation of pressing a stop switch). And the like, and an effect pattern corresponding to the received command is selected from the effect pattern storage unit 202 and transferred to the image control unit 260, or the received command is transferred to the image control unit 260 as it is. Or
Specifically, when a command representing the lottery result of the winning combination is received from the main control board 50, the lottery result (such as small winning combination) is selected from the effect pattern storage unit 202 in which a plurality of effect patterns are stored. The selected effect pattern is selected, and the selected effect pattern is sent to the image control unit 260.
On the other hand, when a command representing the pressing operation of each stop switch is received from the main control board 50, the type of the stop switch (left, middle, right, etc.) and the operation content (stop operation) are sent to the image control unit 260. .

(Production pattern storage unit 202)
The effect pattern storage unit 202 stores a plurality of effect patterns corresponding to each command, and specifically stores a management table in which a lottery result (such as a small role winning or a big hit) and an effect pattern are associated with each other. .

(Image control unit 260)
The image control unit 260 is functionally realized by the CPU 64a or the like of the image control unit 64 executing a computer-readable program recorded in the image data ROM 65a. The image control unit 260 controls an image displayed on the effect display device 40 in accordance with an effect pattern sent from the effect control unit 201 and a state command representing the operation content of the player, and controls a musical sound output from the speaker 71. To do.

  Although the functional configurations of the main control board 50 and the sub control board 60 have been described above, functions other than the functions described above may be provided.

(Operation on the main control board)
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing control by the main control board 50.
When a player inserts a medal and the start switch 41 is operated, the control unit 101 detects that the start switch 41 is turned on, and the combination lottery unit 103 performs a combination lottery process (step S101, Step S102). On the other hand, when the start switch 41 is not operated by the player and it is not possible to detect that the start switch 41 is turned on, the control unit 101 performs step S101 until it detects that the start switch 41 is turned on. Repeat the process.

  In the combination lottery process in step S102, the combination lottery unit 103 acquires a random number and performs a combination lottery process by comparing the acquired random number with the lottery table. As a result of the lottery, when any winning combination is won, the winning combination flag is turned on in the flag information storage unit 105. The lottery result by the combination lottery unit 103 is transmitted as winning combination information to the sub-control board 60 via the I / F circuit 54 (step S103).

  The reel control unit 106 determines whether any one of the stop switch groups 42 has been operated (step S104). When any one of the stop switches is operated (step S104; YES), reel control is performed so that the winning combination can be won, and the rotation of the reel corresponding to the operated stop switch is stopped (step S104). S105).

  If no winning combination has been won in the winning lottery process in step S102 (when “losing” occurs), the reel control unit 106 has not won any winning combination in step S105. The reel control corresponding to is performed.

  Subsequently, the reel control unit 106 determines whether all the stop switches are operated and all the reels are stopped (step S106). When all the reels have not stopped yet (step S106 / NO), the processing from the detection processing of presence / absence of the stop switch operation in step S104 is repeated.

  When all the reels are stopped (step S106 / YES), the winning determination unit 107 determines the presence / absence of winning based on the combination of symbols arranged on the activated effective line (step S107). As a result, if there is any winning (step S107 / YES), a winning process corresponding to the winning combination is executed (step S108).

Specifically, when the winning combination is a “special combination”, the game state control unit 108 performs a transition process for executing the “special game” from the next game until a predetermined end condition is satisfied.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S107 that there is no winning (step S107 / NO), the process returns to step S101.

  Subsequently, during the “special game”, the game state control unit 108 gives the reel control unit 106 a “special game” so as to provide the player with a game state corresponding to the big bonus or regular bonus that is the “special role”. In addition to the internal reel control, the sub-control board 60 is caused to perform an effect for “special game”. When the specified number of games of the big bonus or the regular bonus is finished, a process of shifting to the “normal game” is performed.

  On the other hand, when the winning combination is not “special combination”, if the flag of the special combination is stored in the flag information storage unit 105 in the ON state, the storage state of the flag in the flag information storage unit 105 is determined in the next game. Carried over.

