JP3256784B2 - Slot machine reel lighting system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is in a specific stop position.
A slot for illuminating the symbol by changing the size of the illumination area
The present invention relates to a reel lighting device for a machine .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a slot machine, when a medal is inserted into a medal insertion slot and a start lever is operated, a plurality of, for example, three reels behind a symbol display window rotate. Thereafter, when the stop button is operated to stop the rotation of the reel, three symbols arranged at a constant pitch on the outer periphery of the reel are displayed on the symbol display window, three by one per reel. The symbol display window is provided with a total of five pay lines, three horizontal lines and two diagonal lines that are activated in accordance with the number of inserted medals, and a combination of symbols arranged on the activated pay lines. Becomes a winning combination, medals of the number of payouts set in advance for each winning combination are paid out to the medal receiving tray.

[0003] For example, when one medal is inserted, only one horizontal line at the center is activated, but when two medals are inserted, three horizontal lines are set, and when three medals are inserted, three horizontal lines are set. There are a total of 5 medals and 2 diagonal, which is increased according to the number of inserted medals. Then, when the number of activated pay lines is large, it is difficult for the player to grasp at a glance the combination of the winning combination symbols when the reels stop. In order to solve this problem, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 61-151
In the symbol lighting device of the slot machine described in Japanese Patent No. 785, a lighting device is arranged inside a reel, and when the reel stops, a symbol constituting a winning combination is illuminated.
It is easy for players to identify.

[0004]

However, in the above-described symbol lighting device of the slot machine, the symbols constituting the winning combination are simply illuminated and the luminance level is changed, so that the interest of the game cannot be raised. was there. Further, in the symbol illuminating device, since one symbol is illuminated by one illuminating device, for example, when the symbol illuminating device is arranged inside a reel having a shape as shown in FIG. There is a problem that light is shielded or dimmed by the skeleton (side plate).

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to grasp a symbol of a winning combination at a glance and to make the player's interest in the game interesting by visually recognizing the symbol. The present invention is to provide a reel lighting device of a slot machine which can effectively excite the information.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a plurality of reels are rotated behind a symbol display window.
Are held in an annular shape around the reels and
A symbol strip having an array of symbols in Ji, the Li
And stops at a specific position behind the symbol display window
Illuminated from the inner side of the symbol strip
Lighting means , wherein the lighting means is a lamp and
When the lamp is turned on, the lens moves in the illumination light path.
This lens movement changes the size of the illumination range.
It is characterized by that.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a symbol display is provided.
Multiple reels spinning behind a window and these reels
Are arranged in a ring around the circumference of the
Symbol strip and a reel
Symbols stopped at a specific position behind the symbol display window
Setting an illumination means for illuminating from the inner peripheral side of the emission Bol strip
The lighting means is the same symbol stopped at the specific position.
Multiple lighting units that illuminate
Each lighting unit consists of a lamp and its lighting
And a cylindrical body that regulates the range.
You.

[0008]

[0009]

[0010]

FIG. 5 shows the appearance of a slot machine embodying the present invention. In the slot machine main body 2, a reel display window 6 for observing first to third reels 3 to 5 is provided. A counter display window 7 for displaying the number of payout medals, a medal insertion slot 8 into which medals are inserted in a range of one to three medals, and the like are provided. In the reel display window 6, a total of five pay lines 9 (three horizontal lines and two diagonal lines) are written, and the pay lines 9 are activated according to the number of inserted medals.

After the medal has been inserted, the start lever 10 can be operated. When the start lever 10 is operated, the reels 3 to 5 are simultaneously rotated by a reel unit described later. When each of the reels 3 to 5 reaches a predetermined number of rotations, the stop buttons 11 to 13 can be operated. When each of the stop buttons 11 to 13 is operated, the rotation of each of the reels 3 to 5 is stopped according to the operation timing.

When each of the reels 3 to 5 is stopped, three reels are displayed on the reel display window 6 for each reel, for example, a total of nine "7",
Symbols such as "BAR" and "Cherry" are displayed.
When the combination of the symbols arranged on the activated pay line 9 is a winning, a well-known hopper device (not shown) is driven, and the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination is paid out to the medal tray 14. Then, one game ends.

