JP4520202B2 - Amusement stand - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine typified by a slot machine, and more particularly to a technique for preventing fraudulent acts related to medal insertion.

  In a gaming machine where a medal is inserted and a game is paid out according to the game result as in a slot machine, a medal selector for selecting a regular medal is provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1). . This medal selector forms a medal passage that leads from the medal insertion slot, and when a fake medal different in size from a regular medal is inserted, it is dropped from the passage and discharged to the medal tray. ing. A sensor for detecting the passage of medals is provided in the medal passage to count the number of medals inserted. As this sensor, an optical sensor is usually employed, and two sensors are provided along the passage. FIG. 13A is a timing chart showing how to detect the passage of medals by two sensors. Since the sensors 1 and 2 are displaced along the passage, when the medal passes through the passage, the sensor 1 is first turned ON. Subsequently, the sensor 2 is turned on. Next, the sensor 1 is turned off and the sensor 2 is turned off. Then, when the ON / OFF of the sensor 1 and the sensor 2 is performed in the sequence shown in the figure, the control unit of the gaming table determines that the medal has passed normally and counts it as one effective medal insertion number. Will do.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-17611

  On the other hand, paying attention to the medal detection principle, fraudulent acts using special instruments are performed. FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a device used for fraud. The base includes a base material 1 made of plastic or the like curved along the shape of the medal passage of the medal selector, a switch 2 provided at one end of the base material 1, a control circuit 3, and a medal selector 2 Two light emitting elements 4 provided in accordance with the arrangement of one sensor, and a signal line 5 connecting the electric circuit 3 and the light emitting element 4 are provided. The control circuit 3 causes the light emitting element 4 to blink at a predetermined period when the switch 2 is pressed.

  Therefore, this instrument is inserted into the medal selector from the medal insertion slot with the light emitting element 4 side as the head until the light emitting element 4 just reaches the two sensors of the medal selector. Then, pressing the switch 2 causes the light emitting element 4 to emit light. At this time, the two light emitting elements 4 are driven by the control circuit 3 so as to repeat light emission and extinction at slightly different timings. As a result, the two sensors of the medal selector are turned on and off in the same sequence as when the medal actually passes, for example, as shown in FIG. For this reason, the blinking of the light emitting element 4 is detected as a medal passing, and it is counted as a medal inserted even though no medal is inserted. In addition, since the light emitting element 4 blinks at high speed, the credits stored electronically in an instant are full (in the case of a slot machine, the maximum number is usually 50).

  In view of the problems as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine capable of preventing an illegal act related to medal insertion.

According to the present invention, in the gaming machine provided with the detecting means for detecting the number of inserted medals with respect to the gaming machine, which is disposed in the path through which the inserted medal passes and detects the passing of the medal , the path is formed, A guide rail portion that guides the movement of the medal by abutting the peripheral surface of the medal is provided, and the position of the detection means can be changed along the passage formed by the guide rail portion. There is provided a game table characterized by comprising moving means for moving the detecting means at all times along the formed passage.

  Note that the gaming machine of the present invention has a plurality of reels that are provided with a plurality of types of patterns and are driven to rotate, lottery means for determining whether or not an internal winning of a plurality of types of winning combinations is won, and rotation of the reels. A start switch for starting, a stop switch provided for each of the reels for individually stopping the rotation of the reels, and stop control of the reels based on a lottery result of the lottery means. Reel stop control means for performing, and winning determination means for determining a winning based on whether or not the combination of the pictures displayed by the reels at the time of stop is a predetermined combination of pictures. It can be set as the game stand which pays out a medal based on the determination result of determination.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent fraudulent acts related to medal insertion.

<First Embodiment>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a slot machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the slot machine 100, a game is started when a medal is inserted, and a medal is paid out according to the result of the game.

<Overall configuration>
Inside the center of the main body 101 of the slot machine 100, three reels (left reel 110, middle reel 111, and right reel 112) having a plurality of types of patterns arranged on the outer peripheral surface are stored and rotated inside the slot machine 100. It is configured to be able to. In this embodiment, an appropriate number of each pattern is printed on the belt-like member at equal intervals, and the reels 110 to 112 are configured by sticking this belt-like member to a predetermined circular frame material. When viewed from the player, approximately three patterns on the reels 110 to 112 are displayed in the vertical direction from the pattern display window 113 so that a total of nine patterns can be seen. Then, by rotating each of the reels 110 to 112, the combination of pictures that can be seen by the player varies. In the present embodiment, three reels are provided in the center of the slot machine 100, but the number of reels and the installation position of the reels are not limited to this.

  In addition, a backlight (not shown) for illuminating each picture displayed on the picture display window 113 is disposed on the back surface of each reel 110 to 112. It is desirable that the backlight is shielded for each pattern so that each pattern can be illuminated evenly. In the slot machine 100, an optical sensor (not shown) including a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit is provided in the vicinity of each reel 110 to 112. The light projecting unit and the light receiving unit of this optical sensor are provided. A light shielding piece of a certain length provided on the reel passes between the parts. Based on the detection result of this sensor, the position of the pattern on the reel in the rotation direction is determined, and the reels 110 to 112 are stopped so that the target pattern is displayed on the winning line 114.

