JP2016185271A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine which can enhance game property preferably.SOLUTION: In a Pachinko machine, when a game ball shooting handle is operated, a game ball is shot to a game area PE of a game board unit 80 from a game ball shooting mechanism. The game ball shooting handle has a shooting frequency change switch which can change a shooting frequency of a game ball. The shooting frequency of the game ball is set to a first shooting frequency when the shooting frequency change switch is in a non-operation state and a second shooting frequency when the shooting frequency change switch is in a change operation state. A variable winning device 82 which can switch a state between an open state and a close state is provided in the game area PE. The variable winning device 82 is arranged at a position which the game ball reaches the variable winning device 82 in a frequency corresponding to the shooting frequency of the game ball. The variable winning device 82, when the game state is in an open/close execution mode related to a low frequency winning mode, is repeatedly opened in one of a first open frequency and second open frequency.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine.

  Some gaming machines such as pachinko machines are provided with a gaming board in which a gaming area is formed. For example, in a gaming machine in which a winning area is provided in the gaming area, a special ball that is more advantageous to the player than the normal gaming state is obtained by a game ball that is launched based on the player's launch operation winning the winning area. Benefits such as lottery of whether or not to shift to the gaming state and payout of game balls are given to the player (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-190511 A

  However, there is room for improvement with regard to enhancing the gameability of the gaming machine.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances and the like, and an object thereof is to provide a gaming machine capable of suitably improving game playability.

  Hereinafter, means for solving the above problems will be described.

The invention described in claim 1
A launching means for launching a game ball toward the game area;
Variable entry means that is provided in the game area, and that repeatedly transitions between an open state that allows entry of game balls launched by the launch means and a closed state that does not allow entry;
A change operation means capable of changing a firing cycle of a game ball by the launch means by being operated by a player;
It is characterized by having.

  The degree of attention to the game can be preferably improved.

It is a front view which shows the pachinko machine in 1st Embodiment. It is the perspective view which looked at the pachinko machine from the front. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the main structures of a pachinko machine. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the main structures of a pachinko machine. It is a front view which shows the structure of an inner frame. It is a front view which shows the structure of a game board unit. It is the perspective view which looked at the game board unit from the front. It is the perspective view which looked at the game board unit from the back side. It is a rear view which shows the structure of an inner frame. It is a rear view of a pachinko machine. It is a front view which shows a back pack unit. It is a front view of a game ball launching handle. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a pachinko machine. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the content of the various counters used for a success or failure lottery. (A) Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the success / failure table for low probability modes, (b) Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the success / failure table for high probability modes. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating a distribution table. It is a flowchart which shows the timer interruption process performed by MPU of a main controller. It is a flowchart which shows the normal process performed by MPU of a main controller. It is a flowchart which shows game times control processing. It is a flowchart which shows a fluctuation | variation start process. It is a flowchart which shows a game state transfer process. It is a flowchart which shows an opening process. It is a flowchart which shows a variable winning apparatus opening / closing process. It is a flowchart which shows a variable winning device open | release process. It is a flowchart which shows the post-process after closure. It is a flowchart which shows the transfer process at the time of completion | finish of opening-and-closing execution mode. It is a flowchart which shows the effective operation relevant process performed by MPU of an alerting | reporting / production control apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows a game ball | bowl launch control process. It is a figure which shows the winning aspect of a game ball in case the opportunity to transfer to opening-and-closing execution mode is a special loss result. It is a figure which shows the winning aspect of a game ball | bowl when the opportunity to transfer to opening-and-closing execution mode is a short-term probability change jackpot result. It is a figure which shows the winning aspect of a game ball | bowl when the opportunity to transfer to opening-and-closing execution mode is a short-term normal jackpot result. It is a flowchart which shows the post-process after the closure in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows a game ball | bowl launch control process. It is a front view which shows the structure of the game board unit in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows a variable winning device open | release process. It is a flowchart which shows the post-process after closure. It is a flowchart which shows the variable winning device open | release process in 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the post-process after closure. It is a figure which shows the winning aspect of a game ball | bowl when the opportunity to transfer to opening-and-closing execution mode is a short-term normal jackpot result. It is a front view of another game ball launching handle.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a pachinko gaming machine (hereinafter referred to as “pachinko machine”), which is a type of gaming machine, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the pachinko machine 10, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pachinko machine 10 viewed from the front side, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing the main configuration of the pachinko machine 10 in an exploded manner. In FIG. 3, the configuration in the game area in the pachinko machine 10 is omitted for convenience.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko machine 10 includes an outer frame 11 that forms an outer shell of the pachinko machine 10, and a gaming machine main part 12 attached to the outer frame 11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the outer frame 11 is formed by connecting a long frame material to four sides, and is formed so as to form a rectangular frame shape as a whole. By attaching and fixing the outer frame 11 to the island facility, the pachinko machine 10 is installed in the game hall. In the pachinko machine 10, the outer frame 11 is not an essential configuration, and the outer frame 11 may be provided in an island facility or the like of the game hall.

  The gaming machine main part 12 is supported by the outer frame 11 so as to be opened and closed. Specifically, the upper support bracket 17 is fixed to a connection portion between the upper frame portion and the left frame portion in the outer frame 11, and further, a lower portion is connected to the connection portion between the lower frame portion and the left frame portion in the outer frame 11. Side support fittings 18 are provided. The upper support bracket 17 and the lower support bracket 18 form a support mechanism. The support mechanism causes the gaming machine main unit 12 to turn the left side of the pachinko machine 10 in the front view with respect to the outer frame 11. The right side can be turned to the front side of the pachinko machine 10 with the turning tip side (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the gaming machine main part 12 is disposed at the inner frame 13 as a base body, the front door frame 14 disposed in front of the inner frame 13, and the rear of the inner frame 13. The back pack unit 15 is provided. The inner frame 13 of the gaming machine main part 12 is supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the outer frame 11. Specifically, the inner frame 13 can be rotated forward with the left side as the rotation base end side and the right side as the rotation front end side in a front view of the gaming machine.

  A front door frame 14 is rotatably supported by the inner frame 13 and can be rotated forward with the left side as a rotation base end side and the right side as a rotation front end side in a front view of the gaming machine. Further, the back pack unit 15 is rotatably supported on the inner frame 13, and can be rotated rearward with the left side as a rotation base end side and the right side as a rotation front end side in a front view of the gaming machine. Yes.

<Front door frame 14>
Next, the front door frame 14 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the front door frame 14 is mainly composed of a synthetic resin frame body 20 whose outer shape is substantially the same as that of the outer frame 11, and covers almost the entire front surface of the inner frame 13. Yes. A substantially elliptical window portion 21 is formed in the central portion of the frame body 20 so that a substantially entire game area PE described later can be viewed from the front. The window portion 21 is formed by the glass unit 22. The front door frame 14 is closed from the back side.

  The glass unit 22 includes a plurality of glass panels 23 having transparency and a glass holder that holds the glass panels 23. The glass holder is formed with a partition portion for partitioning the holding region of the glass panel 23 in the front-rear direction, and the two glass panels 23 face each other in the front-rear direction with the partition portion interposed therebetween. That is, by securing a predetermined gap between the glass panels 23, the gaming area PE is covered by the glass panels 23 from the front side of the pachinko machine 10 while avoiding interference between the glass panels 23. It is in a state.

  Note that it is not always necessary to unitize both glass panels 23 using a glass holder, and each glass panel 23 may be individually attached to the frame 20. Furthermore, the number of glass panels is arbitrary, and may be one or three or more. However, in view of safety and security improvement, it is preferable to employ a plurality of glass panels and to make the glass panels face each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. Incidentally, it is also possible to employ a synthetic resin panel member having transparency instead of the glass panel.

  Around the glass unit 22 (specifically, the window portion 21), light emitting means such as various lamps are provided. For example, an annular lamp portion 26 incorporating a light emitting means such as an LED is provided along the periphery of the window portion 21. The annular lamp unit 26 is lit or flashed in accordance with a change in the gaming state at the time of a big hit or a predetermined reach. In addition, an error display lamp unit 27 is provided at the center of the annular lamp unit 26 and at the top of the pachinko machine 10 so as to be lit when a failure such as an error occurs. A prize ball lamp unit 28 is provided. In addition, a speaker unit 29 is provided at a position close to the left and right prize ball lamp units 28 to output sound effects, BGM, and the like according to the gaming state (see FIG. 3).

  Below the window portion 21 in the front door frame 14 (frame body 20), an upper bulging portion 31 and a lower bulging portion 32 that bulge toward the front side are arranged side by side. An upper pan 33 that opens upward is provided inside the upper bulging portion 31, and a lower pan 34 that also opens upward is provided inside the lower bulging portion 32 (see FIG. 2). The upper plate 33 has a function of temporarily storing game balls paid out from a payout device described later and guiding them to a game ball launching mechanism described later while aligning them in a line. In addition, the lower tray 34 has a function of storing excess game balls in the upper tray 33 and games that have not reached the game area PE (see FIG. 3) among the game balls launched by the game ball launching mechanism. When the ball is returned to the player, it has a function as a tray for storing the discharged game ball.

  A game ball launching handle 41 is provided on the right side of the lower bulging portion 32 so as to protrude toward the front side. By operating the game ball launch handle 41, a game ball is launched from a game ball launch mechanism described later. The game ball firing speed increases as the operation amount (rotation amount) of the game ball launch handle 41 increases, and the game ball is played when the operation amount is adjusted to a predetermined amount by the player. The region PE is reached. Further, by adjusting the operation amount by the player, it becomes possible to divide game balls into a right route and a left route, which will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a passage forming unit 45 is attached to the back surface of the front door frame 14. The passage forming unit 45 is formed of a synthetic resin and includes a front door side upper tray passage that leads to the upper tray 33 and a front door side lower tray passage that leads to the lower tray 34. In the passage forming unit 45, a receiving port portion that protrudes rearward and is opened upward is formed at the upper corner of the passage forming unit 45. The portion and the entrance portion of the front door side lower dish passage are partitioned. The upstream side of the front door side upper dish path and the front door side lower dish path are connected to a game ball distributing section described later, and the game balls that have entered the front door side upper dish path are guided to the upper plate 33 and are moved to the lower side of the front door. The game ball that has entered the dish passage is guided to the lower dish 34.

  Projecting shafts are provided at the upper end and the lower end of the rotation base end side of the back surface of the front door frame 14. These projecting shafts constitute an assembly mechanism for the inner frame 13.

  Next, the inner frame 13 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of the inner frame 13. In FIG. 5, as in FIG. 3, the configuration in the game area PE of the pachinko machine 10 is omitted for convenience.

<Inner frame 13>
The inner frame 13 is mainly configured by an inner frame base body 50 whose outer shape is substantially rectangular like the outer frame 11. The height dimension of the inner frame base body 50 is set slightly smaller than the height dimension of the outer frame 11. The inner frame base body 50 is arranged close to the upper frame portion of the outer frame 11, and a slight gap is formed between the lower frame portion of the outer frame 11 and the inner frame base body 50. A curtain plate is attached to the outer frame 11 so as to close the gap. The curtain plate is disposed below the inner frame base body 50 (specifically, the lower end portion thereof). When the inner frame 13 is closed with respect to the outer frame 11, the inner frame base body 50 is placed on the curtain plate. It will be listed. A slight clearance may be provided between the curtain plate and the inner frame base body 50 for the purpose of preventing mutual interference.

  Support metal fittings 71 and 72 are attached to the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the rotation base end side (left side in FIG. 5) on the front surface of the inner frame base body 50. Although illustration is omitted, the support fittings 71 and 72 have shaft portions, and a bearing portion provided on the front door frame 14 is inserted into these shaft portions, so that the front door frame with respect to the inner frame 13 is inserted. 14 is rotatably supported.

  A locking device 75 for locking the inner frame 13 and the front door frame 14 is disposed on the rotating front end side (right side in FIG. 5) of the inner frame base body 50. The locking device 75 extends vertically along the right end portion (vertical frame member to be described later) of the inner frame base body 50, and the front door collar member 76 is disposed in a scattered manner in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction). have. In the inner frame base body 50, a slit for projecting to the front side of the inner frame 13 corresponding to each of the front door flange members 76 corresponds to the flange receiving member 49 (see FIG. 3) provided on the back surface of the front door frame 14. It is formed in this way. The front door eaves member 76 protruding through the slits is engaged with the eaves receiving member 49 provided on the front door frame 14 in a one-to-one correspondence with the front door eaves member 76, whereby the front door The frame 14 is locked to the inner frame 13 so that it cannot be opened. The locking device 75 has an inner frame collar member 77 extending to the rear side of the inner frame 13. When these inner frame hook members 77 are hooked on the hook receiving member 19 fixed to the outer frame 11, the gaming machine main part 12 is locked in a closed state with respect to the outer frame 11.

  The inner frame base body 50 (locking device 75) is provided with a cylinder lock 78 for performing an unlocking operation of the locking device 75. The cylinder lock 78 is provided separately from the locking units (each of the hook members 76 and 77, the interlocking hooks and the like) constituting the main part of the locking device 75, and is disposed adjacent to the locking unit. When the key inserted into the keyhole of the cylinder lock 78 is turned to the right (clockwise), the lock of the front door frame 14 on the inner frame 13 is released, and the key inserted into the keyhole of the cylinder lock 78 is turned to the left (counterclockwise). The inner frame 13 is unlocked with respect to the outer frame 11.

  A housing recess 51 for housing the game board unit 80 is formed in the central portion of the inner frame base body 50. The housing recess is recessed to the rear of the gaming machine according to the outer shape of the game board unit 80, and the game board unit 80 is fixed to the housing recess 51 by a manual lock mechanism in a state of being fitted from the front of the gaming machine. A substantially rectangular window hole 52 is formed at the bottom of the housing recess 51, and the rear configuration of the game board unit 80 (a rear block 80 b described later) protrudes behind the inner frame 13 through the window hole 52. . The window hole 52 is almost entirely covered from the front of the gaming machine by the game board unit 80 mounted on the inner frame base body 50.

<Game board unit 80>
Hereinafter, the game board unit 80 (particularly, various configurations arranged in the game area PE of the game board 80a) will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is a front view of the game board unit 80, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the game board unit 80 viewed from the front, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the game board unit 80 viewed from the rear. In FIG. 7, the configuration that can be visually recognized through the game board 80 a is also displayed by a two-dotted line, and is in a state close to an overview when the game board unit 80 is actually viewed. Also. In FIG. 6, the left route is illustrated by a two-dot chain line, and the right route is illustrated by a one-dot chain line.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the game board unit 80 is provided on the back side of the game board 80a formed mainly of a plate material made of a transparent synthetic resin material, and various game parts (variable display described later). Device, control device, movable production mechanism, decorative member capable of emitting light, etc.) are integrated with the back block 80b mounted on the base body 251 (see FIG. 7), and the front portion of the back block 80b is Visible through the game board 80a.

  On the front surface of the game board 80a, the above-described game area PE in which game balls flow down is formed. As already described, the game area PE is covered with the glass unit 22 (specifically, the rear glass panel 23). In the glass unit 22, the gap between the rear glass panel 23 and the front surface of the game board 80a is slightly larger than the diameter of the game ball, that is, the game balls flowing down the game area PE are the same in the game area PE. It is arranged so that it is not lined up back and forth at a point. Thereby, the ball blockage in the game area PE is suppressed. Note that the game board 80a (specifically, a plate) is not limited to being made of synthetic resin, and may be made of wood.

  The game board 80a is formed with a plurality of large and small openings penetrating in its own thickness direction (front-rear direction). Each opening is provided with a general winning port 81, a variable winning device 82, operating ports 83a and 83b, a through gate 84, a sorting device, and the like. When game balls enter the general winning port 81, the variable winning device 82, and the operation ports 83a and 83b, the game balls are detected by detection sensors (not shown) provided corresponding to the respective winning portions, and the detection results thereof. Based on the above, a predetermined number of award balls (payout of game balls) and the like are given to the player. In addition, an out port 89 is provided at the lowermost part of the game board 80a, and game balls that have not entered various ball entering parts and the like are discharged from the game area PE through the out port 89. In the following description, in order to clearly distinguish the game ball from entering the out port 89, the game ball entering the general winning port 81, the variable winning device 82, and the operation ports 83a and 83b is also referred to as "winning". Express.

  In addition, in the game board 80a, a number of nails are planted in order to appropriately disperse and adjust the flow path of the game ball, and various members (functions) such as a windmill are arranged. The flow path of the game ball is differentiated by various configurations such as nails and windmills, and is adjusted so that the winning to the above-described general winning opening 81 and the like occurs with an appropriate probability.

  A central opening 85 is formed at the center of the gaming board 80a, and the variable display unit 252 and the like belonging to the back block 80b is located behind the central opening 85, and the central opening 85 is passed through the central opening 85 from the front of the gaming machine. The variable display unit 252 and the like are visible.

  Operating ports 83a and 83b, a through gate 84, and the like are disposed around the central opening 85. The operation ports 83a and 83b are configured by a lower operation port 83a disposed below the variable display unit 252, and a right operation port 83b disposed on the right side of the variable display unit 252, and particularly the right operation. The mouth (lottery opportunity entrance ball portion) 83b is provided with an openable entrance assist device (entrance assist means) or an electric accessory 91 as an open / close member (open / close means). The electric accessory 91 includes a movable piece and a solenoid-type drive unit that drives the movable piece, and is in an open state (auxiliary state) that enables or facilitates entry into the right working port 83b. It is possible to switch to a closed state (non-auxiliary state) where entry is impossible or difficult.

  The through gate 84 is arranged on the upstream side of the right operating port 83b (specifically, the side of the variable display unit 252: the right route), and the lottery is triggered by the passage of the through ball 84 of the game ball as a trigger. In the case of winning, the electric accessory 91 is switched from the closed state to the open state for a predetermined time.

  When a ball enters the lower operation port 83a, three game balls are paid out. When a ball enters the right operation port 83b, four game balls are paid out. However, the number of game balls to be paid out is not limited to the above. However, in order to increase the advantage of the right working port 83b with respect to the lower working port 83a, it is preferable to set the number of payouts related to the right working port 83b to be larger than the number of payouts related to the lower working port 83a.

  A variable winning device (special winning device or special winning means) 82 has a large winning opening through which a game ball can pass, and a shutter as an opening / closing member (opening / closing means) for opening and closing the special winning opening. A member 88 is provided. The shutter member 88 can be switched between an open state (allowable state) in which a game ball can be entered or allowed to enter and a closed state (blocked state) in which the entrance of the game ball is impossible or difficult. The shutter member 88 is connected to a variable prize driving unit 82a (specifically, a solenoid or the like) provided on the back side of the game board 80a. The shutter member 88 is normally kept closed and is opened and closed in an internal lottery. When winning the mode (opening / closing execution state), you can switch to the open state (when you win a special game state that is more advantageous to the player than the normal game state) .

  The opening / closing execution mode is a mode to be shifted to when a big win or a special off-win is made. As an opening mode of the variable winning device 82 in the opening / closing execution mode, for example, a predetermined time (for example, 30 sec or 0.1 sec) or a predetermined number (for example, 10) winnings is defined as one round, and a plurality of rounds (for example, 16 rounds). There is a mode in which the shutter member 88 is repeatedly opened with the upper limit as the upper limit.

  The variable winning device 82 indicates that the game balls can reach when the game balls are fired toward the right route, and that the game balls cannot reach when the game balls are fired toward the left route. (Specifically, above the variable display unit 252).

  Next, the variable display unit 252 will be supplementarily described. The variable display unit 252 has a symbol display device 253 that variably displays symbols (variable display) using a winning at the operation ports 83a and 83b as a trigger. The symbol display device 253 is configured as a liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal display, and the display content is controlled by a display control device described later. On the display screen 253a of the symbol display device 253, for example, symbols are displayed side by side on the left, middle, and right, and these symbols are variably displayed as they are scrolled up and down. When a big win is won, a predetermined combination of symbols is stopped and displayed on a preset active line, and the mode is shifted to the opening / closing execution mode (special game state or big win). Note that the symbol display device 253 is not necessarily a liquid crystal display device, and may be a dot matrix or 7-segment display device.

  A center frame 95 is provided on the game board 80 a so as to surround the central opening 85. The center frame 95 is fixed to the game board 80a (specifically, a plate body) from the front side thereof, and in such a fixed state, the center frame 95 is erected from the front surface of the game board 80a. The clearance dimension between 95 and the glass unit 22 is configured to be smaller than the diameter dimension of the game ball. This prevents the game ball flowing down the game area PE from colliding with the symbol display device 253, and the flow path of the game ball flowing down the game area PE moves the variable display unit 252 (specifically, the center frame 95) to the right. The route is roughly divided into the right route detouring from the left and the left route detouring from the left.

  Note that the variable winning device 82, the right operation port 83b, and the through gate 84 described above are arranged on the right route, and the game balls flowing down the left route are the variable winning device 82, the right operation port 83b, and the through gate 84. Winning a prize is avoided. On the other hand, the game ball flowing down the right route is prevented from winning the lower operation port 83a. For this reason, when the electric accessory 91 of the right working port 83b is in the high frequency support mode or in the opening / closing execution mode, the game is advantageously advanced by firing the game ball to the right route. When the low-frequency support mode is enabled, the game can be advantageously advanced by firing a game ball to the left route. That is, the player can advantageously advance the game by selecting the flow path of the game ball from the right route / left route according to the game situation.

  On the upper surface of the frame portion constituting the lower portion of the center frame 95, a stage portion is formed on which the game ball can roll left and right. The game balls that have flowed in from the inflow ports formed in the left and right frame portions of the center frame 95 are discharged onto the stage portion through a warp passage formed in the center frame 95. The stage portion is configured such that the game ball that has reached the stage portion is relatively easy to flow into the lower operation port 83a, and the player's attention to the movement of the game ball on the stage portion is improved. Contributing to

  Further, a first reserved lamp portion 98a and a second reserved lamp portion 98b are provided on the front surface of the frame portion constituting the lower portion of the center frame 95. The first holding lamp portion 98a on the left side corresponds to the lower operating port 83a, and the number of times that the game ball has passed through the lower operating port 83a is held up to 4 times. It is displayed. The second hold lamp portion 98b on the right side corresponds to the right operation port 83b, and the number of times that the game ball has passed through the right operation port 83b is held up to a maximum of four times. Is displayed.

  The operation ports 83a and 83b are arranged at positions close to the central opening 85 (variable display unit 252). Since it is possible to shift to the special game state by using a winning at the operation ports 83a and 83b as a trigger, the player pays attention to whether or not the operation ports 83a and 83b are won, and grasps whether or not to shift to the special game state. Therefore, it is considered that the symbol display device 253 is noticed. Providing the operation ports 83a and 83b closer to the variable display unit 252 is a device for concentrating a portion that the player wants to focus on around the variable display unit 252.

  A game area partition member 99 that partitions the game area PE together with the guide rail 100 described later is disposed at the right end of the game board 80a (the rotation tip of the game board unit 80 described later). The game area partition member 99 is provided not only with the main display unit 87 but also with a function of forming a ball path for a game ball that flows down the right route together with the center frame 95.

  A stopper member 86 on which a game ball that flies along the guide rail 100 collides is disposed at a portion (upstream portion of the right route) positioned on the upstream side of the ball passage in the right route. The stopper member 86 is a buffer member, and the game ball colliding with the stopper member 86 is weakened and then flows into the right route through the inlet portion. In other words, the stopper member 86 is provided with a depressing function that weakens the momentum of the game ball that has collided, and the stopper member 86 falls toward the variable winning device 82 in a state where the momentum is weakened. The shutter member 88 of the variable winning device 82 is in a closed state, so that the right route entrance portion where the stopper member 86 is provided and the ball path composed of the center frame 95 and the game area partition member 99 are disposed. The bottom of the horizontally long communication passage CP is formed. For this reason, the game ball flowing down the right route wins the variable winning device 82 when the shutter member 88 is open, and crosses the variable winning device 82 toward the right operation port 83b when the shutter member is closed. Will flow down.

  In a region where the game ball colliding with the stopper member 86 falls toward the variable winning device 82, no nail or windmill is arranged, and when the shutter member 88 is open, the game ball collides with the stopper member 86. After that, the variable winning device 82 is won without touching a nail or a windmill. Here, in order for the game ball to collide with the stopper member 86, it is necessary to hold the operation amount of the game ball launch handle 41 at a predetermined level or more, and the difference in the launch speed of the game ball can be suppressed. For this reason, the period required for the launched game ball to move along the guide rail 100 and collide with the stopper member 86 tends to be substantially constant. Further, as described above, the game ball that has collided with the stopper member 86 reaches the variable winning device 82 without coming into contact with the nail, the windmill, or the like, so that it is necessary for the launched game ball to reach the variable winning device 82. The arrival time tends to be almost constant. For this reason, when a game ball is fired at a predetermined cycle, the game ball reaches the variable winning device 82 at substantially the same cycle as the firing cycle.

  Next, the main display unit 87 will be supplementarily described. The main display unit 87 is embedded in the game area partition member 99, and a part of the main display unit 87 is arranged to face the glass unit 22. A main display portion on which a predetermined pattern or the like is displayed is provided in the facing portion. The main display unit 87 is electrically connected to a main controller described later, and the display content of the main display unit is controlled by the main controller.