  When the winning combination is “small role”, the gaming state control unit 108 performs reel control so that symbols such as bells are aligned on the active line, and the sub-control board 60 is used for “small role”. Production of a production or a small role announcement (display of a notification object, etc.) is performed. When the winning combination is “replay”, the winning determination unit 107 causes the control unit 101 to carry over the bet (the number of bets) in the game to the next game, and even if the winning combination is “special combination”, “ If it is not “Replay”, the payout control unit 109 causes the hopper device 93 to pay out the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination.

Next, the configuration of the effect display device 40 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the image display area (area excluding the area of the display window 21) of the effect display device 40 in an exploded manner. As shown in the figure, the effect display device 40 includes a liquid crystal panel (liquid crystal display device) 401, a sheet 402, a shutter 403, and a polarizing filter (first polarizing filter) 404. In addition, the near side of FIG. 6 is the front of the effect display device 40, and each member is overlapped in the order shown in the figure.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the structure of the liquid crystal panel 401 in an exploded manner. As shown in the figure, the liquid crystal panel 401 includes a backlight 4011, a polarizing plate 4012, a transparent electrode 4013, a liquid crystal layer 4014, a transparent electrode 4015, and a polarizing plate 4016. Note that the front side (polarizing plate 4016 side) in FIG. 7 is the front surface of the liquid crystal panel 401, and the respective members overlap in the order shown in the figure.

  The light emitted from the backlight 4011 passes through the polarizing plate 4012, the transparent electrode 4013, the liquid crystal layer 4014, the transparent electrode 4015, and the polarizing plate 4016 in order, and reaches the user's eyes. The polarizing plate 4012 transmits only light that vibrates in a specific direction, and light polarized in a specific direction is incident on the liquid crystal layer 4014. The liquid crystal layer 4014 changes the orientation of liquid crystal molecules when voltage is applied by the transparent electrode 4013 and the transparent electrode 4015, and blocks or transmits light. The light passing through the liquid crystal layer 4014 changes its polarization direction according to the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules. The light transmitted through the liquid crystal layer 4014 is incident on the polarizing plate 4016 again, but the polarizing plate 4016 also passes only light that vibrates in a specific direction. Therefore, the emitted display light is linearly polarized.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the seat 402. As shown in the figure, the sheet 402 has a plurality of regions 1 to 3 in which polarizing filters (second polarizing filters) 4021 are arranged in different patterns, which are continuously arranged. The portion 4022 other than the polarizing filter 4021 is made of a material such as glass or a plastic plate that exits from the other surface with almost no optical influence on the light incident on one surface. Region 4 is a region where the polarizing filter 4021 is not disposed. The polarizing filter 4021 is such that the direction of the polarization axis forms an angle (θ) of 45 degrees with respect to the polarization direction of the light emitted from the liquid crystal panel 401. The regions 1 to 4 have an area where the entire display light emitted from the liquid crystal panel 401 can enter.
The sheet 402 is configured to be movable in the direction indicated by A in the drawing. The sheet 402 is provided so as to be slidable along a slide rail disposed in the direction indicated by A in the drawing, and is stationary when a predetermined area is disposed in front of the liquid crystal panel 401. Be controlled.

  The shutter 403 is closed during the movement of the sheet 402 and does not transmit light, and is opened and allows light to pass when the movement of the sheet 402 is completed. As the shutter 403, for example, a polarization shutter can be used. The polarization shutter can electrically change the direction of the polarization axis. When the shutter 403 is closed, the polarization shutter is opened so that the direction of the polarization axis is orthogonal to the polarization axis of the polarization filter 404. In this case, the direction of the polarization axis can be controlled to be parallel to the polarization axis of the polarization filter 404. The shutter 403 may be a mechanically openable / closable shutter. In this case, the shutter is formed of a metal or the like that does not transmit light, and light is completely blocked in the closed state, and all light is allowed to pass in the opened state.

