JP2010042104A - Crane game machine capable of recording play process - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a crane game machine capable of recording a play process, wherein the crane game can statistically indicate the easiness of acquisition by present setting by recording the conditions of a crane catcher in the process of acquiring a premium and can present the guide of gripping power adjustment of a spring of a crane arm. <P>SOLUTION: The crane catcher is provided with a weight sensor 7 for detecting the weight of the premium and an opening/closing sensor 8 for detecting the opening/closing of arms 10, 10. Also, a drop port is provided with a premium sensor for detecting the passing of the premium. The state of the crane catcher at many positions such as the state of the respective sensors when moved in the horizontal direction at the start of a game and the state of the sensors when lowered are recorded. Since the record indicates the state of the sensors at the respective positions in the premium acquisition process, the easiness of the acquisition by the present setting is statistically indicated, and thus the guide of the gripping power adjustment of the spring of the crane arm is obtained. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a crane game machine capable of presenting a guideline for adjusting a gripping force of a catcher arm by measuring and recording a process of acquiring a prize.

Some conventional crane game machines directly appeal to the player by changing the production while holding the prize. However, the greatest appeal to the player is to have a sense of “getting it”, and for that purpose, fine adjustment of the gripping force of the catcher arm is indispensable. However, since the gripping force adjustment is performed by experience or can, it is difficult for those who have no experience to perform appropriate adjustment.
By the way, sound and light are also important for appealing crane game machines, but in the end, it can be thought that it can be “taken” or “cannot be taken”. If it can actually be "taken", it will easily lead to attracting customers, but taking the premium cost into account, the acquisition rate cannot be increased unnecessarily.

Therefore, it is preferable to adjust the gripping force as much as possible so that it can be felt, but in practice it is difficult to adjust, and the manager (crew) is required to have experience and craftsmanship by Kang. Moreover, since there is no adjustment guideline, trial and error are repeated, and some conventional examples include a mechanism for adjusting the gripping force from the outside during operation.
From this situation, the inventor returns to the starting point, measures and accumulates the situation if it is difficult, and provides judgment materials to be adjusted by presenting the ratio, so that even a person who has no experience can produce a production effect. I thought about a subtle adjustment that could increase the rate of attracting customers.

This inventor has proposed the crane game machine which improves the production effect as a crane game machine by devising illumination, and improves the ability to attract customers. This is equipped with a plurality of different types of lighting equipment, and depending on the holding state of the prize and the degree of progress of the game, a combination of a plurality of different types of lighting equipment is turned on or off to produce the light and shadow of the prize. Is.
JP 2005-80891 A

  However, the above proposal is not made from the viewpoint that a prize is likely to be actually obtained by illumination of light.

  The object of the present invention is to obtain a prize acquisition process, that is, an acquisition situation of a prize, an opening / closing state of an arm, and a prize after the movement of a crane catcher is started and a prize acquisition operation is performed to return to the original initial position. It is possible to statistically indicate the ease with which the current setting can be obtained by recording the status of the crane catcher at multiple locations, such as whether or not it has been done, and provide guidelines for adjusting the gripping force of the crane arm spring An object of the present invention is to provide a crane game machine that records a playing process.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a prize arranged on the field by moving and lowering the crane catcher in the lateral direction and the backward direction by the player's operation and opening and closing the arm. In the crane game machine that moves the crane catcher to the prize dropout and opens the arm, the crane catcher pays out the prize and opens and closes the weight sensor that detects the weight of the prize and the arm. A crane catcher operation state record for recording an operation state of the weight sensor, the open / close sensor and the prize sensor in each operation process of the crane catcher at the time of a game by providing a prize sensor for detecting a prize at the prize drop opening as well as an opening / closing sensor for detecting Means is provided.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, each operation process of the crane catcher is performed at the start of the game, at the time of horizontal movement, at the time of lowering, at the time of holding a prize, at the time of rising, , It is characterized by the time when the prize is released and at the end of the game.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the weight sensor may be in one of two states: a heavy state indicating that the premium is grabbed and a light state where the premium is not grabbed. It is characterized by detecting.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, or third aspect, the open / close sensor detects one of two states: an arm opened state and an arm closed state. And
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, third or fourth aspect, the premium sensor detects that the premium has passed through the pit.

