JP2889566B1 - Slot machine - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a slot machine capable of naturally maintaining a statutory game consumption time without significantly deteriorating a sense of rhythm, and also capable of investigating a cause when a device abnormality occurs. SOLUTION: Three rotating reels rotate in response to the operation of a start lever 4, and each rotating reel stops in response to the operation of a stop button 5, and in this stopped state, the patterns of the respective rotating reels are aligned. In the slot machine competing for the presence or absence, first means for rotating and driving the first rotating reel 1a in response to the operation of the start lever 4 and second rotating on the condition that the first rotating reel 1a is rotated. A second means for rotating the reel 1b is provided, and a third means for rotating the third rotating reel 1c on condition that the second rotating reel 1b is rotated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine having a built-in microcomputer, and more particularly to a slot machine characterized by an operation when a spinning reel starts rotating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a slot machine, a minimum value of a game consumption time is specified in order to eliminate its betting ability.
A skilled player tends to find out quickly if the current game is out of the game and immediately shift to the next game. Based on this situation, each slot machine has variously devised so that the legal game consumption time can be maintained.
In the slot machine described in No. 33173, the spinning reel is prevented from rotating even if the start lever is operated until the legal game consumption time is reached. However, in this method, the start of the next game is prohibited for a while, and the game is waited for a certain time, so that the rhythm of the game may be broken for the player.

Further, for example, in the slot machine described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-45257, the shortage ΔT with respect to the legal game consumption time is divided into two equal parts and sent by ΔT / 2 from the start of rotation of the first spinning reel. Then, the second rotating reel is rotated, and is fed by ΔT / 2 from the start of rotation of the second rotating reel to rotate the third rotating reel. However, in this method, since the shortage ΔT is different every time, there is a problem that the transition timing of the first → second → third rotating reels is slightly changed, and the rhythm feeling is not good. Further, the rotation start timings of the first, second, and third rotating reels are merely controlled in terms of time, and have not contributed to the investigation of the cause of the device abnormality. The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to naturally maintain a statutory game consumption time without significantly deteriorating a sense of rhythm, and furthermore, a cause when a device abnormality occurs. The purpose is to provide a slot machine that can be easily determined.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of rotating reels rotate in response to a start operation, and each rotating reel rotates in response to a stop operation. In a slot machine that stops and competes whether the picture of each rotating reel is aligned in this stopped state,
First means for rotating and driving the first rotating reel in response to a start operation, second means for rotating and driving the second rotating reel on condition that the first rotating reel has been rotated, and
And a third means for rotationally driving the third rotating reel on condition that the rotating reel is rotated. In the present invention, since the three rotating reels can be sequentially rotated at regular intervals, the game consumption time legally stipulated in a natural manner can be secured without particularly damaging the sense of rhythm. In addition, in the present invention, the (i + 1) th rotating reel is driven to rotate on the condition that the ith rotating reel is rotated, instead of the three rotating reels being simply controlled in time and sequentially rotating. Even if the rotating reel does not rotate normally, it is easy to find the cause.

[0005] The method of detecting the rotation of the rotating reel can be changed as appropriate, but preferably, the rotation of the rotating reel is detected by the protruding teeth passing through the passage sensor. In this case, it is preferable that the protruding teeth be rotationally moved integrally with each rotating reel. The shape and structure of the protruding teeth can be changed as appropriate. However, preferably, the protruding teeth are divided into one reference tooth and a plurality of normal teeth, and The length of the normal tooth differs from that of the normal tooth.

According to the present invention, the start time difference between the spinning reels rotating in time sequence may be the same for each game, or the start time difference between the spinning reels may be changed for each game. May be changed based on the lottery result. According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the collapse of the sense of rhythm is utilized in reverse, and the player is given a pleasure of being able to infer the result of the lottery of the game based on the deviation of the rotation start timing. It is preferable that the time difference is determined based on a lottery result of each game and a randomly determined lottery value.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on embodiments. FIG. 1 is an external view showing an example of a slot machine SL according to the present invention. The slot machine SL is provided with three rotatable reels 1a to 1c rotatably depicting a plurality of types of patterns, and the display window 2 displays the patterns of the respective rotatable reels 1a to 1c.
About three rows can be seen in the rotation direction. The display window 2 is provided with three (L1 to L3) stop lines in the horizontal direction and two (L4, L5) stop lines in the oblique direction, and is effective according to the number of coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 3. The number of stop lines changes. When the start lever 4 is operated after coin insertion, the start lamp D1 is turned off and the three rotating reels 1a to 1c are turned on.
Start rotating sequentially, and each time the stop buttons 5a to 5c are pressed, the corresponding rotating reels 1a to 1c stop. Then, when the winning patterns are aligned on the stop line, a predetermined number of coins are paid out from the saucer 6. The operation of the stop buttons 5a to 5c is indicated by lighting of the stop lamp D2.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. The slot machine SL includes a ROM 7, a RAM 8, and a CP.
The above operation is realized by microcomputer control by U9. Further, the slot machine SL includes a motor drive unit 10 for rotating each of the rotating reels 1a to 1c by stepping motors M1 to M3, and a position detection for detecting a rotating position of each of the rotating reels 1a to 1c based on an output of a passage sensor. Unit 11, a number detection unit 12 for detecting the number of coins inserted from the coin insertion slot 3, and stop buttons 5a to 5c.
Stop signal input unit 13 for detecting the operation of
Coin payout unit 14 that pays out coins to the user and random number generation unit 1
5 is provided. Specifically, the random number generation unit 15 includes a pulse oscillator 16 and a counter 17 for counting oscillation pulses.
And a latch circuit 18 for taking in the count value of the counter 17 in synchronization with the latch signal LATCH.