In FIG. 2 showing the reel unit 20 described above, three side plates 22 to 24 are fixed to the substrate 21 via screws. Stepping motors 28 to 24 are attached to the side plates 22 to 24 via L-shaped support plates 25 to 27.
30 is fixed. This stepping motor 28 ~
The reels 3 to 5 are fixed to the shafts 28 a to 30 a of the 30.

On the upper side of the support plates 25 to 27, an illumination unit 32 for illuminating the symbol strip 39 by varying the illumination range between a wide range indicated by a dashed line and a narrow range indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure. To 34 are provided. Since the above-mentioned reels 3 to 5 have the same configuration, they will be described below based on the illumination unit 32 shown enlarged in FIG.

The illumination unit 32 has an illumination lamp 35 inside.
, A lens barrel 37 screwed to this via a helicoid, and a gear 38
And a motor 39 that rotates through the motor. The light-shielding cylinder 36 and the lens barrel 37 are screwed together via a helicoid. A condensing lens 40 for irradiating the illumination light of the illumination lamp 35 to the symbol of the symbol strip 31 is attached to an upper part of the lens barrel 37, and a tooth row 41 meshing with the gear 38 is provided on the outer periphery. .

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the reel.
The reel 3 includes a symbol strip 31 having various symbols printed on the surface thereof at predetermined intervals, and a pair of frames 46 and 47 for holding the symbols from both sides. The symbol strip 31 is made of a thin band-shaped plastic sheet. After the symbol strip 31 is formed into an annular shape with its ends fixed with an adhesive tape or the like, a pair of frames 46 and 47 are fitted. A side plate 48 is formed integrally with the frame 46, and the side plate 48 is fixed to a shaft 28 a of the stepping motor 28. In order to reduce the weight of the reel 3, a large number of openings 49 are formed in the side plate 48, and the frame 47 is formed in a hollow annular shape. The reel 3 is provided with three lighting units 32 along the circumferential direction, as indicated by a chain line in the drawing.

FIG. 4 shows an electrical configuration of the slot machine. Microprocessor unit (MPU) 5
0 causes the game to be executed according to the sequence program stored in the program ROM 51. The medal sensor 52 detects the number of medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 8 and inputs the number of medals to the MPU 50.
Are determined. Start signal generator 53
Detects the operation of the start lever 10 and inputs a start signal to the MPU 50. The MPU 50 rotates each of the reels 3 to 5 by inputting the start signal.

The rotation of the reels 3 to 5 is started by the MPU 50 supplying clock pulses to the drivers 54 to 56. Each of the drivers 54 to 56 is an MPU5
Upon receiving a clock pulse from 0, a drive pulse is supplied to each of the stepping motors 28 to 30 corresponding to the frequency. Since the stepping motors 28 to 30 rotate at a constant angle each time a drive pulse is supplied, the rotation angle can be known by counting the number of drive pulses. For this reason, the driving pulses output from the drivers 54 to 56 are output from the counters 57 to 59 provided correspondingly.
Is counted. Note that the frequency of the clock pulse is determined by the value sampled by the sampling unit 60 when the start signal is input.

Reset (R) of the counters 57 to 59
A reset pulse is input to the terminal each time the stepping motors 28 to 30 pass the rotation origin position, and the count value is cleared to “0” each time.
7 to 59 and one of the stepping motors 28 to 30
The value corresponds to the rotation angle within the rotation. The arrangement order of the symbols on each of the reels 3 to 5 and the stepping motor 28
Since the type of the symbol appearing at the center of the symbol display window 6 when the position of the symbol # 30 stops at the origin position is known in advance, the MPU 50 stops on the winning line 9 based on the count values of the counters 57 to 59. Symbol can be specified.

The stop signal generator 61 inputs a reel stop signal to the MPU 50 when the stop buttons 11 to 13 are pressed. The MPU 50 receives these reel stop signals and stops the rotation of each of the reels 3 to 5. For example, if the stop buttons 11 to 13 are pressed while the reels 3 to 5 are rotating, the driver 5
The supply of the clock pulse to the stepping motors 4 to 56 is interrupted, so that the driving pulse is not supplied to the stepping motors 28 to 30 and the rotation of the reels 3 to 5 is stopped.