  The winning line display lamp 120 is a lamp that indicates an effective winning line. An effective winning line is determined in advance by the number of medals inserted into the slot machine 100. Of the five winning lines 114, for example, when one medal is inserted, the middle horizontal winning line is valid, and when two medals are inserted, the upper horizontal winning line and the lower horizontal winning line are added. When three medals are inserted and three medals are inserted, the five added with the right-down winning line and the upper-right winning line become effective as the winning line. Note that the number of winning lines 114 is not limited to five.

  The start lamp 121 is a lamp that informs the player that the reels 110 to 112 are in a state of being able to rotate. The re-playing lamp 122 is a lamp for notifying the player that the current game can be replayed (no medal insertion is required) when winning a re-playing role that is one of the winning roles in the previous game. is there. The notification lamp 123 is a lamp that informs the player that a specific winning combination (for example, a bonus such as BB (big bonus) or RB (regular bonus)) is won internally in an internal lottery described later. The medal insertion lamp 124 is a lamp that notifies that a medal can be inserted. The payout number display 125 is a display for displaying the number of medals to be paid out to the player as a result of winning a winning combination. The number-of-games display 126 is an indicator for displaying an error display when a medal is inserted, which will be described later, the number of games during the big bonus game (in the BB game), the number of winnings of a predetermined winning combination, and the like. The stored number display 127 is a display for displaying the number of medals electronically stored in the slot machine 100. The reel panel lamp 128 is an effect lamp.

  The medal insertion buttons 130 and 131 are buttons for inserting a predetermined number of medals stored electronically in the slot machine 100. In this embodiment, every time the medal insertion button 130 is pressed, a maximum of three are inserted one by one, and when the medal insertion button 131 is pressed, three are inserted. The medal insertion block 134 is a block that forms a medal insertion slot for a player to insert a medal when starting a game. That is, the medal can be inserted electronically by the medal insertion button 130 or 131, or the actual medal can be inserted from the medal insertion slot of the medal insertion block 134.

  The start lever 135 is a lever-type switch for performing a game start operation. That is, when a desired number of medals are inserted into the medal insertion slot of the medal insertion block 134 and the start lever 135 is operated, the reels 110 to 112 are rotated as a trigger, and the game is started. The stop buttons 137 to 139 are buttons for performing a stop operation on the reels 110 to 112 that have started rotating by operating the start lever 135, and are provided corresponding to the reels 110 to 112. When any one of the stop buttons 137 to 139 is operated, any one of the corresponding reels 110 to 112 is stopped.

  The adjustment button 132 is a button for adjusting the medals electronically stored in the slot machine 100 and the bet medals and discharging them from the medal payout outlet 155 to the tray 210. The medal return button 133 is a button that is pressed to remove a medal when the inserted medal is clogged. The door key 140 is a hole into which a key for unlocking the front door 102 of the slot machine 100 is inserted. The medal payout exit 155 is a payout exit for paying out medals. The medal tray 210 is a container for collecting medals paid out from the medal payout opening 155. In this embodiment, the medal tray 210 employs a tray that can emit light, and may be hereinafter referred to as a tray lamp.

  The sound hole 160 is a hole for outputting the sound of a speaker provided inside the slot machine 100 to the outside. The upper lamp 150, the side lamp 151, the center lamp 152, the waist lamp 153, the lower lamp 154, and the saucer lamp 210 are decorative lamps for exciting the game. The ashtray unit 200 is a container for containing cigarette butts, and is screwed inside the tray 210. The reel panel 161 is a panel having a picture display window 113, and the title panel 162 is a panel on which the model name of the slot machine and various designs are drawn. The rendering device 600 includes a liquid crystal display device and displays various types of information.

<Medal selector>
The slot machine 100 is provided with a medal selector for selecting regular medals while forming a passage through which medals inserted from the medal insertion slot of the medal insertion block 134 pass. FIG. 5A is an exploded perspective view of the medal selector 20, and FIG. 6A is a diagram showing how medals pass through the medal selector 20. The medal selector 20 includes a main body portion 21, a guide member 22 that can be attached to and detached from the main body portion 21, and a cover member 23 that can be attached to and detached from the lower portion of the main body portion 21. Mounted on the back.

  The main body portion 21 includes a guide plate portion 21a. When the guide member 22 is attached to the main body portion 21, the guide plate portion 22a of the guide member 22 and the guide plate portion 21a are arranged to face each other with a gap. Thus, a receiving part is formed which becomes the entrance of the medal passage. As shown in FIG. 6A, the medal first passes through the receiving part (see A in the figure). The main body portion 21 is provided with a lower guide rail portion 21b and an upper guide rail portion 21c having an L-shaped cross section, and the inserted medal is shown in FIG. 7 as these guide rail portions 21b and 21c. And rolls through the medal selector 20. The guide member 22 is provided with a guide piece 22b that is rotatable in a direction perpendicular to the medal passage, and abuts against the side surface of the passing medal to push the medal toward the guide rail portions 21b and 21c and guide it.

