JP2649773B2 - Bingo game equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bingo game machine capable of playing a game by electric, electronic and mechanical means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A bingo game that has been widely used includes two types of bingo games.
This is performed using a plurality of cards on which five numbers are printed. Numbers 1 to 25 are written on each card, and these numbers are arranged in a matrix form (5 columns × 5 columns) in different combinations. The contents of the game are as follows. In the process of distributing one card to each participant (two or more) and reading out the numbers 1 to 25 in random order, one of the vertical, horizontal, diagonal, etc. Column = 5 numbers match the reading numbers faster,
In other words, it competes for the formation of “Bingo”, and the person who establishes “Bingo” wins earlier than the others.

As apparent from the above, a bingo game is composed of two or more game participants, one digit reader,
Inexpensive cards are sufficient, and the game is not difficult, so it can be easily implemented by lower grade children.

[0004]

However, in conventional bingo games, each time a reader reads out a number, each participant must mark the corresponding number on the card, which is a mistake. Since the rules at the time must be determined in advance, it is necessary to make troublesome steps and troublesome rules for playing the game, and a number reader who plays the game is indispensable.

[0005] For the reader of numbers, a game system has been devised in which this can be omitted. In this case, it is necessary to separately create rules in place of the reader.
New steps are added in the game progress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above technical problems, the present invention makes it easy to perform electrical, electronic, and mechanical operations without the need for a marking process on a card and a reader of numbers. It is intended to provide a device for enjoying a bingo game.

[0007]

A bingo game machine according to the present invention has at least two bingo games in order to achieve an intended purpose.
A combination of a card on which a group of symbols including a type of symbol is printed in rows and columns and a print-type game machine for printing these groups of symbols on the card, and a print-type game machine, A card insertion unit having an entrance for a card, a printer for printing provided corresponding to the card insertion unit, a control board for controlling the printer, and an information reader for reading information written on the card And a position sensor for detecting at least a print start position of the card, and the printer, control board, information reader, and position sensor are electrically or electronically connected. When the number of symbols printed on a card per time is n, the total number of symbols printed on the card is N, the number of horizontal symbol rows on the card is H, and the number of vertical symbol rows on the card is V, a print-type game Control board is, n ≧ 1, N ≧ 9, H
= V ≧ 3, which is characterized by having an electronic control mechanism.

[0008] The above-mentioned print-type game machine desirably has means for selecting the arrangement of each symbol to be printed on the card and means for selecting the type of each symbol to be printed on the card. As an example in the above, when the card is made of a magnetic material, the information reader and the position sensor are made of a magnetic sensor. As another example of the above, when the card is made of a non-magnetic card, the information reader and the position sensor are made of optical sensors.

[0009]

According to the bingo game apparatus of the present invention,
A group of symbols including at least two types of symbols are printed on the card in rows and columns. The print-type game machine for printing such a symbol group on a card includes the card insertion unit described above,
Printer for printing, control board (MPU board or CP
U board), an information reader, and a position sensor, and the control board has an electronic control mechanism for satisfying the above-mentioned expressions n ≧ 1, N ≧ 9, and H = V ≧ 3. . Therefore, the print-type game machine can print the bingo game symbols on the card within the range of such conditions.

As an example, conditions for printing a group of symbols on a card via a print-type game machine (horizontal print type from left to right) are set as follows. Type of symbol: "□""△" (2 types). Arrangement of 10 symbols to be printed on a card via a print-type game machine: see FIG. (The symbol arrangement from the first to the tenth is repeated.) The number of symbols printed on the card per printing is n = 4. The total number of symbols printed on the card N = 36. The number of horizontal symbol rows on the card is H = 6. The number of vertical symbol rows V = 6 on the card.