  According to the above configuration, when the prize is acquired by the sensor until the crane catcher returns to the original position from the start of the game, if the prize is paid out, if the prize cannot be grasped, By acquiring detailed progress information such as when it is dropped by using a sensor, individual differences in adjustments such as the strength of the spring of the crane catcher can be reduced. Moreover, the factor of anxiety on the management side can be reduced by digitizing. In addition, since fine adjustments can be made without individual differences, it is possible to increase the feeling of “getting it”, to increase the player's happiness, and to increase the replay rate.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an appearance of a crane game machine for recording a playing process according to the present invention. This figure shows only components directly related to the present invention, and prizes on the field are omitted.
A crane catcher 14, which can be operated by the player so as to move in the horizontal direction, the back direction, and descend and rise, is suspended from the ceiling portion in the transparent game housing 6.
On the panel surface, operation buttons 5a and 5b for moving the crane catcher 14 to positions aimed by the player in the horizontal direction and the back direction are arranged, and a coin insertion slot 12 is installed next to the operation buttons 5a and 5b. A prize drop opening 3 for dropping a prize grabbed by a crane catcher is installed at a predetermined position in the play field.

  The prize that has fallen to the prize dropping port 3 is paid out to the prize paying port 4 below the panel. A prize sensor 2 made of a photocoupler having a light emitting diode 2a and a light receiving transistor 2b is disposed on the inner wall surface of the pit 3. When the prize 13 falls to the prize drop opening 3, the light from the light emitting diode 2a is blocked, and it is detected that the prize has been paid out by detecting the timing at which the light does not reach the light receiving transistor 2b for a moment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining details of each sensor attached to the crane catcher. A drive source and mechanism (not shown) for opening and closing the arm are built in the crane catcher.
The crane catcher 14 is suspended from the telescopic cylinder 9, and the arm base 15 is attached to the tip of the telescopic cylinder 9 via the weight sensor 7.
The weight sensor 7 is composed of a spring and a switch that turns on and off when the spring expands and contracts. For example, if the prize 13 is grasped, the spring is extended and the switch is off as shown in (a1). If the prize is not grasped, the spring is contracted as shown in (a2), so that the switch is in the ON state. Thereby, the weight sensor 7 can detect either heavy or light.

The open / close sensor 8 includes a cam at the arm base and a micro switch that is turned on and off by the cam. For example, when the arm is closed, as shown in (b1), the micro switch is off because the lower outer peripheral surface of the cam is in contact with the spring surface of the micro switch. In the state where the arm is open, as shown in (b2), since the high outer peripheral surface of the cam hits the spring surface of the microswitch, the microswitch is in the on state. The opening / closing of the arm can be detected by turning on / off the microswitch.
The crane catcher 14 is first determined in the lateral direction by the player's operation, then in the back direction, and the arm is opened by a driving source (not shown) and starts to descend by positioning in the back direction. Then, the arms 10 and 10 are closed at the position where the descent is stopped, the telescopic cylinder is contracted and raised, moved in the lateral direction and the rear direction at the raised position, stopped right above the drop mouth 3, and the arm is opened. After this, it is brought to the initial standby position.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a circuit of a crane game machine for recording a play process according to the present invention.
When a coin is inserted from the coin insertion unit 12, the coin is detected, and the information is transmitted to the CPU 25 via the coin related device 22 and the input / output control unit 21. Setting values such as the number of coins inserted, that is, the number of coins and the number of plays are stored in the backup memory 23.
The operation unit includes two buttons, a lateral movement operation button 5a and a back movement operation button 5b. When the lateral movement operation button 5a is pressed, the operation information is sent to the CPU 25 via the input / output control unit 21. When the operation button 5b for moving back is pressed, the operation information is sent to the CPU 25 via the input / output control unit 21. By the operation of the lateral movement operation button 5a, the motor control unit 28 drives the lateral movement driving motor constituting the lateral driving mechanism 29, and moves the crane catcher in the lateral direction. Similarly, by operating the back movement operation button 5b, the motor control unit 28 drives the back movement drive motor constituting the back drive mechanism 30 to move the crane catcher in the back direction.