  The guide rail portion 21c is set so as to guide a small range of the upper end of the passing medal, and if a fake medal smaller than the regular medal is to pass, the guide rail portion 21c is guided at the position B in FIG. Instead of being guided by the rail portion 21c, the guide piece 22b is pressed to drop off. Since the hole of the medal insertion slot of the medal insertion block 134 is substantially the same size as the regular medal, a fake medal larger than the regular medal can be inserted from the medal insertion slot of the medal insertion block 134. Can not. On the other hand, the main body 21 is provided with a movable piece 21d that is rotatable in a direction orthogonal to the medal passage. When a medal jam occurs, the medal return button 133 is pressed, and the movable piece 21d rotates to the medal path side so that the jammed medal is dropped from the medal selector 20.

  The main body 21 is provided with a medal blocker 21e that can be rotated in a direction orthogonal to the medal passage, and an electromagnetic solenoid 21f that urges the medal blocker 21e to rotate. In the case (for example, after the start lever 135 is operated, etc.), the medal blocker 21e is returned so that the medal cannot pass the position C in FIG. 6A (the medal blocker 21e protrudes into the medal passage and the medal State where the passage is closed). FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view (partially omitted) taken along the line XX in FIG. 6A when the medal blocker 21e is in a return state. Normally, the medal blocker 21e is in a substantially vertical posture with its left side surface attracted to the right side surface of the electromagnetic solenoid 21f. However, in the return state, the suction of the electromagnetic solenoid 21f is released and pulled by the spring below the medal blocker 21e, and the medal blocker 21e is tilted and protrudes toward the passage as shown in FIG. The passage will be closed.

  On the other hand, a sensor unit 21g is disposed at the downstream end of the passage formed by the main body 21 and the guide member 22, and is attached to the main body 21 via a bracket 21h. As shown in FIG. 5B, the sensor unit 21g incorporates two medal insertion sensors 320a and 320b (referred to collectively as medal insertion number detection sensors 320) for detecting the number of medal insertions. The medal insertion number detection sensor 320 is an optical sensor, and includes a light receiving element and a light emitting element as shown in FIG. 5C, and a medal passes between them (D in FIG. 6A). The position of the medal is detected by blocking the light from the light emitting element. As shown in FIGS. 5B and 6A, the medal insertion sensors 320a and 320b are disposed along the medal passage, the medal insertion sensor 320a is located upstream of the passage, and the medal insertion sensor 320b is provided. It is arranged downstream of the passage. In this embodiment, two sets of medal insertion number detection sensors 320 are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and one or three or more sensors may be provided.

  As described above, the medal blocker 21e protrudes into the medal passage when a predetermined condition is satisfied, for example, after the start lever 135 is operated, but is in the return state. The time is when no new medal is accepted. Therefore, when the medal blocker 21e is in the return state, there is a need to prevent a medal that is passing through the passage and being detected by the medal insertion number detection sensor 320. That is, it is necessary to prevent a medal that has already passed through the medal blocker 21e when the medal blocker 21e is returned and then passes through the medal insertion number detection sensor 320 from occurring. For this reason, the medal blocker 21e has a medal insertion number detection sensor 320 so that a medal that is passing through the passage does not reach the medal insertion number detection sensor 320 when a predetermined condition is established in which the medal blocker 21e is returned. In this embodiment, it is disposed in the vicinity of the medal insertion number detection sensor 320 on the upstream side of the medal insertion number detection sensor 320.

  In the medal selector 20 having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 6A, a medal inserted from the medal insertion slot of the medal insertion block 134 first passes through the receiving portion (A in the same figure), and the guide rail. Rolled in the medal selector 20 is guided by the parts 21b and 21c (FIGS. B to D). At this time, a fake medal smaller than a regular medal is selected and dropped by the above-described action, reaches the medal payout exit 155, and is returned to the player. A regular medal is detected by the medal insertion number detection sensor 320 at the position D in the figure, and then guided to the rail portion 24a of the fixing member 24 and dropped to the medal payout device.

<Structure to prevent fraud>
Next, the structure for preventing fraud using the appliance of FIG. 14 in this embodiment will be described. As described above, in the illegal act using the appliance of FIG. 14, the number of medals inserted in the medal selector 20 by the light emitting element 4 is just within the medal selector 20 from the medal insertion slot with the light emitting element 4 side of the appliance of FIG. It is inserted until it reaches the detection sensor 320. Then, the fact that the light emitting element 4 emits light by pressing the switch 2 and the medal insertion number detection sensor 320 detects this as the passage of the medal is utilized.

  Here, in the illegal act using the instrument of FIG. 14, the light emitting element 4 must be positioned so that the correspondence between the two light emitting elements 4 and the medal insertion sensors 320a and 320b is exactly the same. This is because, as described above with reference to FIG. 13A, if the detection results of the two sensors (medal insertion sensors 320a and 320b) do not follow the sequence shown in FIG. Because it becomes. Therefore, the size of the base material 1 and the arrangement position of the light emitting elements 4 are severely determined according to the design of each slot machine.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, an illegal act using the instrument of FIG. 14 is prevented by adopting a structure in which the position of the sensor unit 21g, that is, the position of the medal insertion number detection sensor 320 can be changed. There are various structures that can change the position of the sensor unit 21g. In this embodiment, the position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed at any position within a predetermined range. The mounting position of the bracket 21h that supports 21g is variable. For this reason, an engaging part is provided in each of the bracket 21h and the main body part 21, and the engaging part on at least one side of the bracket 21h side or the main body part 21 side has a certain length, and any arbitrary range within the range. The engaging portion on the other side can be engaged at the position. Various configurations of such engaging portions can be adopted, but as shown in FIG. 5B, in the present embodiment, the bracket 21h has a long hole extending in the direction along the medal passage. 21h 'is formed, and two bolts for fixing the bracket 21h pass through the long hole 21h' and screw into a screw hole (not shown) formed in the main body portion 21, whereby the bracket 21h And the sensor unit 21g supported by this is attached to the main body part 21.