  The polarization filter 404 is a linear polarization filter that allows only light in a specific vibration direction to pass, and the direction of the polarization axis forms an angle (α) of 90 degrees with respect to the polarization direction of the emitted light from the liquid crystal panel 401.

The operation of the effect display device 40 will be described.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid crystal display device 40. FIG. 9A shows a state where the sheet 402 is moving, and FIG. 9B shows a state where the sheet 402 is stationary. FIG. 10 shows a display image on the liquid crystal panel 401.
The display light L emitted from the liquid crystal panel 401 first passes through the sheet 402. As shown in FIG. 9B, the position of the sheet 402 is controlled so that a predetermined region is interposed on a line connecting the liquid crystal panel 401 and the user's viewpoint in a stationary state. For example, when the region 1 shown in FIG. 8 is disposed between the liquid crystal panel 401 and the user's viewpoint, the display light L is incident on the region 1.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a change in the polarization direction of the display light L due to incidence on the sheet 402 when the sheet 402 is stationary. 11A shows the state of polarized light before incidence, and FIG. 11B shows the state of polarized light after transmission.
As shown in FIG. 11A, since the display light L before being incident is emitted from the liquid crystal panel 401, it is aligned in a certain direction. As shown in FIG. 11B, the polarization direction of the light L1 incident on the portion 4022 other than the polarizing filter 4021 out of the display light L incident on the sheet 402 does not change. On the other hand, for the light L2 incident on the polarizing filter 4021 part, only the component of which the polarization direction is parallel to the polarization direction of the polarizing filter 4021 of the light L2 is transmitted, so that the polarization direction of the outgoing light changes by 45 degrees. Further, the intensity of the light L2 becomes 1 / √2 of the light L by passing through the polarizing filter 4021.

  The display light L that has passed through the sheet 402 passes through the shutter 403. As shown in FIG. 9A, the shutter 403 is closed during the movement of the sheet 402, but as shown in FIG. 9B, a predetermined area of the sheet 402 is stopped in front of the liquid crystal panel 401. The display light L that is open in the disposed state is transmitted through the sheet 402.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the display light L transmitted through the shutter 403 enters the polarizing filter 404. As described above, in the polarizing filter 404, the direction of the polarization axis is orthogonal to the direction of polarization of the outgoing light from the liquid crystal panel 401. Therefore, among the display light L, the light L1 whose polarization direction has not changed cannot pass through the polarization filter 404, but the light L2 that has passed through the polarization filter 4021 and whose polarization direction has changed 45 degrees is polarized light. The light can pass through the filter 404 (L2 ′). For this reason, the image by the display light L emitted from the polarizing filter 404 is in a state where only a portion corresponding to the polarizing filter 4021 of the sheet 402 remains as shown in FIG. An image viewed by the user is an image after passing through the polarizing filter 404. The intensity of the light L2 ′ passing through the polarizing filter 4021 is 1 / √2 of the light L2, that is, half of the light L emitted from the liquid crystal panel 401, but the surrounding portion where the polarizing filter 4021 is not interposed. Then, since the light L1 cannot pass through the polarizing filter 404, the image becomes darker, so that the image of the polarizing filter 4021 portion appears to be raised.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, using the fact that the polarization direction of the display light L of the liquid crystal panel 401 is aligned, only the light that has passed through the polarization filter 4021 of the sheet 402 is displayed. Since the light can be transmitted through the polarizing filter 404 and actually reach the user's eyes, various image effects can be realized without controlling the liquid crystal panel 401 itself.

Further, the sheet 402 has a plurality of regions in which the polarizing filters 4021 are arranged in different patterns, which are continuously arranged, and the predetermined region is disposed in front of the liquid crystal panel 401. By processing, various image effects can be realized according to the contents of the effects. When the region 4 shown in FIG. 8 is disposed in front of the liquid crystal panel 401, the region 4 does not include the polarizing filter 4021, and thus the user cannot see anything.
Instead of the sheet 402, for example, a polarization shutter provided with a transparent electrode in one or more specific areas may be used. In this case, only a specific area can be changed to a polarization filter state or a normal transmission state depending on the presence / absence of energization, and a variety of image effects can be realized according to the effect contents without using a moving mechanism. .