Under the above conditions, when the same card is inserted into the card insertion portion of the print-type game machine nine times in succession,
Each symbol is printed (printed) on the card as shown in FIG. In the case of FIG. 4, "Bingo" is established by arranging six similar symbols "@" in the fifth vertical column of the card. This is a case schematically showing an example where “Bingo” is established for convenience of explanation, but in an actual game, the probability that “Bingo” is established is lower than this, so that “Bingo” is established. Difficulty increases.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A bingo game machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiment. The print-type game machine 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 is mainly configured by a microcomputer and a printer. That is, the print-type game machine 1
Is a power supply unit 3 and a control board 4
(MPU board or CPU board), a keyboard unit 5, an upright display 6, a flat display 7, an information reader 8, a position sensor 9, a printer 10 for printing, a drive unit 11, and the like. Things. Of these, the keyboard of the keyboard unit 5 and the display surfaces of the indicators 6 and 7 are set on the upper surface of the casing 2. Further, the card insertion portion 12 has an entrance 13 on the front side of the casing 2 and is formed from the front side of the casing 2 toward the inside.

The casing 2 is made of, for example, well-known plastic, metal, or a combination thereof.

As the power supply unit 3, any one using a DC power supply or an AC power supply, or a dual-use power supply or the like is adopted.

The control board (MPU board or CPU board) 4 forms the central part of the computer system,
It includes an operation unit, a control register, a working storage unit, and the like.

The keyboard unit 5 sets commands and data to each storage section of the control board 4 (including initial value settings).
And these instructions, data additions, changes, corrections, and,
This is for performing a driving operation of the print-type game machine 1 and other operations. In the illustrated example, as the keyboard unit 5 for performing such processing, a keyboard unit having a ten-key keyboard is adopted, but a keyboard unit other than this (known or well-known) may be adopted. it can.

The two indicators 6, 7 are for displaying various states of the print-type game machine 1 in the ON state.
A well-known device such as a liquid crystal display type, a CRT type, and a segment type display type can be used for this purpose. Incidentally, when it is sufficient to only display the numbers as in the illustrated example, a segment type display type capable of displaying each number from 0 to 9 is adopted as both indicators 6 and 7.

The information reader 8 is for reading information described on a card 21 described later. As the information reader 8, when the card 21 is made of a magnetic sheet,
When a magnetic device having a read / write (read / write) head is used, and the card 21 is made of paper or other non-magnetic sheet, an optical device such as an image reader is used. Incidentally, in the illustrated example, the above-described magnetic device is employed as the information reader 8.

The position sensor 9 determines whether or not the card 21 is present in the card insertion part 12 of the print-type game machine 1, the direction of the card 21 when the card 21 is present in the card insertion part 12, Further, it is for detecting a print start position of the card 21 in the card insertion section 12, and a magnetic type or an optical type is also used arbitrarily.

The printer 10 is, for example, a serial printer such as a dot type, a discharge type, or a thermal type, and arbitrarily selects two or more types of symbols for printing (printing).
It has a print head that can perform printing. Printer 1
Regarding other items relating to 0, the printing method may be any of a horizontal type and a vertical type, and may be any of a fixed print head type and a print head scanning type. By the way, when the print head fixed type is adopted, the printing material (the card 21 described later)
Moves, and when the print head scanning type is adopted,
The print head moves while the printing object keeps the fixed position. In the illustrated example, the printer 10 employs a horizontal printing system and a fixed printing head system. Printer 1
Symbols for games that can be printed via 0 include not only existing symbols represented by ○ × △ □, etc., but also existing characters (including numbers) and graphics (graphics imitating living and inanimate objects, (Including creative figures) is also arbitrarily adopted.

The drive unit 11 includes a feed member such as a roller, a motor (electric motor), and a transmission member such as a gear in order to insert and remove a card 21 described later in a predetermined direction. The power of the motor which can be transmitted is transmitted to the feed member via the transmission member.

The above-mentioned power supply unit 3, control board 4, keyboard unit 5, both displays 6, 7, information reader 8,
As is obvious, the position sensor 9, the printer 10, the driving unit 11, and the like are electrically or electronically connected to each other with respect to each other. Among them, the information reader 8, the position sensor 9, the printer 10, and the drive unit 11 are arranged at predetermined positions corresponding to the card insertion unit 12, respectively.

The bingo game card 21 illustrated in FIG. 4 is made of a magnetic sheet, paper, or other non-magnetic sheet as described above.
For example, a magnetic sheet made of a magnetic sheet having the size of a business card is used.

