JP4621886B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a pachinko gaming machine (generally also referred to as a “pachinko machine”) or a revolving type gaming machine (generally also referred to as a “pachislot machine”). The present invention relates to a gaming machine provided with display means.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in gaming machines such as pachinko machines, a lot of obstacle nails are provided in a predetermined gauge arrangement in a gaming area in which, for example, a gaming ball is driven as a gaming medium. Wind turbines are provided at appropriate positions. In addition, at an appropriate position in the game area, there are provided a winning opening provided with a blade (so-called tulip) that expands left and right so that the probability of entering the ball changes, and a starting port that expands the blade of the winning port. .

  In this conventional gaming machine, a game ball is driven into the upper part of the game area by a player's operation and enjoyed to enter a desired winning opening, etc., and the game ball is moved from the upper part of the game area. When you flow down to the bottom, you can enjoy the movement of the game ball by making contact with the obstacle nail or windmill, changing the direction and speed, etc., and giving fine movement to the game ball Yes.

In addition, a fixed stage with a lower center is provided in the game area, and the game ball rolls left and right on the stage and then flows out from the center so that the game ball can be enjoyed. There is also a gaming machine (for example, Patent Document 1). Alternatively, there is a gaming machine in which a fixed stage is provided at the top and bottom and the rolling surface of the stage has a predetermined shape so that the movement of the game ball can be changed and enjoyed (for example, Patent Document 2).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-057655 JP 2004-147900 A

  However, in the conventional gaming machine, although the game medium moves finely in the game area, it only flows down from the upper part of the game area, so the flow of the game medium is monotonic as a whole, and depending on the player There is a problem that the flow can be predicted, the player gets tired of the movement of the game medium, and cannot enjoy the movement of the game medium itself.

  Therefore, in view of the above situation, the present invention makes the player pay attention to the movement of the game medium by making various movements so that the movement of the game medium is difficult to predict, and the interest by the movement of the game medium is reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine that can prevent this from happening.

The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the gaming medium is disposed in a gaming area into which a gaming medium is to be driven, the gaming medium has a rolling surface capable of rolling in the left-right direction, and the gaming medium supplied on the rolling surface A long guide member that can be discharged from any one of the left and right ends or the other end opposite to the one end, and the guide member on the rolling surface. Rotation drive means for rotating the game medium so as to roll in the left-right direction, a jackpot arranged on the one end side and capable of receiving the game medium released by the guide member; Based on the fact that the game medium is received at the jackpot, the advantageous game executing means for executing an advantageous gaming state advantageous to the player, and disposed on the side of the other end and released by the guide member A discharge port for discharging the game medium out of the game area; The turning drive means is configured to give the game medium on the rolling surface to the jackpot by inclining the rolling surface so that the one end portion is lower than the other end portion. A first operation mode that rolls toward the side where the mouth is disposed, and the rolling surface is inclined so that the one end is higher than the other end. The guide member is reciprocated between the second operation mode in which the game medium on the moving surface rolls toward the side where the discharge port is disposed, and the guide member is reciprocated. In such a case, the game medium on the rolling surface repeatedly rolls between the direction toward the side where the jackpot is disposed and the direction toward the side where the discharge port is disposed. There is no difference between one operation mode and the second operation mode. The first operation mode and the second operation mode with a cycle different from the fixed cycle so that the game medium on the rolling surface rolls toward a side where the discharge port is arranged, and a pattern switched at a cycle Even if the guide member has the same inclination when the game medium is supplied to the guide member, the discharge destination of the game medium changes. The gist of the invention is that rolling between the one end and the other end can be repeated.
The gaming machine according to claim 2 is the gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the guide member is provided at least one of the one end and the other end from the rolling surface to the gaming medium. The gist of the present invention is to further include a weir portion for preventing the release of the water.
The gist of the gaming machine according to claim 3 is the gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide member is supported so as to be rotatable about a substantially center in a longitudinal direction thereof.

Means 1: “Elongated in a game area where a game medium is placed, the game medium has a rolling surface on which the game medium can roll, and the game medium on the rolling surface can be distributed in a predetermined direction. It comprises a guide member and a rotation driving means for rotating the guide member so that the game medium on the rolling surface is swung.
Here, “distribution in a predetermined direction” means “the game member is distributed in two directions so that the game medium can be discharged from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the guide member”, “the game medium is discharged in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide member. “A plurality of possible discharge portions are provided and distributed”, and may be distributed in other directions.

  “Oscillation” means that the game medium makes at least one reciprocation on the rolling surface, and preferably moves back and forth on the rolling surface for 1.5 reciprocations or more. In addition, it does not include continuing to swing infinitely on the rolling surface, and after a predetermined time or a predetermined reciprocation (cycle), it is released from the rolling surface and swinging ends. Note that when the game medium is supplied onto the rolling surface, the game medium moves on the rolling surface when the moving speed and direction of the game medium or the rotation state of the rolling surface satisfies a predetermined condition. May be swung.

  Further, “rotate so as to swing” means that the guide member is configured to rotate like a seesaw, and the game medium that rolls toward the lower end is the end of the guide medium. Before being released from the game, its end is made higher than the horizontal direction, and the game medium rolls in the opposite direction to the other end, and the same operation is performed at the other end. By repeating the above, the game medium is swung, and the guide member is thus rotated. As such rotation, “according to the length of the guide member, the game medium is swung by periodically rotating the rotation angle and the rotation speed so as to satisfy predetermined conditions”. "A position detection means for detecting the position of the game medium on the rolling surface is provided, and the rotation of the guide member is appropriately controlled by the rotation drive means based on the detection result of the position detection means. And the like ". The position of the rotation center of the guide member may be the end in the longitudinal direction, the center, or another position.

  By the way, for example, by providing a stage-like placement surface extending in the horizontal direction in the game area and supplying the game medium on the placement surface, the movement of the game medium is moved in the horizontal direction. However, in this case, if the placement surface is horizontal, the game medium may be stopped on the placement surface, and there is a problem that the game cannot be performed. Therefore, it is conceivable that the placement surface is inclined, or the central portion is relatively higher or lower than both end portions, but in any case, the game medium flows toward the lower placement surface. Therefore, there is a problem that the movement of the game medium is easily bored. In addition, when the center portion of the placement surface is relatively lower than both ends, there is a possibility that the game medium moves back and forth on the placement surface around the center portion. Although it is possible to add some interest, the game medium is finally released from the center of the placement surface, so that the flow of the game medium can be easily predicted, and the movement of the game medium is not noticed. There is a fear. In addition, it is conceivable that the mounting surface can be tilted so that the tilting direction can be changed. However, even in such a case, there is a problem similar to the above because the game medium simply flows downward.

  In addition, it is conceivable to change the inclination angle of the stage-like mounting surface by a driving means such as a motor. In this case, if the angle is simply changed, the rolling speed of the game medium is changed. For example, it is conceivable to slow down the rolling speed so that the game medium can be seen carefully, but even in that case, the release destination of the finally released game medium is predicted in advance. There is a problem that can be easily bored because it can.

  According to the structure of the means 1, the game medium supplied on the rolling surface is rocked on the rolling surface by the turning of the guide member by the turning driving means. In other words, in the game area, the game media not only flows down, but also moves back and forth in the left-right direction, resulting in an unprecedented movement of the game medium, which allows the player to pay attention to the movement. It can be expected that the entertainment of the player can be enhanced by entertaining with the movement of the game medium itself.