The sensor control unit 24 detects the on / off state of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8, and the prize sensor 2 at the start of the game, and transmits the detected state to the CPU 25.
The ROM 26 is a control program for controlling the entire crane game machine housing, a state recording program for taking in / off detection signals of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 at each movement position of the crane catcher, and recording the detection signals, A crane game program for executing a crane game and data necessary for the game machine are stored.
The RAM 27 is used as a work area for calculation and processing performed by the game control unit and the like, and has a state recording area 27a for recording on / off detection signals of the sensors.

CPU25 implement | achieves each function of the game control part 25a, the crane catcher state recording part 25b, and the crane game execution part 25c by reading a control program, a state recording program, and a crane game program from ROM26.
The game control unit 25a performs monitoring such as insertion of coins in a standby state before the start of the game, control of lighting and flashing of an unillustrated electric decoration, control after the game ends, and the like. The crane catcher state recording unit 25b reads the detection state of each sensor at each position of the crane catcher in the crane game, that is, the on / off state, and records the state in the state storage area 27a.
After the coin is inserted, the crane game execution unit 25c receives control, and drives the lateral drive mechanism 29 and the back drive mechanism 30 of the crane catcher to move in the lateral direction and the back direction according to the operation of the player. Further, the telescopic drive mechanism 32 is driven to extend or contract the telescopic cylinder 9. Furthermore, the arm opening and closing drive mechanism 31 is driven to open and close the arms 10 and 10. The crane catcher after the lateral position and the back direction position are determined automatically opens and lowers the arm, closes and lifts the arm, and then moves in the lateral and back directions and directly above the mouthpiece 3 It is controlled to open the arm and then bring it to the standby position.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart for explaining a process of operation of the crane game machine, and shows a flow from the start of the game until the crane catcher descends.
The crane game machine 1 is in a standby state (step (hereinafter referred to as “S”) 001), and the game control unit 25a monitors whether or not a coin is inserted (S002). When a coin is inserted, the player can move it horizontally by pressing an operation button. When the coin is inserted, the crane catcher state recording unit 25b records the initial on / off states of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 at the start of the game in the state recording area 27a (S003). Next, when the player operates the lateral movement operation button 5a in the lateral movement standby state, the crane game execution unit 25c moves the crane catcher laterally (S004, S005, S006).

  Next, the crane game execution unit 25c monitors whether or not the lateral movement operation button (lateral movement SW) 5a has been released, and if the lateral movement operation button 5a is released, the crane game execution unit 25c enters a back movement standby state (S007, S101). Then, it is monitored whether or not the back movement operation button (back movement SW) 5b is pressed (S102), and when it is pressed, the crane catcher is moved to the back (S103). When the operation button 5b is released, the operation stops at that position, and the on / off state of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 at the time of horizontal movement is recorded in the state recording area 27a (S104, S105). When the crane catcher stops, the crane game execution unit 25c opens the arms 10 and 10 and extends the telescopic cylinder 9 to lower the crane catcher. When the crane catcher reaches the lower part, the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 when lowered. Is recorded in the state recording area 27a (S106, S107, S108, S109).

FIG. 4B is a flowchart for explaining a process of operation of the crane game machine, and shows a flow from the crane catcher lowering to the arm closing.
In FIG. 4B, when the crane game execution unit 25c reaches the lower part, it closes the arms 10 and 10, and shows the on / off state of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 when it is closed (gripped). (S201, S202). Then, the crane catcher is raised (S203), and when it reaches the upper part, the on / off state of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 at the time of raising is recorded in the state recording area 27a (S205). Thereafter, the crane catcher is moved to the dropper (S206), and when the dropper is reached, the on / off states of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 at that time are recorded in the state recording area 27a (S207, S208). .