After the rotation of each of the reels 3 to 5 is stopped, the winning determination unit 62 determines whether or not a combination of the activated symbols on each of the winning lines 9 corresponds to a winning. Is output. The types of symbols stopped on the pay line 9 can be identified according to the count values of the counters 57 to 59 as described above. The determination signal is output to the lamp control unit 63, the lens barrel control unit 64, and the medal dispenser 65 via the MPU 50.

Nine illumination lamps 35 are connected to the lamp control unit 63. When a judgment signal is inputted, the illumination lamps 35 at a specific position, for example, a position corresponding to a symbol constituting a winning combination, are turned on. I do. The lens barrel control unit 6
Reference numeral 4 denotes a motor to which nine motors 39 are connected, and outputs a drive pulse whose polarity is inverted within a certain time width to the motor 39 at a position corresponding to the illumination lamp 35 lit by the lamp controller 63 based on the determination signal. . Accordingly, the motor 39 alternately rotates forward and backward in response to the drive pulse, and repeatedly moves the lens barrel 37 up and down between the solid line position and the dashed line position shown in FIG. Thus, the illumination units 32 to 34 change the illumination range of the illumination lamp 35. A well-known hopper device is connected to the medal payout device 65, and pays out medals corresponding to the winning combination to the medal tray 14 based on the determination signal.

Hereinafter, the operation of the slot machine embodying the present invention will be described. For example, when three medals are inserted into the medal insertion slot 8, all five pay lines 9 are activated. When the start lever 10 is operated, MP
U50 supplies clock pulses to the drivers 54 to 56 to rotate the stepping motors 28 to 30, respectively. After this, the stop button 11
Are pressed, the stop signal generator 61 outputs a reel stop signal, and the stop buttons 11 to 13 are pressed.
, The rotation of the reels 3 to 5 is stopped. At this time, a combination of symbols corresponding to the winning combination, for example, "Cherry"-"Cherry"-"-" is displayed on the winning line 9.

When the rotation of each of the reels 3 to 5 is stopped, the respective count values are output from the counters 57 to 59 to the MPU 50.
Is output to the winning determination unit 62 via the. Winning determination section 62
Identifies all the symbols on all the winning lines 9 based on each count value, and determines the winning of the combination of the symbols on each of the winning lines 9. At this time, a combination of symbols of the winning combination, "Cherry"-"Cherry", is placed on the winning line 9.
Since there is "-", the winning determination unit 62 outputs a determination signal corresponding to the winning combination to the lamp control unit 63, the lens barrel control unit 64, and the medal payout unit 65 via the MPU 50.

The lamp controller 63 to which the judgment signal has been input
Turns on each illumination lamp 35 at a position corresponding to the symbol of “Cherry”. Further, the lens barrel control unit 64 to which the determination signal is input outputs a drive pulse whose polarity is inverted within a certain time width to each motor 39 at a position corresponding to the symbol of “Cherry”. Each motor 39 alternately repeats normal rotation and reverse rotation at regular intervals, and repeatedly moves the lens barrel 37 up and down between the solid line position and the dashed line position shown in FIG. Thereby, the illumination range of each illuminated lamp 35 is expanded like a great circle shown by reference numeral 31a in FIG. 3 or narrowed like a small circle shown by reference numeral 31b.
As a result, the symbol of “Cherry” becomes the lighting unit 3
Novel lighting is performed by 2,33. Therefore, the player can easily identify the combination of the symbols corresponding to the winning combination.