  In addition, since the game medium moves back and forth on the guide member and is distributed in a predetermined direction, it is difficult to predict in which direction the game medium is distributed, and attention is paid to the movement of the game medium. Can be made.

  In addition, you may arrange | position things which are advantageous to a player, such as a prize opening, in the distribution destination of a guide member, and in that case, a player wants to distribute especially to the side where a prize opening etc. are arranged. However, the game media may come and go on the guide member and be returned to the prize opening side, so it can be relieved by the movement of the game media. It can be something interesting.

  Here, when the inventor of the present application alternately rotates the guide member at a predetermined cycle like a seesaw, the game medium on the rolling surface gradually moves back and forth while swinging back and forth. It was found that it approached the edge and was eventually released from the edge. This is because when the game medium is swung so as not to straddle the rotation center of the guide member, a centrifugal force always acts on the game medium as the guide member rotates, and the centrifugal force rotates. Since the distance from the center is stronger, the distance that the game medium moves away from the center is longer than the distance that the game medium moves away from the center. It seems to move to the end of As a result, the game medium can be given a movement that gradually moves to the end while swinging on the rolling surface, making it possible to realize an unprecedented movement of the game medium. By letting a person expect when the game medium is released from the guide member, it can be exciting and exciting.

Means 2: In the constitution of means 1,
“The guide member further includes a weir portion that prevents the game medium from being discharged from the rolling surface at at least one of the end portions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide member.” And

  According to the configuration of the means 2, since the weir portions are provided on at least one of both sides in the width direction of the rolling surface (perpendicular to the game area), the game medium is thereby released from the rolling surface. Therefore, it is possible to guide and swing the game medium in the longitudinal direction of the guide member. A predetermined notch may be formed in the middle of the weir, and the game medium is distributed in a predetermined direction by discharging the game medium from the rolling surface from the notch. It can also be made.

  In addition, when a plate-like object such as a game board is arranged on one side of the guide member, the game medium can be released from the rolling surface without providing a weir on the one side. Since there is no game media, it is possible to guide the game media smoothly. If a game board or the like is provided with protrusions, depressions, or openings, which may come into contact with game media on the rolling surface, a dam portion should also be provided on one side thereof. Is desirable.

Means 3: In the constitution of means 1 or means 2,
“The guide member is characterized in that the rolling surface is an inclined surface in which either one of the end portions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is lower than the other”.

  According to the configuration of the means 3, since the rolling surface is an inclined surface inclined in the width direction, for example, when the inclined surface is such that the game board side is lowered, the above dam portion is not provided. Also, the game medium can be guided by the rolling surface and the game board. In this case, when the dam portion is not provided on the side opposite to the game board side, when the game medium is supplied onto the rolling surface, or when the rolling surface is rolling, the rolling surface Since the game medium may be released from the width direction, the movement of the game medium can be more difficult to predict, and the entertainment can be enhanced.

  In addition, when the rolling surface is an inclined surface that is lower on the side opposite to the game board side, the game medium is surely guided by the rolling surface and the weir portion by providing the above-described weir portion on that side. In addition, when the rolling surface is inclined as compared with the one having only the above-mentioned dam part, even if the game board has a protrusion, a depression, or an opening, etc. Thus, the game medium on the rolling surface can be prevented from coming into contact, and the game medium can be smoothly swung.

Means 4: In any one configuration from means 1 to means 3,
“The guide member is supported so as to be rotatable about a substantially center in a longitudinal direction thereof”.

  By the way, even when the rotation center of the guide member is the end thereof, the game medium on the rolling surface can be swung, but when the rotation of the guide member is rotated at a predetermined period, Since the moving game medium gradually moves in the direction of the end opposite to the center and is released from the end, there is a problem that the flow of the game medium can be easily predicted.

  According to the configuration of the means 4, the rotation center of the guide member is set to be substantially the center in the longitudinal direction, so that even if the guide member is rotated at a predetermined cycle, it is directed toward any end. Since the game medium can be swung in the direction, the movement of the game medium can be enjoyed. Further, since the guide member only needs to be rotated at a predetermined cycle, the control and configuration of the rotation driving means can be simplified.

  The rotation period of the guide member may be changed. For example, the game medium that swings toward one end is moved to the opposite side across the center, and this time, the other end It can also be made to swing toward the portion, which makes it more difficult to predict the direction in which the game media will be distributed, and can be more inflated.

Means 5: In any one configuration from means 1 to means 4,
“Rotation status for detecting the rotation status of the guide member and changing the rotation of the guide member by the rotation driving means according to the rotation status to distribute the game media in a predetermined direction. It further comprises a detection means ”.

  Here, the “rotation state detection means” includes “a detection unit or the like provided on the guide member and detecting the rotation state by detecting the detection unit”, “drive of a motor or the like in the rotation drive unit” And the like which detect the rotation state from the driving state of the part ”.

  According to the configuration of the means 5, the rotation state is changed by stopping the rotation of the guide member or changing the rotation speed in accordance with the rotation state detected by the rotation state detection means. Thus, the game medium is distributed in a predetermined direction, whereby it is detected that the guide member is rotating in a desired direction, so that the game medium can be reliably distributed in the predetermined direction. . In addition, it is possible to arbitrarily set the degree of distribution.

Means 6: In the configuration of means 5,
“The rotation driving means is arranged in the vicinity of one end of the guide member, and the rotation state detecting means is arranged in the vicinity of the other end of the guide member”.

  According to the configuration of the means 6, since the rotation driving means and the rotation state detection means are arranged on both sides of the guide member, it is possible to prevent the respective means from interfering with each other.

Means 7: In any one configuration from means 1 to means 6,
“It further includes a receiving port which is arranged at least at a part of the upper part of the guide member and receives the game medium flowing down the game area so as not to come into contact with the guide member. It is characterized by that.

  According to the configuration of the means 7, the game medium received by the receiving port can flow down through the front or rear of the guide member, so that the game medium can flow down without contacting the guide member. . This prevents other game media from coming into contact with the game media rolling on the guide member and preventing the game media from swinging, and also sets the receiving port at a predetermined position above the guide member. By disposing, the supply position of the game medium supplied to the guide member can be arbitrarily set, and the game medium can swing well on the guide member.

  In addition, when it is assumed to flow down through the front of the guide member, the game medium that swings on the guide member can be partially hidden by the game medium that flows down. In other words, since the state in which the game medium is partially swayed becomes invisible, the movement of the game medium becomes a concern for some players during that time, and it can be expected to be excited and enhance the interest.

Means 8: In the constitution of means 7,
“A guide path that guides the game medium received by the receiving port through the rear of the guide member and below the guide member, and the game medium guided by the guide path is caused to flow out to the game area. It further includes a game medium guiding path having an outlet.

  According to the configuration of the means 8, the game medium is caused to flow down behind the guide member by the game medium guide path, so that the game medium swinging on the guide member is not blocked by the game medium flowing down. , The movement can be seen well.

  In addition, since the game medium guide path (so-called warp path) is provided, the game medium can be well supplied to the game area below the guide member so that the game medium can flow down. It is possible to make the game more interesting by appropriately arranging an accessory, a winning opening, etc. below the guide member.

Means 9: In any one configuration from means 1 to means 8,
“A first receiving port that is arranged on the downstream side of one of the game media distributed by the guide member and does not give or give a predetermined first privilege to the player by entering the game media, and distributed by the guide member And a second receiving port that is provided on the downstream side of the other game medium and that gives the player a predetermined second benefit different from the first privilege when the game medium enters. It is characterized by that.