In the apparatus of the embodiment described above, when the initial values for the bingo game are set in the print-type game machine 1, the following is an example. In this game example, a magnetic card is used as the card 21. As described above, the total number N of symbols printed on the card 21 is determined by the product of the number H of horizontal symbol columns and the number V of vertical symbol columns. In this game example, H = 6 and V = 6 are selected. Therefore, N = 6 × 6 = 36
become. For the print-type game machine 1, an initial value for a bingo game must be set and stored in the control board 4 in advance in order to store predetermined registration items. At this time, during the period from “start” to “end” in FIG. 6, “registration start” (first step), “symbol type selection” (second step), and “printing is performed on a card per print” "Setting of total number of symbols" (third step), "symbol arrangement" (fourth step), "end of registration" (fifth step)
And so on by the following operation.

At the time of "registration start" (first step) in FIG. 6, the power is turned on while pressing the registration key of the keyboard unit 5, and the print-type game machine 1 is turned on. When the first step is completed, both indicators 6, 7 of the print-type game machine 1 display "01".

In the case of "selection of symbol type" (second step) in FIG. 6, two types of symbols are selected using the ten keys and the execution key of the keyboard unit 5. In the printer 10 of the print-type game machine 1, the print head has, for example, about 30 types of print patterns of symbols, characters, numbers, figures, and the like, and these can be arbitrarily selected and printed out. it can. By the way, when the print pattern contains the symbols “□” and “△”, when selecting these as two types of symbols, the numeric key and the execution key corresponding to “□” in the first symbol selection operation To store the selection symbol “□” in the control board 4 and press the numeric key corresponding to “△” and the execution key in the second symbol selection operation to store the selection symbol “△” in the control board 4. Let it. When the first symbol selection operation is completed in the second step, both indicators 6, 7 of the print-type game machine 1 display "10". If this is “Yes”, the procedure proceeds to the next step, but if “No”, the predetermined operation is repeated again. When the second symbol selection operation is completed in the second step, both indicators 6, 7 of the print-type game machine 1 display "20".

In the "setting of the number of symbols to be printed on the card per print" (third step) in FIG. 6, the aforementioned n is set. As in this game example, when the total number N of symbols printed on the card 21 is “36”, the divisor of “36”, for example, “2”, “3”, “4”, “6”,
It is desirable to set n from “9”. As an example, in order to set n to “4”, the corresponding numeric key and the execution key of the keyboard unit 5 are pressed and stored in the control board 4. When “4” is set as the number n of symbols per one time, N, that is, “36” is satisfied by nine times of printing (printing) on the card 21. When the third step is completed, the print-type game machine 1
Display devices 6 and 7 indicate "31".

In the case of "symbol arrangement" (fourth step) in FIG. 6, as an example, the two kinds of symbols "□",
“△” is arranged as shown in FIG. That is, at the time of the first symbol assignment, the symbol “□” is assigned to the first, second, fourth, seventh, and eighth using the numeric key, shift key, and execution key of the keyboard unit 5, and At the time of the second symbol assignment, the symbol “記号” is similarly assigned to the third, fifth, sixth, ninth, and tenth by key operations, and these first to tenth symbol arrangements are assigned to the control board 4. Remember. In the fourth step, when the first symbol assignment operation is completed, both indicators 6, 7 of the printing type game machine 1 display "31", and when the second symbol assignment operation is completed, the printing is performed. Both indicators 6, 7 of the type game machine 1 display "32".

At the time of "end of registration" (fifth step) in FIG. 6, it is only necessary to press the registration key of the keyboard unit 5. Thus, when the operation up to the fifth step is completed, all the initial values (control elements) for executing the bingo game are set on the control board 4 of the print-type game machine 1. All of these control elements can be changed (rewritten), but unless you change them,
The control board 4 of the print-type game machine 1 as it is before the change
Is stored in

Hereinafter, an example of a bingo game using the print-type game machine 1 and the card 21 will be described with reference to FIG. When you start a bingo game,
At "start" in FIG. 7, the power is turned on, and the print-type game machine 1 is turned on. At this time, both indicators 6, 7
Indicates the state of “RUN”.