The medal dispenser 65 receives a determination signal based on the determination signal.
The hopper device is driven to pay out medals of the number of payouts according to the winning combination to the medal tray 14. When the medal payout is completed,
One game of the slot machine ends. If the combination of symbols on the pay line 9 does not correspond to a winning combination, one game of the slot machine ends when a determination signal corresponding to the loss is output to the MPU 50. When one game is over, medals can be inserted, and preparation for the next game is completed. In this embodiment, the condensing lens 40 is moved back and forth on the illumination optical axis so that the illumination range becomes different concentric circles. However, the condensing lens 40 is moved so as to intersect the illumination optical axis. Alternatively, different ranges may be illuminated by the same concentric circle.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which one symbol is illuminated by a pair of illumination units having different illumination ranges. Above the support plate 25, a pair of large and small lighting units 70 and 71 having different diameters are provided.
It is inclined and fixed so that the center of the illumination range intersects with the symbol strip 31. The pair of lighting units 70 and 71 are arranged along the circumferential direction of the reel.
Are mounted, and in a three reel slot machine,
A total of nine lighting units 70 and 71 are arranged.
Each of the lighting units 70 and 71 has the same configuration, and includes a light-shielding tube 75 and an illumination lamp 76 mounted on the bottom surface of the light-shielding tube 75 as shown in FIG.
When a condenser lens is mounted on the upper part of the light shielding tube 75, the shapes of the illumination units 70 and 71 can be made smaller.

The operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. In this embodiment, each of the reels 3 to 5
Is stopped, if the symbols illuminated by the pair of illumination units 70 and 71 are a combination corresponding to a winning combination, the illumination units 70 and 71 are alternately driven to illuminate the same symbol. Thereby, the same symbol can be alternately illuminated in different illumination ranges. Note that the lighting unit 70 can be driven and the lighting unit 71 can be driven intermittently. Since these lighting units 70 and 71 have a simple structure, the cost of a slot machine using them can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 8, when a reel having a structure in which the side plate 48 largely enters the outline of the reel is illuminated by, for example, one illumination unit 70, the symbol strip 31 The side plate 48 is shaded,
Symbols may not be uniformly illuminated.
By the way, as described above, one symbol is arranged in a pair of lighting units 70 and 71 as shown in FIG.
By illuminating the illumination light of the illumination unit 71 to the shaded portion formed on the symbol strip 31 from above, the symbols can be uniformly illuminated.

[0030]

[0031]

[0032]

[0033]

As described above, the slot of the present invention is used.
In the reel lighting system of the machine, the symbols are
From the inner side of the symbol strip printed in
Illumination hand that illuminates the fixed position symbol by varying the illumination range
With the steps, the symbols can be illuminated freshly.
The player's interest in the game
Wear. In addition, the symbols to be illuminated are limited to
If set, the combination of symbols corresponding to the winning combination
Can be easily identified.

The variable illumination range is located on the front of the lamp.
When the lens is moved in the illumination optical path,
It can be realized by a single lighting means. Furthermore, lighting
Means from the lamp and the cylinder that regulates the illumination range of the lamp
Is composed of multiple lighting units with a simple structure.
In addition, make the lighting range of each lighting unit different from each other.
Therefore, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the lighting means.
it can.

[0035]

[0036]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a reel unit.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a reel unit.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a reel.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an electrical configuration of the slot machine.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a slot machine using the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an embodiment of another reel lighting device.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the inside of a lighting unit used in the reel lighting device shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment of another reel lighting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3-5 Reel 6 Symbol display window 31 Symbol strip 31-33, 70, 71 Illumination unit 35 Illumination lamp 36 Shielding cylinder 37 Lens barrel 40 Condensing lens

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63F 5/04 A63F 7/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of rotations behind a symbol display window.
Reels, and are held in an annular shape on the outer periphery of these reels, and at a predetermined pitch.
A symbol strip where symbols are arranged, and a specific position behind the symbol display window provided for each reel
The symbol stopped at
Illumination means for illuminating the lamp , the illumination means comprising a lamp and an illumination light path when the lamp is turned on.
The lens is moved within the lens.
The size of the illumination range is variable
Reel lighting device of a cutting machine. 2. A plurality of rotations behind a symbol display window.
Reels, and are held in an annular shape on the outer periphery of these reels, and at a predetermined pitch.
A symbol strip where symbols are arranged, and a specific position behind the symbol display window provided for each reel
The symbol stopped at
Illuminating means for illuminating the same symbol , wherein the illuminating means displays the same symbol stopped at the specific position.
Lighting units with different sizes of lighting areas
Each lighting unit consists of a lamp and its lighting range.
And a cylindrical body that regulates
Reel lighting system for lot machines.