  Here, examples of the “first entrance” include a lost prize opening, a general prize opening, a start-up opening, or a discharge opening. The “second entry” includes a winning prize opening and a big winning prize opening. Etc.

  According to the configuration of the means 9, the distribution destinations distributed by the guide member are provided with receiving ports for different privileges. As a result, in particular, the player wants to be distributed to the side of the entrance where a more advantageous privilege is given. Therefore, paying attention to the movement of the game medium that swings on the guide member, It can be fun and interesting by moving.

Means 10: In any one configuration from means 1 to means 9,
“It further includes an entrance that is arranged above the guide member and guides the entered game medium onto the rolling surface of the guide member”.

  According to the configuration of the means 10, the game medium is supplied onto the guide member through the entrance, and thus the game medium can be supplied to the guide member from a predetermined position. It is possible to reduce the change in behavior at the beginning of supply of the game medium and to supply the game medium under predetermined conditions so that the game medium can be stably swung on the guide member.

  In addition, when a receiving port to which a privilege is given is arranged at the distribution destination of the guide member as described above, the player can play a game so that the game medium enters the entrance, and the game medium enters the entrance. Thus, it is possible to actively enjoy the movement of a swinging game medium that has never been seen before.

Means 11: In the constitution of means 10,
“It further comprises an opening / closing means for opening / closing the entrance”.

  Here, as the “opening / closing means”, “a pair of movable pieces (blades) that opens and closes by turning left and right”, “opening and closing when the movable pieces turn in a direction perpendicular to the game area” Thing ", etc. are mentioned.

  According to the structure of the means 11, since the entrance is opened and closed by the opening and closing means, the game medium cannot be supplied onto the guide member unless the entrance is opened. Opportunities for seeing unprecedented movement of the game medium that swings the game are limited, and the value of seeing the movement of the game medium can be increased.

Means 12: In the constitution of means 11,
“It further includes a start port that is arranged in the game area and operates to open and close the entrance by operating the opening and closing means when the game medium enters”.

  According to the configuration of the means 12, the entrance is opened and closed when the game medium enters the start opening. By this, the entrance is opened by the opening and closing means by allowing the game medium to enter the start opening, and the guide is opened. The player can be given an opportunity to see the movement of the game medium swinging on the member. Note that a plurality of start ports may be provided. In this case, it is desirable that the opening / closing pattern (for example, the number of times of opening / closing and the opening / closing time) differs depending on the start port.

Means 13: In any one configuration from means 1 to means 12,
“It further comprises rectification means for receiving the game media distributed by the guide member and rectifying the game media into a predetermined state”.

  According to the configuration of the means 13, since the game medium released from the guide member is rectified by the rectifying means and then delivered, it can be smoothly delivered to, for example, a receiving port arranged next. Note that the rectifying means may be a rectifying device that swirls the game medium in a spiral shape (so-called croon), so that the movement of the game medium can be enjoyed also in the rectifying means.

Means 14: In the configuration of means 13,
“The guide member, the game medium guiding path, the first receiving port, the second receiving port, the advance port, the opening / closing unit, and the rectifying unit are provided in one accessory.” It is characterized by that.

  According to the configuration of the means 14, these guide members and the like are used as one accessory, and thus a game machine called a “blade” can be obtained. Moreover, since they are integrated, the assembly of the gaming machine can be facilitated.

Means 15: In any one configuration from means 1 to means 14,
“Game state detecting means for detecting a gaming state that changes in accordance with a player's operation, lottery means for drawing a predetermined lottery result based on the detection result of the game state detecting means, and the lottery means Based on the result, it further comprises advantageous game state generating means for generating an advantageous game state advantageous to the player.

  Here, the “game state detecting means” is for detecting a game state that changes in accordance with the player's operation. For example, in a gaming machine using a game ball as a game medium, it is possible to enter a prize opening or a start port. A switch for detecting the state of entering the ball, a counting means for counting the number of game balls entering the winning opening, and a recognition means for recognizing the lottery result based on the winning. Note that the gaming state detection means may be detected before being supplied to the guide member, or may be detected after being distributed by the guide member.

  The “advantageous game state” means a state that is more advantageous to the player than the normal game state, and various states can be exemplified as follows.

(1) In gaming machines such as pachinko machines, a large number of gaming balls are opened and closed by repeatedly opening and closing a predetermined number of times, or continuously opening for a predetermined time or until a predetermined number of gaming balls are won. A state where it is easy to win a winning opening (so-called “big hit state”).

(2) In a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, a state in which the probability of occurrence of a big hit state is higher than usual, a so-called “probability fluctuation state”.

(3) In a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, a lottery entrance device for performing a lottery to determine whether or not a big hit state is generated by winning or passing a game ball is set to a state in which a game ball is easier to enter than usual. The state where the lottery lottery is performed more frequently than usual, the so-called “time reduction state”.

(4) In a gaming machine such as a slot machine, a state in which the drum is easily stopped by a pattern for paying out a medal as a game medium during a predetermined game, a so-called “bonus game state”.

(5) In a gaming machine such as a slot machine, a state in which the probability of occurrence of a bonus game state is higher than usual, so-called “probability variation state”.

  According to the configuration of the means 15, if a jackpot winning prize port or the like that is likely to generate an advantageous gaming state is arranged at one of the distribution destinations by the guide member, the player strongly desires to be distributed to the jackpot winning prize side. , Especially paying attention to the movement of the game media that swings back and forth on the guide member, and the game media that is not likely to be released from the guide member to the jackpot winning side can do. Note that the lottery by the lottery means may be started after being distributed by the guide member, or may be started before being supplied to the guide member or while swinging on the guide member. May be.

  Further, a lottery is performed before the game medium is supplied to the guide member, and the rotation drive means of the guide member is controlled based on the lottery result to swing the game medium on the guide member and in a predetermined direction. You may make it distribute. More specifically, for example, when the lottery result is to generate an advantageous gaming state, the game medium is swung to the lost winning prize side by the rotation driving means to lower the expectation, and then the big winning prize winning opening If the result of lottery is lost, the game medium is swung to the big hit prize opening side by the rotation driving means to increase the expectation, and then released to the lose prize opening side. Can be. That is, it is possible to produce an effect based on the movement of the game medium that swings on the guide member in accordance with the lottery result.

Means 16: In any one configuration from means 1 to means 15,
"It further comprises rolling effect control means for controlling the rotation driving means to cause the game medium that rolls on the guide member to swing, and then to distribute it in a predetermined direction." .

  According to the configuration of the means 16, the rotation driving means for rotating the guide member is controlled using a rolling effect control means, that is, a computer having a CPU or the like. Control is possible, and the game medium can be easily swung on the guide member, so that the movement of the game medium can be varied.

Means 17: In the configuration of means 16,
“The rolling effect control means is such that the game medium is rotated by the rotation driving means so that the game medium swings back and forth at least 1.5 times on the guide member”.

  According to the means 17, the game medium that rolls on the guide member can be rocked at least 1.5 times by the rolling effect control means. That is, the game medium can be swung.

Means 18: In the constitution of means 16 or means 17,
“The rolling effect control means distributes the game medium in a predetermined direction after the game medium rolling on the guide member is swung a predetermined number of times”.

  According to the means 18, when the game medium is distributed by the guide member, the game medium is swung a predetermined number of times. Thus, before the game medium is distributed, the game medium is swung, and the game medium is distributed. It is possible to make it unclear whether it will be played, and to make the player excited and excited. Note that when the game medium is distributed, the rotation of the guide member may be stopped so that the predetermined direction becomes lower, or the guide member may be distributed in the predetermined direction by reducing the rotation speed.