  Since the two bolts for fixing the bracket 21h pass through the long hole 21h 'and screw into the screw hole of the main body 21, the bracket for supporting the sensor unit 21g at any position within the range of the hole length. 21 h can be fixed to the main body 21. FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing changes in the position of the sensor unit 21g. FIG. 7A shows a state in which the sensor unit 21g is attached to the leftmost side, and FIG. 7B shows the sensor unit 21g. The mode which attached to the rightmost side is shown. 7B, the distance between the right end of the sensor unit 21g and the right end of the guide rail portion 21c is longer by α than in the case of FIG. 7A. The position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed in the range of the interval α. Therefore, when an illegal act is performed with the instrument shown in FIG. 14, the position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed so that the two light emitting elements 4 and the medal insertion sensors 320a and 320b do not correspond. Further, since the long hole 21h ′ extends in the direction along the medal passage, the sensor unit 21g can not only select a stepless attachment position in the direction along the medal passage, but also change the attachment position. However, it does not affect medal detection accuracy.

  In this way, in the present embodiment, when an illegal act using the appliance shown in FIG. 14 is rampant, it is possible to take a quick preventive measure against the illegal act simply by changing the mounting position of the sensor unit 21g. That is, even if an attempt is made to cheat using the instrument shown in FIG. 14, the arrangement of the two light emitting elements 4 does not match the medal insertion sensors 320a and 320b, and cheating is prevented. In the present embodiment, the relative position between the bracket 21h and the main body 21 is changed. However, by changing the relative position between the bracket 21h and the sensor unit 21g with the same configuration, the sensor unit 21g You may employ | adopt the structure which changes a position.

<Control unit>
Next, the circuit configuration of the control unit of the slot machine 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The control unit of the slot machine 100 is roughly divided into a main control unit 300 that controls the central part of the game, and a sub-control unit 400 that controls various devices in accordance with commands transmitted from the main control unit 300. Has been.

<Main control unit>
First, the main controller 300 of the slot machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The main control unit 300 includes a CPU 310 that is an arithmetic processing unit for controlling the entire main control unit 300, a data bus and an address bus for the CPU 310 to transmit and receive signals to and from each IC and each circuit, It has the structure described below. The clock correction circuit 314 is a circuit that divides the clock oscillated from the crystal oscillator 311 and supplies it to the CPU 310. For example, when the frequency of the crystal oscillator 311 is 12 MHz, the divided clock is 6 MHz. The CPU 310 operates by receiving the clock divided by the clock correction circuit 314 as a system clock.

  The CPU 310 is connected to a timer circuit 315 for setting a timer interrupt processing cycle for constantly monitoring the state of sensors and switches, which will be described later, and a motor drive pulse transmission cycle, via a bus. When the power is turned on, the CPU 310 transmits the frequency dividing data stored in the predetermined area of the ROM 312 to the timer circuit 315 via the data bus. The timer circuit 315 determines an interrupt time based on the received frequency division data, and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 310 at each interrupt time. In response to this interrupt request, the CPU 310 executes monitoring of each sensor and transmission of drive pulses. For example, when the system clock of the CPU 310 is set to 6 MHz, the frequency division value of the timer circuit 315 is set to 1/256, and the data for frequency division of the ROM 312 is set to 44, the reference time for this interrupt is 256 × 44 ÷ 6 MHz = 1. 877 ms.

  In addition, the CPU 310 stores a program for controlling each IC, a lottery data used for the internal lottery of a winning combination, various data such as a reel stop position, and a ROM 312 for storing temporary data. A RAM 313 is connected. Other storage means may be used for these ROM 312 and RAM 313, and this is the same in the sub-control unit described later. The CPU 310 is connected to an input interface 360 for receiving an external signal. The medal insertion sensor 320 (320a and 320b), the start lever sensor 321 and the stop button sensor are connected via the input interface 360 at every interruption time. 322, a checkout button sensor 324, and a medal payout sensor 326 are detected, and each sensor is monitored.

  The start lever sensor 321 is a sensor for detecting the operation of the start lever 135. The stop button sensor 322 is a sensor for detecting which stop button is pressed when any one of the stop buttons 137 to 139 is pressed. The medal insertion button sensor 323 is a sensor for detecting which medal insertion button is pressed when one of the medal insertion buttons 130 and 131 is pressed. The settlement button sensor 324 is provided on the settlement button 132, and when the settlement button 132 is pressed once, the stored medals and the bet medals are settled and paid out. The medal payout sensor 326 is a sensor for detecting a payout medal.

