JP2010233815A - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the fraudulent action of causing a token detection sensor to malfunction using a fraudulent implement. <P>SOLUTION: A slot machine has a token path where supplied tokens flow down while rolling. The token path is provided with a token detection sensor group for detecting the tokens. The token detection sensor group includes two upstream side sensors arranged vertically so as to be orthogonal to a token flow-down direction and two downstream side sensors disposed in the same column as the upstream side sensors. The control part of the slot machine selects one of the upstream side sensors and one of the downstream side sensors by drawing at prescribed timing and drives them. When the non-selected sensor detects light, the control part executes error processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a slot machine having a fraud prevention function.

  A slot machine is known as one of the gaming machines that are enjoyed at a game hall. Slot machines use medals as game media. The medals necessary for the game can be borrowed from a medal lending machine installed in the game hall, and the game is started by inserting a desired number of medals into the medal slot. If you win the winning role during the game, more medals will be paid out. The medal is given a certain value, and can be exchanged for various prizes according to the number of medals acquired.

  The slot machine includes a medal detection sensor (such as a reflective photo interrupter) in order to count the number of inserted medals. The medal detection sensor is disposed in a medal passage continuously provided from the medal insertion slot toward the inside of the slot machine. In a conventional slot machine, a pair of medal detection sensors are juxtaposed along the flow direction of medals, and whether or not medals have been inserted based on the detection order of each sensor and whether medals are not flowing backward Is detected. When the number of inserted medals reaches a predetermined number, the game can be started. In addition, medals additionally inserted are treated as credits.

  However, there has always been a fraudulent act of manipulating the medal detection sensor to manipulate the number of inserted medals. For example, an unauthorized device with a light emitter attached to the tip of a celluloid plate or the like is inserted into the medal passage and inserted or removed so as to cross the front of the medal detection sensor, or light is emitted while being fixed while facing the medal detection sensor. By blinking the device, the medal detection sensor can malfunction.

  In order to prevent such illegal acts, in the gaming machines described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a plurality of medal detection sensors are arranged so as to be shifted from each other, thereby detecting an unauthorized device to be inserted and removed. Further, in the gaming machine described in Patent Document 3, a plurality of medal detection sensors are driven while being switched at random so as to be a pair, thereby preventing the light emitting device of the illegal instrument from facing the medal detection sensor.

JP2004166806 JP 2005-81016 A JP 2006-271830 A

  However, the gaming machines described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 are ineffective when an unauthorized device is not inserted or removed in the medal passage, and prevents an unauthorized act of causing the unauthorized device to blink against the medal detection sensor. I can't. On the other hand, since the gaming machine described in Patent Document 3 has a plurality of combinations of medal detection sensors, it is necessary to appropriately determine the combination of detection signals output from each sensor, resulting in a complicated configuration. End up.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and has a simple configuration and can prevent an illegal act of erroneously operating the medal detection sensor using an illegal instrument without impairing the current medal detection function. The purpose is to provide a machine.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention detects whether or not the detection light projected so as to cross the medal passage connected to the medal insertion slot is blocked by the medal flowing down the medal passage. A slot machine for controlling the game, characterized by comprising two upstream light receivers, two downstream light receivers, light receiver switching means, and control means. The upstream light receivers are arranged in a line in the vertical direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the medal, and receive the detection light projected across the medal path. The downstream photoreceiver is arranged downstream of the upstream photoreceiver in the flow-down direction and in the same row with a certain distance from the upstream photoreceiver, and receives the detection light. The light receiver switching means randomly selects one of the upstream light receivers and one of the downstream light receivers, and drives them simultaneously. The control means prohibits the game when a light receiver not selected detects light.

  The distance between the upstream light receiver and the downstream light receiver is such that when the boundary between two medals connected in front and rear is positioned between the upstream light receiver and the downstream light receiver, It is preferable that all are set to be exposed from the gap between two medals.

  According to the present invention, since a plurality of medal sensors are randomly selected and driven, it is difficult to specify the position of the driving medal detection sensor. As a result, it becomes difficult to confront the unauthorized device with the medal detection sensor, and an unauthorized operation of the number of inserted medals is prevented.

  In addition, regardless of which medal sensor is selected, the distance between the light receiving unit of the upstream medal sensor and the light receiving unit of the downstream medal sensor in the medal flow direction is always constant. The pattern of the detection signal output from the medal sensor is always the same. Since only this specific output pattern needs to be identified, the configuration can be simplified as compared with the conventional case. Further, based on the detection order of the upstream medal sensor and the downstream medal sensor, the reverse flow of medals can be detected as in the conventional case.