  The main display unit displays a lottery result based on a winning to the lower working port 83a, and a right working port displays a lottery result based on a winning to the right working port 83b. And a display unit. In the lower working port display section, the display of the variation of the pattern is performed with the winning of the lower working port 83a as a trigger, and as a result of stopping the variation display, the internal lottery performed based on the winning of the lower working port 83a is performed. The result is specified. When the result of the internal lottery based on the winning to the lower working port 83a is a winning result corresponding to the shift to the opening / closing execution mode, the variable display is stopped on the lower working port display unit, and the predetermined result is the stop result. After the pattern is displayed, the mode is shifted to the opening / closing execution mode.

  In the lower working port display section, a variation display of the picture is performed with a winning at the right working port 83b as a trigger, and as a result of stopping the variation display, an internal lottery performed based on the winning at the right working port 83b is performed. The result is specified. When the result of the internal lottery based on the winning to the right working port 83b is a winning result corresponding to the jackpot, the change display is stopped on the display unit for the right working port, and a predetermined pattern is displayed as the stop result. After that, the mode is shifted to the opening / closing execution mode according to the result.

  Here, on the basis of winning in any one of the operation ports 83a and 83b, the display of variation is started at the corresponding operation port display unit, until a predetermined stop result is displayed and the variation display is stopped. It corresponds to one time. However, the number of game times is not limited to the above-mentioned contents. For example, a single display area is provided, and even if a winning to any of the operation ports 83a and 83b occurs, the single game area In the configuration in which the variable display is performed in the display area, the variable display is started in the single display area, and the above-mentioned variable display is stopped once in a state where a predetermined stop result is displayed. It is also possible.

  There are various patterns that are stopped and displayed on the working port display unit in the present embodiment, and it is possible to determine which type of jackpot, which will be described later, has been won by visually checking the pattern. It has become difficult. However, such a device is not an indispensable configuration, and it is also possible to reduce the types of pictures that are stopped and displayed so that the type of jackpot can be easily determined.

  In addition to the two display units, the main display unit 87 has a through gate display unit for displaying a lottery result based on a winning to the through gate 84. In the through gate display unit, the display of the variation of the picture is performed with the winning of the through gate 84 as a trigger, and the result of the internal lottery performed based on the winning of the through gate 84 is clearly shown as the result of stopping the variation display. Is done. If the result of the internal lottery based on the winning to the through gate 84 is a winning result corresponding to the transition to the open state, a predetermined stop result is displayed on the through gate display unit, and the change display is displayed. After being stopped, the state shifts to the electric power open state. In the electric combination open state, the electric combination 91 provided in the right operation port 83b is opened in a predetermined manner.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the number of times that the game ball has passed through the through gate 84 is held up to a maximum of 4 times, but the reserved number is displayed on the main display unit of the main display unit 87. A holding number display section is provided.

  About the main display part explained in full detail above, while being visible from the front of the pachinko machine 10 through the glass unit 22 of the front door frame 14, it is avoided that the game ball moves in front of these various display parts. Therefore, the visibility is ensured.

  Referring to FIG. 5 again, the configuration of the inner frame 13 will be described. Below the game board unit 80 in the inner frame base body 50, a game ball is launched into the game area PE based on the operation of the game ball launch handle 41. A game ball launching mechanism 110 is provided.

(Game Ball Launching Mechanism 110)
The game ball launching mechanism 110 includes a solenoid 111 that launches a game ball placed at a predetermined launch standby position, a launch rail 112 that defines the launch direction of the game ball launched by the solenoid 111, and a game at the launch standby position. A ball feeding device 113 for supplying a ball and a base plate 114 on which the various configurations 111 to 113 are mounted are provided as main components, and the base plate 114 is fixed to the inner frame base body 50, thereby The inner frame base body 50 is integrated.

  The firing rail 112 is fixed to the base plate 114 in an inclined state so as to be inclined upward toward the game board 80a. The firing rail 112 is formed with a groove portion having a substantially V-shaped cross section, and the front and rear positions of the game ball are defined by fitting the game ball into the groove portion.

  A ball stopper that holds the game ball supplied from the ball feeding device 113 at the above-described firing standby position is disposed at a position closer to the downstream end portion (that is, the lower end portion) of the firing rail 112. The solenoid 111 is arranged at a position further downstream than the ball stopper.

  The solenoid 111 is electrically connected to a power source / launch control device described later. Based on the output of the electrical signal from the power supply / launch control device, the output shaft of the solenoid 111 reciprocates in the expansion / contraction direction, so that the game ball placed at the launch standby position is on the game board 80a side, more specifically, the game. It is driven toward the guide rail 100 mounted on the board 80a.

  The guide rail 100 partitions the game area PE together with the game area partition member 99 fixed to the game board 80a (specifically, the front surface of the plate) so that the outer shape of the game area PE is substantially circular. In addition, the guide rail 100 includes an inner rail 101 and an outer rail 102 that are arranged so as to face each other with a gap larger than the diameter of the game ball, and a single guide passage 103 is formed by both the rails 101 and 102. Has been. The guide passage 103 includes an inlet portion 104 that is opened to the tip side (obliquely downward) of the firing rail 112, and an outlet portion 105 that is located above the gaming area PE. The game ball fired based on the operation of the solenoid 111 is guided to the game area PE by moving in the order of the firing rail 112 → the guide rail 100 (the entrance portion 104 → the exit portion 105). In the game board 80a, on the front side of the exit portion 105, specifically, in the vicinity of the front end of the inner rail 101, a reversal prevention member 106 for preventing the reversal of the game ball reaching the game area PE into the guide passage 103 is attached. Thus, it is possible to prevent the subsequent launch of the game ball from being hindered by the game ball that has reached the game area PE first.

  Each of the rails 101 and 102 constituting the guide rail 100 has an arc shape centered at a substantially central portion of the game area PE. For this reason, the game ball passing through the guide passage 103 is likely to move (slide or roll) along the outer rail 102, that is, in contact with the outer rail 102 due to the centrifugal force generated by itself. That is, when a game ball is launched so as to be delivered to the game area PE, the area along the outer rail 102 in the guide passage 103 substantially constitutes a pass area (passage path) through which the game ball passes. However, the area along the inner rail 101 is an area through which the game ball does not pass.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the guide rail 100 and the launch rail 112 are arranged so that the entrance portion 104 of the guide rail 100 and the tip portion of the launch rail 112 face each other diagonally across the lower edge of the game board 80a. Has been. That is, both the rails 100 and 112 are arranged such that the entrance portion 104 of the guide rail 100 and the tip portion of the firing rail 112 are shifted left and right in the vicinity of the lower end edge of the game board 80a. Thus, a gap of a predetermined interval is formed between the entrance portion 104 of the guide rail 100 and the firing rail 112 while bringing both rails 100 and 112 close to the lower end edge of the game board 80a.

  A foul ball passage is disposed below the gap formed in this way. The foul ball path is formed integrally with the path forming unit 45 of the front door frame 14. If the game balls launched from the game ball launching mechanism 110 do not reach the game area PE and return to the inside of the guide passage 103 as foul balls, the foul balls enter the foul ball passage through the gap. Become. The foul ball path leads to the front door side lower dish path, and the game balls that have entered the foul ball path are discharged to the lower dish 34 shown in FIG. This suppresses interference between the foul ball and the next game ball to be launched.

  A rail cover 107 is provided at the left end of the game board 80a so as to cover the outer rail 102 from the side. The game board unit 80 is often handled as a single unit during manufacturing or maintenance work, and at this time, the outer rail 102 may collide with a game table or the like. The rail cover 107 is a member mounted in view of such circumstances, and is provided with a protective function for preventing the outer rail 102 from being deformed due to the above factors or the like.

  A through-hole penetrating the inner frame base body 50 in the front-rear direction is formed on the left side of the firing rail 112 in the inner frame base body 50 (specifically, the side supporting the front door frame 14). A passage forming member 121 is disposed on the side. The passage forming member 121 is screwed to the inner frame base body 50 and has a main body side upper dish path 122 and a main body side lower dish path 123. The upstream side of the main body side upper dish passage 122 and the main body side lower dish passage 123 communicates with a game ball distributing section described later. In addition, a receiving portion of a passage forming unit attached to the front door frame 14 enters below the passage forming member 121, and a front door side upper plate passage is disposed below the main body side upper plate passage 122, A front door side upper dish passage is disposed below the main body side lower dish passage 123.

  An opening / closing member 124 for opening and closing the main body side upper dish path 122 and the main body side lower dish path 123 is attached below the passage forming member 121 in the inner frame base body 50. The opening / closing member 124 is urged to a front position that closes the main body side upper dish passage 122 and the main body side lower dish passage 123. When the front door frame 14 is opened, each opening / closing member 124 is urged by this urging force. By being in the closed state, falling off of the game balls from the passages 122 and 123 is avoided. On the other hand, in a state where the front door frame 14 is closed, the opening / closing member 124 is pushed open against the biasing force by the receiving portion provided in the passage forming unit 45 of the front door frame 14. In this state, the main body side upper dish path 122 and the front door side upper dish path communicate with each other, and the main body side lower dish path 123 and the front door side lower dish path communicate with each other.

  Next, the back configuration of the inner frame 13 (the inner frame base body 50 and the game board unit 80) will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a rear view of the inner frame 13.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a bearing fitting 132 is attached to the rotation base end side (the right side in FIG. 9) on the back surface of the inner frame base body 50. A bearing portion 133 is formed on the bearing bracket 132 so as to be separated from each other in the vertical direction, and the back pack unit 15 is rotatably attached to the inner frame 13 by these bearing portions 133. A plurality of fixing levers 134 are provided on the back surface of the inner frame base body 50 for fixing the back pack unit 15 to the inner frame base body 50 in a closed state.

  As already described, the bottom portion of the housing recess (game board housing portion) 51 in the inner frame base body 50 penetrates in the thickness direction of the inner frame base body 50 and is opened to the back side of the inner frame base body 50. A window hole 52 is formed, and the window hole 52 is covered from the front side of the inner frame 13 by the game board unit 80 housed in the housing recess 51. Various components such as a control device are mounted on the back of the game board unit 80 (rear block 80 b), and these various components are exposed to the back side of the inner frame 13 through the window holes 52. Here, the configuration of the back surface of the game board unit 80 will be described.

  As described above, the back block 80b is attached to the back of the game board 80a. The back block 80b has a substantially box-shaped base body 251 opened to the game board 80a side, and the base board 251 is fixed to the back of the game board 80a, so that the game board 80a and the back block 80b are fixed. And are integrated.

  The front side of the base body 251 is an arrangement area for a movable production mechanism, a decorative member capable of emitting light, and the like, and the back side thereof is a control device for controlling these various components and the variable display unit 252 (design display device). 253).

  More specifically, a part of the base body 251 protrudes toward the back side of the inner frame base body 50, and the symbol display device 253 (see FIG. 6) described above with respect to the protruding portion, and the symbol display device. A display control device for driving 253 is attached. The symbol display device 253 and the display control device are arranged so that the symbol display device is on the front side and the display control device is on the rear side in the front-rear direction (thickness direction of the inner frame base body 50). Furthermore, a notification / production control device 140 is mounted on the back surface of the base body 251 so as to be positioned behind the display control device.

  The notification / production control device 140 includes a notification / production control board that controls sound output, lamp display, and control of the display control device in accordance with instructions from the main control device described later. It is configured to be accommodated in a substrate box 141 made of a resin material or the like.

  A main controller unit 160 is provided below the notification / production control device 140 so as to cover the base body 96 from behind. The main controller unit 160 includes a synthetic resin mounting base 161 fixed to the back of the game board unit 80 (specifically, the back block 80b), and a main control unit 162 mounted on the mounting base 161. Yes. The main controller 162 includes a main control board having a function (main control circuit) that controls the main control of the game and a function (power failure monitoring circuit) that monitors the power source, and the main control board is made of a transparent resin material. It is configured to be accommodated in a substrate box 163 made of, for example.

  The board box 163 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box base (front case body) and a box cover (back case body) that covers an opening of the box base. The box base and the box cover are connected so as not to be unsealed by a box sealing portion 164 as sealing means, whereby the substrate box 163 is sealed. A plurality of box sealing portions 164 are provided on the short side portion of the substrate box 163, and at least one of them is used for sealing processing.

  Any configuration can be applied to the box sealing portion 164 as long as the box base and the box cover are coupled so as not to be opened. However, by inserting a locking pin into the locking hole that forms the box sealing portion 164, the box sealing portion 164 can be applied. The base and the box cover are coupled so as not to be opened. The sealing process by the box sealing unit 164 prevents unauthorized opening after the sealing, and makes it possible to detect such a situation early and easily even if the unauthorized opening is performed. Even after opening, the sealing process can be performed again. That is, the sealing process is performed by inserting a locking pin into at least one locking hole portion among the plurality of box sealing portions 164. When the substrate box 163 is opened, such as when a failure occurs in the accommodated main control board or when the main control board is inspected, a connecting portion between the box sealing portion into which the locking pin is inserted and the substrate box 163 main body. Disconnect. As a result, the box base and the box cover of the substrate box 163 are separated, and the internal main control substrate can be taken out. Thereafter, when the sealing process is performed again, a locking pin is inserted into another locking hole. If the history of opening the substrate box 163 is left in the substrate box 163, it can be easily found that the unauthorized opening has been performed by looking at the substrate box 163.

  The board box 163 and the mounting base 161 are connected by a base seal part 165 so that they cannot be opened. Specifically, the pedestal sealing portion 165 has a locking hole portion and a locking pin similarly to the box sealing portion 164, and the locking pin is inserted into the locking hole portion so that the board box 163 and The mounting base 161 is coupled so as not to be separable. This makes it easier to grasp the fact that the substrate box 163 has been illegally removed.

  A portion of the front surface of the base body 251 facing the lower back of the game board 80a corresponds to the game board openings of the general winning port 81, the variable winning device 82, and the operating ports 83a and 83b and on the downstream side. A collection passage (not shown) that collects in one place is formed. Thereby, all the game balls won in the general winning opening 81 etc. are gathered below the game board unit 80 through the collection passage. That is, the base body 251 is provided with a function of collecting game balls won in various winning ports.

  A discharge passage, which will be described later, is arranged below the game board unit 80, and the game balls gathered below the game board unit 80 by the collection passage are led out into the discharge passage. Similarly, the out port 89 leads to the discharge passage, and a game ball that has not won any winning port is led out into the discharge passage through the out port 89.

  In addition, the base body 251 constituting the back block 80b includes a general winning port detection sensor for detecting a game ball won in the general winning port 81, and an operating port 83a as the detection sensors for the respective winning portions. , 83b and a detection sensor for an operating port that detects a game ball that has entered the game ball, and a winning detection mechanism is constituted by these various detection sensors. These various detection sensors are electrically connected to the main controller 162, and detection information (detection signals) is output from the respective detection sensors to the main controller 162.

  Next, the back pack unit 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 is a rear view of the pachinko machine 10, and FIG. 11 is a front view of the back pack unit 15.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the inner frame 13 is covered from behind by the back pack unit 15. The back pack unit 15 includes a back pack 201 as a main body of the back pack unit 15, and a payout mechanism unit 202, a discharge passage board, and a control device assembly unit 204 are attached to the back pack 201. .

  The back pack 201 is formed of a synthetic resin having transparency, and as shown in FIG. 11, a base portion 211 to which the payout mechanism portion 202 and the like are attached, and a protective cover portion that protrudes rearward from the pachinko machine 10 and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. 212. The protective cover part 212 has a shape in which the left and right side surfaces and the upper surface are closed and only the lower surface is opened, and has a size sufficient to surround at least the variable display unit 252 (see FIG. 10).

  The base part 211 is provided with an external output terminal plate 213. The external output terminal plate 213 is provided with various output terminals, and various signals are output to the management control device (hall computer) on the game hall through these output terminals. As shown in FIG. 11, the base portion 211 is provided with a pair of upper and lower retaining pins 214 at the right end when viewed from the rear of the pachinko machine 10, and the bearings provided on the inner frame 13 are the bearings. The back pack unit 15 is supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the inner frame 13 by being inserted through the portion 133. The base portion 211 is formed with a plurality of insertion portions through which the fixing levers 134 provided on the inner frame 13 are inserted, and the base portion 211 is contacted from the rear in a state where the fixing levers 134 are inserted through the insertion portions. The back pack unit 15 is fixed to the inner frame 13 by contact.

  In the base portion 211, a payout mechanism portion 202 is disposed so as to bypass the protective cover portion 212. The payout mechanism 202 is provided with a tank 221 that is arranged at the top of the back pack 201 and that opens upward, and game balls supplied from the island facilities of the game hall are sequentially replenished to the tank 221. The A tank rail 222 that is gently inclined toward the downstream side is connected to the side of the tank 221, and a case rail 223 that extends in the vertical direction is connected to the downstream side of the tank rail 222. A payout device 224 is provided at the most downstream portion of the case rail 223. The game balls paid out from the payout device 224 are supplied to the game ball distribution unit 225 provided in the base portion 211 of the back pack 201 through a payout passage (not shown) provided on the downstream side of the payout device 224.

  The game ball distribution unit 225 has a function of distributing the game balls paid out from the payout device 224 to any one of the upper plate 33, the lower plate 34, and a discharge passage described later, and the inner opening is the main body described above. It is formed so that it communicates with the upper plate 33 through the side upper plate passage 122 and the front door side upper plate passage, and the outer opening communicates with the lower plate 34 through the main body side lower plate passage 123 and the front door side lower plate passage. Has been.

  At the lower end portion of the base portion 211, the discharge passage board and the control device collective unit 204 are attached so as to sandwich the lower end portion in the front and rear direction. In the discharge passage board, a discharge passage opened rearward is formed on a surface facing the control device assembly unit 204, and an open portion of the discharge passage is closed by the control device assembly unit 204. The discharge passage is formed so as to discharge the game ball to the island facility or the like of the game hall, and the game ball led to the discharge passage from the recovery passage described above passes through the discharge passage to the outside of the pachinko machine 10. Discharged.

  The control device assembly unit 204 has a horizontally long mounting base 241, and a payout control device 242 and a power supply / launch control device 243 are mounted on the mounting base 241. The payout control device 242 and the power supply / launch control device 243 are arranged so as to overlap each other so that the payout control device 242 is behind the pachinko machine 10.

  In the payout control device 242, a payout control board for controlling the payout device 224 is accommodated in the board box 244, and a state return switch 245 provided on the payout control board projects out of the board box 244. For example, when the state return switch 245 is pressed when a payout error occurs, such as a ball jam in the payout device 224, the ball jam is eliminated.

  The power / fire control device 243 has a power / fire control board accommodated in a board box 246. A predetermined power source required by various control devices and the like is generated and output by the power source / launch control board, and further, control of launching of the game ball accompanying the operation of the game ball launch handle 41 by the player is performed. Specifically, drive control of the solenoid 111 constituting the game ball launching mechanism 110 and drive control of the ball feeding device 113 are executed.

  Further, the power source / launch control device 243 is provided with a power switch 247. By operating the power switch 247, the power of the pachinko machine 10 can be switched to the on state (on state) or the shut off state (off state).

  Here, this pachinko machine 10 has a function for storing various data, and even if a power failure occurs, it retains the state at the time of the power failure and returns to the state at the time of the power failure at the time of recovery from the power failure. It can be done. For example, when the power supply is shut down by a normal procedure as in the case of a game hall being closed, the state before the shutdown is stored and held. On the other hand, when the power is turned on while pressing the RAM erase switch 166 provided in the main controller 162, the RAM data is initialized.

  These various switches can be operated from the front side of the gaming machine by opening the gaming machine main part 12 (inner frame 13) and exposing the back side of the inner frame 13. On the other hand, when the opening of the gaming machine main part 12 is restricted by the locking device 75, these various switches cannot be operated from the front side of the gaming machine. In other words, the various switches are difficult to operate when the gaming machine main part 12 is closed, and are operated from the front side of the gaming machine by a person who does not own the key for the locking device 75 (for example, a fraudster). Making it difficult.

<Game ball launch handle 41>
Next, the game ball launch handle 41 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a front view showing the game ball launch handle 41. FIG. 12 (a) shows the non-operating state of the game ball launch handle 41, and FIG. 12 (b) shows the launch operation state of the game ball launch handle 41.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the game ball launching handle 41 includes a handle main body 301 extending forward from the front door frame 14, and a rotation operation member provided to be rotatable with respect to the handle main body 301. 302. The rotation operation member 302 is formed in an annular shape as a whole and extends along the outer peripheral surface of the handle body 301. In this case, the rotation axis of the rotation operation member 302 extends in the extending direction of the handle main body 301, and the game ball launching handle 41 is not moved by the rotation of the rotation operation member 302 relative to the handle main body 301. It is possible to shift between an operation state (OFF state) and a firing operation state (ON state). When the game ball launch handle 41 is in the launch operation state, the game ball launch mechanism 110 launches the game ball, and when it is in the non-operation state, the game ball is not launched.

  The rotation operation member 302 has a plurality of finger hooking operation portions 303 that allow a player to hook a finger. The finger-hanging operation parts 303 are protrusions that protrude outward in the radial direction of the rotation operation member 302, and are arranged in a plurality at predetermined intervals in the rotation direction of the rotation operation member 302. The game ball launching handle 41 shifts from the non-operating state to the firing operating state when the turning operation member 302 is turned in a predetermined direction (for example, clockwise) against the urging force of the urging member. ing. The finger-hanging operation unit 303 has a hooking surface 303a on which a player's finger is hooked and a non-hooking surface 303b opposite to the hooking surface 303a. The operation member 302 has a side surface facing the rotation direction.

  The game ball launching handle 41 has a firing stop switch 305 that forcibly stops the launching of the game ball from the game ball launching mechanism 110. The firing stop switch 305 is provided on the handle main body 301, and is moved from a non-operation state (OFF state) to a stop operation state (ON state) when pressed, and is not operated when the pressing operation is released. Return to the state. When the firing stop switch 305 is shifted to the stop operation state, the game ball launching mechanism 110 stops launching the game ball even when the game ball launch handle 41 is in the launch operation state. The firing stop switch 305 is disposed closer to the front door frame 14 than the rotation operation member 302 in the extending direction of the handle body 301, and protrudes outward in the radial direction of the rotation operation member 302.

  When the game ball launch handle 41 is in the launch operation state, the game ball launch mechanism 110 is configured to repeatedly launch the game ball at a predetermined cycle, and the game ball launch handle 41 changes the launch cycle of the game ball. A possible firing cycle change switch 306 is provided. The firing cycle change switch 306 is provided on the rotation operation member 302, and is changed from a non-operation state (OFF state) to a change operation state (ON state) by being pressed, so that the pressing operation is released. To return to the non-operating state. The game ball is fired at a first firing cycle when the firing cycle change switch 306 is in a non-operating state, and at a second firing cycle longer than the first firing cycle when in a changing operation state. For example, when the first firing period is 0.6 sec, 100 game balls are fired per minute, and when the second firing period is 1.0 sec, 60 game balls per minute. Is fired. The second firing cycle is set to a length that is not an integral multiple of the first firing cycle.

  The firing cycle change switch 306 protrudes outward in the radial direction of the rotation operation member 302, and is arranged side by side on the finger hooking operation unit 303 in the rotation direction of the rotation operation member 302. Further, the firing cycle change switch 306 extends in the rotational direction of the rotation operation member 302 from the non-hooking surface 303b of one finger engagement operation unit 303, and is outside the finger engagement operation unit 303 in the radial direction of the rotation operation member 302. It does not protrude. Here, when the player rotates or holds the rotation operation member 302 against the urging force of the urging member, the player hooks the finger on the catching surface 303 a of the rotation operation member 302. For this reason, it is difficult to unintentionally press the firing cycle change switch 306.

  The firing period change switch 306 is provided for the finger hooking operation unit 303 arranged at an intermediate position among the plurality of finger hooking operation units 303. For this reason, the player operates the firing cycle change switch 306 with the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger when operating the game ball launch handle 41 with the right hand. Here, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the game ball launch handle 41 is in the launch operation state, the launch cycle change switch 306 is displaced together with the rotation operation member 302, so that the player can play the game ball launch handle 41. It is easy to operate the firing cycle change switch 306 while keeping the firing operation state.

<Electric configuration of pachinko machine 10>
Next, the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 10 will be described with reference to the block of FIG.

  An MPU 402 is mounted on a main control board 401 provided in the main controller 162. The MPU 402 is a ROM 403 storing various control programs executed by the MPU 402 and fixed value data, and a memory for temporarily storing various data when executing the control program stored in the ROM 403. The RAM 404 is an element incorporating an interrupt circuit, a timer circuit, a data input / output circuit, various counter circuits as a random number generator, and the like. Note that a part of the functions of the MPU 402, for example, the function of the ROM 403 and the function of the RAM 404 may be provided as separate elements.

  The MPU 402 is provided with an input port and an output port. The input side of the MPU 402 is connected to a power failure monitoring board 405 provided in the main controller 162, a payout controller 242 and various detection sensors. The power failure monitoring board 405 is connected to a power source / launch control device 243, and power is supplied to the MPU 402 via the power failure monitoring board 405.

  As a part of various detection sensors, a detection sensor 391a for detecting a winning at the general winning opening 81, a detection sensor 391b for detecting a winning at the variable winning device 82, a detection sensor 391c for detecting a winning at the lower operation opening 83a, A detection sensor 391d for detecting a winning at the right operating port 83b and a detection sensor 391e for detecting a winning at the through gate 84 are connected, and the MPU 402 of the main controller 162 determines a winning determination (winning) at each winning portion. Ball determination) is performed. In addition, the MPU 402 executes a lottery occurrence lottery based on winning at the lower operating port 83a and the right operating port 83b, and executes a support generating lottery based on winning at the through gate 84.