  The CPU 310 further has an input interface 361 and output interfaces 370 and 371 connected to an address bus via an address decoding circuit 350. The CPU 310 exchanges signals with external devices via these interfaces. An index sensor 325 is connected to the input interface 361. The index sensor 325 is installed at a predetermined position on the mounting base of each of the reels 110 to 112, and becomes H level each time the light shielding piece provided on the reel passes through the index sensor 325. When detecting this signal, the CPU 310 determines that the reel has made one rotation, and resets the rotational position information of the reel to zero. The output interface 370 includes a reel motor driving unit 330 that controls a motor for driving a reel, a hopper motor driving unit 331 for driving a motor of a medal payout device (not shown), and a game lamp 340 (specifically Specifically, a winning line display lamp 120, a start lamp 121, a replay lamp 122, a notification lamp 123, a medal insertion lamp 124, etc., and a 7 segment (SEG) display 341 (a payout number display 125, a game number display) 126, the stored number indicator 127, etc.) and the electromagnetic solenoid 21f are connected.

  A random number generation circuit 317 is connected to the CPU 310 via a data bus. The random number generation circuit 317 is an increment counter capable of incrementing a value within a certain range and outputting the count value to the CPU 310 based on a clock oscillated from the crystal oscillator 311 and the crystal oscillator 316, which will be described later. Used for various lottery processes, including internal lottery for winning positions. The random number generation circuit 317 in the present embodiment includes two random number counters. An output interface 371 for transmitting a command to the sub control unit 400 is connected to the data bus of the CPU 310. Information communication between the main control unit 300 and the sub control unit 400 is one-way communication, and the main control unit 300 transmits a command to the sub control unit 400, but any command or the like from the sub control unit 400 to the main control unit 300 Cannot be sent.

<Sub control unit>
Next, the sub-control unit 400 of the slot machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The sub-control unit 400 is an arithmetic processing unit that controls the entire sub-control unit 400 based on a main control command or the like transmitted from the main control unit 300, and the CPU 410 transmits and receives signals to and from each IC and each circuit. It has a data bus and an address bus for performing, and has a configuration described below. The clock correction circuit 414 is a circuit that corrects the clock oscillated from the crystal oscillator 411 and supplies the corrected clock to the CPU 410 as a system clock. Further, a timer circuit 415 is connected to the CPU 410 via a bus. The CPU 410 transmits the frequency dividing data stored in the predetermined area of the ROM 412 to the timer circuit 415 via the data bus at a predetermined timing. The timer circuit 415 determines an interrupt time based on the received frequency division data, and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 410 at each interrupt time. The CPU 410 controls each IC and each circuit based on the interrupt request timing.

  In addition, the CPU 410 temporarily stores a ROM 412 in which commands and data for controlling the entire sub-control unit 400, backlight lighting patterns and data for controlling various displays, and the like are stored. The RAM 413 is connected via each bus. The CPU 410 is connected to an input / output interface 460 for transmitting and receiving external signals. The input / output interface 460 includes a backlight 420 for illuminating the picture of each reel 110 to 112 from the back, a front surface. A door sensor 421 for detecting opening / closing of the door 102 and a reset switch 422 for clearing data in the RAM 413 are connected.

  An input interface 461 for receiving a main control command from the main control unit 300 is connected to the CPU 410 via a data bus, and an effect process that excites the entire game based on the command received via the input interface 461. Etc. are executed. A sound source IC 480 is connected to the data bus and address bus of the CPU 410. The sound source IC 480 controls sound according to a command from the CPU 410. The sound source IC 480 is connected to a ROM 481 that stores sound data. The sound source IC 480 amplifies the sound data acquired from the ROM 481 by the amplifier 482 and outputs the sound data from the speaker 483. The CPU 410 is connected to an address decoding circuit 450 for selecting an external IC, similar to the main control unit 300, and the input interface for receiving a command from the main control unit 300 is connected to the address decoding circuit 450. 461, an input interface 471 for inputting a signal from the rendering device control unit 500, a clock IC 423, an output interface 472 for outputting a signal to the 7-segment display 440, and the like are connected.

  The CPU 410 can acquire the current time by connecting the clock IC 423. The 7-segment display 440 is provided inside the slot machine 100 so that a store clerk or the like can check predetermined information set in the sub-control unit 400, for example. Further, a demultiplexer 419 is connected to the output interface 470. The demultiplexer 419 distributes the signal transmitted from the output interface 470 to each display unit and the like. That is, the demultiplexer 419 includes an upper lamp 150, a side lamp 151, a center lamp 152, a waist lamp 153, a lower lamp 154, a reel panel lamp 128, a title panel lamp 170, a saucer lamp 210, according to data received from the CPU 410. The outlet strobe 171 is controlled. The title panel lamp 170 is a lamp that illuminates the title panel 162, and the payout outlet strobe 171 is a strobe type lamp installed inside the payout opening. CPU 410 performs signal transmission to rendering device control unit 500 via demultiplexer 419. The rendering device control unit 500 is a control unit that controls the rendering device 600 of FIG.

<Basic control of games>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the basic control of the game in the slot machine 100 of the present embodiment. Basic control of the game is performed mainly by the Main CPU 310, and the game process shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this game process will be described. When the power is turned on, first, initial processing for initializing the main control unit 300 is executed in S101. In S102, game start processing is performed. Here, processing relating to medal insertion (counting of medal insertion number, insertion error processing, etc.), processing relating to the start of a game by the start lever 135, and the like are performed.