Means 19: In any one configuration from means 16 to means 18,
“The rolling effect control unit distributes the game media in a predetermined direction by stopping the rotation of the guide member by the rotation driving unit”.

  According to the means 19, since the rotation of the guide member is stopped when the game medium is distributed by the guide member, the game medium can be reliably distributed.

Means 20: In any one configuration from means 16 to means 19,
“The rolling effect control means repeats an operation of stopping the rotation of the guide member for a predetermined time after the guide member is rotated a predetermined number of times by the rotation driving means”.

  According to the configuration of the means 20, since the guide member that repeats rotation at a predetermined cycle, such as a seesaw, stops rotating every predetermined number of times, thereby, depending on the supply timing of the game medium supplied to the guide member, Since the direction of distribution can be predicted to some extent, it is possible to keep a close eye on the movement of the guide member so that the game medium is supplied to the guide member at a desired timing, thereby enjoying the movement of the game medium. be able to.

Means 21: In any one configuration from means 16 to means 20,
“It further comprises a main board for controlling the rolling effect control means, the lottery means, and the advantageous gaming state generation means”.

  According to the configuration of the means 21, the rolling effect control means is provided with the main board for controlling the basics of the game in the gaming machine, and it is possible to prevent the illegal operation by the guide member. Further, the distribution by the guide member can be easily associated with the occurrence of the advantageous gaming state.

Means 22: In any one of the constitutions of means 1 to 21,
The gaming machine is a pachinko gaming machine.
A pachinko game machine is a game area that launches a game ball from a launching device in response to the operation of an operation handle and incorporates a number of obstacle nails, a center accessory, a start opening, a prize winning opening, and display means. In addition to guiding the game balls, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out as prize balls in accordance with winnings at the start opening and the grand prize opening. In addition, the special symbol display unit detects the winning state at the starting port, which is detected by a ball entering state detecting unit (that is, a gaming state detecting unit) that detects the entering state at the starting port. The change of the symbol is stopped according to the result of lottery performed. In addition, during the variation of the special symbol, there may be provided an effect display means for variably displaying a decorative symbol string composed of a plurality of decorative symbols and causing a character or the like to appear at a predetermined timing.

  According to the means 22, in the pachinko gaming machine, any of the operational effects from the means 1 to the means 15 can be achieved.

Means 23: In any one configuration of means 1 to means 21,
The gaming machine is a slot machine with a stop operation function.
A slot machine with a stop operation function uses a medal as a game medium, and after a medal is inserted, a symbol string composed of a plurality of symbols is variably displayed according to the operation of a start operation means (for example, an operation lever), and thereafter Then, the fluctuation of the symbol sequence is stopped in accordance with the operation of the stop operating means (for example, the stop button). If the stop operating means is not operated even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the change in the symbol sequence may be stopped when the predetermined time has elapsed. Then, when the combination of symbols at the time when the variation of the symbol row is stopped satisfies a specific condition, a medal is paid out as a special advantageous state advantageous to the player.

  According to the means 23, any one of the effects from means 1 to means 21 can be achieved in the slot machine with a stop operation function.

Means 24: In any one configuration of Means 1 to 21,
The gaming machine is a gaming machine obtained by fusing a pachinko gaming machine and a slot machine with a stop operation function.
Here, “a gaming machine that is a combination of a pachinko gaming machine and a slot machine with a stop operation function” means that a plurality of (for example, five) gaming balls are thrown in as a unit, and then a starting operation means (for example, In accordance with the operation of the operation lever), a symbol string composed of a plurality of symbols is variably displayed, and thereafter, the symbol string fluctuation is stopped in accordance with an operation of a stop operation means (for example, a stop button). If the stop operating means is not operated even after a predetermined time has elapsed, the change in the symbol sequence may be stopped when the predetermined time has elapsed. Then, when the combination of symbols at the time of stopping the variation of the symbol sequence satisfies a specific condition, the game ball is paid out as a special advantageous state advantageous to the player.

  According to the means 24, in the gaming machine formed by fusing the pachinko gaming machine and the slot machine with a stop operation function, any one of the effects from the means 1 to the means 21 can be achieved.

  As described above, in the gaming machine of the present invention, by making various movements so that it is difficult to predict the movement of the game medium, the player is focused on the movement of the game medium and the interest by the movement of the game medium is reduced. It is possible to provide a gaming machine that can prevent this.

Hereinafter, a pachinko gaming machine (hereinafter simply referred to as a “pachinko machine”) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[Overall Configuration of Pachinko Machine] A description will be given based on FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a main body frame is opened on one side of an outer frame of a pachinko machine and a front frame is opened on one side of the main body frame. Note that FIG. 1 shows a view in which the decorative member in the game area is omitted.
The pachinko machine 1 includes an outer frame 2, a main body frame 3, a front frame 4, a game board 5, and the like. The outer frame 2 is formed into a vertically long rectangular frame shape by upper, lower, left, and right wooden frame members, and has a lower receiving plate 6 that receives the lower surface of the main body frame 3 at the front lower portion of the outer frame 2. On one side of the front surface of the outer frame 2, the main body frame 3 is attached by a hinge mechanism 7 so as to be opened and closed forward. The outer frame 2 may be formed of a light metal such as resin or aluminum.

[Configuration of Main Body Frame] A description will be given based on FIGS. 2 and 4.
2 is a front view showing the entire front side of the pachinko machine 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the main body frame 3 and the game board 5 of the pachinko machine 1 separated obliquely from the upper right front.
The main body frame 3 is configured by integrally molding the front frame body 11, the game board mounting frame 12, and the mechanism mounting body 13 with a synthetic resin material. The front frame body 11 of the main body frame 3 is formed in a rectangular frame shape having a size corresponding to the outer shape excluding the support plate 6 on the front side of the outer frame 2 (see FIG. 1). A main body frame side hinge device 15 is fixed to the upper and lower portions on one side of the front frame body 11, and a hinge pin and a hinge are connected to the outer frame side hinge device 14 fixed to the upper and lower portions on one side of the outer frame 2. It is mounted so that it can be opened and closed by a hole. That is, the hinge mechanism 7 is configured by the outer frame side hinge tool 14, the main body frame side hinge tool 15, the hinge pin, and the hinge hole.

  On the front side of the front frame body 11, a speaker box portion 16 is integrally formed in the front lower left area of the front frame body 11 positioned below the game board mounting frame 12, and is formed in the front opening portion of the speaker box portion 16. The speaker mounting plate 17 is mounted so as to close the opening. A speaker 18 is mounted on the speaker mounting plate 17. In addition, in the lower region of the front surface of the front frame 11, a firing rail 19 is attached to the upper half of the front frame 11 in an inclined manner. A lower front plate 30 is mounted on the lower half of the lower area of the front surface of the front frame 11. A lower tray 31 capable of storing game balls is provided at a substantially central portion of the front surface of the lower front plate 30, an operation handle 32 is provided on the right side, and an ashtray 33 is provided on the left side. . The lower plate 31 is provided with a ball discharge lever 34 for discharging the game ball downward.