Next, in the first step of FIG. 7, when the leading end of the card 21 is applied to the entrance 13 of the casing 2, the feed member of the drive unit 11 rotates forward, so that the card 21 The card is automatically fed into the card insertion section 12, and the position sensor 9 detects the presence of the card 21 in the card insertion section 12, the orientation of the card 21, the printing start position of the card 21, and the like. In this card detection, the inserted state of the card 21 is proper (Ye
s), the process proceeds to the next second step, but if not, for example, in the illegal (No) state, for example, the card 21
Is reversed, or when the card 21 is upside down, the detection signal input from the position sensor 9 to the control board 4 and the control signal input from the control board 4 to the drive unit 11 In response to the signal, the feed member of the drive unit 11 rotates in the reverse direction to push the card 21 back to the entrance 13. Therefore, when the insertion state of the card 21 is incorrect, the insertion of the card 21 is repeated until an appropriate state is obtained.

In FIG. 7, after the card 21 is properly inserted into the card insertion section 12, in a second step, reading / writing of magnetic data of the card 21 is performed by the read / write type information reader 8. Done. That is, the current symbol number N ′ of the card 21 is N ′ = 0.
Is read (whether the card 21 has been played on the print-type game machine 1 for the first time) or whether N ′> 0 (whether the card 21 has already been printed with a symbol), and The magnetic data (n = 24) is added based on the insertion detection signal of the card 21, and the data is written again. Such write data is stored in the control board 4.

Thereafter, in a second step, the read / write data is checked, and if the data is correct (Y
In the case of es), the number of prints on the card 21 is displayed.
If not (No), both indicators 6, 7 display "E3" (error code) and an audible alarm sounds. When such an error occurs, the warning sound is stopped by pressing the correction key of the keyboard unit 5, and the card 21 is once taken out of the card insertion section 12, and the operation is performed again from the first step.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a jam has occurred in the state of the system in the second step.
Check if the system was working properly.
In this jam check, the system is good (Yes)
, The process proceeds to the next third step. If not (No), the two indicators 6 and 7 indicate “E”.
2 ”(error code) is displayed and an alarm sounds.
In this jam state, the alarm key is stopped by pressing the correction key of the keyboard unit 5, the power is turned off once, the card 21 is removed from the card insertion section 12, and the process returns to the start again.

In FIG. 7, at the time of the third step, a symbol is printed (printed) on the card 21 via the printer 10. At this time, a control signal based on the above-described read / write data is input from the control board 4 to the printer 10, and the printer 10 receiving the control signal outputs n = 4 as shown in FIG.
Symbol and / or “△”
The symbol is printed (printed) at a predetermined position on the card 21. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the current symbol number N ′ of the card 21 is equal to the total symbol number N described above. That is, N ′ <N or N ′ = N is read. The above reading result is N '<
In the case of N, the current number of symbols N 'of the card 21 is displayed on both indicators 6 and 7, and the card 21 is pushed back to the entrance 13 side. At this time, if the card 21 is removed, “RUN” is displayed on both the display devices 6 and 7 and “end” is reached. However, since the card 21 at this time has N ′ <N, this becomes N ′ = N. Until the above, the first to third steps are repeated. Therefore, the card 21 of N ′ <N
Is appropriately stored in preparation for the next game operation. When the above reading result is N '= N, that is, when the card 21
When N ′ = N = 36 when the game is played 9 times on the print-type game machine 1, it indicates that the printing of the symbol on the card 21 has expired.
The display of "6" is made by both the display devices 6 and 7, a notification sound is emitted to notify the expiration, and the card 21 is pushed back to the entrance 13 side. At this time, the user removes the card 21 and visually recognizes whether or not “Bingo” is established on the card 21. FIG. 4 shows an example in which 36 symbols are printed on the card 21 by printing nine times, and for convenience of explanation, this includes V representing a vertical symbol string.
_{1 to} V ₆ , H _{1 to} H ₆ representing horizontal symbol strings, and D ₁ and D ₂ representing oblique symbol strings, respectively. FIG.
In the case, "Bingo" is established by lined up the same symbol "△" are six on the column V ₅ of the card 21.