  On the output side of the MPU 402, a power failure monitoring board 405, a payout control device 242 and a notification / effect control device 140 are connected. For example, a payout ball command is output to the payout control device 242 based on a winning determination result to the winning-corresponding winning portion such as the operation ports 83a and 83b. In this case, when outputting the prize ball command, the command information storage area 425 of the ROM 403 is referred to. When a winning to the general winning opening 81 is specified, a winning ball command corresponding to paying out 10 gaming balls is output, and when a winning to the variable winning device 82 is specified, 15 gaming balls are output. When a winning ball command corresponding to the payout of the game is output and a winning to the lower operation port 83a is specified, a winning ball command corresponding to the payout of the three game balls is output, and a winning to the right operation port 83b is performed. When specified, a prize ball command corresponding to the payout of four game balls is output.

  Various commands such as a change command, a type command, a change end command, an opening command, and an ending command are output from the main control device 162 to the notification / production control device 140. In this case, the command information storage area 425 of the ROM 403 is referred to when these various commands are output. Details of these various commands will be described later. Each command is configured as information of a predetermined number of bytes, and various information is included as information of the predetermined number of bytes.

  Further, on the output side of the MPU 402, a variable winning drive unit 82a that opens and closes the shutter member 88 of the variable winning device 82, an electric accessory driving unit 91a that opens and closes the electric accessory 91 of the right operation port 83b, A display unit 87 is connected. Various driver circuits are provided on the main control board 401, and the MPU 402 performs drive control of various drive units through the driver circuits.

  That is, in the opening / closing execution mode, the MPU 402 performs drive control of the variable winning drive unit 82a so that the variable winning device 82 is opened and closed. Further, when the support lottery of the electric accessory 91 is won, drive control of the electric accessory driving unit 91a is executed in the MPU 402 so that the electric accessory 91 is opened and closed. In addition, display control of the main display unit of the main display unit 87 is executed by the MPU 402.

  Furthermore, an external output terminal board 213 is connected to the output side of the MPU 402, and through this external output terminal board 213, information on the entrance to various entrances to the management control device (hall computer) on the game hall side, Information about the lottery result such as jackpot is output. Thereby, it is possible to grasp the state and the like of the pachinko machine 10 by the hall computer.

  The power failure monitoring board 405 relays the main control board 401 and the power / fire control device 243. The power failure monitoring board 405 has a DC stable voltage of 24 volts, which is the maximum voltage output from the power / fire control device 243. The function to monitor is given. The payout control device 242 controls payout of prize balls and rental balls by the payout device 224 based on the prize ball command input from the main control device 162.

  The power / launch control device 243 is connected to, for example, a commercial power source (external power source) in a game hall or the like. Based on the external power supplied from the commercial power supply, necessary operating power is generated for each of the main control board 401, the payout controller 242 and the like, and the generated operating power is supplied through a predetermined power path. To do. The power supply / launch control device 243 is responsible for launch control of the game ball launch mechanism 110, and the game ball launch mechanism 110 is driven when predetermined launch conditions are met.

  The notification / production control device 140 drives and controls the lamp units 26 to 28 and the speaker unit 29 provided on the front door frame 14 based on various commands input from the main control device 162, and controls the display control device 410. It is something to control.

  The display control device 410 executes display control of the symbol display device 253 based on the command input from the notification / effect control device 140. In this case, in the notification / production control device 140, based on various commands input from the main control device 162, the symbol variation display mode (for example, presence / absence of reach generation, contents of reach production, etc.) and symbols in the symbol display device 253. Stop display mode (the type of combination of symbols to be finally stopped and displayed with the end of the variable display) is determined.

  The power source / fire control device 243 is provided for the touch sensor 302 a provided for the rotation operation member 302, the fire stop sensor 305 a provided for the fire stop switch 305, and the fire period change switch 306. The firing period changing sensor 306a is connected. These sensors 302 a, 305 a, and 306 a are all included in the game ball launch handle 41.

  At least a part of the rotation operation member 302 is a metal part formed of a metal material, and the touch sensor 302a is electrically connected to the metal part. The touch sensor 302a can detect that a part of the player's body (for example, a finger) is touching the metal part of the rotation operation member 302, and is, for example, a capacitive sensor. The firing stop sensor 305a can detect that the firing stop switch 305 is in the stop operation state, and the firing cycle change sensor 306a can detect that the launch cycle change switch 306 is in the change operation state. Yes. These sensors 302a, 305a, and 306a output detection signals to the power / fire control device 243, respectively, and these detection signals are also output to the main control device 162 via the power / fire control device 243. It is like that.

<About various counters>
Next, the operation of the pachinko machine 10 configured as described above will be described.

  The MPU 402 uses lots of counter information during the game to perform jackpot occurrence lottery, display setting of the main display unit 87 (main display unit), setting of symbol display of the symbol display device 253, and the like. As shown in FIG. 14, the jackpot random number counter C1 used for the lottery in which the jackpot is generated, the jackpot type counter C2 used for determining the jackpot type such as the probability variation jackpot result or the normal jackpot result, and the symbol display device 253 are disconnected. Reach random number counter C3 used for reach lottery when it fluctuates, random number initial value counter CINI used for initial value setting of jackpot random number counter C1, variation in the display unit for the operation port of the main display unit 87 and the symbol display device 253 A variation type counter CS that determines the display time is used. Furthermore, the electric accessory release counter C4 used for the lottery to determine whether or not the electric accessory 91 in the right working port 83b is in the electric utility open state is used.

  Each of the counters C1 to C3, CINI, CS, and C4 is a loop counter that adds 1 to the previous value every time it is updated and returns to 0 after reaching the maximum value. Each counter is updated at short time intervals, and the updated value is appropriately stored in a lottery counter buffer 431 set in a predetermined area of the RAM 404. The RAM 404 is provided with a holding ball storage area 432 including a lower working port holding area Ra, a right working port holding area Rb, an execution area AE, and a total holding number storage area. In the reserved ball storage area 432, the values of the jackpot random number counter C1, the jackpot type counter C2 and the reach random number counter C3 are time-sequentially matched to the winning history of the game balls to the lower working port 83a or the right working port 83b. It is designed to be stored.

  For details of each counter, the jackpot random number counter C1 is configured such that, for example, 1 is sequentially added within a range of 0 to 599, and after reaching the maximum value (that is, 599), it returns to 0. In particular, when the jackpot random number counter C1 makes one round, the value of the random number initial value counter CINI at that time is read as the initial value of the jackpot random number counter C1. The random number initial value counter CINI is a loop counter similar to the jackpot random number counter C1 (value = 0 to 599). The big hit random number counter C1 is periodically updated and stored in the reserved ball storage area 432 of the RAM 404 at the timing when the game ball wins the lower operation port 83a or the right operation port 83b. More specifically, it is stored in the lower working port holding area Ra of the RAM 404 at the timing when the game ball is won in the lower working port 83a, and is held in the right working port holding area Rb of the RAM 404 at the timing when the gaming ball is won in the right working port 83b. Stored in

  The value of the random number for winning the jackpot is stored as a success / failure table (availability information group) in a success / failure table storage area 421 as a success / failure information group storage means in the ROM 403. Here, the contents of the success / failure table will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 15, the success / failure tables include a low probability mode success / failure table (low probability success / failure information group) in FIG. 15 (a) and a high probability mode success / failure in FIG. 15 (b). A table (high probability success / failure information group) is set. That is, in the present pachinko machine 10, a low probability mode (low probability state) and a high probability mode (high probability state) are set as the lottery mode in the winning lottery means.

  In the gaming state in which the winning / failing table for the low probability mode is referred to at the time of the lottery, as shown in FIG. 15 (a), the random number value (that is, the winning information) for winning the jackpot is “7” and “307”. That is, among the values of the jackpot random number counter C1 of “0 to 599”, “7” and “307” correspond to the jackpot result. On the other hand, in the gaming state in which the winning / failing table for the high probability mode is referred to at the time of the lottery, as shown in FIG. 15B, the value of the random number for winning the big hit (that is, the winning information) is “7”. ”,“ 36 ”...“ 572 ”,“ 598 ”. That is, among the values of the jackpot random number counter C1 of “0 to 599”, “7”, “36”... “572”, “598” correspond to the jackpot result. If the winning probability in the high probability mode is higher than that in the low probability mode, the number and value of the random numbers to be won are arbitrary.

  Moreover, in each lottery mode, the lottery result is an outlier result except for the random number value that is a big win, but in this pachinko machine 10, two types of special outlook results and normal outlook results are set as outlier results. Has been. Neither the special failure result nor the normal failure result is a trigger for transition to the winning / failing lottery mode or the support mode. In addition, the special losing result serves as a trigger for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode, while the normal losing result does not serve as a trigger for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode.

  The jackpot type counter C2 is incremented by 1 within a range of 0 to 29, and reaches a maximum value (that is, 29) and then returns to 0. Here, in the present embodiment, a plurality of jackpot results are set. The plurality of jackpot results are obtained by providing a difference in two conditions: (1) the opening / closing control mode of the variable winning device 82 in the opening / closing execution mode, and (2) the lottery mode in the winning lottery means after the opening / closing execution mode ends. Multiple jackpot results are set.

  Here, as an aspect of the opening / closing control of the variable winning device 82 in the opening / closing execution mode, the occurrence frequency of winning in the variable winning device 82 between the start and end of the opening / closing execution mode is relatively high. As described above, the high frequency winning mode and the low frequency winning mode are set. Specifically, in the high-frequency winning mode, the variable winning device 82 is opened and closed 16 times (number of times for high frequency) from the start to the end of the opening and closing execution mode, and one opening is 30 sec (high frequency time). ) Or until the number of winning prizes in the variable winning device 82 reaches 10 (high frequency). On the other hand, in the low-frequency winning mode, the variable winning device 82 is opened and closed 16 times (number of times for low frequency) from the start to the end of the opening / closing execution mode, and one open is 0. It continues for 1 sec (low frequency time).

  In the present pachinko machine 10, in a situation where the game ball launch handle 41 is operated by the player, one game ball is played in the game area every 0.6 sec (first launch cycle) or 1.0 sec (second launch cycle). The game ball launching mechanism 110 is driven and controlled so that it is fired toward. On the other hand, in the low-frequency winning mode, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is 0.1 sec as described above. That is, the time during which the variable winning device 82 is opened in the low-frequency winning mode is shorter than the game ball firing cycle. Therefore, in the opening / closing execution mode according to the low-frequency winning mode, it is difficult for the game ball to be won during the period in which the variable winning device 82 is open.

  In contrast, in the low-frequency winning mode, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is selectively switched between the first opening cycle and the second opening cycle. The first release cycle is set to 0.6 sec which is the same as the first launch cycle of game ball launch, and the second release cycle is set to 1.0 sec which is the same as the second launch cycle of game ball launch. Therefore, each time the variable winning device 82 is opened, the player operates the firing cycle change switch 306 so that the firing cycle of the game ball becomes the same length as the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82. Can be awarded to the variable winning device 82. The second release period is set to a length that is not an integral multiple of the first release period.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a predetermined effective operation is performed on the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306, so that the game ball is fired at a timing at which it is easy to win the variable winning device 82. The firing timing is adjusted. For this reason, even if the opening time of the variable winning device 82 in the low-frequency winning mode is a short period of 0.1 sec, it is easy for the game ball to win the variable winning device 82.

  As a support mode of the electric working tool 91 of the right working port 83b, when compared with a situation in which a game ball is continuously launched in the same manner with respect to the game area PE, the electric playing tool 91 of the right working port 83b is used. The low-frequency support mode (low-frequency support state or low-frequency guide state) and high-frequency support mode (high-frequency support state or high-frequency guide state) ) And are set.

  Specifically, in the low-frequency support mode and the high-frequency support mode, the probability of winning the power combination open state in the electric combination release lottery using the electric combination release counter C4 is the same (for example, both 1/2) However, in the high frequency support mode, the number of times that the electric utility item 91 is opened is set more frequently than in the low frequency support mode. The time is set longer. In this case, in the high frequency support mode, when the electrified open state is selected and the open state of the electric utility item 91 occurs a plurality of times, the closed state from the end of one open state until the next open state is started The time is set shorter than one opening time. Furthermore, in the high frequency support mode, the minimum secured time is set shorter when the next electric character opening lottery is performed after one electric character opening lottery is performed than in the low frequency support mode. Has been.

  As described above, in the high frequency support mode, the probability that a winning to the right operation port 83b occurs is higher than in the low frequency support mode. In other words, in the low frequency support mode, there is a higher probability of winning the lower operating port 83a than in the right operating port 83b. However, in the high frequency support mode, the lower operating port 83a is connected to the right operating port 83b. The probability of winning a prize increases. When a winning to the right operation port 83b occurs, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out, so that in the high frequency support mode, the player plays a game while not reducing the number of possessed balls so much. be able to.

  The configuration for increasing the frequency at which the high frequency support mode is set to the power release state per unit time as compared with the low frequency support mode is not limited to the above-described configuration, for example, the electric component release lottery It is good also as a structure which makes high the probability that it will be elected in the electric character open state in. Further, the high frequency support mode and the low frequency support mode may be set by making any one condition or any combination of conditions among the number of times, the opening time, and the winning probability different.

  The big hit type counter C2 is periodically updated, and the game ball is stored in the reserved ball storage area 432 of the RAM 404 at the timing when the game ball wins the lower operation port 83a or the right operation port 83b. More specifically, it is stored in the lower working port holding area Ra of the RAM 404 at the timing when the game ball is won in the lower working port 83a, and is held in the right working port holding area Rb of the RAM 404 at the timing when the gaming ball is won in the right working port 83b. Stored in

  The game result distribution destination for the big hit type counter C2 is stored as a distribution table (distribution information group) in the distribution table storage area 422 as a distribution information group storage means in the ROM 403. As such distribution destinations, a short-term ordinary jackpot result, a long-term ordinary jackpot result, a short-term probability variation jackpot result, and a long-term probability variation jackpot result are set. Here, the contents of the distribution table will be described with reference to FIG.

  The short term normal jackpot result is a jackpot result in which the success / failure lottery mode becomes the low probability mode and the support mode becomes the low frequency support mode after the opening / closing execution mode ends.

  The long-term normal jackpot result is a jackpot result in which the success / failure lottery mode becomes the low probability mode and the support mode becomes the high frequency support mode after the opening / closing execution mode ends. The high-frequency support mode continues until the number of games reaches the end reference number (specifically, 100 times) after the transition to the support mode, and shifts to the low-frequency support mode after the end reference number has elapsed.

  The short-term probable jackpot result is a jackpot result in which the success / failure lottery mode becomes the high probability mode and the support mode becomes the low-frequency support mode after the opening / closing execution mode ends.

  The long-term probability variation jackpot result is a jackpot result in which the success / failure lottery mode becomes the high probability mode and the support mode becomes the high frequency support mode after the opening / closing execution mode ends. The high-frequency support mode continues until the lottery result in the winning or failing lottery becomes a big hit state winning and the operation shifts to the opening / closing execution mode.

  In addition, in relation to each said game state, a normal game state means the state whose winning / not-lot lottery mode is a low probability mode and whose support mode is a low frequency support mode.

  In the distribution table, “0-4” corresponds to the short-term normal jackpot result, “5-14” corresponds to the long-term probability jackpot result, and “15-19” corresponds to the short-term probability jackpot result. “20 to 29” corresponds to the long-term probability variation jackpot result, but the distribution of this numerical value is arbitrary.

  Referring to FIG. 14 again, the reach random number counter C3 is configured to increment one by one within a range of 0 to 238, for example, and returns to 0 after reaching the maximum value (that is, 238). The reach random number counter C3 is periodically updated and stored in the reserved ball storage area 432 of the RAM 404 at the timing when the game ball wins the lower operation port 83a or the right operation port 83b. More specifically, it is stored in the lower working port holding area Ra of the RAM 404 at the timing when the game ball is won in the lower working port 83a, and is held in the right working port holding area Rb of the RAM 404 at the timing when the gaming ball is won in the right working port 83b. Stored in Then, based on the reach table stored in the reach table storage area of the ROM 403, it is determined whether to generate a reach.

  However, in the game times that shift to the open / close execution mode, the MPU 402 determines the occurrence of reach regardless of the value of the reach random number counter C3. The number of reach random number counters C3 corresponding to the occurrence of reach display is the same in each gaming state, but may be set individually according to the gaming state. For example, when the support mode is the high frequency support mode, the number of reach random number counters C3 corresponding to the occurrence of reach display may be set larger than that in the low frequency support mode.

  Here, the reach display (reach state) is provided with a symbol display device 253 capable of performing variable display (or variable display) of symbols (pictures), and the game result is a game result corresponding to the open / close execution mode. In gaming machines, the stop display result after the variable display can be a special display result, the stop display result is derived and displayed after the variable display (or variable display) of the symbol (picture) on the symbol display device 253 is started. This means a display state for making the player think that it is a variable display state in which the special display result is likely to be obtained in the previous stage.

  In other words, a combination of symbols corresponding to the occurrence of the opening / closing execution mode is established by stopping and displaying symbols for some of the symbol sequences displayed on the display screen 253a of the symbol display device 253. This is a display state in which possible reach symbol combinations are displayed, and in that state, symbols are displayed in a variable manner in the remaining symbol rows.

  More specifically, as a step before ending the symbol variation display, a symbol combination corresponding to the occurrence of the opening / closing execution mode is established on a preset active line in the display screen 253a of the symbol display device 253. A reach line is formed by stopping and displaying possible combinations of reach symbols, and symbols are displayed in a variable manner by the final stop symbol sequence in a situation where the reach line is formed.

  The display contents on the display screen 253a will be described in more detail. First, when the symbol variation display is finished in the right symbol row and the symbol variation display is finished in the left symbol row, the symbol hits one of the effective lines. Reach lines are formed by stopping and displaying the main symbols with the numbers that make up the combination, and reach is achieved by displaying the symbols in the middle symbol row in the situation where the reach lines are formed. Display. When a big hit occurs, the main symbols with numbers that make up the combination of winning symbols together with the main symbols forming the reach line are stopped and displayed on the reach line. Is terminated.

  In the reach display, in the state where the combination of reach symbols is displayed as described above, the variation display of symbols is performed on the remaining symbol rows, and a predetermined character or the like is displayed as a moving image on the background screen. There are those that produce an effect, and those that perform a reach effect by displaying a predetermined character or the like as a moving image on almost the entire display screen after reducing or not displaying a combination of reach symbols. Further, when reach display is performed or before reach display, it is determined using the reach random number counter C3 or other counter whether or not to perform a notice display using a predetermined image such as a predetermined character. May be.

  For example, the variation type counter CS is incremented one by one within a range of 0 to 198, for example, and reaches a maximum value (that is, 198) and then returns to 0. The variation type counter CS determines the variation display time in the lower working port display unit and the right working port display unit of the main display unit 87 (main display unit) and the symbol variation display time in the symbol display device 253 in the MPU 402. Used in The variation type counter CS is updated once every time a normal process to be described later is executed once, and is repeatedly updated even within the remaining time in the normal process. Then, the buffer value of the variation type counter CS is acquired at the time of starting the variation display in the lower working port display unit and the right working port display unit and determining the variation pattern at the time of the symbol variation start by the symbol display device 253.

  The electric accessory release counter C4 is configured so that, for example, 1 is added in order within a range of 0 to 250, and after reaching the maximum value (that is, 250), it returns to 0. The electric accessory release counter C4 is periodically updated and stored in the electric combination holding area 433 of the RAM 404 at the timing when a game ball wins the through gate 84. Then, at a predetermined timing, a lottery is performed as to whether or not to control the electric accessory 91 in the right working port 83b to the open state based on the stored value of the electric accessory opening counter C4. For example, if C4 = 0 to 190, the electric accessory 91 is controlled to the open state, and if C4 = 191 to 250, the electric accessory 91 is not controlled to the open state.

  As already described, in the MPU 402, at least the buffer value of the variation type counter CS is used to determine the variation display time in the lower working port display unit and the right working port display unit. A variable display time table storage area 423 is used. Further, the MPU 402 uses the value of the jackpot random number counter C1 and the value of the jackpot type counter C2 stored in the execution area AE to determine the stop result in the lower working port display unit and the right working port display unit. However, the stop result table storage area 424 of the ROM 403 is used for the determination.

<Various processes executed by main controller 162>
Next, a timer interrupt process and a normal process that are executed when the MPU 402 in the main controller 162 advances the game in each game time will be described. In addition to the timer interrupt process and the normal process, the MPU 402 executes a main process activated when the power is turned on and an NMI interrupt process activated by input of a power failure signal to the NMI terminal (non-maskable terminal). Description of these processes is omitted.

<Timer interrupt processing>
First, timer interrupt processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is started periodically (for example, at a cycle of 2 msec) by the MPU 402 of the main controller 162.

  First, in step S101, reading processing of various switches and the various detection sensors 391a to 391e is executed. That is, the state of various switches connected to the main control device 162, various detection sensors 391a to 391e, etc. is read, and the state of the switches is determined and the detection information (for example, winning detection information) is stored.

  Thereafter, in step S102, the random number initial value counter CINI is updated. Specifically, the random number initial value counter CINI is incremented by 1 and cleared to 0 when the counter value reaches the maximum value. Then, the update value of the random number initial value counter CINI is stored in the corresponding buffer area of the RAM 404.

  In subsequent step S103, the big hit random number counter C1, the big hit type counter C2, the reach random number counter C3, and the electric accessory release counter C4 are updated. Specifically, the jackpot random number counter C1, the jackpot type counter C2, the reach random number counter C3, and the electric accessory release counter C4 are each incremented by 1, and are cleared to 0 when the counter values reach the maximum value. Then, the updated values of the counters C1 to C4 are stored in the corresponding buffer area of the RAM 404. After that, in step S104, a winning process for the operating port accompanying winning in the operating ports 83a, 83b is executed, and in addition, in a step S105, a winning process for winning accompanying winning in the through gate 84 is executed. This timer interrupt process is terminated.

<Winning process for working port>
Here, the winning process for the operation opening will be described. In the winning process for the operating opening, first, it is determined from the detection state of the detection sensor 391d for the lower operating opening 83a whether or not the game ball has won a prize in the lower operating opening 83a (start winning prize). When it is determined that the game ball has won the lower operation port 83a, a prize ball command for causing the payout control device 242 to pay out three game balls is set.

  Thereafter, external signal setting processing is performed to output a signal to the management controller on the gaming hall side that the game ball has won the lower operating port 83a, and the signal is stored in the reserved number storage area of the lower operating port holding area Ra. Is read and the number of reserved starting memories stored in the reserved area Ra for the lower working port is set (hereinafter also referred to as the reserved memory number for the lower operating port).

  The lighting process of the first hold lamp unit 98a is executed in correspondence with the changed start hold storage number. Specifically, among the four LEDs arranged side by side in the first holding lamp unit 98a, the number of LEDs corresponding to the current winning number is turned on. For example, when the number of holds is increased from “2” to “3” due to the current winning, the third LED from the lower side is turned on in addition to the two left-side LEDs that have already been lit. Thereafter, an information acquisition process for storing the values of the jackpot random number counter C1, the jackpot type counter C2 and the reach random number counter C3 is performed, and the main winning process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the game ball has not won the lower operation port 83a, the detection sensor 391e for the right operation port 83b detects whether or not the game ball has won (start winning) the right operation port 83b. Judge by state. When it is determined that the game ball has won the right operation port 83b, a prize ball command for causing the payout control device 242 to pay out four game balls is set.

  Thereafter, an external signal setting process is performed to output a signal to the management control device on the game hall side that the game ball has won the right operation port 83b, and the result is stored in the reserved number storage area of the right operation port reservation area Rb. Is read and the number of reserved start memory stored in the right working port holding area Rb is set (hereinafter also referred to as the right working port reserved memory number).

  The lighting process of the second hold lamp unit 98b is executed in correspondence with the changed start hold storage number. Specifically, among the four LEDs arranged side by side in the second holding lamp unit 98b, the number of LEDs corresponding to the current winning number is turned on. For example, when the number of holds is increased from “2” to “3” due to the current winning, the third LED from the lower side is turned on in addition to the two left-side LEDs that have already been lit. Thereafter, the same process as the information acquisition process described above is performed, and the main winning process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the game ball has not won in either of the operating ports 83a and 83b, the main winning process is terminated as it is. Note that the winning ball command set in the winning process for the working port is transmitted to the payout control device 242 in the external output process S201 of the normal process described later.

<Normal processing>
Next, the flow of normal processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The normal process is a process that is started after the main process that is activated when the power is turned on, and the main process of the game is executed in the normal process. As an outline, the processing of steps S201 to S207 is executed as a periodic processing with a period of 4 msec, and the counter update processing of steps S209 and S210 is executed with the remaining time.

  In the normal process, in step S201, output data such as a command set in the timer interrupt process or the previous normal process is transmitted to each control device on the sub side. Specifically, the presence / absence of a prize ball command is determined, and if a prize ball command is set, it is transmitted to the payout control device 242. In addition, if a command for an effect such as a command corresponding to an effect for game times such as a change start command, a type command, a change end command, or a command corresponding to an effect for an opening / closing execution mode is set, it is notified. Transmit to the production control device 140. Further, the output setting for the external output terminal board 213 is performed according to the information set in the external output buffer of the RAM 404.