The passage sensor is, for example, a photointerrupter composed of a light emitting diode and a phototransistor. Such a passage sensor is provided for each of the rotating reels 1a to 1c. Then, according to the output of the passage sensor (specifically, the photo interrupter), each of the rotating reels 1a to 1a is output.
1c is currently rotating, and each of the rotating reels 1a-1
The passage timing of the reference position c is detected. Therefore, the CPU 9 can know the current position of each of the rotating reels 1a to 1c based on the passage timing of the rotating reel at the reference position and the number of pulses supplied to the stepping motor M.

FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of each of the rotating reels 1 (1a to 1c). The rotating reel 1 includes a main body 22 connected to a stepping motor and rotating, an outer peripheral portion 23 for attaching a picture tape, and a connecting portion 24 connecting the main body 22 and the outer peripheral portion 23. The main body 22 has a plurality of protruding teeth 2 protruding in the axial direction.
25 are provided, and the protruding teeth 25... 25 pass between the photointerrupters 26 (see FIG. 4) at a predetermined speed. The protruding teeth 25 include a reference tooth 25a which is long in the circumferential direction and indicates a reference position, and a normal tooth 2
5b, in this embodiment, twenty normal teeth 25b and one reference tooth 25a are uniformly arranged on the outer periphery of the main body 22 with a certain distance L therebetween.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the operation of the slot machine SL according to this embodiment. When the player operates the start lever 4 (time T1), CP
U9 responds by turning off the start lamp D1 and supplying a drive pulse to the first stepping motor M1 to rotate the first rotating reel 1a to the rotation speed R1.
Start rotating with. Then, the protruding teeth 25... 25 pass through the first photo interrupter in response to the rotation of the first rotating reel 1a, so that a pulse output as shown in FIG. 5A is obtained from the first photo interrupter. Can be At the timing when the rotation of the first rotating reel 1a is started, since the second and third rotating reels 1b and 1c have not yet rotated, a pulse output is obtained from the second and third photointerrupters. It cannot be performed (FIGS. 5B and 5C).

After the rotation of the first rotating reel 1a is started, the CPU 9 detects the rising and falling edges of the pulse output from the first photointerrupter, and the number of passes of this edge becomes the reference value N. Wait to reach. When the number of edges passed reaches the reference value N (time T2), the CPU
9 supplies a drive pulse to the second stepping motor M2 to start rotating the second rotating reel 1b at the rotation speed R1. Then, a pulse output as shown in FIG. 5B is obtained from the second photointerrupter.
The PU 9 waits until the number of edges output from the second photo interrupter reaches the reference value N. When the number of edges output from the second photo interrupter reaches the reference value N (time T3), the CPU 9 sets the third stepping motor M3
To the third rotating reel 1c.
Starts rotating at the rotation speed R1. Thereafter, when the number of edges output from the third photo interrupter reaches the reference value N (time T4), the game time timer is checked to determine whether or not the elapsed time from the previous game start exceeds a predetermined value. Check. Note that this confirmation process may be performed simultaneously with the start of rotation of the third rotating reel 1c (time T3). In any case, if the elapsed time from the start of the previous game does not exceed the predetermined value, the rotating reels 1a to 1c
Keeps rotating with the rotation speed R1.

On the other hand, if it is confirmed by the check of the game time timer that a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the previous game, the number of rotations of the rotating reels 1a to 1c is increased from R1 to R2, and the game time timer Is preset to a legal game interval (for example, 4.1 seconds) (time T5). In this embodiment, the number of revolutions of the spinning reels 1a to 1c is increased from 40 rpm to 80 rpm, and the preset game time timer is counted down thereafter. Thereafter, for each of the pulse waves output from the three photointerrupters 26, the CPU 9 confirmed passage of the reference tooth 25a based on the difference in pulse width, and confirmed passage of the reference tooth 25a in all the photointerrupters 26. Stop button 5 in stages
a to 5c and a stop lamp D2
Lights up. The stop lamp D2 may be turned on at the timing when the rotation speed of the rotating reels 1a to 1c is increased from 40 rpm to 80 rpm.