[Configuration of Front Frame] A description will be given based on FIGS. 1 and 2.
The front frame 4 is mounted on one side of the front surface of the front frame body 11 so as to cover a portion extending from the upper end of the front frame body 11 to the upper edge of the lower front plate 30 so as to be opened and closed forward by a hinge mechanism 36. Yes. In addition, a substantially circular opening window 38 through which the game area 37 of the game board 5 can be seen through from the front is formed at a substantially central portion of the front frame 4. Further, a window frame 39 having a rectangular frame shape larger than the opening window 38 is provided on the rear side of the front frame 4, and a transparent plate 50 such as a glass plate or a transparent resin plate is mounted on the window frame 39. . Further, substantially the entire front surface of the front frame 4 is decorated by a front decoration member in which a lamp or the like is provided, and an upper plate 51 is formed at the lower part of the front surface of the front frame 4. Specifically, around the opening window 38, a side decoration device 52 is mounted on the left and right sides, an upper plate 51 is mounted on the lower portion, and an acoustic decoration device 53 is mounted on the upper portion. The side decoration device 52 is mainly configured by a side decoration body 54 in which a lamp substrate is disposed and formed of a synthetic resin material. A plurality of slit-like opening holes that are long in the horizontal direction are arranged in the side decoration body 54 in the vertical direction, and a lens 55 corresponding to a light source disposed on the lamp substrate is incorporated in the opening hole. The acoustic illumination device 53 includes a transparent cover body 56, a speaker 57, a speaker cover 58, a reflector body (not shown), and the like, and these constituent members are assembled together to form a unit. A button 60 that can be operated by the player is provided on the left side of the upper plate 51.

[Configuration of Locking Device] A description will be given based on FIGS. 1 and 4.
A function of locking the main body frame 3 with respect to the outer frame 2 and a function of locking the front frame 4 with respect to the main body frame 3 on the rear side of the free end side opposite to the hinge mechanism 36 of the front frame body 11 The locking device 70 having both of the above is mounted. That is, in this embodiment, the locking device 70 includes a plurality of upper and lower body frame locking hooks 72 that detachably engage with a closing tool 71 provided on the outer frame 2 to lock the body frame 3 in a closed state, From the front of the pachinko machine 1, a plurality of upper and lower door locking hooks 74 that detachably engage with a closing tool 73 provided on the rear side of the front end of the front frame 4 to lock the front frame 4 in a closed state. And a cylinder lock 75 that is exposed through the front frame 11 and the lower front plate 30 so that the key can be inserted and unlocked. Then, a key is inserted into the key hole of the cylinder lock 75 and rotated in one direction, so that the engagement between the main body frame locking hook 72 and the closing tool 71 of the outer frame 2 is released, and the main body frame 3 is unlocked. By rotating in the opposite direction, the engagement between the door locking hook 74 and the closing tool 73 of the front frame 4 is released and the front frame 4 is unlocked.

[Configuration of Game Board Mounting Frame and Game Board] A description will be given based on FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view showing the configuration of the game area 37, and FIG. 5 is a rear view showing the entire rear side of the pachinko machine 1.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the game board mounting frame 12 of the main body frame 3 is provided on the rear side of the front frame body 11, and the game board 5 is mounted so as to be attachable / detachable from the front. . The game board 5 is formed in a substantially square plate shape with a size that fits from the front of the game board mounting frame 12 (see FIG. 10). A guide rail 78 including an outer rail 76 and an inner rail 77 is provided on the board surface (front surface) of the game board 5, and a game area 37 is defined inside the guide rail 78. A predetermined gap is provided between the launch rail 19 and the guide rail 78, and when the launched game ball returns to the guide rail 78, the game ball is discharged from the gap. It is configured to be guided to the lower plate 31. Further, a front structural member 79 made of synthetic resin is attached to the front surface of the game board 5 in the outer region of the guide rail 78.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the game area 37, a number of obstacle nails (not shown) are provided in a predetermined gauge arrangement, and a windmill 90 is provided at an appropriate position in the middle thereof. An accessory 91 is disposed almost at the center of the game area 37, and the design of the accessory 91 characterizes the model and game concept of the pachinko machine 1.

  The accessory 91 is composed of a frame-like decorative body as a whole, and a warp passage is formed along with the warp entrance at the upper edge or the left and right side edges, and a game ball flowing down along the game board surface is provided. When entering the warp entrance, it is taken into the back side of the accessory 91 through a warp passage, which will be described later, and then released again from the middle or lower edge of the accessory 91 to the game board surface.

  The bonus item 91 is provided in the vicinity of its upper edge so as to be openable and closable for a bonus item 92 through which a game ball can be taken. In addition, inside the prize 91, there are provided a jackpot winning slot 93 through which a game ball taken in from the prize winning slot 92 for winning a prize can be won, and a loser winning slot 94. Between the loser winning hole 94 and the prize winning hole 92 for games, the game balls taken from the prize winning hole 92 for roles are changed in various ways while rolling on a predetermined passage. A rolling effect device 95 is further provided so as to be distributed to either the jackpot winning port 93 or the lost winning port 94 after the attention is paid to the person.

  The game 91 is obtained by distributing the game balls taken from the prize winning hole 92 for the prize to either the big hit prize winning hole 93 or the winning prize winning hole 94 by the rolling effect device 95. An inflection can be added to the interest in

  Further, in the game area 37, a pair of first start winning ports 96 disposed on the left and right sides of the accessory 91 and a second start winning port disposed between the pair of first start winning ports 96. An opening 97 is provided, and when a game ball enters the start winning opening 96, 97, the prize winning opening 92 for the accessory 91 opens and closes. More specifically, when a game ball enters the first start winning opening 96, the prize winning opening 92 for an accessory is opened and closed only once at a predetermined interval, and when a game ball enters the second start winning opening 97, a prize for a prize is obtained. The mouth 92 opens and closes only twice at a predetermined interval.

  In addition, a general winning opening 98 is provided in the game area 37. In addition, an effect display device 115 is disposed inside the accessory 91, and the effect display device 115 performs an effect display by, for example, an image such as a moving image or a video, or an operation of a movable member. Examples of the effect display device 115 include liquid crystal display devices, EL display devices, plasma display devices, and display devices such as CRTs. The display surface of the effect display device 115 is mounted on the rear side of the accessory 91 so as to face the opening window, and the accessory 91 is fitted into an assembly hole penetrating in the center of the game board 5, A display device control board box 117 having a rear portion of the accessory 91 and the display device control board 116 of the effect display device 115 is provided so as to protrude to the rear side of the game board 5. Here, the effect display device 115 corresponds to the display means of the present invention.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, at the lower rear side of the game board 5, as a collective bag for receiving the game balls flowing into various winning devices and guiding the game balls to a predetermined position in a portion extending from the center portion to the lower portion. A box mounting base 118 having both the above function and the function as a box mounting portion is provided. The box mounting base 118 is mounted with a sub control board box 130 in which a sub control board 119 such as a sound control board and a lamp control board is housed, and is superposed on the rear side of the sub control board box 130. A main control board box 132 in which the main control board 131 is housed is mounted. Further, in a state where the box mounting base 118, the sub control board box 130 and the main control board box 132 are respectively mounted on the rear side of the game board 5, the game board 5 is moved from the front of the game board mounting frame 12 of the main body frame 3. The box mounting base 118, the sub control board box 130, and the main control board box 132 are arranged so as not to protrude outward from the outline of the game board 5 so that they can be fitted and installed.