  In the subsequent step S202, the variation type counter CS is updated. Specifically, the variation type counter CS is incremented by 1, and when the counter value reaches the maximum value, the counter value is cleared to 0. Then, the update value of the variation type counter CS is stored in the corresponding buffer area of the RAM 404.

  In subsequent step S203, a game number control process for advancing the game of each game time is executed. In the game times control process, determination of success / failure such as jackpot or the like and determination of allocation are performed, setting of variable display of symbols by the symbol display device 253, display control of the display unit for the operation port in the main display unit 87, and the like are performed. Details of the game times control process will be described later.

  Thereafter, in step S204, a game state transition process for shifting the game state is executed. Although details will be described later, the gaming state shifts to an opening / closing execution mode, a high probability mode, a high frequency support mode, and the like by this gaming state transition processing.

  In step S205, an electric combination support process for driving and controlling the electric combination 91 provided in the right operation port 83b is executed. In this electric power support process, in the electric power support process, the electric utility item 91 is set in the open state using the numerical information acquired from the electric charge release counter C4 stored in the electric power reservation area 433 of the RAM 404. Whether or not to perform the electrification opening lottery is performed, and when the electrification opening state win is achieved, the opening / closing process of the electric accessory 91 is executed. In addition, display control of the through-gate display unit in the main display unit 87 is performed so as to teach the lottery result of the electric role release lottery.

  Here, as already described, the low-frequency support mode and the high-frequency support mode are set as the modes of support by the electric accessory 91, and a transition to one of the support modes is performed in the gaming state transition process. Is called. In this case, the high frequency support mode is set when the high frequency support flag is set in the RAM 404, and the low frequency support mode is set when the flag is not set.

  In the electric power support process, it is determined whether or not the high frequency support mode is set by determining whether or not the high frequency support flag is set in the RAM 404. In the case of the high frequency support mode, when the electrified open state is won, the number of times that the electric utility item 91 is in the open state is set larger than in the case of the low frequency support mode. Set a longer opening time. In the high-frequency support mode, when the electrified open state is selected and the open state of the electric utility item 91 occurs multiple times, the next open state is started after one open state is completed. The closing time until is set to be shorter than one opening time.

  Incidentally, when the mode is shifted to the opening / closing execution mode, even if the high frequency support flag is set in the RAM 404, the support mode is forcibly set to the low frequency support mode.

  In a succeeding step S206, a game ball launch control process is executed. In the game ball launch control process, a predetermined operation is performed on the condition that a launch permission signal output from the power source / fire control device 243 is input based on the launch operation being performed on the game ball launch handle 41. The solenoid 111 of the game ball launching mechanism 110 is excited once in the firing period (0.6 sec or 1.0 sec). Thereby, the game ball is launched toward the game area.

  In a succeeding step S207, it is determined whether or not a power failure flag is set in the RAM 404. The power failure flag is a flag that is set when the occurrence of a power failure is confirmed in the power failure monitoring board 405 and a power failure signal is input from the power failure monitoring board 405 to the NMI terminal of the MPU 402, and is erased in the next main processing.

  If the power failure flag is not set, the last process of the plurality of processes that are repeatedly executed is completed, so whether or not the next normal process execution timing has been reached in step S208, that is, the previous normal process It is determined whether a predetermined time (4 msec in this embodiment) has elapsed since the start of the process. Then, the random number initial value counter CINI and the variation type counter CS are repeatedly updated within the remaining time until the next normal processing execution timing. That is, in step S209, the random number initial value counter CINI is updated, and in step S210, the variation type counter CS is updated.

  Here, since the execution time of each process of steps S201 to S206 changes according to the state of the game, the remaining time until the execution timing of the next normal process is not constant and varies. Therefore, by repeatedly updating the random number initial value counter CINI using the remaining time, the random number initial value counter CINI (that is, the initial value of the big hit random number counter C1) can be updated at random. Similarly, The variation type counter CS can also be updated at random.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S207 that the power failure flag has been set, the power interruption has occurred, so the power interruption processing from step S211 is executed. That is, in step S211, the timer interrupt processing is prohibited, and then the RAM determination value is calculated and stored in step S212. After the access to the RAM 404 is prohibited in step S213, the power supply is completely shut down and processed. Continue infinite loop until no longer runs.

<Game times control processing>
Next, the game turn control process of step S203 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 19, in the game times control process, first, in step S301, it is determined whether or not the opening / closing execution mode is in effect. Specifically, it is determined whether the opening / closing execution mode flag (opening / closing execution state information) is stored (stored) in the opening / closing execution mode flag storage area (opening / closing execution state information storage means) in the various flag storage areas 435 of the RAM 404. To do. The opening / closing execution mode flag is stored when the gaming state is shifted to the opening / closing execution mode in the gaming state transition process described later, and is erased when the opening / closing execution mode is ended in the gaming state transition process.

  When in the opening / closing execution mode, the game is executed without executing any of the processes after step S302, that is, the game turn starting process in steps S303 to S305 and the game turn progress process in steps S306 to S309. End control processing. In other words, in the open / close execution mode, the game round is not started regardless of whether or not a winning is made to the operation ports 83a and 83b.

  If it is not in the opening / closing execution mode, in step S302, it is determined whether or not any one of the lower working port display unit and the right working port display unit in the main display unit 87 is being changed, that is, one game. It is determined whether or not the game is being executed. This determination is made as to whether or not the variable display flag (variable display information) is stored (stored) in the variable display flag storage area (variable display information storage means) in the various flag storage areas 435 of the RAM 404. This is done by judging. The variable display flag is stored when the variable display is started for one of the lower working port display unit and the right working port display unit, and is erased when the variable display ends.

  When the operation port display unit is not in a variable display, the process proceeds to the game turn starting process in steps S303 to S305. In the game round start process, first, in step S303, the total number-of-holds storage area of the ball-holding ball storage area 432 is referred to, and the common number-of-holds storage number CRN, which is the number of pieces of hold information stored on hold, is “0”. Determine whether. The case where the common reserved memory number CRN is “0” means that the start reserved memory number is “0” for both the lower operating port 83a and the right operating port 83b. Therefore, the game times control process is finished as it is.

  On the other hand, if the common reserved storage number CRN is not “0”, the variable holding display is set for display based on the data stored in the lower working port holding area Ra or the right working port holding area Rb in step S304. The data setting process is executed.

  In the data setting process, it is first determined whether or not the right working port reserved storage number stored in the right working port reserved area Rb is “0”. When the number of stored memory for the right working port is “0”, the data setting process for the lower working port is executed. When the number of stored memory for the right working port is not “0”, the data setting for the right working port is set. Execute the process.

  Here, the case where the data setting process is executed is a case where the common reserved storage number CRN is 1 or more as described above. In this case, in the data setting process, it is determined whether or not the right working port reserved storage number is “0”. If it is not “0”, that is, the right working port display section has the variable display holding information. When stored, the data stored in the right working port holding area Rb is set for variable display regardless of whether or not the number of reserved memory for the lower working port is 1 or more. Has been. As a result, when the hold information is stored in both the lower working port holding area Ra and the right working port holding area Rb, the information is stored in the right working port holding area Rb corresponding to the right working port 83b. The held information will be given priority.

  In the data setting process of the lower working port 83a, first, the lower working port reserved memory number of the lower working port reserved area Ra is decremented by 1, and then the common reserved memory number CRN is decremented by one. Thereafter, the data stored in the first area of the lower working port holding area Ra is moved to the execution area AE, and the process of shifting the data stored in the storage area of the lower working port holding area Ra is executed.

  This data shift process is a process for sequentially shifting the data stored in the first to fourth areas to the lower area side, and clears the data in the first area, and the second area → the first area, the first area, Data in each area is shifted, such as 3 area → second area, fourth area → third area, and so on. Then, one LED of the first holding lamp unit 98a that is lit is extinguished. In this turn-off process, contrary to the turn-on process, the LEDs of the first holding lamp unit 98a are turned off sequentially from the right side.

  When the second result display portion flag (second result display portion information) is stored in the second result display portion flag storage area (second result display portion information storage means) provided in the various flag storage areas 435 of the RAM 404. If it is not stored, it is erased. The second result display portion flag is information for specifying whether the start of the current variation display is the lower working port display portion or the right working port display portion. Thereafter, the data setting process is terminated.

  In the data setting process for the second result display section, first, the right working port reserved memory number in the right working port reserved area Rb is decremented by 1, and the common reserved memory number CRN is decremented by one. Thereafter, the data stored in the first area of the right working port holding area Rb is moved to the execution area AE.

  Thereafter, a process of shifting the data stored in the storage area of the right working port holding area Rb is executed. This data shift process is a process for sequentially shifting the data stored in the first to fourth areas to the lower area side, and clears the data in the first area, and the second area → the first area, the first area, Data in each area is shifted, such as 3 area → second area, fourth area → third area, and so on. Then, one LED of the second holding lamp unit 98b that is lit is extinguished. In this turn-off process, contrary to the turn-on process, the LEDs of the second holding lamp unit 98b are turned off sequentially from the right side.

  After the turn-off process is performed, the second result display unit flag (second result display unit) is stored in the second result display unit flag storage area (second result display unit information storage unit) provided in the various flag storage areas 435 of the RAM 404. If the (information) is not stored, the second result display section flag is stored, and if stored, the state is maintained.

  After performing the data setting process described in detail above, after executing the fluctuation start process for starting the fluctuation display in the main display unit 87 (main display unit) and the fluctuation display in the symbol display device 253 in step S305, The game times control process is terminated.

  Here, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 20, the fluctuation start process of step S305 will be described.

  In the variation start process, first, in step S401, a success / failure determination process is executed. In the success / failure determination process, first, it is determined whether or not the success / failure lottery mode is a high probability mode. In the case of the high probability mode, with reference to the high probability mode success / failure table among the tables stored in the success / failure table storage area 421, the information for the success / failure determination among the information stored in the execution area AE, that is, It is determined whether or not the numerical information related to the jackpot random number counter C1 matches the high-probability jackpot numerical information, and if it does not match the jackpot numerical information, does it match the special outlier numerical information? Determine whether or not. In the case of the low probability mode, the numerical value relating to the jackpot random number counter C1 stored in the execution area AE with reference to the low probability mode success / failure table among the tables stored in the success / failure table storage area 421. It is determined whether or not the information matches the low probability jackpot numerical information. If the information does not match the jackpot numerical information, it is determined whether or not the information matches the special outlier numerical information.

  In a succeeding step S402, it is determined whether or not the result of the success / failure determination process in the step S401 is a jackpot winning result. If it is a big win result, a distribution determination process is executed in step S403.

  In the distribution determination process, information for distribution determination among the information stored in the execution area AE, that is, numerical information related to the big hit type counter C2 is grasped. Then, with reference to the sorting table stored in the sorting table storage area 422, it is specified which jackpot result corresponds to the numerical information related to the grasped jackpot type counter C2. Specifically, which jackpot result corresponds to the short-term ordinary jackpot result, the long-term ordinary jackpot result, the short-term probable jackpot result, or the long-term promising jackpot result is specified.

  In the subsequent step S404, a stop result setting process for the jackpot result is executed. Specifically, in the game times related to the start of the current fluctuation, the pattern of the pattern that is finally stopped and displayed on the main display unit (specifically, the display unit for the right working port and the display unit for the lower working port) of the main display unit 87. Information is specified from the stop result table for jackpot results stored in advance in the ROM 403, and the specified information is stored in the RAM 404. In the jackpot result stop result table, the types of patterns that are stopped and displayed on the main display unit are set differently for each jackpot result type. In step S404, the pattern is specified in step S403. Information on the pattern mode according to the type of jackpot result is stored in the RAM 404.

  The information on the type of the picture to be stopped and displayed is determined according to the value of the jackpot type counter C2. In this case, as described above, the pattern modes may be set in a one-to-one correspondence with each game result, and a plurality of types of pattern modes may be set for each game result.

  In the subsequent step S405, a process of setting a flag in the RAM 404 according to the type of jackpot result specified in step S403 is executed. Specifically, the short-term normal flag is set when the short-term normal jackpot result is specified, the long-term normal flag is set when the long-term normal jackpot result is specified, and the short-term probability variable jackpot result is set. If it is specified that a short-term probability change flag is set, a long-term probability change flag is set if it is specified that the result is a long-term probability jackpot result. In the following description, whether or not the various jackpot results are determined is determined by determining whether or not a flag corresponding to the RAM 404 is set.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S402 that the result is not a jackpot winning result, it is determined in step S406 whether or not the result of the determination process in step S401 is a special outage result. If the result is special, the process proceeds to step S407.

  In step S407, a stop result setting process for a special loss result is executed. Specifically, the information on the pattern mode to be finally stopped and displayed on the main display unit 87 in the game round related to the start of the change is specified from the stop result table for the special loss result stored in the ROM 403 in advance. The specified information is stored in the RAM 404. The information on the pattern mode selected in this case is different from the information on the pattern mode selected in the case of the jackpot result. In a succeeding step S408, processing for setting a special out flag in the RAM 404 is executed.

  If it is determined in step S406 that the result is not a special loss result, a stop result setting process for a normal loss result is executed in step S409. Specifically, the information on the pattern mode to be finally stopped and displayed on the main display unit 87 in the game round related to the start of the change is specified from the stop result table for the special loss result stored in the ROM 403 in advance. The specified information is stored in the RAM 404. The information on the pattern mode selected in this case is different from the information on the pattern mode selected in the case of the jackpot result and the information on the pattern mode selected in the case of the special loss result.

  As described above, the display content of the result is set to be different depending on whether or not the jackpot has occurred and its type. Thereby, when the game round is ended, the manager of the game hall performs the variable display related to the game round among the lower working port display unit and the right working port display unit of the main display unit. By looking at the thing, it is possible to monitor what the game result of the game times is.

  In particular, the display unit for the lower working port and the display unit for the right working port provided in the main display unit are display units that are directly controlled by the main control unit 162, so that the sub display control unit 410 performs display control. Compared to a display unit (symbol display device 253) that intervenes, the display reliability is high.

  However, as described above, for the main display unit, multiple display units such as the display unit for the lower working port and the display unit for the right working port are aggregated, and it is understood which part shows what content. It has become difficult to do. Furthermore, since it is smaller than the display screen 253a of the symbol display device 253 and is arranged near the edge of the game area PE, its visibility is also lower than that of the display screen 253a. For this reason, it is assumed that the player's attention tends to be directed to the display screen 253a. Therefore, as described above, even if the display contents are temporarily different between the main display unit and the display screen 253a, it is preferable to appropriately suppress the player from noticing such a difference compared to the hall manager. it can.

  After executing any one of steps S405, S408, and S409, display continuation time (display continuation period) setting processing is executed in step S410.

  In this process, the value of the variation type counter CS stored in the variation type counter buffer in the lottery counter buffer of the RAM 404 is acquired. Further, it is determined whether or not reach display is generated in the symbol display device 253 in the current game round. Specifically, it is determined that the reach display is generated when the game times related to the start of the current variation is a jackpot result. Even if it is not a jackpot result, if the numerical information related to the reach random number counter C3 stored in the execution area AE is the numerical information corresponding to the occurrence of reach, it is determined that reach display occurs.

  When it is determined that reach display occurs, display duration information corresponding to the value of the current variation type counter CS is obtained by referring to the reach generation display duration table stored in the ROM 403 and displayed. The duration information is set in a display duration counter provided in various counter areas 434 of the RAM 404. On the other hand, if it is determined that the reach display does not occur, the display duration information corresponding to the value of the current variation type counter CS is acquired with reference to the reach non-occurrence display duration table stored in the ROM 403. The display duration information is set in the display duration counter. Incidentally, the display duration that can be acquired with reference to the reach non-occurrence display duration table is different from the display duration that can be acquired with reference to the reach occurrence display duration table.

  Note that the display duration information when no reach occurs is set so that the display duration is shorter as the number of common reserved storage counts CRN is larger. In the situation where the support mode is the high frequency support mode, the non-reach mode is selected so that a shorter display duration is selected compared to the case where the number of the hold information is the same as in the situation where the low frequency support mode. The generation display duration table is set. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the display duration may not be changed according to the common reserved storage number CRN and the support mode, and the above relationship may be reversed. Furthermore, the above-described configuration may be applied to the display continuation time when reach occurs. In addition, in the case of various jackpot results, a display duration table may be individually set for each of the case of outreach and the case of a non-reach outbreak result. In this case, the display duration time is allocated according to each game result.

  After executing the display continuation time setting process in step S410, a change command and a type command are set in step S411. The change command includes display duration information. Here, the display duration obtained by referring to the display non-occurrence display duration table as described above is different from the display duration obtained by referring to the display occurrence time table for reach occurrence. Even if the information about the occurrence of reach is not included in the command, the notification / production control device 140, which is the sub-side control device, can identify the presence or absence of the reach from the display duration information. . In this regard, it can be said that the change command includes information indicating whether or not reach has occurred. Note that the change command may include information that directly indicates whether or not reach has occurred.

  The type command includes game result information. That is, in the type command, as information on the game result, information on the short-term normal jackpot result, information on the long-term normal jackpot result, information on the short-term probability variation jackpot result, information on the long-term probability variation jackpot result, information on the special outage result, and normal outage result Information is included.

  The variation command and type command set in step S411 are transmitted to the notification / production control device 140 in step S201 in the normal process (FIG. 18). Based on the received change start command and type command, the notification / production control device 140 determines the contents of the effects in the game times and controls various devices so that the determined contents of the effects are executed. The contents of this effect include the variable display mode of the symbol on the symbol display device 253. The determined variable display mode of the symbol is displayed as a display content command from the notification / effect control device 140 to the display control device 410. Is output. Based on the display content command received from the notification / production control device 140, the display control device 410 controls the display of the symbol display device 253 so that the symbol variation display corresponding to each game time is performed. Details of processing in the display control device 410 upon receipt of these commands will be described later.

  After executing the process of step S411, the display of the variation of the pattern is started on the main display unit in step S412. Thereafter, in step S413, after executing the external output canceling process, the fluctuation starting process is terminated.

  Returning to the description of the game times control process (FIG. 19), when the main display part (specifically, the display part for the working port) is in a variable display, the process for advancing game times in steps S306 to S309 is executed. In the process for advancing game times, first, in step S306, it is determined whether or not the variation display time of the current game time has elapsed. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the value of the display continuation period counter (variable display time information) provided in the various counter areas 434 of the RAM 404 is “0”. The value of the variable display time information is set in the variable display time setting process as described above. The set value of the variable display time information is decremented by 1 every time the timer interrupt process (FIG. 17) is started.

  If the variable display time has not elapsed, the variable display process is executed in step S307. In the variation display process, the display mode in the main display unit (specifically, the lower working port display unit or the right working port display unit) is changed. Specifically, in the variable display process, the operation port is set so that the LED of the display unit for the operation port related to the current game turn is turned on and off at a predetermined cycle, and the emission color is changed. Display control (light emission control of each display LED). Then, this game times control process is complete | finished.

  If the display continuation time has elapsed, a change end process is executed in step S308. In the change end process, the information stored in the RAM 404 in the process of any one of steps S404, S407, and S409 of the change start process (FIG. 20) executed when starting the currently executed game round is specified. The display of the main display unit 87 is controlled so that the pattern corresponding to the information is displayed on the display unit for the working port of the main display.

  In subsequent step S309, after setting the change end command, the game times control process is ended. The change end command set in step S309 is transmitted to the notification / production control device 140 in step S201 in the normal process (FIG. 18). The notification / production control device 140 executes a process for ending the production in the game times based on the reception of the change end command. Further, the change end command is transmitted to the display control device 410 via the notification / production control device 140, and the display control device 410 receives the change end command to thereby combine the final stop symbols in the game round. Is finally displayed (final stop display) on the display screen 253a of the symbol display device 253. In addition, it is good also as a structure which terminates the effect for game times independently by the alerting / production control device 140 or the display control device 410 without transmitting the change end command.

<Game state transition processing>
Next, the gaming state transition process of step S204 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  In FIG. 21, in step S501, it is determined whether or not the open / close execution mode is in effect. If it is not in the opening / closing execution mode, the process proceeds to step S502, and it is determined whether or not it is the timing when the display of the variation of the pattern on the lower operation port display unit or the right operation port display unit of one game is completed. If it is not the timing when the variable display is finished, the gaming state transition process is finished as it is.

  If it is the timing when the variable display is finished, it is determined in step S503 whether or not the game result of the current game time corresponds to the transition to the opening / closing execution mode. Specifically, it is determined whether or not any one of the short-term normal flag, long-term normal flag, short-term probability variation flag, long-term probability variation flag, and special outlier flag is stored in the RAM 404. If none of the above flags is stored, it is determined that the current game result does not correspond to the transition to the opening / closing execution mode, and the gaming state transition process is terminated as it is.

  If any of the above flags is stored, it is determined that the current game result corresponds to the transition to the opening / closing execution mode, and the opening / closing execution mode start processing is executed in steps S504 to S509. In this start process, in step S504, it is determined whether or not the trigger for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode is a special outage result. If the result is a special deviation result, “16” is set in the release number counter OC provided in the various counter areas 434 of the RAM 404 in step S505. The open number counter OC is a counter for specifying the number of times that the variable winning device 82 is opened. For this reason, if the transition opportunity is a special outage result, the upper limit of the number of times the variable winning device 82 is opened is set to 16 by setting “16” in the number-of-opening counter OC.

  On the other hand, if the result is not a special loss result, that is, if it is any jackpot result, “16” is set to the round counter RC provided in the various counter areas 434 of the RAM 404 in step S506. The round counter RC is a counter for specifying the number of round games to be executed within the range of one opening / closing execution mode.

  That is, in this pachinko machine 10, as the opening / closing execution mode, a round number regulation mode executed with a predetermined number of round games as an upper limit, and a round game is not set, and the opening / closing times of the variable winning device 82 are An open / close number regulation mode that is terminated based on the upper limit number of times is set. The round number regulation mode shifts based on any jackpot result, and the open / close number regulation mode shifts based on a special loss result. Here, the round game is one of the conditions that a predetermined upper limit duration (upper limit duration) elapses and that a predetermined upper limit number of game balls win the variable winning device 82. A game that continues until is satisfied.

  In addition, the number of round games executed in the round number regulation mode is the same for a fixed number of rounds regardless of the type of jackpot result that triggered the transition. Specifically, the maximum number of round games is set to 16 rounds (1st to 16th R), regardless of which jackpot result is obtained.

  After executing the processing of step S506, “1” is set to the open number counter OC in step S507. This means that the upper limit of the number of times the variable winning device 82 is opened per round is set to one when the transition to the opening / closing execution mode is the result of various jackpots.

  After executing the processing of steps S505 and S507, “10” is set to the winning counter PC provided in the various counter areas 434 of the RAM 404 in step S508. The winning counter PC is a counter for specifying the number of game balls won in the variable winning device 82 in one round. For this reason, by setting “10” in the winning counter PC, the upper limit of the number of winnings is set to 10 for one opening of the variable winning device 82.

  In step S509, an opening standby time (starting standby period) for waiting without opening the variable winning device 82 for opening in the opening / closing execution mode is set. Specifically, in the waiting time counter area provided in the various counter areas 434 of the RAM 404, the waiting time information for opening stored in advance in the ROM 403 and corresponding to the opening of the variable winning device 82 is waiting time information. Set. In this case, the waiting time information that is set differs depending on whether the opening / closing execution mode is the high-frequency winning mode, and the waiting time information indicates that the waiting time information is lower in the low-frequency winning mode than in the high-frequency winning mode. It is set to be shorter. For example, in the high-frequency winning mode, the count value of the waiting time information is set so that the waiting time is 1 sec. In the low-frequency winning mode, the waiting time is the first launch cycle or the second launch cycle of the game ball launch. The count value of the waiting time information is set so as to be longer than 4 sec. The value of the waiting time information set here is decremented by 1 every time the timer interrupt process (FIG. 17) is executed.

  After performing the process of step S509, an opening process is performed in step S510. The opening process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 22, in step S601, it is determined whether or not the game result that triggered the transition to the opening / closing execution mode that is currently executed is either a short-term normal jackpot result or a short-term probable jackpot result. When any result is a transition opportunity, it progresses to step S602 and sets the 2nd releasing period command, assuming that the releasing period of the variable prize-winning device 82 is set to the 2nd releasing period (1.0 sec). This second release cycle command is transmitted to the notification / production control device 140 in step S201 in the normal process (FIG. 18). The second opening cycle command includes information on which one of the short-term normal jackpot result and the short-term probable jackpot result has become a transition trigger.

  If the transition opportunity is neither a short-term normal jackpot result nor a short-term probable jackpot result, the process proceeds to step S603 to determine whether or not the transition opportunity is a special outlier result. If the transition opportunity is a special off-line result, the process proceeds to step S604, and a suggestion lottery is performed as to whether or not the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is suggested. The suggestion lottery is performed using a predetermined random number counter in the same manner as the big hit occurrence lottery. In step S605, it is determined whether or not the suggestion lottery is won. When the suggestion lottery is won, the opening period of the variable winning device 82 is set to the first opening period (0.6 sec), and the first opening period command is set to indicate that. This first release cycle command is transmitted to the notification / production control device 140 in step S201 in the normal process (FIG. 18), similarly to the second release cycle command. The first release cycle command includes information indicating that the special outage result is a transition trigger.