Next, the arm is opened (S301), and the on / off states of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 when the arm is opened are recorded in the state recording area 27a (S301, S302). Thereafter, after a certain time (for example, 5 seconds) has elapsed, the arm is closed (S303, S304), and the on / off states of the weight sensor 7, the open / close sensor 8 and the prize sensor 2 at the end are recorded in the state recording area 27a ( S305). As described above, a series of recording operations is completed with the end of the game.
As described above, the operation state is recorded in the state recording area 27a. After being stored in the state recording area 27a, it is possible to record as statistics classified when the prize is taken, when the prize falls in the middle, or when the prize cannot be grasped. Also, the administrator can later read the recorded contents of the status recording area 27a to another recording card and display and analyze it on a PC or the like. Furthermore, if it is a crane game machine which has a display part, the administrator can also display the recorded content on the display part after the game time at a game facility is over.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation state of each sensor.
FIG. 5 (a) is a diagram showing an example of the change of each sensor when the prize is taken well, and FIG. 5 (b) is an example of the change of each sensor when it has fallen halfway. is there. Furthermore, FIG.5 (c) shows the example of the transition of each sensor at the time of not being able to grasp at all.
The recording timing of each sensor is (a) start, (b) movement (c) descent, (2) grab, (e) rise, (f) drop mouth, (g) release, (c) end.

  For example, when different sensor operations are picked up when the prize of FIG. 5 (a) is taken and when the prize of FIG. 5 (c) is not taken at all, (2) when grasping, the open / close sensor is The latter is “closed”. (E) When lifted, the open / close sensor is “open” for the former and “closed” for the latter, while the weight sensor is “heavy” for the former and “light” for the latter. In addition, at the (f) outlet, the open / close sensor is “open” for the former and “closed” for the latter, and the weight sensor is “heavy” for the former and “light” for the latter. Furthermore, in the case of (G) apart, the free gift sensor is “present” for the former and “none” for the latter. All other sensor operations are the same.

Thus, the above three cases can be determined by checking the on / off state of each sensor. Further, when the prize can be obtained by rolling, and the string is caught on the arm, the combination of on / off of each sensor is further different from the above example.
In this way, it is possible to help the manager to properly adjust the arm springs by checking the display ratio of the state such as when the prize is taken, dropped in the middle, or not picked up at all. Become.

  This is a crane game machine installed at an event venue or game center.

It is the schematic which shows the external appearance of the crane game machine which records the play process by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the detail of each sensor attached to the crane catcher. It is a block diagram which shows embodiment of the circuit of the crane game machine which records the play process by this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of operation | movement of a crane game machine, and has shown the flow from a game start to a crane catcher falling. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process of operation | movement of a crane game machine, and has shown the flow from a crane catcher descent to arm closing. It is a figure which shows the example of the operation condition of each sensor.

Explanation of symbols

1 Crane game machine
2 Premium sensor
3 trap
4 Premiums outlet
5a Operation buttons for horizontal movement
5b Operation buttons for rearward movement 6 Transparent game case 7 Weight sensor 8 Open / close sensor 9 Telescopic cylinder 10 Arm 11 Claw 12 Coin insertion unit 13 Premium 21 Input / output control unit 22 Coin related device 23 Backup memory 24 Sensor control unit 25 CPU
26 ROM
27 RAM
28 Motor controller

Claims (5)

The crane catcher is moved laterally and backwardly by the player's operation and lowered, and the arm is opened and closed to grasp the prize placed on the field, and the crane catcher is moved to the prize drop opening to open the arm. In the crane game machine that pays out prizes
The crane catcher is provided with a weight sensor for detecting the weight of the prize and an opening / closing sensor for detecting the opening / closing of the arm, and a prize sensor for detecting the prize at the prize drop opening,
A crane game machine for recording a play process, comprising crane catcher operation state recording means for recording operation states of the weight sensor, the open / close sensor and the prize sensor in each operation process of the crane catcher during a game.   The operation process of the crane catcher is at the start of the game, at the time of horizontal movement, at the time of descent, at the time of giving a prize, at the time of raising, at the position of a drop mouth, at the time of releasing a prize, and at the end of the game. A crane game machine that records the play process according to 1.   3. The crane for recording a play process according to claim 1, wherein the weight sensor detects one of two states: a heavy state indicating that a prize has been grabbed and a light state in which no prize is grabbed. game machine.   4. A crane game machine for recording a play process according to claim 1, wherein the open / close sensor detects one of two states: an arm opened state and an arm closed state.   5. The crane game machine for recording a play process according to claim 1, wherein the premium sensor detects that the premium has passed through the pit.

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