[Configuration of Main Body Frame Mechanism Mounted Body, Ball Tank, and Tank Rail] A description will be given based on FIGS. 8 and 9.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the state in which various members are assembled to the main body frame 3 of the pachinko machine 1 from obliquely upper right rear, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the main body frame 3 alone from obliquely upper right rear.
The mechanism mounting body 13 of the main body frame 3 is formed with a tank mounting portion 133, a rail mounting portion 134, a dispensing device mounting portion 135, and the like, and a ball tank 136 is mounted on the tank mounting portion 133. The ball tank 136 is made of a transparent synthetic resin material, and is formed in a box shape opening upward so that a large number of game balls supplied from the island facility can be stored. The storage state of the game balls in the ball tank 136 is visible through the rear side wall of the ball tank 136. In addition, a discharge port 138 for discharging a game ball is formed at the rear corner of the bottom plate portion 137 of the ball tank 136, and the bottom plate portion 137 is formed on an inclined surface that is inclined downward toward the discharge port 138. .

  The mechanism mounting body 13 of the main body frame 3 is integrally formed with a rail mounting portion 134 so as to approach the tank mounting portion 133 downward, and the rail component 139 is mounted on the rail mounting portion 134 so that the tank rail 150 is configured. That is, in this embodiment, the rail mounting portion 134 is formed in a state in which the upper lateral portion of the main body frame 3 is recessed by a predetermined depth, and the back side wall of the recess is used as the front wall portion 151 of the tank rail 150. An inclined rail shelf 155 is formed along the lower edge of the concave portion so as to incline downward from one end (left end toward FIG. 9) to the other end (right end toward FIG. 9). An upward surface extending in the lateral direction of the rail shelf 155 is a rail receiving portion 158.

  The rail constituting member 139 that is mounted on the rail mounting portion 134 and constitutes the tank rail 150 includes a rear wall portion 152 that forms a rail passage between the rail mounting portion 134 and the front wall portion 151, and an inclined lower plate And a partition wall (both not shown) that project along the center in the front-rear direction of the upper surface of the lower plate part and divide the rail passage into front and rear rows (in this embodiment, front and rear rows). It is formed in preparation. The rail constituting member 139 is attached to the rail attaching portion 134 by an appropriate attachment means, thereby forming a tank rail 150 having a plurality of front and rear rows of rail passages. Then, after the game balls discharged from the discharge port 138 of the ball tank 136 (dropped by its own weight) are received at one end of the rail passages in the front and rear rows of the tank rail 150, the game balls are moved along the rail passage by their own weight. And rolling toward the other end of the rail passage. Further, in this embodiment, the rail component member 139 is formed of a transparent synthetic resin material, whereby the flow state of the game balls in the rail passage is visually recognized through the rear wall portion 152 of the rail component member 139. It is possible.

  The front wall portion 151 of the tank rail 150 (rail mounting portion 134) separates the first space portion in order to avoid interference with the upper end portion of the rear portion of the equipment (for example, the accessory 91) protruding to the rear side of the game board 5. It is provided in the state. In this embodiment, the rear end of the rail shelf 155 serving as the rear end portion of the main body frame 3 and the rear wall portion of the tank rail 150 are substantially flush with the rear side wall of the ball tank 136. In other words, the tank rail 150 is arranged behind the rear surface of the game board 5 so that the rear wall portion of the ball tank 136 is substantially flush with the rear wall portion of the ball tank 136. Accordingly, a first space portion for avoiding interference with the rear portion of the accessory 91 is provided between the rear side of the game board 5 and the front wall portion 151 of the tank rail 150.

  Above the tank rail 150, a rectifying body 156 for aligning the game balls flowing in the rail passage without overlapping each other is mounted on the upper portion thereof so as to be swingable about the shaft 157. The rectifier 156 is provided with a weight from the center to the bottom.

[Configurations of Dispensing Device Mounting Unit and Ball Dispensing Device] A description will be given based on FIGS. 8 and 9.
A vertically long paying device mounting portion 135 corresponding to a ball paying device (ball paying unit) 170 described below is formed in the vertical direction of one side of the mechanism mounting body 13 of the main body frame 3. The dispensing device mounting portion 135 is formed in a concave shape having an opening on the rear side. In addition, an opening 173 through which a payout motor 172 (see FIG. 4) of the ball payout device 170 can project is formed at a predetermined position on a back wall portion (not shown) having a stepped shape of the payout device mounting portion 135. Yes.

  In a state where the ball paying device 170 is mounted in the recess of the paying device mounting portion 135, a second space portion is provided between the game board 5 and the first space portion, which is at substantially the same level in the front-rear direction. . Thus, the rail passage and the ball passage are arranged at substantially the same level in the front-rear direction. Further, the rear end of the body frame 3, that is, the rear end of the peripheral wall portion of the dispensing device mounting portion 135, the rear end of the rail shelf 155, the rear surfaces of the ball tank 136, the tank rail 150, and the ball dispensing device 170 are substantially the same surface. ing.

  The ball payout device 170 has a vertically long box shape that is substantially the same size as the recess of the payout device mounting portion 135, and is unitized by mounting various parts related to payout. The ball payout device 170 is fitted from the rear opening of the concave portion of the payout device mounting portion 135 and is mounted by appropriate mounting means (for example, mounting means such as an elastic clip, a locking claw, and a screw). It has become.

  Although not shown, the ball dispensing device 170 is formed by dividing the ball passages having inflow ports respectively communicating with the outlets of the rail passages in the tank rail 150 into a plurality of front and rear rows (for example, front and rear rows). Also, the downstream portions of the front and rear rows of ball passages formed in the interior are bifurcated to form front and rear rows of prize balls, a ball rental ball passage and a ball removal ball passage. In addition, a payout member (not shown) made of a rotating body for distributing and paying out game balls to any of the passages is rotated in the forward and reverse directions at a branch portion between the winning ball and the ball passage for lending and the ball passage for ball removal. It is arranged to be possible.

[Equipment on the lower rear side of the main body frame] A description will be given based on Figs.
On the rear side of the front frame body 11 of the main body frame 3, one side (left side in FIG. 5) of the rear lower region of the front frame body 11 located below the game board mounting frame 12 is below the launch rail 19. A launching device unit 194 in which a launching hammer (not shown) for launching a game ball sent to the launching position of the tilted end, a launching motor 192 for operating the launching hammer, etc. are assembled to the mounting substrate 193 and unitized. Is installed. In addition, a power supply board box 196 that houses a power supply board 195 is mounted at a substantially central portion of the rear lower region of the front frame body 11, and the dispensing control board 197 is placed in a state of being superimposed on the rear side of the power supply board box 196. A payout control board box 198 is mounted. The payout control board 197 includes a RAM for storing the number of game balls to be paid out, and transmits a control signal for paying out game balls in accordance with a payout signal transmitted from the main control board 131 to a relay circuit board (not shown). Thus, the operation of the payout motor 172 is controlled.

[Configuration of Rear Cover Body] A description will be given based on FIGS. 5 and 6.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the entire rear side of the pachinko machine 1 from the upper right rear.
The rear end portions of the display device control board box 117 (see FIG. 10) and the main control board box 132 arranged on the rear surface of the game board 5 protrude toward the window opening portion opened in the center portion of the mechanism mounting body 13. . And between the side wall part which comprises one side wall of the window opening part of the mechanism mounting body 13, and the one side wall of the dispensing device mounting part 135 which comprises the other side wall, a substantially square box shape is formed by an opaque synthetic resin material. The formed rear cover body 210 is detachably mounted by a cover hinge mechanism 211.