  In step S607, an opening command is set. The set opening command is transmitted to the notification / production control device 140 in step S201 in the normal process (FIG. 18). This opening command includes information indicating whether the high-frequency winning mode or the low-frequency winning mode is set. The notification / production control device 140 determines the content of the production corresponding to the opening / closing execution mode based on the received opening command, and controls various devices so that the content of the decided production is executed. The contents of the effect include a display mode in the symbol display device 253, and the determined display mode is output from the notification / effect control device 140 to the display control device 410 as a display content command. In the display control device 410, based on the opening command received from the main control device 162 and the display content command received from the notification / production control device 140, the symbol display device 253 is displayed so that the display corresponding to the current opening / closing execution mode is performed. Display control.

  Here, in addition to the opening command, when the second release period command is set in step S602, the symbol display device 253 is displayed so that the display corresponding to the short-term normal jackpot result or the short-term probability variation jackpot result is performed. To control. In this case, in the opening of the opening / closing execution mode, the symbol display device 253 displays a suggestion effect that suggests that the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is the second opening cycle and the operation content of the firing cycle change switch 306. Become.

  In addition to the opening command, when the first release cycle command is set in step S606, the symbol display device 253 is controlled to display so as to display according to the special loss result. In this case, in the opening of the opening / closing execution mode, the symbol display device 253 displays a suggestion effect that suggests that the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is the first opening cycle and the operation content of the firing stop switch 305. .

  Returning to the description of FIG. 21, in step S511, after executing the external signal setting process, the gaming state transition process is terminated. In the external signal setting process, it is determined whether or not any one of the short-term normal flag, the long-term normal flag, the short-term probability variation flag, the long-term probability variation flag, and the special outlier flag is stored in the RAM 404. If there is, the signal output state of the open / close execution mode signal output terminal is set as the open / close execution mode signal output state. When the opening / closing execution mode signal output terminal is connected to the management control device on the game hall side, an opening / closing execution mode signal is output to the management control device, and the opening / closing execution mode is set in the pachinko machine 10 in the management control device. You can see what happened.

  Returning to the description of step S501 again, if it is determined that the opening / closing execution mode is not in effect, the process proceeds to step S512. In step S512, it is determined whether or not the waiting time for opening has elapsed. If the opening standby time has not elapsed, the gaming state transition process is terminated. If the waiting time for opening has elapsed, variable winning device opening / closing processing is executed in step S513. Here, the variable winning device opening / closing process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

<Variable winning device opening and closing process>
First, in step S701, it is determined whether or not the variable winning device 82 is being opened. If the variable winning device 82 is not open, it is determined in step S702 whether the value of the open number counter OC is “0”, and in step S703, whether the value of the open timer counter TC is “0”. Determine whether.

  The opening number counter OC is a counter that measures the number of times the variable winning device 82 is opened in one round, and the opening timer counter TC is a counter that measures the opening time and opening interval of the variable winning device 82. The numerical information set in the release timer counter TC is decremented by 1 every time the timer interrupt process (FIG. 17) is activated. That is, 2 msec is measured by decrementing the open timer counter TC by one.

  If the value of the open number counter OC is “0” or if the value of the open timer counter TC is not “0”, the variable winning device opening / closing process is ended as it is. On the other hand, if the value of the opening number counter OC is not “0” and the value of the opening timer counter TC is “0”, the process proceeds to step S704, and variable winning device releasing processing is executed.

  The variable winning device opening process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  24, in steps S801 to S803, an opening time setting process for setting one opening time of the variable winning device 82 in the opening / closing execution mode is performed. In this opening time setting process, in step S801, it is determined whether or not the trigger for switching to the opening / closing execution mode is one of a short-term normal jackpot result, a short-term probability variation jackpot result, and a special loss result. Here, it is determined whether any one of the short-term normal flag, the short-term probability variation flag, and the special outlier flag is set, and when any one of the flags is set, the result corresponding to the flag is a trigger for the transition. It is determined that If any result is a transition opportunity, “50” is set to the open timer counter TC in step S802. That is, one opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to a low frequency time (0.1 sec).

  If the transition trigger is neither a short-term normal jackpot result, a short-term probability variation jackpot result, or a special outlier result, the process proceeds to step S803, and "15000" is set to the open timer counter TC. That is, one opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to a high frequency time (30 sec).

  After executing the opening time setting process, the opening execution process is executed in step S804. In the opening execution process, the variable winning driving unit 82a is driven and controlled so that the variable winning device 82 is in the open state. Thereafter, the variable winning device opening process is terminated.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 23, after the variable winning device opening process is executed, an opening command is set in step S705, and the opening / closing process of the variable winning device 82 is ended. This release command is transmitted to the notification / production control device 140 in step S201 of the normal process (FIG. 18). This release command includes information indicating whether the high-frequency winning mode or the low-frequency winning mode is set. In the notification / production control device 140, in the high-frequency winning mode, the content of the production corresponding to the received release command is determined, and various devices are controlled so that the content of the production that is determined is executed.

  Returning to the description of step S701, if it is determined in step S701 that the variable winning device 82 is open, it is determined in step S706 whether the value of the open timer counter TC is “0”. That is, it is determined whether or not the open continuation time of the variable winning device 82 has reached the high frequency time or the low frequency time.

  If the value of the opening timer counter TC is “0”, it is determined that the opening time of the variable winning device 82 has ended, the process proceeds to step S707, and variable winning device closing processing is performed. Specifically, the output of the drive signal to the variable winning drive unit 82a is stopped, and the open variable winning device 82 is closed. In addition, a closing command indicating that the variable winning device 82 is closed is set. This closing command is transmitted to the notification / production control device 140 in step S201 in the normal process (FIG. 18).

  In step S708, the value of the opening number counter OC is decremented by 1. In step S709, it is determined whether or not the value of the opening number counter OC is “0”. Here, the opening number counter OC is set to “16” when the trigger to shift to the opening / closing execution mode is a special outage result, while when the transition trigger is various jackpot results, in step S507. Since it is set to “1”, the case where the value of the release number counter OC is not “0” after being decremented by 1 corresponds only to the case where the transition opportunity is a special outage result.

  When the value of the release number counter OC is not “0”, the process proceeds to step S710, and “250” is set to the release timer counter TC. That is, the closing time (opening interval) of the variable winning device 82 is set so that the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 becomes the first opening cycle (0.6 sec) when the transition to the opening / closing execution mode is a special outage result. ) Is set to 0.5 sec. In this case, the variable winning device 82 is repeatedly made to open for 0.1 sec and close for 0.5 sec.

  When the value of the number-of-opening counter OC is “0”, it is determined that the number of times the variable winning device 82 has been opened has reached the prescribed number (16 times or once), the process proceeds to step S711, and the variable winning device 82 has been closed. Perform post-processing. The post-processing after closing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 25, in step S1001, it is determined whether or not the trigger for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode is a special outage result. If the transition opportunity is not a special outlier result, it is determined that the transition opportunity is one of various jackpot results. In step S1002, the value of the round counter RC is decremented by 1. In step S1003, the value of the round counter RC is “ Whether or not “0” is determined.

  When the value of the round counter RC is “0”, it is determined that the opening period of the final R (16th R) variable winning device 82 has ended, and the process proceeds to step S1004. Also, if the transition opportunity is a special outage result (when the determination in step S1001 is YES), the final (16th) opening period of the variable prize-winning device 82 ends, and the process proceeds to step S1004.

  In step S1004, an ending start process is executed. In the start process, an ending waiting time for waiting without starting the next game round is set for the ending in the opening / closing execution mode. Specifically, ending waiting time information stored in advance in the ROM 403 is set in a waiting time counter area provided in various counter areas 434 of the RAM 404. The value of the waiting time information set here is decremented by 1 every time the timer interrupt process (FIG. 17) is executed.

  Thereafter, in step S1005, an ending command is set, and the post-processing after the main closing ends. The set ending command is transmitted to the notification / production control device 140 in step S201 in the normal process (FIG. 18). The notification / production control device 140 determines the content of the production corresponding to the opening / closing execution mode based on the received ending command, and controls various devices so that the content of the decided production is executed.

  The contents of the effect include a display mode in the symbol display device 253, and the determined display mode is output from the notification / effect control device 140 to the display control device 410 as a display content command. Based on the display content command received from the notification / production control device 140, the display control device 410 performs a display corresponding to the current opening / closing execution mode, for example, a moving image display such as a character as display content corresponding to the jackpot. The display of the symbol display device 253 is controlled.

  When the value of the round counter RC is not “0” (when the determination in step S1003 is NO), it is determined that the release period has not ended in the final R, and in steps S1006 to S1011 the process until the release process in the next round is completed. A waiting time setting process for setting a waiting time is performed.

  In the standby time setting process, in step S1006, it is determined whether any of the long-term normal jackpot result or the long-term probability variation jackpot result is a trigger for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode. If these jackpot results are a trigger for transition, the process proceeds to step S1007, and “1000” is set in the release timer counter TC. That is, the waiting time until the next round (the closing time of the variable winning device 82) is set to 2 seconds. In this case, the opening of 30 sec and the closing of 2 sec per round are repeated by the variable winning device 82 for 16 rounds. In this case, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is 32 seconds.

  If the transition opportunity is neither a long-term normal jackpot result nor a long-term probability variation jackpot result, the process proceeds to step S1008, and it is determined whether or not the transition trigger is a short-term probability variation jackpot result. When the transition trigger is the second probability variation jackpot result, the process proceeds to step S1009, and “450” is set to the release timer counter TC. That is, the waiting time until the next round is set to 0.9 sec. In this case, the variable winning device 82 is repeatedly made to open for 0.1 sec and 0.9 sec for each round for 16 rounds. That is, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is set to the second opening cycle (1.0 sec).

  If the transition opportunity is not a short-term probability change jackpot result, the transition trigger is a short-term normal hit result, the process proceeds to step S1010, and whether or not the value of the opening number counter OC is any one of “12” to “7”. Determine whether. That is, it is determined whether the current round is any one of the 5th to 10th rounds. If the current round is not the 5th to 10th R, that is, if it is any of the 1st to 4th R and the 11th to 16th R, the transition trigger is the short-term probable big hit result, as in step S1009. Then, “450” is set in the open timer counter TC. On the other hand, if the current round is any one of the 5th to 10th rounds, the process proceeds to step S1011 and “250” is set in the release timer counter TC in the same manner as the process of step S710 when the transition trigger is a special outage result. Set. That is, the waiting time until the next round is set to 0.9 sec. In this case, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is set to the first opening cycle (0.6 sec) by causing the variable winning device 82 to repeatedly perform the opening of 0.1 sec and the closing of 0.6 sec per round. It will be.

  Therefore, when the transition opportunity is a short-term normal jackpot result, the opening period of the variable winning device 82 is the second opening period in the first R to the fourth R, the 11R to the 16th R, and the first in the 5R to 10R. One open cycle is set. In this case, after the second opening period is set in the first R, the first opening period is switched in the fifth R, and the second opening period is returned again in the eleventh R.

  After the processing of steps S1007, S1009, and S1011 is executed, “1” is set to the open number counter OC in step S1012, and “10” is set to the winning counter PC in step S1013. Thus, for the next round, the number of times the variable winning device 82 is opened is set to one, and the upper limit of the number of winnings to the variable winning device 82 is set to ten.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 23, if the value of the release timer counter TC is not “0”, it is determined that the release time of the variable winning device 82 has not ended, and a game ball is won in the variable winning device 82 in step S712. It is determined based on the detection signal from the detection sensor 391b.

  If it is determined in step S712 that a winning has occurred, the process proceeds to step S713, and the value of the winning counter PC is decremented by 1, and whether or not the value of the winning counter PC is “0” in subsequent step S714. Determine. If the value of the winning counter PC is not “0”, the variable winning device opening / closing process is terminated as it is. On the other hand, when the value of the winning counter PC is “0”, it is determined that the number of winnings to the variable winning device 82 has reached the upper limit (10), the process proceeds to step S715, and similarly to step S707, the variable winning device. Perform the closing process.

  Here, when the transition trigger to the opening / closing execution mode is either the long-term normal jackpot result or the long-term probability variation jackpot result, before the opening time of the variable winning device 82 reaches the high frequency time (30 sec), There is a possibility that the variable winning device 82 is closed due to the fact that the number of winnings in one opening time reaches ten. On the other hand, when the transition opportunity is one of the short-term normal jackpot result, the short-term probable jackpot result, or the special outlier result, the variable winning device 82 is opened only at a low frequency (0.1 sec) at the longest, It is very unlikely that there will be more than two balls in a single opening time. That is, the variable winning device 82 is not closed due to the number of winnings reaching 10. For this reason, when the transition opportunity is one of the short-term normal jackpot result, the short-term probable jackpot result, or the special out-of-game result, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is surely ensured for a low frequency time.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 21 again, after the variable winning device opening / closing process of step S513 is completed, the process proceeds to step S514, and it is determined whether or not the value of the open number counter OC is “0”. If the value of the number-of-opening counter OC is not “0”, it is determined that the number of times the variable winning device 82 has been opened has not reached the upper limit, and the gaming state transition process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if an affirmative determination is made in step S514, the process proceeds to step S515 to determine whether or not the ending standby time has elapsed. If a negative determination is made in step S515, the gaming state transition process is terminated as it is.

  If an affirmative determination is made in steps S514 and S515, the process proceeds to step S516. In step S516, a transition process at the end of the opening / closing execution mode is executed. The transition process at the end of the opening / closing execution mode will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

<Transition processing at the end of opening / closing execution mode>
In FIG. 26, in step S1101, it is determined whether or not the trigger for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode is a long-term probability change jackpot result. Here, it is determined whether or not the long-term probability variation flag is set in the various flag storage areas 435 of the RAM 404. If the long-term certain probability variation flag is set, it is determined that the transition trigger is the long-term certainty probability jackpot result. Proceed to

  In step S1102, a high probability mode flag and a high frequency support flag are set. Here, by executing a flag erasing process for erasing information for specifying the gaming state, the opening / closing execution mode flag, the high probability mode flag, the high frequency support flag, and the frequency limit flag are stored. The flag is erased and the state of the flag that is not stored is maintained. Thereafter, the high-probability mode flag and the high-frequency support flag are stored, and the migration process is terminated. Thereby, after the opening / closing execution mode is ended, the game state is shifted to the game state in which the winning / failing lottery mode is the high probability mode and the support mode is the high frequency support mode.

  Here, the number limit flag is a flag for setting an upper limit (for example, 100 times) of the number of games in the high probability mode or the high frequency support mode. As described above, when the high probability mode flag and the high frequency support flag are set and the number limit flag is not set, the high probability mode until the game result of the game time becomes the next jackpot result. And the high frequency support mode is continued.

  If the transition opportunity is not the long-term probability change jackpot result, the process advances to step S1103 to determine whether or not the transition opportunity is a short-term probability change jackpot result. Here, it is determined whether or not the short-term probability change flag is set. If the short-term probability change flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1104 assuming that the transition trigger is a short-term probability change jackpot result.

  In step S1104, a high probability mode flag is set. Here, after executing the flag erasing process, the high probability mode flag is set. Thereby, after the opening / closing execution mode is ended, the game state is shifted to the game state in which the winning / failing lottery mode is the high probability mode and the support mode is the low frequency support mode. In this case, since the number limit flag is not set, the high probability mode is continued until the game result of the game time becomes the next jackpot result.

  If the transition opportunity is neither the long-term probability variation jackpot result or the short-term probability variation jackpot result, the process proceeds to step S1105, and it is determined whether or not the transition trigger is a long-term ordinary jackpot result. Here, it is determined whether or not the long-term normal flag is set. If the long-term normal flag is set, the process proceeds to step S1106 assuming that the transition trigger is the long-term normal jackpot result.

  In step S1106, a high frequency support flag and a frequency limit flag are set. Here, after the flag erasing process is executed, the high frequency support flag and the frequency limit flag are set. Thereby, after the opening / closing execution mode is ended, the game state is shifted to the game state in which the winning / failing lottery mode is the low probability mode and the support mode is the high frequency support mode. In this case, since the number limit flag is set, the support mode shifts to the low frequency support mode after the game times in the high frequency support mode continue for the upper limit number (100 times).

  When the transition opportunity is neither the long-term probability variation jackpot result, the short-term probability variation jackpot result, or the long-term ordinary jackpot result, the process proceeds to step S1107, and it is determined whether or not the transition trigger is the long-term ordinary jackpot result. Here, it is determined whether or not the short-term normal flag is set. If the short-term normal flag is set, it is determined that the transition trigger is the short-term normal jackpot result, and the process proceeds to step S1108.

  In step S1108, flag erasure processing is executed. Thereby, after the opening / closing execution mode is ended, the game state is shifted to the game state in which the winning / failing lottery mode is the low probability mode and the support mode is the low frequency support mode.

  If the transition opportunity is not a jackpot result, that is, if the transition opportunity is a special outage result, the current transition process is terminated as it is, assuming that the current mode is maintained for both the success / failure lottery mode and the support mode.

<Valid operation-related processing>
In this embodiment, when the transition opportunity is any one of the short-term normal jackpot result, the short-term probable jackpot result, and the special outlier result, the suggestion suggests the content of the effective operation for the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306. Production is to be performed. Here, the effective operation-related processing performed by the MPU of the notification / production control device 140 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The effective operation related processing is periodically executed (for example, at a cycle of 2 msec) in the MPU of the notification / production control device 140.

  In FIG. 27, in step S1201, it is determined whether or not a second release cycle command has been received from main controller 162. When the second release cycle command is received, the process proceeds to step S1202, where a second release cycle suggestion command is set, and this second release cycle suggestion command is output to the display control device 410.

  Here, when the display control device 410 receives the suggestion command for the second opening cycle, the firing cycle change switch in a state in which the opening of the variable winning device 82 is not started as a standby for opening of the opening / closing execution mode The suggestion image suggesting the content of the effective operation for 306 is displayed on the symbol display device 253 for a predetermined suggestion period (for example, 2 sec). That is, the symbol display device 253 is caused to execute the suggestion effect for the second opening cycle. The suggestion image for the second release cycle is an image indicating that the operation for shifting the firing cycle change switch 306 to the change operation state is an effective operation. In this case, the suggestion image plays a role for allowing the player to detect the effective period for executing the effective operation, and the suggestion period corresponds to the effective period.

  Note that the waiting time (4 sec) in the low-frequency winning mode is longer than the suggestion period, and the suggestion image has the remaining waiting time after the suggestion period ends, the first launch period (0 of game ball launch) .6 sec) or longer than the second firing period (0.9 sec).

  When the second release cycle command has not been received from the main controller 162, the process proceeds to step S1203, and it is determined whether or not the first release cycle command has been received from the main controller 162. If the first release cycle command has been received, the process proceeds to step S1204, where a first release cycle suggestion command is set, and this first release cycle suggestion command is output to the display control device 410.

  Here, when the display control device 410 receives the suggestion command for the first opening cycle, the suggestion image suggesting the content of the effective operation on the firing stop switch 305 in accordance with the effect corresponding to the opening / closing execution mode opening. Is displayed on the symbol display device 253 for a predetermined suggestion period (for example, 2 sec). That is, the symbol display device 253 is caused to execute the suggestive effect for the first opening cycle. Note that the suggestion image for the first opening cycle is an image indicating that the operation (click operation) in which the firing stop switch 305 is shifted to the stop operation state and returned to the non-operation state is a valid operation.

  After executing the processing of steps S1202 and S1204, the process proceeds to step S1205, and it is determined whether or not it is during the suggestion period for the second release cycle. Here, based on the signal from the display control device 410, it is determined whether or not a suggestion image for the second release cycle is displayed on the symbol display device 253, and the suggestion image for the second release cycle is displayed. In this case, it is determined that the suggestion period for the second opening cycle is in progress, and the process proceeds to step S1206.

  In step S1206, it is determined whether an effective operation for the second opening cycle has been performed during the suggestion period for the second opening cycle. Here, based on the detection signal of the firing cycle change sensor 306a from the main controller 162, it is determined whether or not the firing cycle change switch 306 has been switched from the non-operation state to the change operation state. When the firing cycle change switch 306 is switched to the change operation state, it is determined that an effective operation for the second opening cycle has been performed, and the process proceeds to step S1207, where an effective operation command is set, and the main controller 162 and the display controller 410 are set. Output for. Here, the display control device 410 stops the display of the suggestion image for the symbol display device 253 when the valid operation command is received. In this case, the player can be notified that an appropriate effective operation has been performed on the firing period change switch 306.

  If it is not during the suggestion period for the second opening cycle, the process proceeds to step S1208 to determine whether it is during the suggestion period for the first opening cycle. Here, based on the signal from the display control device 410, it is determined whether or not the first opening cycle suggestion image is displayed on the symbol display device 253, and the first opening cycle suggestion image is displayed. In this case, it is determined that the suggestion period for the first opening cycle is in progress, and the process proceeds to step S1209.

  In step S1209, it is determined whether an effective operation for the first opening cycle has been performed during the suggestion period for the first opening cycle. Here, based on the detection signal of the firing stop sensor 305a from the main controller 162, it is determined whether or not the firing stop switch 305 has shifted from a non-operation state to a stop operation state to a non-operation state by a click operation. When the click operation of the firing stop switch 305 is performed, the valid operation for the first opening cycle is performed, and in the same manner as when the valid operation for the second opening cycle is performed, in step S1207, the valid operation is performed. Set operation commands.

<Game ball launch control processing>
Returning to the description of the normal process (FIG. 18) executed by the MPU 402 of the main controller 162, the game ball launch control process of step S206 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 28, first, in step S1301, the firing counter HC is incremented by one. The firing counter HC is a means for measuring the launching period of the game ball, and due to the fact that the present game ball launch control process is executed every 4 msec in the normal process, every time 1 is added, 4 msec is measured. Become.

  In step S1302, it is determined whether or not the game ball launch handle 41 is in a launch operation state. Here, based on the detection signal of the touch sensor 302a, it is determined whether or not the player is touching the rotation operation member 302, and the game ball is subject to the condition that the player is touching the rotation operation member 302. If the firing handle 41 is in the firing operation state, the process advances to step S1303. Therefore, in a state where the player is not touching the rotation operation member 302, even if the game ball launch handle 41 is in the launch operation state, the process does not proceed to step S1303 (a process for launching the game ball is performed). The game ball launch control process is terminated as it is.

  In step S1303, based on the detection signal of the firing stop sensor 305a from the power supply / launch control device 243, it is determined whether or not the firing stop switch 305 is in the stop operation state. When the firing stop switch 305 is not in the stop operation state (when it is in the non-operation state), the process proceeds to step S1304.

  In step S1304, it is determined whether a valid operation command has been received from the notification / production control device 140 or not. If no valid operation command has been received, the process advances to step S1305 to determine whether or not the value of the firing adjustment value S is “0”. The launch adjustment value S is a timing at which it is easy to win the launch timing of the game ball in the variable prize winning device 82 when the transition timing to the opening / closing execution mode is one of the short-term normal jackpot result, the short-term probable jackpot result, or the special miss result. This is to ensure the firing timing adjustment period to be adjusted so as to become.

  If the value of the firing adjustment value S is not “0”, the process proceeds to step S1306, and whether the firing cycle change switch 306 is in the change operation state based on the detection signal of the firing cycle change sensor 306a from the power / fire control device 243. Determine whether or not. If the firing cycle change switch 306 is not in the change operation state, the firing cycle of the game ball is set to the first firing cycle, and the process proceeds to step S1307, where the value of the firing counter HC has reached the normal determination value (for example, 150) or more. Determine whether or not. That is, it is determined whether or not the first firing cycle has elapsed since the previous game ball launch. When the normal determination value is set to 150, it is determined whether 0.6 sec has elapsed as the first firing period.

  If the value of the firing counter HC is less than 150, the processing is terminated as it is without firing the game ball. On the other hand, if the firing counter HC is 150 or more, “0” is set to the firing counter HC in step S1308. That is, the firing counter HC is cleared.

  In step S1309, it is determined whether or not the launch permission flag is set in the launch permission flag storage area of the RAM 503. The launch permission flag is a flag that is set when a launch permission signal is output from the power / fire control device 243. If the launch permission flag is set, a launch control signal is output to the power source / launch control device 243 in step S1310. If the launch permission flag is not set, a launch control signal is output. This process is finished without. In addition, the power supply / launch control device 243 inputs one launch control signal, thereby exciting the solenoid 111 once and launching one game ball.

  When the firing cycle change switch 306 is in the change operation state (when step S1306 is YES), the game ball launch cycle is set to the second launch cycle, and the process proceeds to step S1311, where the value of the launch counter HC is specially determined. It is determined whether or not a value (for example, 250) is reached. That is, it is determined whether or not the second firing cycle has elapsed since the previous game ball launch. When the special determination value is set to 250, it is determined whether 1.0 sec has elapsed as the second firing cycle. In this case, the special determination value is larger than the normal determination value because the second emission period is longer than the first emission period.

  If the value of the launch counter HC is less than 250, the process is terminated as it is without firing the game ball. On the other hand, when the firing counter HC is 250 or more, processing for launching a game ball is performed in steps S1308 to S1310.