  In S103, the random number generated by the random number generation circuit 317 is acquired. In S104, an internal lottery of a winning combination is performed using the random number acquired in S103 and the winning combination lottery table stored in the ROM 312. As a result of the internal lottery, when any winning combination is won internally, the winning combination flag set in the RAM 313 is turned ON. Examples of winning combinations include replay (replay), small combination, bonus (BB, RB), and the like.

  Each winning combination has a winning probability of internal lottery set for each bet number of medals and set values (1 to 6), and the winning combination lottery table is configured in accordance with this and is obtained at the time of the lottery. The numerical value range (for example, 0 to 16384) is divided in advance into several areas (areas corresponding to the size of each winning probability), and each area is associated with winning or losing of each winning combination. . In the internal lottery of the winning combination, whether or not the internal winning of the winning combination is successful is determined according to which range the acquired random number value belongs. This method is also adopted in other lottery processes.

  In S104, the reel stop control table is selected after the internal lottery. This is a process of selecting a control for the stop operation of each reel. Here, the stop control of the reels 110 to 112 will be briefly described. The reel stop control is performed based on the selected reel stop control table by selecting one of a plurality of predetermined reel stop control tables based on the internal lottery result. The reel stop control table is stored in the ROM 312 of the main control unit 300. The reel stop control table allows a winning combination that was won internally by an internal lottery or a so-called flag carryover winning combination to be displayed together with the corresponding pattern combination, otherwise It is configured so that the pattern combinations corresponding to each winning combination are not displayed together. For example, when the small member “Bell” is not internally won, even if the reels 110 to 112 are stopped at the timing when the “Bell” symbol combination is displayed, the reels 110 to 112 are immediately stopped. Therefore, control is performed so that the combination of bell patterns is not completed. On the other hand, when “Bell” is won internally, even if the reels 110 to 112 are not stopped at the timing when the bell picture combination is displayed, the reels 110 to 112 are within a certain range. It will be controlled so that the combination of the pattern of the bells is aligned without stopping immediately.

  In S105, rotation of all reels 110 to 112 is started. Thereafter, the stop buttons 137 to 139 can be received. In S106, reel stop control is performed. Here, in response to an operation on the stop buttons 137 to 139, one of the reels 110 to 112 corresponding to the operated stop button 137 to 139 is stopped according to the reel stop control table selected in S104. When all the reels 110 to 112 are stopped, the process proceeds to S107.

  In S107, a winning determination is performed. Here, it is determined that a winning combination has been won when a picture combination corresponding to an internally winning winning combination or a winning combination with a flag carryover is displayed on the activated winning line 114. For example, if “bell-bell-bell” is arranged on the validated winning line 114, it is determined that the bell is won. In addition, the flag corresponding to the winning combination won is reset. In S108, if any winning combination with payout is won, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination is paid out. In S109, game state control processing is executed. In this gaming state control process, control for changing the gaming state is performed. For example, in the case of a bonus winning such as a big bonus or a regular bonus, a corresponding bonus game is prepared so that it can be started from the next time. In the game, prepare to start the normal game next time. As described above, the process of one game is completed, and then the process returns to S102 and the same process is repeated to advance the game.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, another embodiment of a fraud prevention structure using the appliance of FIG. 12 will be described. FIGS. 8A and 8B are views showing the mounting structure of the sensor units 21g and 21g ′ according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment described above, the position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed at any position in the predetermined range. However, in the present embodiment, the sensor unit 21g can be changed at any one of the predetermined positions. The position is configured to be changeable. Only the configuration different from that of the first embodiment will be described below.

  In the example of FIG. 8A, an engaging portion is provided on each of the bracket 210h and the main body 21 instead of the bracket 21h of the first embodiment, and the engagement on at least one of the bracket 210h side and the main body 210 side is provided. By providing a plurality of joint portions, the bracket 210h can be attached to the main body portion 21 at a plurality of positions. In the example of FIG. 8A, the bracket 210h is provided with three holes 210h ′ along the direction of the medal passage, and the left and middle holes 210h ′ or the middle and right holes 210h ′. Two bolts are inserted and screwed into the screw holes of the main body 21. That is, in the case of the example in FIG. 8A, the attachment position of the sensor unit 21g can be selected at two positions, the upstream side and the downstream side of the medal passage. In this example, the mounting position of the sensor unit 21g can be selected at two positions, but it goes without saying that it may be three or more.

  Next, in the example of FIG. 8B, the relative position between the sensor unit and the bracket is changed at a plurality of predetermined positions. A bracket 211h that replaces the bracket 21h of the first embodiment is as follows. It is attached to the main body 21 at a fixed position. The sensor unit 21g ′, which replaces the sensor unit 21g of the first embodiment, is attached to the bracket 211h with a bolt. The bracket 211h has a plurality of holes (here, two) 211h on the mounting surface of the sensor unit 21g ′. 'Is provided, and any one of the holes 211h' can be selected and the sensor unit 21g 'can be attached to the bracket 211h with a bolt. FIG. 8B shows the mounting position of the sensor unit 21g ′ when each hole 211h ′ is selected, and it can be seen that the mounting position of the sensor unit 21g ′ with respect to the bracket 211h changes.