It is an external view of a slot machine. It is an external view of the slot machine showing a state where the lower door is opened. It is a perspective view which shows the outline of a medal passage. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the slot machine. It is a flowchart which shows the flow which detects a fraud. It is explanatory drawing which shows the medal which flows down an inclined channel | path. It is a timing chart which shows the output of a detection signal when a medal flows down normally. It is a timing chart which shows the output of a detection signal when a medal flows backward.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the slot machine 10 includes a slot machine main body 12 and a front door 14 pivotally attached to the front surface of the slot machine main body 12. The front door 14 includes an upper door 14a and a lower door 14b, which can be opened individually.

  A display window 16 is provided on the upper door 14a. Behind the display window 16, a reel unit 18 including a first reel 18a, a second reel 18b, and a third reel 18c is disposed. A plurality of types of symbols are arranged on the outer peripheral surfaces of the first to third reels 18a, 18b, and 18c. When the reels 18a, 18b, and 18c are stopped, three symbols per reel are displayed on the display window 16. Is displayed. In the slot machine 10, the result of the winning combination lottery is notified by the combination of symbols displayed from the display window 16, and when the winning combination is won after the symbols are aligned, a prescribed number of medals are paid out.

  A liquid crystal display 20 is provided on the right side of the display window 16. The liquid crystal display 20 displays various effect images to produce a game, and displays a notification message to be described later. Speakers 22 are provided on the left and right at the upper end of the upper door 14a. The speaker 22 outputs various effect sounds to produce a game, and outputs a notification sound to be described later.

  The lower door 14b is provided with a medal slot 24 and a bet button 26 at the upper end. The slot machine 10 is a three-sheet dedicated machine. When three medals are inserted into the medal slot 24, the three medals can be bet and a game can be started. The slot machine 10 also has a credit function. When three or more medals are inserted into the medal insertion slot 24 at a time, the fourth and subsequent medals are credited up to 50. Credited medals can be bet by pressing the bet button 26.

  Below the bet button 26, a start lever 28 for starting the rotation of each reel 18a, 18b, 18c, a first stop button 30a, a second stop button 30b for stopping the rotation of each reel 18a, 18b, 18c, A third stop button 30c is provided. Further, at the lower end portion of the lower door 14b, a payout port 32 from which medals are paid out and a tray 34 for storing medals paid out from the payout port 32 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a hopper device 36 is fixed to the inside bottom surface of the slot machine main body 12. The hopper device 36 is configured by a storage box 36 a that opens upward and stores a plurality of medals therein, and a payout device 36 b that pays out medals stored in the storage box 36 a to the tray 34.

  A medal passage 38 for guiding medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 24 to the storage box 36a of the hopper device 36 is attached to the back surface of the lower door 14b. A payout chute 39 is disposed below the medal passage 38. The payout chute 39 connects the payout device 36b of the hopper device 36 and the payout port 32, and guides the medal paid out by winning a prize to the tray 34. Further, the payout chute 39 has an upper portion opened toward the medal passage 38 and guides the medal that has fallen without passing through the medal passage 38 to the receiving tray 34.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the medal passage 38 includes a vertical passage 38 a connected to the medal slot 24 and an inclined passage 38 b that is bent from the vertical passage 38 a and extends obliquely downward. The medal M inserted from the medal insertion port 24 falls along the vertical passage 38a, and the traveling direction is changed to an oblique side in the middle, and then flows down toward the hopper device 36 while rolling on the inclined passage 38b. To do. One side wall of the inclined passage 38b is removed. Unauthorized medals having outer diameters and weights other than those specified fall to the payout chute 39 when entering the inclined passage 38b. In FIGS. 3 and 6, the inclined passage 38b is shown horizontally for easy understanding, but the inclined passage 38b is actually inclined obliquely as described above.

  A medal detection sensor group 42 is provided in the inclined passage 38b. The medal detection sensor group 42 includes two upstream sensors 43 and 44 and two downstream sensors 45 and 46. The upstream sensor 43 incorporates a light emitting part 43a and a light receiving part 43b in a housing having an L-shaped cross section, and a reflecting plate 43c that reflects detection light from the light emitting part 43a toward the light receiving part 43b. Infrared light is used as the detection light. The upstream sensor 43 outputs a Hi level detection signal while the light receiving unit 43b receives the detection light, and the medal M flows down while rolling on the inclined passage 38b and emits the detection light thereabove. The Lo level detection signal is output while the light receiving unit 43b is not receiving the detection light.