  When a valid operation command has been received (when step S1304 is YES), or when the value of the firing adjustment value S is not “0” (step S1305 is NO), the process proceeds to step S1312, and step S1306 and Similarly, it is determined whether or not the firing cycle change switch 306 is in the change operation state. If the firing cycle change switch 306 is not in the change operation state, the process proceeds to step S1313.

  In step S1313, the firing adjustment value S is calculated, and it is determined whether or not the value of the firing counter HC is equal to or greater than the sum of the normal determination value (150) and the firing adjustment value S. In this case, the launch timing adjustment period is set by the sum of the normal determination value and the launch adjustment value S, and it is determined whether or not the launch timing adjustment period has elapsed since the previous game ball launch. Among the plurality of game balls that are repeatedly fired, the variable game prize is obtained from the next game ball by changing the launch interval from the previous game ball to the launch timing adjustment period instead of the first launch period. The device 82 is fired in the first firing cycle or the second firing cycle at a timing at which it is easy to win a prize.

  Here, the average arrival time required for the launched game ball to reach the variable winning device 82 is calculated by a test or the like, and this average arrival time is stored in advance in the ROM 403, and the launch adjustment value S is the average Calculated using arrival time and the like. Specifically, the remaining time of the opening waiting time is calculated based on the timing at which the valid operation command is received, and the time from the end of the opening waiting time until the first game ball is fired (first firing cycle) In this case, 0.5 seconds) and the remaining time are calculated, and the grace time is calculated by subtracting the average arrival time from this sum. The value obtained by subtracting the product of the maximum number of firings that can be fired in the first firing period and the first firing period from the grace time in the grace time is the “deviation between the launch timing of the game ball and the opening timing of the variable winning device 82. It corresponds to “time”, and the firing timing adjustment period is calculated by adding the first firing period to this “deviation time”. The launch adjustment value S is calculated by dividing the launch timing adjustment period by the processing period (4 msec) of the game ball launch control process.

  If the value of the firing counter HC is equal to or greater than the sum of the normal determination value and the firing adjustment value S, it is determined that the firing timing adjustment period has ended, and the process proceeds to step S1314 to set the firing adjustment value S to “0”. . Then, similarly to steps S1307 and S1311, in steps S1308 to S1310, processing for launching a game ball is performed.

  When the firing cycle change switch 306 is in the change operation state (when step S1312 is YES), the firing adjustment value S is calculated in step S1315, and the firing counter HC value is set to the special judgment value (250) and the firing adjustment. It is determined whether or not the sum with the value S has been reached. Here, unlike the process of step S1313, the firing adjustment value S is calculated using the second launch cycle instead of the first launch cycle. When calculating the firing adjustment value S, for example, the time from the end of the opening waiting time until the first game ball is fired is 0.9 sec.

  If the value of the firing counter HC is equal to or greater than the sum of the special determination value and the firing adjustment value S, the value of the firing counter HC is greater than or equal to the sum of the normal determination value and the firing adjustment value S in step S1313. Similarly to the case, the process of step S1314 is executed, and further, a process for launching a game ball is performed in steps S1308 to S1310.

  In steps S1313 and S1315, if the value of the launch counter HC is less than the sum of the special determination value (150 or 250) and the launch adjustment value, this processing is terminated as it is, with no game ball being fired.

  As described above, in this pachinko machine 10, the game ball is fired on condition that the player is operating the game ball launch handle 41. Here, when the firing cycle change switch 306 is not operated, basically 100 gaming balls are fired per minute by firing one gaming ball every 0.6 sec. On the other hand, when the firing period change switch 306 is operated, basically, one game ball is fired in 1.0 sec, thereby firing 60 game balls in one minute. And in the state which changed to the opening / closing execution mode concerning low frequency prize-winning mode, when effective operation is performed with respect to the launch period change switch 306 or the firing stop switch 305 by the player, one of the launch periods of the game ball is By being replaced with the launch timing adjustment period, the subsequent launch timing of the game ball is changed to a timing at which it is easy to win the variable winning device 82. That is, the winning probability to the variable winning device 82 is increased as compared with the case where the player does not perform the effective operation.

  The reason why the main control board 401 controls the permission for launching the game balls is to place the main part of the game in the pachinko machine 10 called the launch of the game balls under the control of the main control board 401.

  Next, the winning mode of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 in the open / close execution mode will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a winning state of a game ball when the timing for entering the opening / closing execution mode is a special outage result, and FIG. 30 is a game ball when the timing for entering the opening / closing execution mode is the short-term probability change jackpot result. FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a winning mode of a game ball when the trigger for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term normal jackpot result.

  As shown in FIG. 29A, the variable winning device 82 is repeatedly opened with an opening cycle of 0.6 sec (first opening cycle) because the trigger to shift to the opening / closing execution mode is a special result. If the firing period change switch 306 is not operated, the game ball is repeatedly fired with a firing period of 0.6 sec (first firing period) that is the same as the opening period of the variable winning device 82. In this case, since the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 and the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 are not synchronized, the possibility that the game ball will win the variable winning device 82 is very low. .

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 29 (b), the click operation of the firing stop switch 305 is timed according to the suggestion image for the first opening period in the suggestion period Ta that is secured in accordance with the transition to the opening / closing execution mode. When performed at t1, the interval until the next game ball is fired is replaced by the firing timing adjustment period Tb for the first release period from 0.6 sec. For this reason, after the click operation of the firing stop switch 305 is performed, the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 and the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 are easily synchronized, and the variable winning device 82 is released. The chance that a game ball wins every time is very high. In addition, when a game ball wins all the 16 times of opening of the variable winning device 82, 240 prize balls are paid out.

  In addition, if the player cannot perform the click operation of the firing stop switch 305 in the suggestion period Ta, the difficulty increases, but the player operates the firing stop switch 305 or moves his / her hand from the rotation operation member 302. By separating the game balls, it is possible to generate a winning to the variable winning device 82 by shifting the firing period of the gaming balls so that the arrival timing of the gaming ball to the variable winning device 82 is included in the opening time of the variable winning device 82. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 30 (a), when the transition to the opening / closing execution mode is the result of the short-term probability variation jackpot, the variable winning device 82 is repeatedly opened with an opening period of 1.0 sec (second opening period). In this case, if the firing period change switch 306 is not operated, the game ball is repeatedly fired with a firing period of 0.6 sec (first firing period) different from the opening period of the variable winning device 82. In this case, since the opening period of the variable winning device 82 and the arrival period of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 are not the same length, the arrival timing of the game ball coincides with the opening timing of the variable winning device 82. Except for this, the possibility that the game ball wins the variable winning device 82 is very low.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 30 (b), in the suggestion period Ta secured in accordance with the transition to the opening / closing execution mode, the pressing operation of the firing period change switch 306 is performed according to the suggestion image for the second opening period. When started at the timing t2, the interval until the next game ball is fired is not 0.6 sec or 0.9 sec, but is replaced with the firing timing adjustment period Tc for the second release cycle. Therefore, while the pressing operation of the firing cycle change switch 306 is continued, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 and the firing cycle of the game ball are set to the same length, and the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 is variable. It becomes easy to synchronize with the arrival timing of the game ball to the winning device 82, and the possibility that the game ball will win every time the variable winning device 82 is released becomes very high.

  Similarly to the case where the transition opportunity is a special failure result, if the player cannot perform the click operation of the firing switch 305 in the suggestion period Ta, the difficulty level is increased, but the firing switch 305 is increased. And by releasing the hand from the rotation operation member 302, the game ball firing period is shifted so that the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 is included in the opening time of the variable winning device 82. It is possible to generate a winning for the winning device 82.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 31A, when the transition trigger to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term normal jackpot result, the transition trigger is a short-term probable jackpot result in the first R to fourth R and the eleventh to sixteenth Rs. While the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is set to 1.0 sec as in a case, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is set in the fifth to tenth Rs as in the case where the transition opportunity is a special outage result. 0.6 sec. In this case, as in the case where the transition opportunity is the short-term probability variation jackpot result, when the pressing operation of the firing cycle change switch 306 is started in the suggestion period Ta, the interval until the next game ball is fired is second open. It is replaced with a periodical firing timing adjustment period Tc. Therefore, in the first to fourth Rs, the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 and the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 are synchronized, and the game ball wins each time the variable winning device 82 is released. The possibility is very high.

  However, the opening period of the variable winning device 82 is changed to 0.6 sec in the 5th R. For this reason, if the game ball firing cycle is held at 1.0 sec, the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 and the arrival timing of the gaming ball are not synchronized, and this state is changed to the variable winning device 82 in the 11th R. This will continue even after the release period of is returned to 1.0 sec. In this case, in the 5th to 16th R, the possibility that the game ball wins the variable winning device 82 becomes very low.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 31 (b), after the game ball that wins the variable winning device 82 is fired at the 4th R, the pressing operation of the firing cycle change switch 306 is released at the timing t3. Then, the launch period of the game ball is changed to 0.6 sec, which is the same as the release period of the variable winning device 82 in the 5th to 10th Rs. For this reason, also in the 5th to 10th R, since the firing cycle change switch 306 is not operated, the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 and the arrival timing of the game ball are synchronized, and the variable winning device 82 is opened. The possibility that a game ball wins every time becomes very high.

  In addition, after the game ball to be won in the variable winning device 82 is fired in the 11th R, when the pressing operation of the firing cycle change switch 306 is started again at timing t4 before 0.6 sec elapses. The launch period of the game ball is changed to 1.0 sec which is the same as the release period of the variable winning device 82 in the 11th to 16th Rs. For this reason, also in the 11th to 16th R, the firing cycle change switch 306 is held in the change operation state, so that the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 and the arrival timing of the game ball are synchronized, and the variable winning device 82 There is a very high probability that a game ball will win every time the is released.

  As mentioned above, in addition to the fact that short-term normal jackpot results, short-term probable jackpot results, and special outliers are differentiated according to the contents of the lottery mode and support mode after the opening and closing execution mode ends, Even during the open / close execution mode in the low-frequency winning mode, the winning mode of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 is differentiated.

  Specifically, for the short-term normal jackpot result and the short-term probable jackpot result, the suggestion image is displayed on the symbol display device 253 every time the opening / closing execution mode is entered, while the special out-of-game result is displayed in the opening / closing execution mode. With the shift, the suggested image is displayed on the symbol display device 253 only when the suggested lottery is won. As described above, in a situation where no suggestion image is displayed, the possibility of a game ball winning in the variable winning device 82 in the low-frequency winning mode is very low. It is harder to win a prize ball than the probable jackpot result.

  In addition, with regard to the short-term probable jackpot result, by performing an easy operation of shifting the firing cycle change switch 306 to the change operation state and holding it in accordance with the display of the suggestion image in accordance with the shift to the opening / closing execution mode. The game ball can be won every time the variable winning device 82 is opened. On the other hand, in the case of the short-term normal jackpot result, in order to win the game ball every time the variable winning device 82 is released after the firing cycle change switch 306 is shifted to the change operation state in the same manner as the short-term probability variation jackpot result, It is necessary for the player himself to measure the timing and shift the firing cycle change switch 306 between the non-operation state and the change operation state. For this reason, in the short-term normal jackpot result, it is more difficult to acquire a prize ball than in the short-term probability variation jackpot result.

  According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following excellent effects are obtained.

  When the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to the low frequency time in the opening / closing execution mode, the game ball firing cycle is changed by the player's operation on the firing cycle change switch 306, so that the variable winning device 82 is changed. The game balls have different entrance probabilities. In this case, since the payout state of the prize ball accompanying the winning to the variable winning device 82 is likely to vary depending on the player's operation skill, the player's technical intervention can be urged regarding the operation of the firing period change switch 306.

  Since the low frequency time that can be set as the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is shorter than the launching period of the game balls, it is difficult for the game balls to win the variable winning device 82. Thereby, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the probability of entering a game ball into the variable winning device 82 is likely to depend on the launch timing and launch cycle of the game ball. That is, in the opening / closing execution mode, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the number of winnings to the variable winning device 82 is likely to depend on the player's operating skill.

  Since the firing cycle of the game ball can be changed from the first launch cycle to the second launch cycle by an easy operation of pressing the launch cycle change switch 306, even a beginner can increase the willingness to operate the launch cycle change switch 306. Can do.

  When the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to a low frequency time, the first opening cycle and the second opening cycle that are the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 can be selected as the game ball firing cycle. Since it is set to the same length as each of the firing cycle and the second firing cycle, the difficulty level for making the length of the game ball firing cycle equal to the length of the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is excessively high. Can be suppressed. For this reason, even for beginners, it is possible to increase motivation for winning the game ball in the variable winning device 82 that is opened only for a low frequency time.

  In addition, by making the game ball firing cycle coincide with the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82, each time the variable winning device 82 is opened, the game ball can win the variable winning device 82. It is possible to increase the player's expectation that a situation occurs in which a game ball wins every time it is opened.

  When the trigger to enter the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term probability variation jackpot result, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is set to the second opening cycle (1.0 sec), so the game ball firing cycle is set to the first firing cycle ( By changing to the second firing period (1.0 sec) longer than 0.6 sec), it is possible to synchronize the arrival period of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 with the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82. In this case, the player can suppress the desire to fire as many game balls as possible in the open / close execution mode, and deliberately operates the firing cycle change switch 306 so that the number of game balls to be fired is reduced, so that the variable winning device The winning probability of a game ball to 82 can be increased. As described above, in the opening / closing execution mode in which the transition opportunity is the short-term probability variation jackpot result, pressing the firing cycle change switch 306 while suppressing the feeling of exerting the appropriate operation skill is demonstrated.

  When the trigger for switching to the opening / closing execution mode is a special losing jackpot result, the opening period of the variable winning device 82 is switched from one of the first opening period and the second opening period to the other during the opening / closing execution mode. The degree of difficulty for making the length of the launch period coincide with the length of the opening period of the variable winning device 82 can be increased. In this case, since the scope of technical intervention has been expanded, it is possible to increase the willingness of the game even for the skilled person.

  Since the variable winning device 82 is disposed at the upper position of the game area PE, the arrival time required for the game ball launched by the game ball launching mechanism 110 to reach the variable winning device 82 can be kept substantially constant. . In this case, the player can adjust the arrival period and the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable prize apparatus 82 by changing the emission period and the emission timing of the game ball. Even in a state where the opening time of 82 is set to the low frequency time, it is possible to suppress the difficulty of winning the game ball every time the variable winning device 82 is opened.

  Since the variable winning device 82 is disposed at a position below the stopper member 86, the game balls that collide with the stopper member 86 and flow down can be directly awarded to the variable winning device 82. In this case, since the game ball flows down from the stopper member 86 at the intermediate position of the game area PE in the width direction of the game board 80a, the variable winning device 82 can be arranged at the intermediate position of the game area PE. That is, the degree of freedom regarding the installation position of the variable winning device 82 can be increased.

  The player can adjust the firing timing of the game ball by operating the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306, releasing the hand from the rotation operation member 302, or the like. For this reason, if the game ball firing cycle is adjusted to the same length as the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82, the game ball can be won each time the variable winning device 82 is opened by adjusting the timing of the game ball firing. You can create situations that occur. Thereby, a player's willingness to play can be increased.

  When the trigger for switching to the opening / closing execution mode is one of the short-term probability change jackpot result, the short-term normal jackpot result, or the special off-line result, the effective operation for the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306 is performed in the suggestion period Ta. Since the game ball firing timing is changed to a timing at which a winning to the variable winning device 82 is likely to occur, it is possible to prevent the difficulty from becoming too high for the winning to the variable winning device 82.

  Since the suggestion image is displayed on the symbol display device 253 during the suggestion period Ta, the player can detect the timing of performing an effective operation on the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306. For this reason, it can suppress that the difficulty of measuring the timing which performs effective operation itself becomes high too much. On the other hand, since the timing for performing the effective operation is limited within the suggestion period Ta, it is possible to suppress the difficulty level of the effective operation from becoming too low as compared with the configuration in which the timing for performing the effective operation is not limited. Therefore, it is possible to realize a configuration that allows the technical intervention of the player as long as the disadvantage on the game hall side does not increase.

  If the effective operation for the firing stop switch 305 or the firing cycle change switch is appropriately performed in the suggestion period Ta, the display of the suggestion image is stopped even before the suggestion period Ta elapses. It is possible to detect whether or not the effective operation performed by himself / herself was appropriate. For this reason, the player can increase the operation accuracy with respect to the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306 while repeatedly performing the game and performing the effective operation a plurality of times.

<Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, when a valid operation is performed on the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306, the timing at which the game ball is fired is adjusted. In the second embodiment, The opening timing of the variable winning device 82 is adjusted.

  In the second embodiment, the adjustment of the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 32 with a focus on differences from the first embodiment. FIG. 32 is obtained by adding the processes of steps S1014 and S1015 to the flowchart of FIG. 25 for the post-closing post-process executed by the MPU 402 of the main controller 162. For this reason, description about step S1001-S1013 is abbreviate | omitted.

  In FIG. 32, after setting the open timer counter TC in steps S1009 and S1011, the process proceeds to step S1014 instead of step S1012. In step S1014, it is determined whether a valid operation command has been received from the notification / production control device 140 or not. This determination process is the same as the process of step S1304 in the first embodiment. If a valid operation command is received, the process proceeds to step S1015.

  In step S1015, the opening adjustment value K is calculated, and the opening adjustment value K is added to update the opening timer counter TC. The opening adjustment value K is adjusted so that the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 is a timing at which the game ball is likely to win when the transition to the opening execution mode is either a short-term normal big hit or a short-term probability big hit. This is for securing an opening timing adjustment period. For this reason, the release timer counter TC is set when 450 is set in step S1009 (when the release cycle is set to the second release cycle) and when 250 is set in step S1011 (the release cycle is the first cycle). In any case (in the case of 1 open cycle), the value is updated to a value larger by the open adjustment value K.

  Similarly to the launch adjustment value S, the release adjustment value K is equal to the average arrival time required for the launched game ball to reach the variable winning device 82, or the current game ball launch cycle (operation of the launch cycle change switch 306). Status), the remaining time of the opening waiting time, and the like.

  When the release timer counter TC is updated using the release adjustment value K in this way, in step S705 of the variable winning device opening / closing process, the value of the release timer counter TC becomes “0” in step S705. Set the release command. That is, a game ball is launched by the game ball launching mechanism 110.

  Here, in the second embodiment, instead of adjusting the opening timing of the variable winning device 82, the timing of game ball firing is not adjusted. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 33 is obtained by deleting steps S1304, S1305, and S1312 to S1314 from the flowchart of FIG. 28 for the game ball launch control process executed by the MPU 402 of the main controller 162.

  In this game ball launch control process, a process for determining whether or not a valid operation command has been received (a process in step S1304) and a process for setting a launch timing adjustment period (a process in steps S1313 and S1315) are executed. do not do. For this reason, when the firing cycle change switch 306 is in the non-operating state, the firing cycle of the game ball is not set to a period longer than the first firing cycle, and the firing cycle changing switch 306 is in the change operation state. In some cases, the launch period of the game ball is not set to a period longer than the second launch period.

  Therefore, in the second embodiment, when an effective operation is performed on the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306 in the suggestion period Ta, the launch timing of the game ball is not adjusted, but is opened and closed. In the execution mode, the first opening timing of the variable winning device 82 is adjusted. For this reason, unlike the case where the timing of game ball launch is adjusted, there is no possibility of giving the player a sense of incongruity due to the timing of game ball launch being shifted, thus realizing a configuration in which the player can easily concentrate on the game. it can.

  Further, in the second embodiment, when the timing for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode is a special outage result, the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 is not adjusted. Specifically, the process for setting the release timing adjustment period is not executed for the process for setting the release timer counter TC (the process of step S710) when the transition trigger is a special outage result. For this reason, when the transition opportunity is a special outage result, the suggestion image is not displayed during the opening waiting time in the opening / closing execution mode regardless of the lottery result of the suggestion lottery in step S604. In this case, since the possibility that the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 coincides with the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 is reduced, the difference in the player's operation technique with respect to the game ball launching handle 41 is variable. It is easy to be reflected in the number of winnings.

  According to the embodiment described above in detail, when the effective operation is performed on the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306, the opening start timing of the variable winning device 82 is adjusted. It is possible to prevent the player from feeling uncomfortable with respect to the deviation of the firing period of the game balls being fired in the period or the second firing period by one.

<Third Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, only one variable winning means is provided as the variable winning device 82, but in the third embodiment, the variable winning means includes the upper variable winning device 440a and the lower variable winning device. Two 440b are provided. In the third embodiment, an opening mode of the variable winning devices 440a and 440b will be described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment. First, the positional relationship between the upper variable winning device 440a and the lower variable winning device 440b will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 34 is a front view showing the configuration of the game board unit 80.
As shown in FIG. 34, the variable winning devices 440a and 440b have shutter members 88a and 88b, respectively. In the third embodiment, the variable winning device 82 in the first embodiment is referred to as the upper variable winning device 440a, and the variable winning means disposed at a position lower than the upper variable winning device 440a is the lower variable winning device. This is referred to as device 440b. The lower variable prize-winning device 440b is arranged at a position below the display screen 253a so that a game ball that has not won the upper variable prize-winning device 440a among the game balls launched toward the right route can reach. Yes. In addition, the lower variable prize-winning device 440b is installed at a position where a game ball launched toward the left route can also reach, but the shutter member 88b of the lower variable prize-winning device 440b is directed toward the right route. The game ball launched toward the right route is easier to reach the lower variable prize-winning device 440b than the game ball launched towards the left route. .

  In the present embodiment, when a game ball wins the lower variable winning device 440b, a smaller number of prize balls are paid out than when a game ball wins the upper variable winning device 440a. For example, the number of winning balls is set to 15 when the winning to the upper variable winning device 440a occurs, and the number of winning balls is set to 3 when the winning to the lower variable winning device 440b occurs. The

  Further, the opening mode of the lower variable winning device 440b is set to be different from the opening mode of the upper variable winning device 440a. In this case, a game ball that has not won the upper variable prize-winning device 440a can win the lower variable prize-winning device 440b, and the game ball has been rescued by the lower variable prize-winning device 440b. Become.

  In the present embodiment, when the transition timing to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term probability variation jackpot result, the game ball is relieved by opening the lower variable winning device 440b. In this case, while the opening time of the upper variable prize-winning device 440a is set to a low frequency time in each round, the lower variable prize-winning device 440b does not finish until all rounds are finished (from the first R to the 16th R). (B) is held open for the relief time.

  When the transition opportunity is a long-term probability change jackpot result or a long-term normal jackpot result, the lower variable prize-winning device 440b does not perform relief because the winning probability of the game ball to the upper variable prize-winning device 440a is high. Further, when the transition opportunity is a short-term normal jackpot result or a special off-line result, the advantage that the transition opportunity is a short-term probable jackpot result can be secured by not performing relief by the lower variable winning device 440b. It has become.

  Here, the relationship of the release modes of the upper variable winning device 440a and the lower variable winning device 440b will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 23, 35, and 36. FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing a variable winning device opening process, and FIG. 36 is a flowchart showing a post-process after closing.

  35, steps S1401 to S1404 are processes for continuously releasing the upper variable prize-winning device 440a for a high frequency time or a low frequency time, and are the same as steps S801 to S804 of FIG. 24 in the first embodiment. It is processing. Steps S1405 to S1408 are relief processing for continuously opening the lower variable prize-winning device 440b for the relief time when the transition to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term probability variation jackpot result.

  In the relief process, in step S1405, it is determined whether or not the value of the relief timer counter TCx is “0”. The relief timer counter TCx is a counter that measures the opening time of the lower variable winning device 440b. Similar to the numerical information set in the release timer counter TC, the numerical information set in the relief timer counter TCx is decremented by 1 every time the timer interrupt process (FIG. 17) is activated.

  If the value of the relief timer counter TCx is not “0”, the variable winning device release process is terminated as it is. On the other hand, if the value of the relief timer counter TCx is “0”, the process proceeds to step S1406, where it is determined whether or not the trigger for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term probable big hit result. If the transition opportunity is not the short-term probability variation jackpot result, the variable winning device opening process is terminated as it is without opening the lower variable winning device 440b. On the other hand, if the transition trigger is the short-term probability change jackpot result, “10000” is set to the rescue timer counter TCx in step S1407, and the release execution process is executed for the lower variable winning device 440b in step S1408. . In this case, one maximum opening time of the lower variable winning device 440b is set as the relief time (20 sec).

  Incidentally, the relief time is set to be longer than the digestion time required for the upper variable winning device 440a to digest 16 rounds when the transition trigger is the short-term probable jackpot result. In the case where the transition opportunity is a short-term probable jackpot result, the opening time of the upper variable winning device 440a is set to the first opening period (0.6 sec), so the digestion time of 16 rounds is 9.6 sec. become.

  Here, in the variable winning device opening / closing process shown in FIG. 23, the variable winning device closing process in steps S707 and S715 is a process of closing the opened upper variable winning device 440a and closing the lower variable winning device 440b. It is not processing. For this reason, the lower variable winning device 440b is held in the open state even when the upper variable winning device 440a is in the closed state in each round.

  36, steps S1501 to S1513 are the same processing as steps S1001 to S1013 of FIG. 25 in the first embodiment. When it is determined in the determination process of step S1501 that the trigger to shift to the opening / closing execution mode is a special outage result, or in the determination process of step S1003, the value of the round counter RC is determined to be “0”. If it is determined that the opening / closing operation of the upper variable winning device 440a in the opening / closing execution mode is to be terminated, the process proceeds to step S1514.