  In this way, in this embodiment, when an illegal act using the appliance shown in FIG. 14 is rampant, just by changing the mounting positions of the sensor units 21g and 21g ′ as in the first embodiment, the quick action against the illegal act can be made. Preventive measures can be taken.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, another embodiment of a fraud prevention structure using the appliance of FIG. 12 will be described. FIG. 9 is a view showing a mounting structure of the sensor unit 21g according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a moving means for moving the sensor unit 21g is provided, so that the position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed. As such a moving means, various means can be adopted, but in the example of FIG. 9, a plunger type solenoid 401 arranged so as to expand and contract in the direction of the medal passage is adopted. The sensor unit 21g is attached to a bracket 212h, and the distal end of the expansion / contraction part of the plunger type solenoid 401 is attached to the bracket 212h. The bracket 212h is also formed with an elongated hole 212h ′ extending in the direction of the medal passage. The elongated hole 212h ′ projects from the main body portion 21 and is separated from the medal passage in the direction of the medal passage. Has been inserted.

  When the plunger type solenoid 401 is expanded and contracted, the bracket 212h is guided by the pin inserted into the elongated hole 212h 'and moves along the direction of the medal path. As a result, the position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed. The plunger type solenoid 401 is controlled and driven by the sub-control unit 400. In the case of this embodiment, a switch 402 disposed in the slot machine 100 is connected to the sub-control unit 400 so that an attendant of the hall can operate, and the plunger type solenoid 401 is driven by the operation on the switch 402, The position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed by driving the plunger type solenoid 401. Therefore, the plunger type solenoid 401 is automatically driven in addition to when the switch 402 is operated. The position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed. For example, the expansion and contraction of the plunger-type solenoid 401 is always performed periodically, so that the sensor unit 21g can be always reciprocated. Further, when a predetermined condition is satisfied (for example, when a medal insertion abnormality is detected or at the start of every game), the plunger type solenoid 401 can be driven to change the position of the sensor unit 21g. . Hereinafter, an example of processing of the main control unit 300 and the sub control unit 400 when the plunger type solenoid 401 is automatically driven to change the position of the sensor unit 21g will be described with reference to FIGS. In the example shown in the figure, the plunger type solenoid 401 is automatically driven to change the position of the sensor unit 21g when the intervals between games are a predetermined time.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the game start process of S102 of FIG. 4 in the present embodiment, which is executed by the CPU 310 of the main control unit 300. In S111, measurement of the time for shifting to the demonstration screen is started. The demonstration screen is a screen displayed by the rendering device 600 in a non-game state where the next game is not started within a predetermined time after the previous game ends. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that if no medal is inserted 30 seconds after the end of the previous game, this demonstration screen is displayed. In S111, the measurement for 30 seconds is started. In S112, it is determined whether or not a medal has been inserted based on the detection result of the medal insertion number detection sensor 320 or the presence / absence of an operation on the medal insertion buttons 130 and 131. If a medal has been inserted, the process proceeds to S121, and if not, the process proceeds to S113. In addition, when a re-game is won as a result of the previous game, medals are exempted. Needless to say, when the number of inserted medals exceeds 53 (the maximum number of bets is 3 + the maximum number of credits is 50), further medals cannot be inserted.

  In S113, it is determined whether or not the non-game state control flag is ON. The non-game state control flag is a flag for identifying whether or not to send a command for instructing the sub-control unit 400 to start displaying the demonstration screen, and is set in a predetermined area of the RAM 313. If applicable, the process proceeds to S118, and if not, the process proceeds to S114. In S114, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time (here, 30 seconds as described above) has elapsed for the measurement of the time started in S111. If applicable, the process proceeds to S115, and if not, the process proceeds to S118. In S115, a non-game state control command is transmitted to the sub-control unit 400. In S116, the non-game state control flag is turned ON. In S117, the time measurement started in S111 is terminated. In S118, it is determined whether or not the start lever 135 is operated after a medal is inserted. If applicable, the process proceeds to S119, and if not, the process returns to S112. In S119, the winning line 114 is determined according to the number of medals inserted. In S120, a command indicating that the start lever 135 has been operated is transmitted to the sub-control unit 400, and the non-game state control flag is turned OFF.

  In S121, it is determined whether or not there are three or less medals inserted. If applicable, the process proceeds to S122, and if not, the process proceeds to S118. In S122, a medal insertion command is transmitted to the sub-control unit 400. The medal insertion command can include information on the number of inserted medals. In S123, it is determined whether or not the non-game state control flag is ON. If applicable, the process proceeds to S118, and if not, the process proceeds to S124. In S124, the non-game state control flag is turned ON (overwriting). In S125, the time measurement started in S111 is terminated.

  Next, processing of the sub control unit 400 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a main process of the sub-control unit 400, which is a process executed by the CPU 410. When the power is turned on, initial processing for initializing the sub-control unit 400 is performed in S131. In S132, it is determined whether a command is received from the main control unit 300 or not. If received, the process proceeds to S133, and if not, the process proceeds to S137. In S133, it is determined whether or not the received command is a non-gaming state command. If applicable, the process proceeds to S134. Otherwise, the process corresponding to the received command is executed, and the process proceeds to S137.