As described above, in this embodiment, in response to the operation of the start lever 4, the three rotating reels 1a-1a-1
Since c starts to rotate in the order of first → second → third, even if an abnormality occurs in the operation of the device, the cause can be quickly detected. For example, despite the fact that the start lamp D1 is turned off in response to the operation of the start lever 4, the first
If the rotating reel 1a does not rotate, it is determined that the first stepping motor M1 has a cause of trouble.
If the second rotating reel 1b does not rotate while the first rotating reel 1a rotates, there is a cause of trouble in the first photo interrupter or the second stepping motor M2. Similarly, when the third rotating reel 1c does not rotate, there is a cause of trouble in the second photo interrupter or the third stepping motor M3.

Further, in this embodiment, in order to maintain the legal game interval (4.1 seconds), it is not particularly necessary to prohibit the start of the next game. That is, in this embodiment, the three rotating reels 1a to 1c start to rotate in order, and the three rotating reels 1a to 1c also have the regular rotation speed R.
Since the game time is naturally consumed by rotating at a rotation speed R1 lower than 2, it is necessary to prohibit the transition to the next game, in particular, even if one game is finished quickly and the start lever 4 is operated immediately. Disappears. As described above, the first embodiment has been described. In the second embodiment, the reference value N of the number of times of passing the edge is made variable, and the changed reference value N has a meaning in the game. .

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the second embodiment. A player inserts a medal (S
T1) When the start lever 4 is operated (ST2), CP
U9 latches the value of the counter 17 in synchronization with the timing, and uniformly determines the success or failure of the current game and the pattern to be stopped if the game has been won (ST3).
In other words, even if there are a plurality of types of pictures constituting a certain winning state, it is uniformly determined which of the pictures should be stopped. Then, the CPU 9
With reference to the reference value table TBL (in FIG. 7, the higher the value of the winning image, the higher the value, the higher the value), the reference value N of the number of edges in the current game is determined (ST4). The reference value table TBL is provided with M columns according to the type of stop pattern, and each column is divided into a plurality of rows (here, two rows), and each row contains a comparison value and an edge reference value. It is stored (see FIG. 7). Which of the M columns is to be selected is determined by the stop pattern determined in the process of step ST3, but which line of each column is to be selected is determined by a random lottery value. .

Any random lottery value may be used. For example, when Z80 is used as the CPU, the value of the refresh counter register R (0 to 12) is used.
7) can be used as the lottery value R. Assuming that the current stop pattern is AAA by the process of step ST3, the first column of the reference value table TBL is selected, and the comparison value NUM1 of the first row of the first column is selected.
(= 32) is subtracted from the lottery value R (R ← R−NUM)
1) If the subtraction result is negative, the edge reference value N (= 1) of the first row is obtained. If the subtraction result is not negative, the comparison value NUM2 (= 96) in the second row of the first column is further subtracted from the lottery value R (R ← R−NUM2), and if the subtraction result is negative, The edge reference value N (= 10) of the second row is obtained. In this embodiment, NUM1 + NUM2
= 128, and the subtraction result is always negative in the second row of each column.

As described above, in the reference value table TBL,
If the lottery value R is 0 ≦ R <NUM1, the edge reference value N is 1, and if the lottery value R is NUM1 ≦ R <128, the edge reference value N is 10.
Then, in the case where the stop is to be performed at a high value AAA pattern, the edge reference value N becomes 10 with a probability of 75%,
If you want to stop at a low value GGG pattern,
The edge reference value N becomes 10 with a probability of 25%, and the edge reference value N becomes 10 with a probability of 6.25% when stopping at a worthless outlying pattern. Therefore, the player can predict how much the current game is hit based on the difference in the transition timing of the first → second → third rotating reels 1a, 1b, 1c for each game, With this prediction, a new game property can be realized.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to realize a slot machine that can naturally maintain the statutory game consumption time without significantly deteriorating the sense of rhythm, and can also investigate the cause when a device abnormality occurs.
Further, when breaking the sense of rhythm, it is possible to realize a slot machine exhibiting new game characteristics by utilizing this fact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the rotating reel.

FIG. 4 illustrates the relationship between a passage sensor and protruding teeth.

FIG. 5 is a time chart for explaining the operation of the slot machine of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the slot machine of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a reference value table for realizing the slot machine of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 SL Slot machine 1a, 1b, 1c Rotating reel 25 Projecting tooth 25a Reference tooth 25b Normal tooth 26 Passage sensor (photo interrupter)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A slot in which a plurality of spinning reels rotate in response to a start operation, and each spinning reel stops in response to a stop operation. In the machine, first means for rotating and driving the first rotating reel in response to a start operation; second means for rotating and driving the second rotating reel on condition that the first rotating reel has been rotated; And a third means for rotating and driving the third rotating reel on condition that the second rotating reel rotates. 2. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the rotating reel is detected by protruding teeth passing through a passage sensor, and the protruding teeth rotate integrally with each of the rotating reels. 3. The protruding tooth is divided into one reference tooth and a plurality of normal teeth, and the reference tooth and the normal tooth have different lengths in the traveling direction. 3. The slot machine according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The slot machine according to claim 1, wherein the time difference between the spinning reels rotating in time sequence is determined based on a lottery result for each game. 5. The slot machine according to claim 4, wherein the time difference is determined based on a lottery result of each game and a randomly determined lottery value.