  In step S1514, a closing process for closing the lower variable winning device 440b being opened is performed. This process closes the lower variable winning device 440b at the end of the opening / closing operation of the upper variable winning device 440a in the opening / closing execution mode regardless of the value of the relief timer counter TCx. In step S1515, “0” is set to the relief timer counter TCx. Thus, in the variable prize winning device opening process (FIG. 35), when the lower variable prize winning device 440b is in the closed state, it is determined in step S1405 that the value of the relief timer counter TCx is “0”. That is, when the transition to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term probability variation jackpot result, it is possible to perform processing (steps S1407 and 1408) for opening the lower variable winning device 440b.

  Next, the winning aspect of the game ball when the timing for shifting to the opening / closing execution mode is the short-term probability change jackpot result will be briefly described.

  In this case, in the opening / closing execution mode, the upper variable winning device 440a is repeatedly opened with 1.0 sec (second opening cycle) as the opening cycle. Here, when the pressing operation of the firing cycle change switch 306 is started during the suggestion period, as described in the first embodiment, the arrival period of the game ball to the upper variable winning device 440a is the upper variable winning device 440a. In synchronism with the opening cycle, the game ball wins the upper variable winning device 440a every time the upper variable winning device 440a is opened.

  On the other hand, if the pressing operation of the firing period change switch 306 is not started during the suggestion period, the game ball firing period is different from the opening period of the upper variable winning device 440a, or the upper variable Since the arrival period of the game ball to the winning device 440a is not synchronized with the opening cycle of the upper variable winning device 440a, the game ball flows down without winning the upper variable winning device 440a. Even in this case, in the present embodiment, since the lower variable prize-winning device 440b is held in the open / close execution mode, a game ball that has not won the upper variable prize-winning device 440a is placed in the lower variable prize-winning device 440b. It is easier to win.

  However, as described above, the number of prize balls for winning the upper variable prize winning device 440a is 15, whereas the number of prize balls for winning the lower variable prize winning device 440b is three. Even if all 16 rounds of game balls (16 balls) are won in the lower variable prize winning device 440b, the number of prize balls is only 48, and the prize is given when four game balls are won in the upper variable prize winning device 440a. It will not reach the number of balls (60).

  According to the embodiment described in detail above, even when the launching period and launch timing of the game ball cannot be matched with the opening cycle and opening timing of the upper variable winning device 440a, the game ball enters the upper variable winning device 440a. Since the game balls that have not been played are relieved by the lower variable winning device 440b, it is possible to avoid a situation in which no single ball is won in the variable winning devices 440a and 440b despite the transition to the opening / closing execution mode. In this case, since a certain amount of winning balls are paid out by winning the game ball to the lower variable winning device 440b, even if one ball has not won the upper variable winning device 440a, the player's willingness to play is reduced. Can be suppressed.

  On the other hand, since the number of winning balls paid out when winning the lower variable winning device 440b is set to a value smaller than the number of winning balls paid out when winning the upper variable winning device 440a, the upper variable winning device It is possible to suppress a decrease in the willingness to win a game ball in 440a. In this case, it is possible to increase the player's willingness to improve his / her operation skill in order to generate a prize for the upper variable prize winning device 440a.

<Fourth Embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is held at a predetermined value (high frequency time or low frequency time) in the opening / closing execution mode. However, in the fourth embodiment, the variable winning device is The opening time 82 is changed midway. In the fourth embodiment, an opening mode of the variable winning device 82 will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment. First, processing executed by the MPU 402 of the main controller 162 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 23, 37, and 38.

  In the present embodiment, when the transition to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term normal jackpot result, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is shortened step by step. In this case, in the opening / closing execution modes 1R to 16R, the probability of winning the game ball to the variable winning device 82 is the first round (1R to 4R), the middle round (5R to 10R), and the final stage. In the order of the rounds (11th to 11th R).

  In FIG. 37, steps S1601 to S1604 are processes corresponding to steps S801 to S804 of FIG. 24 in the first embodiment. In steps S1601, S1602, and S1603, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to a low frequency time (0.1 sec) when the transition to the opening / closing execution mode is either a short-term probable big hit result or a special outage result. Then, the variable winning device 82 is shifted to the open state.

  If the transition opportunity is neither a short-term probability change jackpot result nor a special outlier result, the process advances to step S1605 to determine whether the transition opportunity is a short-term normal jackpot result. If the transition trigger is a short-term normal jackpot result, it is determined in step S1606 whether or not the value of the number-of-opens counter OC is “13” or more. “250” is set in the timer counter TC. That is, when the current round is the first R to the fourth R, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.5 sec.

  If the value of the opening number counter OC is not “13” or more, it is determined in step S1608 whether the value of the opening number counter OC is “7” or more. If it is “7” or more, the process proceeds to step S1609. Then, “150” is set to the release timer counter TC. That is, when the current round is the 5th to 10th R, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.3 sec shorter than the opening times of the 1R to 4R.

  When the value of the release number counter OC is not “7” or more, the process proceeds to step S1610, and “50” is set to the release timer counter TC. That is, when the current round is the 11th to 16th rounds, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.1 sec (low frequency time) shorter than the opening times of the 1R to 10R. In steps S1607, S1609, and S1610, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set to a predetermined set value (0.5 sec, 0.3 sec, 0.1 sec), and then the process proceeds to step S1604, and the variable winning device 82 is opened. To migrate.

  Here, in the variable winning device opening / closing process shown in FIG. 23, when the opening time of the variable winning device 82 reaches the set value, the variable winning device closing process is executed in step S707, and then in step S711, FIG. Post-processing after closing shown in Fig.

  In FIG. 38, steps S1701 to S1709, S1712, and S1713 are the same processes as steps S1001 to S1009, S1012, and S1013 of FIG. 24 in the first embodiment.

  If the trigger for switching to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term probability variation jackpot result, it is determined in step S1714 whether or not the value of the opening number counter OC is “13” or more. “50” is set to the open timer counter TC. That is, when the current round is the first R to the fourth R, the closing time of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.1 sec. In this case, in the first R to the fourth R, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.6 sec (first opening cycle), and the ratio of the opening time to the closing time is 5: 1.

  If the value of the release number counter OC is not “13” or more, it is determined in step S1716 whether or not the value of the release number counter OC is “7” or more. “150” is set to the counter TC. That is, when the current round is the 5th to 10th rounds, the closing time of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.3 sec. In this case, in the 5th to 10th R, the opening period of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.6 sec, which is the same as the 1st to 4th R, and the ratio between the opening time and the closing time is 1: 1.

  If the value of the open number counter OC is not “7” or more, the process advances to step S1718 to set “250” in the open number counter OC. That is, when the current round is the 11th to 16th rounds, the closing time of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.5 sec. In this case, in the 11th to 16th R, the opening period of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.6 sec, which is the same as the 1st to 10th R, and the ratio of the opening time to the closing time is 1: 5.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 39, a description will be given of the winning mode of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 in the open / close execution mode. FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a winning state of the game ball when the transition opportunity to the opening / closing execution mode is a short-term normal jackpot result.

  As shown in FIG. 39 (a), when the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is shortened step by step due to the transition to the opening / closing execution mode being a short-term normal jackpot result, the variable winning device If the game ball is fired at the timing when the game ball reaches the variable winning device 82 immediately after the 82 is released, the game ball will win the variable winning device 82 in all of the first R to 16R. .

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 39 (b), when the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 is delayed from the case of FIG. 39 (a), the game ball is variable from 1R to 10R. Even if the winning device 82 is won, the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 may be after the variable winning device 82 is closed in the 11th to 16th Rs. Further, when the arrival timing of the game ball is further delayed, the situation where the game ball wins the variable winning device 82 only for the first R to the fourth R, or the situation where the game ball does not win the variable winning device 82 in all rounds. May occur.

  According to the present embodiment described in detail above, in the opening / closing execution mode, the difficulty level when the game ball is awarded to the variable prize winning device 82 changes, so that the game ball is won in a period when the difficulty level is low. Satisfaction of the player is satisfied, and the player's willingness to improve the operation skill can be increased by making it difficult for the game ball to be won during a period of high difficulty.

  In the opening / closing execution mode, the difficulty level regarding the occurrence of winnings for game balls is set to be relatively low in the first round, and the difficulty level regarding the occurrence of winnings for game balls is set to be gradually increased toward the final round. Even for beginners, it is easy to generate a winning game ball in the early round. For this reason, after shifting to the opening / closing execution mode, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a situation in which the variable winning device 82 is given up winning the game ball. Thereby, both the game willingness and the improvement willingness with respect to the operation skill can be enhanced.

  In addition, it is not limited to the description content of embodiment mentioned above, For example, you may implement as follows. Incidentally, the configuration of another embodiment described below may be applied individually to the configuration in the above embodiment, or may be applied in combination with each other.

  (1) In each of the above embodiments, the effective period (suggested period) during which an effective operation should be performed on the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306 is set to overlap the opening standby time in the opening / closing execution mode. However, the validity period may be set so that only a part of it is overlapped with the opening waiting time, and the timing before or after the opening waiting time so as not to overlap with the opening waiting time. It may be set to timing.

  For example, at the timing after the opening standby time, the entire period until the opening / closing execution mode ends is set as a valid period. In this configuration, when the player notices that the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 does not coincide with the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 after shifting to the opening / closing execution mode, the firing stop switch 305 is used. By performing an effective operation on the firing cycle change switch 306, it is possible to match the arrival timing of the game ball with the opening timing of the variable winning device 82. In this case, in the first embodiment, the launch timing of the game ball is adjusted by the launch timing adjustment period, and in the second embodiment, the release timing of the variable winning device 82 is adjusted by the release timing adjustment period. become.

  (2) In each of the above-described embodiments, when the mode is shifted to the opening / closing execution mode, the suggestion image displayed on the symbol display device 253 indicates that it is in the effective period. You may be suggested by the output of a notification sound, a production sound, etc., lighting of the lamp parts 26-28, the production image displayed on the symbol display device 253, a message, etc.

  (3) In each of the above-described embodiments, the effective period for which the effective operation for the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306 is recommended is suggested as the suggestion period, but the effective period is not suggested. May be. Even in this case, the player notices the existence of an effective period by experiencing the opening / closing execution mode a plurality of times, and performs an effective operation on the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306 during the effective period. Is possible. If such observation power includes game skills, the number of balls entered into the variable winning device 82 in the open / close execution mode can be differentiated by the player's skill.

  (4) In each of the above embodiments, when the effective operation is performed on the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306, the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 is changed to the opening timing of the variable winning device 82. Although the auxiliary process for matching (the processes in steps S1313, S1315, and 1015) is performed, the auxiliary process may not be performed. Even in this case, the player can determine the opening period and opening timing of the variable winning device 82 and the launching period and launching timing of the game ball, thereby operating the firing stop switch 305 and the firing period changing switch 306 to make the variable The arrival timing of the game ball to the winning device 82 can be matched with the opening timing of the variable winning device 82.

  For example, by determining the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82, it is determined whether or not the current game ball firing cycle has the same length as the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82, and the variable winning device 82 is opened. By determining the arrival timing of the game ball with respect to the timing, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to shift the game ball firing cycle. When the game ball firing cycle is different from the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82, the firing cycle change switch 306 is shifted to the change operation state, and the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 is variable. If it is not coincident with the opening timing of the winning device 82, an operation such as shifting the firing period of the game ball by operating the firing stop switch 305 is performed. Thereby, even in the opening / closing execution mode in the low-frequency winning mode, the game ball can be won every time the variable winning device 82 is opened.

  (5) In each of the above embodiments, the number of opening / closing operations of the variable winning device 82 in the high-frequency winning mode and the low-frequency winning mode, the opening limit time (or opening limit period) for one opening, and the opening limit number for one opening. If the occurrence frequency of winning in the variable pitching portion is higher in the high-frequency winning mode than in the low-frequency winning mode until the opening / closing execution mode is started and ended, the above value is obtained. It is not limited to and is arbitrary.

  However, in order to clarify the difference in privilege between the high-frequency winning mode and the low-frequency winning mode, in the open / close execution mode according to the low-frequency winning mode, the winning to the variable winning device 82 is substantially 0 to 0. It may be configured to be about one. For example, in the high-frequency winning mode, the product of the launch period of the game ball and the open limit number is set shorter than the open limit time for one release, while in the low-frequency winning mode, It is good also as a structure which sets the product of the launching period of a game ball and the open limit number longer than open limit time. In addition, even if the launch interval of the game balls and the opening time of one big prize opening are not as described above, in the low frequency winning mode, the latter is set to be shorter than the former. Therefore, it is possible to easily realize a configuration in which the winning in the variable winning device 82 is about 0 to 1.

  (6) In the first to third embodiments, in the low frequency mode, the opening time (low frequency time) of the variable winning device 82 is set to 0.1 sec. If the time is shorter than the firing cycle, it may not be 0.1 sec. However, the opening time is shorter than the closing time (0.5 sec in the first opening cycle and 0.9 sec in the second opening cycle) so that the winning probability of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 does not become excessively high. It is preferable that it is set.

  (7) In the first to third embodiments, in the low-frequency winning mode, the first opening period of the variable winning device 82 is 0.6 sec and the second opening period is 1.0 sec. If the relationship that the second opening period is longer than the first opening period is maintained, the first opening period and the second opening period may not be set to 0.6 sec and 1.0 sec. . However, it is preferable that the second opening period is set to a length period different from an integer multiple of the first opening period. For example, when the first release period is 0.6 sec and the second release period is 1.2 sec, the first release period and the second release period are different or coincident with the release timing of the game ball. This is because the situation becomes the same.

  (8) In each of the above embodiments, the first opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 and the first firing cycle of the game ball are set to the same length, but the first opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is a game It may be set to an integral multiple of twice or more the first launch period of the sphere. In this configuration, when the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable winning device 82 and the opening timing of the variable winning device 82 coincide with each other, it is not possible to cause the variable winning device 82 to win all the launched game balls. However, each time the variable winning device 82 is opened, one game ball can be won. The same applies to the relationship between the second release period of the variable winning device 82 and the second launch period of the game ball.

  (9) In each of the above embodiments, the effective operation can be executed by operating the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306. However, the effective operation is performed on the rotation operation member 302 and the touch sensor 302a. May be performed. For example, as shown in FIGS. 40A and 40B, the game ball launching handle 41 has a contact portion 441 formed of a metal plate, and the touch sensor 302a is electrically connected to the contact portion 441. The configuration is as follows.

  In this configuration, the contact portion 441 forms a part of the outer peripheral surface of the rotation operation member 302, and among the plurality of finger hanging operation portions 303, the finger hanging operation portion 303 provided with the firing cycle change switch 306 is provided. Is provided. The contact portion 441 is arranged on the opposite side of the firing period change switch 306 across the finger-hanging operation portion 303 at a position where the player can easily contact with the index finger or the middle finger even when the player rotates the rotation operation member 302. Yes. For example, when the player touches the contact portion 441 with the index finger, the player can operate the firing cycle change switch 306 with the middle finger or the ring finger without separating the index finger from the contact portion 441. The firing stop switch 305 can be operated with a thumb.

  In addition, when the trigger to shift to the opening / closing execution mode is a special failure result, the click operation on the firing stop switch 305 is set as an effective operation in the first embodiment. The operation of releasing may be set as an effective operation.

  (10) In the above first to third embodiments, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is set to the first opening cycle when the transition timing to the opening / closing execution mode is a special outage result, and the transition timing is short-term. A configuration that is set to the second release cycle when the probability change jackpot result is set, and is switched from one of the first release cycle and the second release cycle to the other during the opening / closing execution mode when the transition trigger is the short-term normal jackpot result However, the relationship between the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 and the transition opportunity is not limited to this. For example, the opening period of the variable winning device 82 is set to the second opening period when the transition opportunity is a special outage result, and the first opening period is in the middle of the opening / closing execution mode when the transition opportunity is the short-term probable big hit result. And it may be switched from one side to the other in the 2nd open period.

  In the fourth embodiment, when the transition trigger is a short-term normal jackpot result, the length of the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is set variably. However, the length of the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is long. May be variably set when the transition trigger is a short-term probable jackpot result or a special outlier result.

  (11) In the fourth embodiment, the opening time of the variable winning device 82 is such that the game ball wins the variable winning device 82 in the opening round in the opening round compared to the round in the opening round. Although it was set to an easy length, the early round may be set to a length that is more likely to win a prize than the final round, and the middle round is set to the length that is most likely to win a prize. May be.

  (12) In the fourth embodiment, the opening cycle of the variable winning device 82 is set only to the first opening cycle. However, this opening cycle may be set to the second opening cycle, and the opening / closing execution is performed. In the mode, one of the first opening period and the second opening period may be switched to the other.

  (13) In the first, second, and fourth embodiments, the variable winning device 82 is arranged on the route of the right route. However, the game ball launched from the gaming ball launching mechanism 110 is variable winning device 82. As long as the time required to reach is kept substantially constant, the variable winning device 82 may be arranged on the route of the left route. The variable winning device 82 is not located at the position where the game ball colliding with the stopper member 86 wins, but at the position where the game ball flying along the guide rail 100 directly wins without colliding with the stopper member 86. May be. The same applies to the upper variable winning device 440a of the third embodiment.

  (14) In each of the above embodiments, the firing cycle change switch 306 is provided for the rotation operation member 302 of the game ball launch handle 41. However, the launch cycle change switch 306 is the handle main body 301 together with the firing stop switch 305. May be provided at a position separated from the game ball launching handle 41. For example, the firing cycle change switch 306 may be provided as a push button switch on the upper bulging portion 31 or the lower bulging portion 32.

  (15) Other types of pachinko machines different from the above embodiment, such as a pachinko machine in which the electric game object is released a predetermined number of times when a game ball enters the specific area of the special device, or a game ball in the specific area of the special device The present invention can also be applied to a pachinko machine that generates a right if a player enters, a pachinko machine equipped with other objects, an arrangement ball machine, a sparrow ball, and the like.

<Invention Group Extracted from the Embodiments>
Hereinafter, the features of the invention group extracted from the above-described embodiment will be described while showing effects and the like as necessary. In the following, for easy understanding, the corresponding configuration in the above embodiment is appropriately shown in parentheses, but is not limited to the specific configuration shown in parentheses.

  The following feature group includes: “Some game machines such as pachinko machines have a game board in which a game area is formed. For example, in a game machine having a prize opening in the game area, A lottery to determine whether or not to shift to a special gaming state that is more advantageous to the player than the normal gaming state when the gaming ball launched based on the launching operation of the game wins a prize opening, etc. Is given to the player (for example, Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-190511), “However, there is room for improvement with regard to improving the gaming performance of the gaming machine”. The invention has been made with a problem to be solved.

<Feature A group>
Feature A1. Launching means (game ball launching mechanism 110) for launching a game ball toward the game area;
Variable entry means (variable winning device 82) that is provided in the game area and repeatedly shifts between an open state allowing entry of game balls launched by the launch means and a closed state not allowing entry;
A change operation means (a firing period change switch 306) capable of changing a firing period of the game ball by the launching means by being operated by a player;
A gaming machine characterized by comprising:

  According to the feature A1, when the launching period of the game ball is changed in a state where the variable entrance means is repeatedly opened and closed, the game ball is changed into the variable entrance means before and after the launch period is changed. The probability of entering the ball is considered to change. Therefore, the player can increase the probability that the game ball enters the variable ball entry means by operating the change operation means in accordance with the opening / closing mode of the variable ball entry means. In this case, since the granting status of the bonus accompanying the entry of the game ball into the variable entry means is likely to vary depending on the difference in the skill to operate the change operation means, the technical intervention of the player regarding the operation of the change operation means Can be encouraged. Thereby, game nature can be raised suitably.

  Feature A2. Period setting means (steps S1307 and S1311) capable of setting the firing period of the game ball to a first firing period and a second firing period longer than the first firing period in response to a predetermined operation by the player on the change operation means. The gaming machine according to feature A1, further comprising:

  According to the feature A2, the player can set the launch period of the game ball to the first launch period or the second launch period by simply operating the change operation means. In this case, since it is possible to prevent the difficulty of changing the game ball firing cycle itself from becoming too high, it is possible to increase the willingness to operate the change operation means even for beginners of the game.

Feature A3. Opening means (function for executing variable winning device opening / closing process of step S513) for causing the variable pitching means to repeatedly shift to the open state at a predetermined opening cycle (first opening cycle, second opening cycle);
Setting means (a function for executing the processes of steps S802 and S1009) for setting the release period to an integral multiple of the second emission period;
The gaming machine according to Feature A2, further comprising:

  According to feature A3, the player creates a situation in which the game ball reaches the variable ball entry means every time the variable ball entry means shifts to the open state by moving the change operation means to the second operation state. Is possible. For this reason, it is possible to make a difference in the number of game balls that enter the variable ball entry means between the player whose game ball is fired at the second fire cycle and the player who is not.

  Feature A4. The setting means sets the release cycle to an integral multiple of the second launch cycle when in a special gaming state (open / close execution mode) that ends when a predetermined condition is satisfied. A gaming machine according to Feature A3.

  When the gaming state is in the special gaming state, the player may launch as many gaming balls as possible in order to enter as many gaming balls as possible into the variable entry means before the special gaming state ends. It is assumed that the launch period of the game ball is set to the first launch period. On the other hand, according to the feature A4, when the game is in the special game state, the release cycle of the variable ball entry means is set to an integral multiple of the second launch cycle, so that the game ball is fired at the second launch cycle. Thus, it is possible to increase the probability that a game ball enters the variable entry means. In this case, the probability of entering the variable entry means is increased even if the number of game balls fired until the special game state ends is reduced, compared to the case where the game balls are fired in the first firing cycle. Thus, it is possible to increase the number of entering the variable entry means. For this reason, the player suppresses the desire to increase the number of game balls to be fired, and by deliberately operating the change operation means so that the game balls are fired in the second firing cycle, the operation skill is appropriately exhibited. it can.

  Feature A5. The gaming machine according to A3 or A4, wherein the setting means sets the release cycle to the same length as the second launch cycle.

  According to the feature A5, it is possible to realize a configuration in which any of the launched game balls enters the variable ball entry means when the variable ball entry means has repeatedly moved to the open state. In this case, since the state of the game ball entering the variable ball entry means is easily clarified according to the operation skill of the change operation means, the player's willingness to play can be preferably increased.

  Feature A6. It is characterized by comprising means (function to execute the process of step S802) for setting the open period in which the variable pitching means is in the open state to a period (low frequency time) shorter than the first firing cycle. The gaming machine according to any one of features A2 to A5.

  According to feature A6, since the opening period of the variable pitching means is shorter than both the first launching period and the second launching period, for example, the opening period of the variable pitching means is shorter than the first launching period and the second launching period. Compared to the long configuration, the game ball is less likely to enter the variable entry means. As a result, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the probability of the game ball entering the variable ball entry means is likely to depend on the operation skill of the change operation means.

  Feature A7. Any of the features A2 to A6, comprising means for setting the second firing cycle to a length different from an integral multiple of the first firing cycle (function to execute the processes of steps S1307 and S1311). A gaming machine according to claim 1.

  According to the feature A7, the arrival timing at which the game ball reaches the variable pitching means can be diversified by properly using the first launch period and the second launch period. Thereby, the room for a player's technical intervention regarding operation of a change operation means can be expanded suitably.

Feature A8. Means for setting the firing period of the game ball to the first firing period when the change operation means is not operated (function to execute the process of step S1307);
Means for setting the firing period of the game ball to the second firing period when the change operation means is in the operated switching operation state (change operation state);
The gaming machine according to any one of features A2 to A7, comprising:

  According to the feature A8, it is assumed that the player often does not operate the change operation means so that as many game balls as possible are launched for the purpose of promptly progressing the game. On the other hand, depending on the length of the period when the variable pitching means shifts to the open state, the probability of entering the variable pitching means may be increased by operating the change operation means. Suppressing the desire to increase the number of shots, operating the change operation means can demonstrate the operating skill appropriately.

  Feature A9. When the timing at which the change operation means is shifted from the non-operation state to the switching operation state is within a predetermined effective period (suggestion period Ta), the arrival timing at which the game ball reaches the variable entry means is Period shift means (function to execute the process of step S1315) for shifting the start timing at which the second firing period is started so that the variable pitching means is in the open timing in the open state is provided. The gaming machine according to Feature A8.

  Even if the second firing period is the same length as the opening period of the variable pitching means, if the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable pitching means does not coincide with the opening timing of the variable pitching means, The possibility that a game ball enters the ball means becomes very low. On the other hand, according to the feature A9, since the start timing of the second firing cycle is shifted, the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable pitching means coincides with the opening timing of the variable pitching means. The possibility that a game ball enters the ball means can be made extremely high. In this case, since the state of the game ball entering the variable entry means greatly varies depending on the operation timing of the change operation means (whether or not it is within the valid period), the game is performed using the operation of the change operation means. Can increase motivation.

  Feature A10. When the change operation means is shifted to the switching operation state, the period shifting means is released immediately after the game ball that has been launched immediately before the change operation state is shifted to the change operation means. The gaming machine according to Feature A9, wherein a period with the game ball is set to a period longer than the second firing period.

  According to the feature A10, even when the launch timing of the game ball is adjusted in accordance with the operation of the change operation means, the launch interval of the game ball is never shorter than the second launch cycle, that is, the launch interval is the first Since it is never shorter than one firing period, it can be avoided that the number of game balls fired in a predetermined time is larger than a predetermined value. For this reason, the number of game balls fired can be kept appropriate in a configuration that can prompt the player to perform technical intervention regarding the operation of the change operation means.