  Further, another upstream sensor 44 having a symmetrical structure with the inclined passage 38b interposed therebetween is provided vertically below the upstream sensor 43. The upstream sensor 44 is configured such that the detection light from the light emitting portion 44a is reflected by the reflecting plate 44c and received by the light receiving portion 44b, and the detection light is blocked below the medal M flowing down the inclined passage 38b. Similarly, a Hi / Lo level detection signal is output depending on whether or not.

  Downstream sensors 45 and 46 are provided in the same row as the pair of upstream sensors 43 and 44. These downstream sensors 45 and 46 have the same structure and function as the upstream sensors 43 and 44, and the detection lights from the light emitting portions 45a and 46a are respectively above and below the medal M flowing down the inclined passage 38b. While it is blocked and the light receiving parts 45b and 46b are not receiving the detection light, the Lo level detection signal is output. As shown in FIG. 6, the downstream sensors 45 and 46 are provided on the downstream side of the upstream sensors 43 and 44, and the respective light receiving parts 45 b and 46 b are light receiving parts 43 b and 44 b of the upstream sensors 43 and 44. Are spaced apart from each other by a distance S.

  The interval S in the present embodiment is such that the upstream sensors 43 and 44 and the downstream sensors 45 and 46 are located when the boundary between the two medals M connected in the front-rear direction is positioned between the upstream sensor 43 and the downstream sensor 44. Are exposed from the gap between the two medals M (see FIG. 6E). With such an arrangement, even when two medals M are inserted in succession, the detection signal of the first medal and the detection signal of the second medal are not overlapped. The medals M can be detected individually. Note that the intervals between the light receiving portions 43b, 44b, 45b, and 46b may be wider than the interval S shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a control unit 50 is provided inside the slot machine 10. The control unit 50 controls each part of the slot machine 10 and performs various controls such as medal detection and payout, reel rotation control, winning process, and effect display process. The control unit 50 is connected to the reel unit 18, the liquid crystal display 20, the speaker 22, the hopper device 36, the medal detection sensor group 42, and the operation unit 51. The operation unit 51 includes operation members such as the bet button 26 and the start lever 28 described above. The control unit 50 is further provided with a sensor switching unit 53 and a fraud determination unit 54.

  The sensor switching unit 53 selects and drives one of the upstream sensors 43 and 44 and one of the downstream sensors 45 and 46. Since the slot machine 10 is provided with a total of four sensors, upstream sensors 43 and 44 and downstream sensors 45 and 46, there are four combinations that can be selected (upstream sensor 43 and downstream sensor 45, upstream sensor 45 and 46). Side sensor 43 and downstream sensor 46, upstream sensor 44 and downstream sensor 45, upstream sensor 44 and downstream sensor 46). The sensor switching unit 53 selects one of these four combinations by lottery. This lottery is performed every time the start lever 28 is operated. The sensor switching unit 53 drives the combination selected in the lottery and inputs the lottery result to the fraud determination unit 54.

  The fraud determination unit 54 refers to the lottery result, identifies unused sensors that are not selected by lottery, and monitors the outputs of these unused sensors. Since the non-use sensor does not emit infrared light, the light receiving portion thereof does not detect light, and therefore always outputs a Lo level detection signal. Therefore, when a Hi level detection signal is output from the unused sensor, it can be inferred that some kind of light emitter is placed in front of the unused sensor. Therefore, when the Hi level detection signal is output from the non-use sensor, the fraud determination unit 54 determines that the fraudulent instrument is being used, and executes error processing. In this error processing, the operation signal from the start lever 28 is invalidated to prohibit the progress of the game, and a notification message or notification sound is output from the liquid crystal display 20 or the speaker 22. In addition, the prohibition of the game by error processing is canceled by pressing a reset button (not shown) provided on the back surface of the lower door 14b.

  The operation of the present invention with the above configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the start lever 28 of the slot machine 10 is operated, the sensor switching unit 53 performs a lottery for selecting a sensor (step St1). Then, for example, the upstream sensor 43 and the downstream sensor 45 selected by the lottery are driven, and the lottery result is input to the fraud determination unit 54. The fraud determination unit 54 identifies the upstream sensor 44 and the downstream sensor 46 that are not selected in the lottery as unused sensors based on the lottery result, and monitors the level of the detection signal output from these sensors (step St2). .