The bingo game device according to the present invention prints a predetermined number of symbols per card as in the above-described embodiment, and competes for a game depending on whether or not “Bingo” is established on the card 21. be able to. Since such a bingo game is performed electrically, electronically, and mechanically, the number of game participants is not limited (one person is allowed) and the game is executed for an unspecified number of people. You can also. As an example of targeting the general public,
In the relationship between the shop and the shopper, it is conceivable that the shop side allows the shopper to freely participate in the bingo game. As a specific example, when the bingo game based on FIGS. 4 to 7 is performed, the card 21 is dealt to the shopper and printed (printed) once on the card 21 each time there is one purchase of a product with a predetermined amount or more. I do. In this case, 36 symbols are printed on the card 21 when the shopper makes nine purchases of a product with a predetermined amount or more.
It is possible to enjoy the game by checking whether or not is established. That is, the shopper can enjoy the bingo game while shopping, and the shopping becomes more enjoyable when the shop side provides the prize to the shopper every time "bingo" is established.

In the case of the apparatus of the present invention, in the above-mentioned bingo game in which a symbol array including two or more types of symbols is used, the number n of symbols printed on the card per printing and the total number N of symbols printed on the card are set. , The number of horizontal symbol columns H of the card, the number of vertical symbol columns V of the card, and the like can be arbitrarily set within a range satisfying a predetermined condition. For example, n
= 1, N = 9, H = 3, V = 3, a bingo game can be played. However, in such a case, the probability that the same symbol is arranged in any of the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal columns increases. In the above case, conversely, "anti-bingo", in which a row in which the same symbol is not arranged, may be determined as the game win (up).

In the apparatus of the present invention, means for selecting the arrangement of each symbol to be printed on the card 21 and means for selecting the type of each symbol to be printed on the card 21 are included in the print-type game machine 1. Any suitable electronic (electrical) and / or optical mechanism may be combined in connection with the control board 4. In the device of the present invention, the success or failure of "bingo" or "anti-bingo" can be confirmed by reading card data by electronic (electrical) and / or optical means.

[0038]

The bingo game machine according to the present invention has the following effects. One of them is that the bingo game can be easily enjoyed by electrical, electronic, and mechanical operations mainly using a print-type game machine and a card. Therefore, there is no need to manually perform the marking process on the card. And does not require a reader of numbers. The other is the type of symbol (two or more types), the number n of symbols printed on the card per print, the total number N of symbols printed on the card, the number H of horizontal symbol rows on the card, the vertical symbol row on the card Number V, etc., n ≧ 1, N
.Gtoreq.9 and H = V.gtoreq.3. By setting such conditions, it is possible to adjust the degree of difficulty in establishing "Bingo" or "Anti-Bingo" to create various game characteristics according to the demand. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a print-type game machine of a bingo game device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the print-type game machine illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a main configuration of a print-type game machine of a bingo game apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a guard of the bingo game device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram exemplifying a symbol arrangement in the bingo game device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of setting an initial value for a bingo game in a print-type game machine in the bingo game apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of playing a bingo game in the bingo game device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Print-type game machine 2 Casing 3 Power supply unit 4 Control board 8 Information reader 9 Position sensor 10 Printer 11 Drive part 12 Card insertion part 13 Doorway 21 Card

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A combination of a card on which a group of symbols including at least two types of symbols are printed in rows and columns, and a print-type game machine for printing the group of symbols on the card; A print-type game machine, a card insertion section having an entrance for a card, a printer for printing provided corresponding to the card insertion section, a control board for controlling the printer, and information written on the card And a position sensor for detecting at least the print start position of the card.The printer, control board, information reader, and position sensor are electrically or electronically connected. And printing 1
When the number of symbols printed on the card per time is n, the total number of symbols printed on the card is N, the number of horizontal symbol rows on the card is H, and the number of vertical symbol rows on the card is V, control of the print-type game machine A bingo game device, wherein the substrate has an electronic control mechanism for satisfying n ≧ 1, N ≧ 9, and H = V ≧ 3. 2. The bingo game machine according to claim 1, wherein the print-type game machine has means for selecting an arrangement of each symbol to be printed on the card. 3. The bingo game machine according to claim 1, wherein the print-type game machine has means for selecting a type of each symbol to be printed on the card. 4. The bingo game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the card is of a magnetic type, and the information reader and the position sensor are magnetic devices. 5. The bingo game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the card is made of a non-magnetic system, and the information reader and the position sensor are made of optical devices.