  In addition, since the game ball firing interval is set to a period longer than the second launch period when adjusting the launch timing of the game ball, the game is launched at a timing before the variable entry means shifts to the open state. Spheres (waste balls) can be reduced as much as possible. In this case, since the merit with respect to having operated the change operation means increases, the willingness of operation of the change operation means can be increased.

  Feature A11. Any of the features A1 to A10, wherein the variable ball entry means is provided at a position where the game ball reaches in a period corresponding to a game ball discharge period by the emission means in the game area. The gaming machine according to one.

  According to the feature A11, the arrival period of the game ball reaching the variable ball entry means is changed by changing the firing period of the game ball. Therefore, the player can operate the variable ball by operating the change operation means. It is easy to adjust the arrival timing of the game ball to the means. In this case, since it is suppressed that the difficulty level becomes too high for the operation of the change operation means so that the launching period of the game ball becomes a period in which the game ball easily enters the variable entry means, the change operation The willingness to operate the means can be increased.

Feature A12. A game board (game board 80a) in which the game area is formed on the front side;
Guidance means (guidance rail 100) for guiding the game ball launched by the launching means to the game area;
Protruding portions (nails, accessories) that are provided in the gaming area by extending toward the front of the gaming machine from the gaming board and change the traveling direction of the gaming ball,
With
The game according to Feature A11, wherein the variable pitching means is arranged at a position where a gaming ball guided to the gaming area by the guiding means can enter without contacting the protrusion. Machine.

  According to the feature A12, since the game ball that has been launched by the launching means and guided to the game area reaches the variable entrance means without colliding with the protrusion, the game ball can be variably entered after the game ball has been launched by the launching means. The time required to reach the ball means is kept substantially constant. Therefore, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the game ball reaches the variable pitching means at a cycle corresponding to the launch cycle of the game ball.

Feature A13. A partition section (outer rail 102, game region partition member 99) that partitions the game area;
When the game ball launched upward by the launching means is traveling along the partition portion, the receiving portion (stopper member 86) with which the game ball collides by being disposed on the travel path. )When,
With
The game machine according to Feature A11 or A12, wherein the variable pitching means is disposed at a position below the receiving portion.

  According to the feature A13, when a game ball is launched with a momentum that advances along the partition portion, the game ball flows down toward the variable ball entry means after colliding with the receiving portion. In this case, the required time from the game ball being launched to the collision with the receiving part and the required time for the game ball flowing down from the receiving part to reach the variable entry means must be kept substantially constant. become. Therefore, it is possible to realize a high painter in which the game ball reaches the variable pitching means at a cycle corresponding to the launch cycle of the game ball.

Feature A14. Provided with a firing operation means (rotating operation member 302) that can be shifted to a first operation state (non-operation state) and a second operation state (launch operation state) by being operated by a player;
The launching means does not fire a game ball when the launch operation means is in the first operation state, and launches a game ball when the launch operation means is in the second operation state. Thru | or the game machine as described in any one of A13.

  According to the feature A14, the player operates both the firing operation means and the change operation means in order to change the firing period of the game ball. In this case, since a certain amount of operation skill is required for changing the game ball firing period itself, it is possible to appropriately ensure the technical intervention of the player.

  Feature A15. There is provided a shooting stop means (shooting stop switch 305) that can be operated by a player to stop the release of the game ball by the shooting means even when the shooting operation means is in the second operation state. The gaming machine according to Feature A14, wherein:

  According to the feature A15, the player can adjust the firing timing of the game ball in accordance with the opening / closing timing of the variable pitching means by operating the firing stopping means. In addition, in this case, since the player needs to operate at least both the firing operation means and the firing stop means, the timing of launching the game ball is adjusted to the opening / closing timing of the variable entry means, and each operation means is operated. In both cases, it is possible to appropriately secure a room for the player's technical intervention.

Feature A16. Contact detection means (touch sensor 302a) for detecting that the player is in contact with a predetermined contact portion (contact portion 441),
When the firing operation means is in the second operation state, the launching means launches a game ball if the contact detection means detects the player's contact with the contact portion, and the contact is detected. If not, the gaming machine according to Feature A14 or A15, which does not fire a game ball.

  According to feature A16, the player needs to touch the contact portion with his hand, for example, to fire the game ball, while intentionally changing the launch timing of the game ball by releasing his hand from the contact portion. Can be made. In this case, by adjusting the timing at which the hand touches the contact portion, it is possible to adjust the launch timing of the game ball in accordance with the opening / closing timing of the variable pitching means. In addition, in this case, since the player needs to operate the launch operation means while touching the contact portion, the launch timing of the game ball is matched with the opening / closing timing of the variable entrance means, and the launch operation means is For both operations, it is possible to ensure adequate room for the player's technical intervention.

Feature A17. Provided with a launching operation means (rotating operation member 302) capable of firing a game ball by being operated;
The gaming machine according to any one of features A1 to A16, wherein the change operation means is provided integrally with the firing operation means.

  According to the feature A17, the player can perform the operation of the firing operation means and the change operation means with one hand. In this case, since the player can operate other operation means such as an effect operation means capable of selecting an effect mode with the other hand, for example, the game machine can select a game ball firing cycle. In addition to the configuration described above, it is possible to add a configuration for enhancing game playability. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the game performance.

<Feature B group>
Feature B1. A launching unit (game ball launching mechanism 110) for launching a game ball toward the game area by performing a predetermined launch operation;
Variable entry means (variable winning device 82) provided in the game area and capable of shifting between an open state allowing entry of game balls launched by the launch means and a closed state not allowing entry;
Opening cycle switching means (steps S709, S1008) capable of switching the opening cycle when the variable pitching means repeatedly shifts to the open state between a first opening cycle and a second opening cycle longer than the first opening cycle. , S1010 processing function),
A gaming machine characterized by comprising:

  According to the feature B1, since the opening cycle of the variable pitching means is appropriately switched between the first opening cycle and the second opening cycle, the game ball firing cycle coincides with the variable pitching means opening cycle. A difference is likely to occur in the probability of entering the game ball into the variable ball entry means when the two do not match. In other words, the situation in which privileges are granted when the game ball enters the variable ball entry means differs depending on whether the player adjusts the timing of the game ball firing in accordance with the opening period of the variable ball entry means. . For this reason, it is very difficult for a beginner of a game to acquire a privilege during a period when the variable pitching means is performing an opening / closing operation, while it is of a moderate difficulty level for an expert. become. In this way, the privilege acquisition status associated with the game is likely to vary depending on the difference in the skill level of the player, so that it is possible to promote technical intervention regarding the launch of the game ball. Therefore, it is possible to improve the gameability suitably.

  Feature B2. When the opening cycle of the variable pitching means is in either the first opening cycle or the second opening cycle, the opening period in which the variable pitching means is in the open state is the gaming ball launch cycle (first launching cycle). The gaming machine according to Feature B1, further comprising means for setting a predetermined special period (low frequency time) that is shorter than the period (second emission period) (the function of executing the process of step S802).

  According to the feature B2, even when the opening period of the variable pitching means is either the first opening period or the second opening period, the opening period is shorter than the launching period of the game ball. Compared to a configuration that is longer than the launch period of the game balls, the game balls are less likely to enter the variable entrance means. For this reason, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the probability of the game ball entering the variable ball entry means is likely to depend on the operation skill for launching the game ball.

  Feature B3. Means for setting a closing period in which the variable pitching means is in the closed state to a period longer than the special period when the variable pitching means has an opening period in either the opening period or the second opening period ( The gaming machine according to Feature B2, further comprising a function of executing the processing of steps S1009 and S1011).

  According to the feature B3, since the variable pitching means is held in the closed state for a period longer than the special period (open period) when the opening and closing are repeated, for example, the open period is longer than the closed period. In comparison, the game ball is less likely to enter the variable entry means. For this reason, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the probability of the game ball entering the variable ball entry means is likely to depend on the operation skill for launching the game ball.

  Feature B4. Transition means (step) for causing the variable pitching means to transition to the open state by a predetermined number of transitions (16 times) when the gaming state is in a special gaming state (opening / closing execution mode) that has been transitioned with the establishment of a predetermined condition. A gaming machine according to any one of features B1 to B3, wherein the gaming machine is provided with a function of executing a game state transition process of S204.

  When the gaming state is in the special gaming state, the player may launch as many gaming balls as possible in order to enter as many gaming balls as possible into the variable entry means before the special gaming state ends. It is assumed that a launch operation is performed. On the other hand, according to the feature B4, when the game is in the special game state, the variable ball entry means shifts to the open state in one of the first release cycle and the second release cycle. Even if the launch operation is performed so as to be shorter, if the launch cycle is not set to the same length as the opening cycle of the variable entrance means, the number of entrances to the variable entrance means does not necessarily increase. For this reason, the player can appropriately demonstrate his / her operation skill by performing the launch operation so that the launch period of the game ball is long while suppressing the desire to increase the number of game balls to be fired.

Feature B5. The opening cycle switching means includes
When the gaming state is the special gaming state, a means for setting the opening period of the variable pitching means to one of the first opening period and the second opening period for all the number of transitions (step S709, The gaming machine according to Feature B4, which has a function of executing the processing of S710, S1008, and S1009).

  According to the feature B5, when the gaming state is the special gaming state, the variable pitching means is not changed after the opening cycle of the variable pitching means is set to one of the first opening cycle and the second opening cycle. Even if the launch cycle of the game ball cannot be made to coincide with the release cycle of the means, the number of transitions to the open state of the variable entrance means is overlapped to recognize the release cycle of the variable entrance means, thereby It becomes possible to make the firing period of the sphere coincide with the opening period of the variable entry means. For this reason, when the gaming state is in the special gaming state, it is possible to cause the player to appropriately demonstrate the skill of game ball launch.

Feature B6. The opening cycle switching means includes
When the gaming state is the special gaming state, first setting means (steps S1010, 1011) for setting the opening period of the variable pitching means to the first opening period for a predetermined first number of the transition times. Function to execute processing)
When the gaming state is the special gaming state, second setting means (steps S1009, S1010) sets the opening period of the variable pitching means to the second opening period for a predetermined second number of the transition times. Function to execute processing)
The gaming machine according to Feature B4 or B5, characterized by comprising:

  According to feature B6, when the gaming state is the special gaming state, the opening cycle is changed at least once after the opening cycle of the variable pitching means is set to one of the first opening cycle and the second opening cycle. Therefore, it is possible to increase the difficulty level of the launching operation when the launching period of the game ball coincides with the opening period of the variable pitching means. Thereby, the room of technical intervention regarding the launch of the game ball can be expanded.

Feature B7. The opening cycle switching means includes
When the gaming state is the special gaming state, a state in which the opening cycle of the variable pitching means is set by one of the first setting means and the second setting means is set only a plurality of times in the number of transitions. The gaming machine according to Feature B6, further comprising means for continuing (a function of executing the process of Step S1010).

  According to the feature B7, when the gaming state is in the special gaming state, the opening period when the variable pitching means is shifted to the turning state is continuously plural times for each of the first opening period and the second opening period. For example, compared to a configuration in which the release cycle is switched each time the variable ball entry means shifts to the open state, it is difficult to perform a launch operation when matching the game ball emission cycle to the open interval of the variable ball entry means. An excessive increase in the degree can be suppressed. This makes it possible to appropriately set the skill required for launching the game ball.

<Feature C group>
Feature C1. Launching means (game ball launching mechanism 110) for launching a game ball toward the game area;
Variable entry means (variable winning device 82) provided in the game area and switchable between an open state allowing entry of game balls launched from the launch means and a closed state not allowing entry;
When the player performs a predetermined effective operation (effective operation with respect to the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306) in a state where the variable pitching means is repeatedly shifted between the open state and the closed state. In addition, period shifting means (function to execute the processing of steps S1313 and S1315) for shifting the firing period of the game ball by the launching means in accordance with the opening timing at which the variable pitching means shifts to the open state;
A gaming machine characterized by comprising:

  When game balls are periodically fired, the timing at which the game ball reaches the variable ball entry means is variable even if the game ball firing period and the variable ball entry means release period are the same length. If it is not synchronized with the opening cycle of the ball means, the variable ball entry means will be closed when the game ball reaches the variable ball entry means, and the game ball may enter the variable ball entry means. Will be very low.

  On the other hand, according to the feature C1, when an effective operation is performed by the player, a “deviation” of the firing period of the game ball is generated in accordance with the opening timing of the variable entrance means, thereby allowing the variable entrance The arrival timing of the game ball to the means is likely to coincide with the opening timing of the variable pitching means. For this reason, it is possible to enter the game ball into the variable pitching means every time the variable pitching means shifts to the open state. On the other hand, when the effective operation is not performed, the arrival timing of the game ball is unlikely to coincide with the opening timing of the variable ball entry means, so the possibility that the game ball enters the variable ball entry means is reduced. As described above, it is easy to make a difference in the granting status of the privilege given when the game ball enters the variable ball entry means between when the effective operation is performed and when it is not performed. The player's technical intervention regarding the launch of Therefore, it is possible to improve the gameability suitably.

Feature C2. Comprising an operation timing determination means (a function for executing the process of step S1205) for determining whether or not the operation timing at which the effective operation is performed is within a predetermined effective period (suggested period Ta);
The game according to Feature C1, wherein the period shifting means shifts the firing period of the game ball when the operation timing determination means determines that the operation timing is within the valid period. Machine.

  According to the feature C2, since the state of entering the game ball into the variable ball entry means varies greatly depending on the operation timing of the effective operation by the player (whether or not it is within the effective period), It can be used to expand the scope for technical intervention.

  Here, in a configuration where the period during which the launch timing of the game ball can be intentionally shifted is not limited to the effective period, a player with high skill is given to the player by freely adjusting the launch timing of the game ball. There is a concern that the number of bonuses will increase excessively, and the difference in the status of granting bonuses to the player will become too large depending on the skill of the player. On the other hand, according to this feature, the period during which the player's firing timing can be shifted is limited within the effective period, so that the privilege grant status is within an appropriate range even for highly skilled players. Can hold. Thereby, it is possible to allow the player's technical intervention within a range where the disadvantage on the game hall side does not increase.

  Feature C3. The gaming machine according to Feature C2, comprising suggestion means (a function of executing the processing of Steps S1202 and S1204, the symbol display device 253) that suggests that the current period is the effective period.

  According to the feature C3, the player can shift the firing cycle of the game ball by performing an effective operation when the suggestion means has suggested. In this case, it can be suppressed that the difficulty level of executing the effective operation at an appropriate timing is excessively high. In this way, by appropriately setting the difficulty level of the effective operation, it is possible to realize a configuration that requires an appropriate skill in order to shift the firing period of the game ball.

  Feature C4. When the effective operation is performed in the effective period, a means for stopping the suggestion by the suggesting means at a timing prior to the end of the effective period (function to execute the process of step S1207) is provided. The gaming machine according to Feature C3, characterized by:

  According to the feature C4, the player can be notified by stopping the suggestion that the effective operation has been appropriately performed during the effective period. In this case, since the player can know whether or not the operation performed by himself / herself is appropriate, the accuracy of the effective operation can be increased.

Feature C5. Main control means (main control device 162) for setting the firing timing at which the game ball is fired by the launching means;
Sub-control means (notification / production control device 140) for performing predetermined processing based on a signal from the main control means;
With
The gaming machine according to any one of features C2 to C4, wherein the operation timing determination unit is included in the sub-control unit.

  According to the feature C5, the operation timing of the effective operation is determined by the sub-control unit, so that the processing load on the main control unit can be reduced. In addition, the detection signal associated with the effective operation is not directly input to the main control means, but can be configured to be input first to the sub-control means. Even if it is input, it is possible to suppress the suspicious person from acquiring the privilege illegally due to the input destination being the sub-control means.

Feature C6. Setting means (a function for executing the processes of steps S1007, S1009, and S1011) capable of setting an opening cycle when the variable pitching means repeatedly shifts to the open state to a plurality of length periods;
Effective operation means (game ball launching handle 41) capable of causing a player to execute a plurality of types of effective operations;
With
The period shifting means shifts the launching period of the game ball when the effective operation having the contents corresponding to the opening period of the variable pitching means is executed with respect to the effective operation means. The gaming machine according to any one of features C1 to C5.

  According to the feature C6, the player performs a plurality of types of effective operations according to the opening cycle of the variable pitching means in order to match the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable pitching means with the opening timing of the variable pitching means. It is necessary to use properly. For this reason, it is possible to cause the player to appropriately demonstrate the operation skill of the effective operation means.

Feature C7. The setting means includes
First setting means (function for executing the process of step S1011) for setting the opening cycle of the variable pitching means to a first opening cycle;
Second setting means (function for executing the processing of step S1009) for setting the opening cycle of the variable pitching means to a second opening cycle that is longer than the first opening cycle;
Have
The effective operation means includes a first operation means (launch stop switch 305) capable of causing a player to execute a first effective operation (click operation) as the effective operation, and a second effective operation ( Second operating means (launching period changing switch 306) capable of causing the player to execute a pressing operation),
The period shifting means is
When the first effective operation is performed on the first operating means in a state where the opening period of the variable pitching means is set to the first opening period by the first setting means, Means for setting the shift length of the firing cycle (function to execute the process of step S1313);
When the second effective operation is performed on the second operating means in a state where the opening period of the variable pitching means is set to the second opening period by the second setting means, Means for setting the shift length of the firing cycle (function to execute the process of step S1315);
The gaming machine according to Feature C6, wherein:

  According to the feature C7, the player uses the first operation means and the second operation means properly in accordance with the opening cycle of the variable pitching means. In this case, since it is necessary to determine whether the opening cycle of the variable pitching means is set to the first opening cycle or the second opening cycle, it is difficult to operate the first operating device and the second operating device. The degree can be increased moderately.

  Feature C8. One of the first operation means and the second operation means is an operation means capable of changing a launching period of the game ball by the launching means, and the other is capable of stopping the launching of the game ball. The gaming machine according to Feature C7, wherein the gaming machine is a simple operation means.

  According to the feature C8, in the gaming machine, it is not necessary to newly install operation means for causing the player to execute the first effective operation and the second effective operation. In this case, since the operating means does not increase excessively in the gaming machine, it is possible to prevent the structure of the gaming machine from becoming complicated while realizing a configuration that prompts the player for technical intervention regarding the launch of the gaming ball.

<Feature D group>
Feature D1. Launching means (game ball launching mechanism 110) for launching a game ball toward the game area;
Variable entry means (variable winning device 82) provided in the game area and switchable between an open state allowing entry of game balls launched from the launch means and a closed state not allowing entry;
Long-term opening means for repeatedly opening the variable pitching means (step S802) so that the opening period in which the variable pitching means is in the open state is a long-term special period (high frequency time) longer than the game ball firing cycle. , 804 processing function),
Short-term opening means for repeatedly opening the variable pitching means so that the opening period in which the variable pitching means is in the open state is a short-term special period (low frequency time) shorter than the game ball firing cycle (step S803). , The function of executing the processing of S804),
When the short-term opening means repeatedly opens the variable pitching means, the suggesting means for making a suggestion about a predetermined effective operation (effective operation for the firing stop switch 305 and the firing cycle change switch 306) (processing of steps S1201 to S1204) Function to execute)
A gaming machine characterized by comprising:

  When the opening period of the variable pitching means is shorter than the launching period of the game balls, the number of game balls reaching the variable pitching means during the opening period is smaller than when the opening period is longer than the launching period of the game balls It is assumed. That is, it is difficult for game balls to enter the variable ball entry means.

  On the other hand, according to the feature D1, when the opening period of the variable pitching means is in the second opening period, the player is instructed about the effective operation. It is possible to cause the player to perform an operation for changing the firing period of the player and an operation for shifting the firing period. For this reason, even when the opening period of the variable pitching means is in the second opening period, the player can perform the effective operation so that the variable pitching means is inserted each time the variable pitching means shifts to the open state. It becomes possible to enter the ball. On the other hand, if the player does not perform an effective operation, the change of the firing cycle and the shift of the firing cycle are not executed, so that it is difficult for the game ball to enter the variable ball entry means. Accordingly, it is easy to make a difference in the granting status of the bonus given when the game ball enters the variable ball entry means between when the effective operation is performed and when it is not performed. Can encourage player technical intervention. Therefore, it is possible to improve the gameability suitably.

Feature D2. When the predetermined condition is satisfied, the transition means for transitioning the gaming state to the special gaming state (opening / closing execution mode) in order to repeatedly open the variable pitching means by the short-term opening means (the game state transition process of step S204). Function to execute)
When the game state is shifted to the special game state by the shift means, the effect means for performing a predetermined opening effect at a timing before the opening of the variable pitching means is started (the process of step S607 is executed) Function, notification / production control device 140, symbol display device 253),
With
The gaming machine according to Feature D1, wherein the suggesting unit is configured to suggest the effective operation during a period in which the opening effect is performed by the effecting unit.

According to the feature D2, since the suggestion about the effective operation is executed in accordance with the opening effect, the player can open the variable pitching means at the timing before the opening of the variable pitching means is started. The operation of changing the launch timing of the game ball can be performed in accordance with. For this reason, for example, the number of game balls that can be entered in the variable entry means can be increased compared to a configuration in which the suggestion about the effective operation is executed after the opening of the variable entry means is started. it can. For this reason, a player who has a high skill with respect to the launch of the game ball can surely obtain a privilege associated with the game ball entering the variable ball entry means.
, Because it is executed in accordance with the opening effect before the opening of the variable pitching means is started,
Feature D3. A lottery means for performing a predetermined suggestion lottery (function of executing the process of step S604);
The game machine according to the feature D1 or D2, wherein the suggestion means suggests the effective operation when winning the suggestion lottery by the lottery means.

  According to the feature D3, it is difficult to match the arrival timing of the game ball to the variable pitching means with the opening timing of the variable pitching means when the suggestion about the effective operation is performed and when the suggestion is not performed. Sex is different. For this reason, it is possible to differentiate between the player who has a high skill regarding the launch of the game ball and the player who is not so high that the privilege granting status associated with the game ball entering the variable ball entry means is different. In this case, it is possible to stimulate the player's willingness to improve the skill of the game ball.

  The basic configuration of the gaming machine to which the above features can be applied is shown below.

  Pachinko machine: operation means (game ball launching handle 41) operated by a player, game ball launching means (game ball launching mechanism 110) for launching a game ball based on the operation of the operation means, and the fired A ball path (guide path 103 of the guide rail 100, etc.) for guiding a game ball to a predetermined game area (game area PE) and game parts (nails, etc.) arranged in the game area, each of these game parts Among these, a gaming machine that gives a privilege to a player when a game ball passes through a predetermined passing portion (general winning opening 81 or the like).

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Pachinko machine as a gaming machine, 80a ... Game board, 82 ... Variable winning apparatus as variable pitching means, 86 ... Stopper part as receiving part, 99 ... Game area partition member as partition part, 100 ... Guiding means Guide rail as 102, Outer rail as partitioning part, 110 ... Game ball launching mechanism as launching means, 140 ... Notification / production control device, 162 ... Main control device, 253 ... Design display device, 302 ... Shooting operation means Rotating operation member as 302a ... touch sensor as contact detecting means, 305 ... firing stop switch as firing stopping means, 306 ... firing cycle changing switch as changing operation means, 441 ... contact portion.

Claims (10)

A launching means for launching a game ball toward the game area;
Variable entry means that is provided in the game area, and that repeatedly transitions between an open state that allows entry of game balls launched by the launch means and a closed state that does not allow entry;
A change operation means capable of changing a firing cycle of a game ball by the launch means by being operated by a player;
A gaming machine characterized by comprising:   According to a predetermined operation on the change operation means by the player, there is provided a period setting means capable of setting the firing period of the game ball to a first firing period and a second firing period longer than the first firing period. The gaming machine according to claim 1. Opening means for repeatedly shifting the variable pitching means to the open state at a predetermined opening cycle;
Setting means for setting the opening period to an integral multiple of the second firing period;
The gaming machine according to claim 2, further comprising:   The said setting means sets the said open | release period to the integral multiple of the said 2nd discharge period, when it exists in the special game state which is complete | finished when predetermined conditions are satisfied, The 3rd aspect is characterized by the above-mentioned. Game machines.   The gaming machine according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the setting means sets the release cycle to the same length as the second launch cycle.   6. The game according to claim 2, further comprising means for setting an opening period in which the variable pitching means is in the open state to a period shorter than the first firing period. Machine.   The gaming machine according to any one of claims 2 to 6, further comprising means for setting the second firing period to a length different from an integral multiple of the first firing period. Means for setting the firing period of the game ball to the first firing period when the change operation means is in a non-operating state in which it is not operated;
Means for setting the firing period of the game ball to the second firing period when the change operation means is in the operated switching operation state;
The gaming machine according to claim 2, further comprising:   9. The variable entry means according to claim 1, wherein the variable entry means is provided at a position where the game ball reaches in a period corresponding to a release period of the game ball by the emission means in the game area. A gaming machine according to claim 1. Provided with a firing operation means that can be shifted to a first operation state and a second operation state by being operated by a player;
The launching means does not fire a game ball when the launch operation means is in the first operation state, and launches a game ball when the launch operation means is in the second operation state. The gaming machine according to any one of 1 to 9.

Images