  Since the shutter 403 is provided between the polarizing filter 404 and the sheet 402, the shutter 403 is closed while the sheet 402 is moving, and the shutter 403 is opened when the movement of the sheet 402 is completed. This image can be hidden from the user.

In this embodiment, the angle α formed by the direction of the polarization axis of the polarizing filter 404 with respect to the polarization direction of the light emitted from the liquid crystal panel 401 is 90 degrees, but α is specified in the range of 0 <α ≦ 90 degrees. can do. When α is smaller than 90 degrees, the image on the liquid crystal panel 401 can be controlled to appear lighter than the actual image, and the image of the portion that has passed through the polarizing filter 4021 is brighter than the image of the portion that has not been transmitted. You can make it show.
In addition, the direction of the polarization axis of the polarizing filter 4021 disposed in each region of the sheet 402 may be set differently. Accordingly, it is possible to display the image with different brightness depending on which region is used.

Front view of the slot machine according to the present embodiment The block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the slot machine which concerns on this embodiment Functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the main control board Functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the sub-control board Flowchart showing the control of the main control board in this embodiment The schematic diagram which decomposes | disassembles and shows the structure of the image display area of the presentation display apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. Schematic diagram showing disassembled structure of liquid crystal panel Front view of seat according to this embodiment Schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid crystal display device according to the present embodiment The figure which shows the display picture of the liquid crystal panel The figure explaining the change of the polarization direction of the display light by incidence on a sheet The figure which shows the image by the display light radiate | emitted from the polarizing filter

Explanation of symbols

10 slot machine 21 display window 31 reel 31L left reel 31C middle reel 31R right reel 40 effect display device 50 main control board 51 main CPU
52, 62 ROM
53, 63 RAM
54, 69 I / F circuit 60 Sub control board 101 Control unit 102 Lottery table 103 Role lottery unit 105 Flag information storage unit 106 Reel control unit 107 Winning determination unit 108 Game state control unit 201 Production control unit 202 Production pattern storage unit 260 Image Control unit 301 Object data storage unit 302 Texture data storage unit 303 Texture animation control parameter storage unit 304 Texture data selection unit 305 Image data generation unit 306 Image data storage unit 307 Display control unit 401 Liquid crystal panel 402 Sheet 403 Shutter 404 Polarization filter 4011 Back Light 4012 Polarizing plate 4013 Transparent electrode 4014 Liquid crystal layer 4015 Transparent electrode 4016 Polarizing plate 4021 Polarizing filter

Claims (5)

An image rendering device provided with a liquid crystal display device,
A first polarizing filter disposed in front of the liquid crystal display device, the direction of the polarization axis forming an angle α with respect to the polarization direction of the outgoing light of the liquid crystal display device;
A part of the second polarizing filter is disposed between the liquid crystal display device and the first polarizing filter and the direction of the polarization axis forms an angle θ with respect to the polarization direction of the outgoing light of the liquid crystal display device. A seat, and
An image rendering device characterized by 0 <α ≦ 90 degrees and 0 <θ <α. The sheet is
A plurality of regions in which the second polarizing filters are arranged in different patterns are sequentially arranged, and a predetermined region is disposed between the liquid crystal display device and the first polarizing filter. The image rendering device according to claim 1, wherein the image rendering device is movable.   The image rendering device according to claim 2, wherein directions of polarization axes of the second polarizing filters arranged in the respective regions are different from each other. A shutter provided between the first polarizing filter and the sheet;
4. The image rendering device according to claim 2, wherein the shutter is closed while the sheet is moving, and is opened when the movement of the sheet is completed. A gaming machine that changes the progress of the game according to the lottery result,
A gaming machine comprising the image effect device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.