  When the medal M is inserted from the medal slot 24, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6E, the medal M first crosses the front side of the upstream sensor 43 while flowing down the inclined passage 38b. Then, it crosses the front of the downstream sensor 45. Thereby, since infrared light is interrupted, the detection signals of the upstream sensor 43 and the downstream sensor 45 sequentially change from the Hi level to the Lo level. As shown in FIG. 7, when the medal M normally flows down the inclined passage 38 b, the detection signal of the upstream sensor 43 changes before the detection signal of the downstream sensor 45. When the detection signal changes in such a pattern, the control unit 50 determines that the medal M has been inserted normally. Then, the number of bets or credits is increased by “1”.

  On the other hand, when the medal clogging occurs in the inclined passage 38b and the medal M flows backward in the inclined passage 38b from the downstream side toward the upstream side, the medal M first crosses the front side of the downstream sensor 45. Next, it crosses the front of the upstream sensor 43. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the detection signal of the downstream sensor 45 changes before the detection signal of the upstream sensor 43. When the detection signal changes in such a pattern, the control unit 50 determines that a medal clogging has occurred, and displays an error message on the liquid crystal display 20.

  As described above, in the slot machine 10, there are four combinations of the upstream sensors 43 and 44 and the downstream sensors 45 and 46. However, in any combination, the distance between the upstream sensor and the downstream sensor in the flow-down direction is always constant at the distance S. Therefore, the level of the detection signal is always the same in the pattern shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. is there. Since only these two output patterns need to be identified, the medal backflow can be detected in the same manner as in the prior art while simplifying the configuration as compared with the conventional one.

  Returning to FIG. 5, when the player is planning to use an unauthorized device, the unauthorized person first inserts the associated unauthorized device through the medal slot 24 and inserts the unauthorized device into the medal detection sensor group 42. Push to the position. Then, the light emitting device of the unauthorized device is blinked to cause the upstream sensors 43 and 44 and the downstream sensors 45 and 46 to detect light. With this light, a high-level detection signal is output from the upstream sensor 44 and the downstream sensor 46, which are unused sensors (step St3). In response to the light received by the unused sensor, the fraud determination unit 54 executes error processing and prohibits the progress of the game (step St4). As a result, cheating using fraudulent equipment is prohibited.

  In addition, when the unauthorized device is directed only to the upstream sensor 43 and the downstream sensor 45 that are being driven, it is not possible to immediately detect the unauthorized activity. However, since the lottery for selecting the sensor is performed every time the start lever 28 is operated, the upstream sensor 43 and the downstream sensor 45 are switched to the unused sensors during the execution of the illegal act. Therefore, even in such a case, fraud can be detected. Similarly, it is possible to detect an act of inserting and removing an unauthorized device. As a result, the present invention can deal with any form of fraud using fraudulent equipment.

  In the above embodiment, each sensor for medal detection has a light projecting portion located below the light receiving portion, and each sensor is arranged so that the light projecting portion is exposed in the inclined passage 38b. On the contrary, the light projecting unit may be positioned above the light receiving unit, and the sensors may be arranged so that the light receiving unit is exposed in the inclined passage 38b.

  In the above embodiment, the reflection type optical sensor is used as the medal detection sensor, but a transmission type optical sensor may be used. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the light projection part and light-receiving part of each sensor were located in a line with the perpendicular direction, you may use the sensor in which the light projection part and the light-receiving part were located in a line with the horizontal direction.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the detection position lottery and the sensor switching are performed in conjunction with the operation of the start lever 28, but the timing of the lottery and the sensor switching is not limited to this. The lottery and the sensor switching may be completed during a non-game state such as at the time of insertion or during a game error.

10 slot machine 38 medal passage 42 medal detection sensor group 43, 44 upstream sensor 45, 46 downstream sensor 43b, 44b, 45b, 46b light receiving unit 50 control unit 53 sensor switching unit 54 fraud determination unit

Claims (2)

A slot machine for controlling a game by detecting whether or not detection light projected so as to cross a medal passage connected to a medal slot is blocked by a medal flowing down the medal passage. ,
Two upstream light receivers that are arranged in a line in a vertical direction orthogonal to the flow direction of the medal, and that receive the detection light;
Two downstream light receivers that receive the detection light, arranged downstream of the upstream light receiver with respect to the flow-down direction, and arranged in the same row with a certain distance from the upstream light receiver;
One of the upstream light receivers and one of the downstream light receivers are randomly selected, and a light receiver switching means for driving the selected light receivers,
Control means for prohibiting a game when a light receiver not selected detects light;
A slot machine characterized by comprising:
  The interval is such that when the boundary between two medals connected in front and rear is positioned between the upstream light receiver and the downstream light receiver, all of the upstream light receiver and the downstream light receiver are the two sheets. 2. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the slot machine is set so as to be exposed from a gap between the medals.

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