  In S134, the production of the non-game state is started. Here, an effect of displaying a demonstration screen by the effect device 600 is started. In S135, when the position of the sensor unit 21g is changed, the changed position is determined by lottery. That is, the expansion / contraction amount of the plunger type solenoid 401 is determined by lottery. In S136, the plunger type solenoid 401 is driven based on the lottery result in S135. As a result, the position of the sensor unit 21g is changed. However, depending on the result of the lottery, the same position may remain.

  In S137, it is determined whether or not a non-game state effect is being executed, that is, whether or not a demonstration screen is being displayed by the effect device 600. If applicable, the process proceeds to S138, and if not, the process proceeds to S139. In S138, the non-game state effect, that is, the display of the demonstration screen by the effect device 600 ends. In S139, an effect lottery process is performed. Here, not a non-game state effect such as display of a demonstration screen, but a lottery regarding an effect during the game is performed. In S140, an effect is executed based on the lottery result in S139. Thereafter, the process returns to S132.

  As described above, in the processing examples shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when the time when the game is not performed reaches a predetermined time, the position of the sensor unit 21g is automatically changed. Therefore, for example, when the player of the slot machine 100 changes, the position of the sensor unit 21g is automatically changed and is not constant, so that it is possible to effectively prevent fraud using the device of FIG. In the present embodiment, the position of the sensor unit 21g is set by lottery in S135. However, the position need not always be lottery, and the change of the position may be performed according to a predetermined pattern.

<Fourth embodiment>
In each of the above-described embodiments, the position of only the sensor unit 21g (and 21g ′) is configured to be changeable. However, the position of the other components of the medal selector 20 is also changed in accordance with the change of the position of the sensor unit 21g. It may be good. For example, as described above, the medal blocker 21e is used for detecting the number of medal insertions so that a medal that is passing through the passage does not reach the medal insertion number detection sensor 320 when a predetermined condition is satisfied. When it is positioned with respect to the sensor 320 and the position of the sensor unit 21g is changed, the position of the medal blocker 21e is preferably changed accordingly. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a configuration in which the position of the sensor unit 21g can be changed together with the medal blocker 21e will be described. In the present embodiment, the medal blocker 21e is cited, but the position of other components of the medal selector 20 that require accuracy of the relative position with respect to the sensor unit 21g may be changed together with the sensor unit 21g. Good.

  FIG. 12 is a view showing a mounting structure of the sensor unit 21g according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a sensor unit 21g is fixedly supported by a bracket 213h, and an electromagnetic solenoid 21f that moves a medal blocker 21e is also fixedly supported by the bracket 213h. The bracket 213h is provided with an elongated hole 213h ′ extending in the direction of the medal passage, and a bolt is passed through the elongated hole 213h ′ to be screwed into a screw hole of the main body portion 21 so that the sensor unit 21g, The electromagnetic solenoid 21f that moves the bracket 213h and the medal blocker 21e is integrally attached to the main body 21.

  Since two bolts for fixing the bracket 213h pass through the long hole 213h ′ and screw into the screw hole of the main body portion 21, the bracket 213h can be attached to the main body portion 21 at an arbitrary position within the range of the hole length. Can be fixed. Since both the sensor unit 21g and the electromagnetic solenoid 21f that moves the medal blocker 21e are fixedly supported by the bracket 213h, when the mounting position of the bracket 213h is changed, not only the position of the sensor unit 21g but also the medal blocker 21e. The position of is also changed. Therefore, it is possible to change the position of the sensor unit 21g without changing the relative position between the two. In addition, although the example using the long hole 213h was given here, it cannot be overemphasized that it can combine with the structure of each embodiment mentioned above suitably.

1 is an external perspective view of a slot machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a circuit block diagram of a main control unit 300. FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram of a sub-control unit 400. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing basic control of a game in the slot machine 100. FIG. (A) is an exploded perspective view of the medal selector 20, (b) is an exploded perspective view showing a peripheral structure of the sensor unit 21g, and (c) is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the sensors 320a and 320b and a medal detection mode. (A) is a figure which shows the passage mode of the medal in the medal selector 20, (b) is a sectional view (partially omitted) along the line XX in FIG. 6 (a) when the medal blocker 21e is returned. is there. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the change of the position of the sensor unit 21g. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the attachment structure of sensor units 21g and 21g 'which concern on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the attachment structure of the sensor unit 21g which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the game start process of the main control part 300 in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the main process of the sub control part 400 in 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the attachment structure of the sensor unit 21g which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a timing chart which shows the detection aspect of the passage of medals by two sensors, (b) is a timing chart which shows the detection aspect of the two sensors in the case of cheating using an instrument. It is a block diagram of the instrument used for cheating.

Explanation of symbols

100 slot machine

Claims (1)

In a gaming machine equipped with a detecting means for detecting the number of inserted medals with respect to a gaming machine, which is disposed in a passage through which a medal to be inserted passes,
A guide rail portion that forms the passage and that guides the movement of the medal by contacting the peripheral surface of the medal,
The position of the detection means can be changed along the passage formed by the guide rail portion,
A game table comprising moving means for constantly moving the detecting means along the passage formed by the guide rail portion.

Images