  The rear cover body 210 is configured integrally with a substantially rectangular rear wall portion 212 and a peripheral wall portion 213 that protrudes forward from the outer peripheral edge of the rear wall portion 212. Of the peripheral wall portion 213 of the rear cover body 210, the wall portion 213 a on one side is attached and detached from above the hinge holes of the hinge body 214 formed at a total of three locations above and below the side wall portion of the mechanism mounting body 13. A hinge body 216 having a hinge pin 215 that can be fitted downward is integrally formed. Further, of the peripheral wall portion 213 of the rear cover body 210, the other wall portion 213b has a locking claw that can be elastically engaged with a locking hole formed in one side wall of the dispensing device mounting portion 135. An elastic closing body 217 is integrally formed.

  That is, in the rear cover body 210, the hinge pins 215 of the upper and lower and intermediate hinge bodies 216 are fitted from above the hinge holes of the hinge body 214 on the side wall portion of the mechanism mounting body 13. In this state, the rear cover body 210 is rotated toward the other side of the mechanism mounting body 13 around the hinge pin 215, and the elastic closing body 217 is inserted into the locking hole on one side wall of the dispensing device mounting portion 135. The rear cover body 210 is held in the closed state on the rear side of the mechanism mounting body 13 by being elastically engaged. Then, the rear cover body 210 covers the entire display device control board box 117 (see FIG. 10) on the rear surface of the game board 5 and a portion extending from a substantially middle portion to the upper end of the main control board box 132 by the rear cover body 210. ing. As a result, the board connector (mainly the board connector for connecting to the display apparatus control board 116) of the main control board 131 exposed at the upper part of the main control board box 132 is hidden from view from behind.

  Further, a portion from the substantially middle portion to the lower end of the main control board box 132 is exposed without being covered by the rear cover body 210. The inspection connector 218 disposed on the main control board 131 is exposed below the main control board box 132, and the inspection connector on the main control board 131 is closed with the rear cover body 210 closed. A board inspection device (not shown) can be connected to the connector 218 for inspection.

  A large number of heat radiation holes 230, 231, 232, and 233 are provided in the rear cover body 210, and internal heat is released from these many heat radiation holes 230, 231, 232, and 233. . In this embodiment, the rear cover body 210 is provided with a large number of slit-like heat radiation holes 230 extending from the peripheral wall portion 213 to the rear wall portion 212, and from the substantially middle height position of the rear wall portion 212 to the upper portion. A large number of elliptical, elliptical, etc. heat radiation holes 231 are provided therethrough, and a large number of elliptical, elliptical, etc. heat radiation holes 232 and a predetermined number of horizontally elongated rectangular heat radiation holes 233 pass through the lower portion of the rear wall 212. It is installed.

  Further, the horizontally long rectangular heat radiation holes 233 have a size corresponding to the size and arrangement position of a plurality of parallel seal portions 235 sealed by the seal screws (sealing members) of the main control board box 132. It penetrates the position. As a result, even when the opaque rear cover body 210 is closed, the plurality of parallel sealing portions 235 of the main control board box 132 are exposed so as to be visible at the portion of the heat radiation hole 233. For this reason, even when the rear cover body 210 is closed, the sealing state of the sealing portion 235 of the main control board box 132 can be easily visually confirmed. Further, since the opaque synthetic resin material can be easily used as a synthetic resin material that is recycled compared to the transparent synthetic resin material, the rear cover body 210 can be manufactured at low cost.

  Of the peripheral wall portion 213 of the rear cover body 210, a predetermined position (two places on the left and right in this embodiment) of the upper wall portion 213c is substantially C-shaped to hold a power cord (not shown) in an appropriately folded state. An elastically deformable cord holder 237 extends toward the rear wall surface of the upper tank rail 150 (the rear wall surface of the rail component 139). A knob for removing the power cord by elastically deforming the cord holder 237 is formed at the tip of the cord holder 237.

  One end of the power cord is detachably connected to the board connector 239 of the distribution board 238, and the power plug at the other end is inserted into a power outlet. As described above, the cord holder 237 is integrally formed on the rear cover body 210 and the power cord is held, so that the power cord hangs and gets caught by foreign objects when the pachinko machine is transported and stored. Problems can be prevented.

[Configuration of Sphere Derivative for Lower Dish, etc. at Rear Lower Part of Main Body Frame] A description will be given based on FIGS. 2 and 7.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the rear cover 210 and various control boards are removed from the perspective view of the pachinko machine 1 shown in FIG.
A lower dish ball derivative 253 is attached to the other side portion (hinge portion) of the rear lower region of the main body frame 3 in the recessed portion of the rear step portion of the speaker box portion 16. The lower tray ball derivative 253 is used when the game balls paid out to the upper plate 51 through the upper plate connection path (not shown) from the award and rental ball passages of the ball dispensing device 170 are full. The game ball on the upper plate communication path is for guiding the game ball to the lower plate 31.

  In this embodiment, a board box 254 that houses the interface board 252 is mounted on the outer surface of the rear wall of the lower dish ball derivative 253. The interface board 252 is interposed between the ball lending machine installed adjacent to the pachinko machine 1 and the payout control board 197, and transmits / receives a signal related to ball lending between the ball lending machine and the payout control board 197. Electrical connection is possible.

In the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, two jackpot modes are prepared as modes in which the player is provided with a profit, and these are (1) “normal (non-probability variation) jackpot” and (2) “probability variation jackpot”. Are distinguished.
(1) “Normal (non-probable change) big hit” is, for example, a round action that opens and closes the prize winning opening 92 for a feature in a certain pattern is repeated up to 15 rounds. It is called. The player can obtain a lot of prize balls by causing the game balls to enter the prize winning opening 92 for the bonus item during the big hit game. In addition, each round operation | movement will be complete | finished when the conditions of either opening and closing the prize winning opening 92 for an accessory 18 times at predetermined intervals, or 10 winning balls being counted are satisfy | filled. The big hit game ends when the round operation is completed 15 times.

  (2) The “probable big hit” is to enable a big hit game similar to the above (1), but after the big hit game is finished, the probability of the next big hit is set higher than normal (for example, the normal big hit game) When the jackpot probability is 1/320, a privilege of changing to 5 / fold 1/64) is added. For this reason, when the player wins a promising big hit, the next big hit probability becomes high, and it is possible to continuously win the big hit (so-called consecutive resort).

  In addition, the specific numerical values referred to in the above (1) and (2) are the best in the practice of the present invention. In addition, these numerical values can be variously changed and are not limited by the best numerical values.

  Further, when the probability variation state (high probability state) is caused by the “probability big hit” in the above (2), the random variation maintenance lottery (falling lottery) may be performed every time the start winning prize is triggered. The maintenance lottery is performed with a certain probability, and when the lottery is lost with this maintenance lottery, a process of internally returning from the high probability state to the low probability state (normal probability) is performed.

[Functional Configuration of Main Substrate and Peripheral Substrate] A description will be given based on FIG.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram schematically showing the control configuration.
The control of the pachinko machine 1 is broadly divided into a group of the main board 310 and a group of the peripheral boards 311, and among these, the group of the main board 310 plays game operations (winning detection, winning judgment, special symbol display, awards, etc.). Sphere payout etc.), and a group of peripheral boards 311 controls production operations (light emitting decoration, sound output, liquid crystal display, etc.).

  The main board 310 includes a main control board 131 and a payout control board 197. The main control board 131 includes a CPU 314 as a central processing unit, a ROM 315 as a read-only memory, and a RAM 316 as a readable / writable memory. The CPU 314 controls various games performed in the pachinko machine 1 by executing a control program stored in the ROM 315, and creates a command signal to be output to the peripheral board 311 and the payout control board 197. The RAM 316 temporarily stores various data generated in various processes executed by the main control board 131 and information such as input signals. On the main control board 131, detection signals from the gate sensor 317, the first starting port sensor 318a, the second starting port sensor 318b, the count sensor 319, the big hit winning sensor 330, the lose winning sensor 329, the rotation detecting sensor 494, and the like are received. Entered. On the other hand, the main control board 131 outputs a drive signal to the solenoid 331, the motor 332, and the like. The payout control board 197 includes a CPU 333 as a central processing unit, a ROM 334 as a read-only memory, and a RAM 335 as a readable / writable memory. The payout control board 197 processes the command signal input from the main control board 131 and outputs a drive signal to the ball payout device 170. Thereby, the ball payout device 170 pays out the game ball according to the drive signal.

  Bidirectional communication is performed between the main control board 131 and the payout control board 197 via respective input / output interfaces. For example, when the main control board 131 transmits a prize ball command, payout control is performed in response thereto. An ACK signal is returned from the board 197 to the main control board 131.

  On the other hand, the peripheral board 311 includes, for example, a plurality of illumination control boards 337 and 338 and a waveform control board 339 in addition to the sub-integrated board 336. Between the main control board 131 and the sub-integrated board 336, communication in only one direction is performed between the input / output interface and the input interface, and the main control board 131 and the sub-integrated board 336 communicate with each other. The command is sent, but not the other way around.

  The sub-integrated board 336 also includes electronic components such as the CPU 350, the ROM 351, the RAM 352, and the like, and a predetermined effect control program can be executed by these electronic components. Bidirectional communication is performed between the sub-integrated board 336 and the other illumination control boards 337 and 338 and the waveform control board 339 with each input / output interface. A decoration lamp 353 mainly including the side decoration device 52 and the like is connected to the first illumination control board 337, and a lighting signal of the decoration lamp 353 is sent from the sub-integrated board 336 to the illumination control board 337. When transmitted, the illumination control board 337 performs processing for lighting the decoration lamp 353 in response to the transmission. An effect lamp 354 is connected to the second illumination control board 338 together with the effect display device 115. For example, when a display command for the effect display device 115 is transmitted from the sub-integrated substrate 336 to the illumination control board 338, the illumination control board 338 receives this and performs a process of actually operating the effect display device 115. In addition, although not shown, a driving member such as a motor or solenoid for driving a movable body such as a character body is connected to the electrical decoration control boards 337 and 338, for example.

  The waveform control board 339 performs processing for generating and transmitting / receiving waveform signals such as inaudible ultrasonic waves as well as audible sound waves as acoustic outputs. For example, when an acoustic output command is transmitted from the sub-integrated board 336 to the waveform control board 339, the waveform control board 339 receives this and performs processing for driving the speakers 18 and 57 described above. In addition, an ultrasonic transmission / reception device 356 is connected to the waveform control board 339, and the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 356 enables ultrasonic communication between a plurality of platforms. Normally, a plurality of pachinko machines 1 are installed side by side in the island facility of the hall, but between the pachinko machines 1 equipped with the ultrasonic transmission / reception device 356, mutual ultrasonic communication is possible. By using this communication function, a plurality of pachinko machines 1 can synchronize the effect operation or exchange game information between specific stands.

  The illumination control boards 337 and 338 and the waveform control board 339 are also CPUs 357, 358 and 359 as central processing units, ROMs 370, 371 and 372 as read-only memories, and RAMs 373 and 374 as read / write memories, respectively. , 375.

  Next, communication processing between the main control board 131 and the payout control board 197 will be described in detail. A signal name prefixed with “#” means a negative theory. “High level” means “1” level of the two levels of the binary signal, and “Low level” means “0” level.

[Communication between main control board and payout control board]
Various commands are transmitted between the main control board 131 and the payout control board 197 by serial transfer. The board that has normally received the command transmits an ACK (Acknowledge) signal that indicates that the command has been received normally to the board that has transmitted the command. As main commands from the main control board 131 to the payout control board 197, there are commands related to payout of game balls and commands for instructing the payout control board 197 to report the operation state. As commands relating to game ball payout, for example, a command for designating the number of game balls to be paid out, a command for instructing start of payout of game balls, a command for instructing stop of payout of game balls, and the like are conceivable. As a main command from the payout control board 197 to the main control board 131, there is a command for transmitting an operation state of the payout control board 197.

  FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing details of the electrical configuration of the main control board 131 and the payout control board 197. The main control board 131 includes a CPU 314 (main CPU) having a serial communication function and a parallel communication function with the outside as a CPU for performing various arithmetic processes in the main control board 131. The CPU 314 has a circuit configuration of an arithmetic processing unit 390 that performs arithmetic processing, a serial IF unit 391 as a serial communication unit that performs serial communication with the outside, and a parallel IF unit 392 that performs parallel communication with the outside. . Exchange of commands with the payout control board 197 is performed via the serial IF unit 391, and exchange of ACK signals with the payout control board 197 is performed via the parallel IF unit 392.

  The serial IF unit 391 receives the parallel data TDa from the arithmetic processing unit 390, receives the transmission buffer register 393 that stores the data, and the data stored in the transmission buffer register 393, converts the data into serial data Dab, and The transmission shift register 394 for serial transfer to the payout control board 197, the serial data Dba from the payout control board 197, the reception shift register 395 for storing the data, the data stored in the reception shift register 395, and the data Is received and stored as parallel data RDa by the arithmetic processing unit 390, and a serial management unit 397 for managing the operation state of each unit in the serial IF unit 391. These are integrated on one chip. Is There. The transmission buffer register 393, the transmission shift register 394, the reception shift register 395, and the reception buffer register 396 are registers each having a storage capacity of 1 byte.

  The serial management unit 397 allows the transmission shift register 394 and the transmission buffer register 393 to transfer data from the transmission buffer register 393 to the transmission shift register 394 when the transmission shift register 394 is not performing serial transfer. The data is erased from the transmission buffer register 393.

  The serial management unit 397 permits the data transfer from the reception shift register 395 to the reception buffer register 396 when the data is not stored in the reception buffer register 396 with respect to the reception shift register 395 and the reception buffer register 396. The processing unit 390 reads the parallel data RDa from the reception buffer register 396 and then erases the data from the reception buffer register 396.

  Note that the transfer rate of serial transfer by the serial IF unit 391 is determined based on a signal obtained by dividing the clock signal for operating the CPU 314. The frequency division ratio of the clock signal that determines the transfer rate can be set by the value of a register (not shown) included in the serial IF unit 391.

  The arithmetic processing unit 390 writes the parallel data TDa to the transmission buffer register 393 by raising the write signal #WRa to the transmission buffer register 393, and raises the read signal #REa to the reception buffer register 396. As a result, the parallel data RDa is read from the reception buffer register 396.

  The arithmetic processing unit 390 receives signals indicating various states in the serial IF unit 391 from the serial management unit 397. Signals that the arithmetic processing unit 390 receives from the serial management unit 397 include a transmission buffer empty signal TEa that is set to a high level when the transmission buffer register 393 is cleared, and a transmission shift register 394 that is performing serial transfer. There is a serial transfer signal TCa that is set to a high level, and a reception data presence signal DFa that is set to a high level when data is stored in the reception buffer register 396.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the payout control board 197 includes a CPU 333 (payout CPU) for performing various arithmetic processes in the payout control board 197, a serial IF chip 398 in which a circuit for serial communication with the outside is formed, and an external And a parallel IF chip 399 on which a circuit for performing parallel communication is formed. Commands are exchanged with the main control board 131 via the serial IF chip 398, and ACK signals are exchanged with the main control board 131 via the parallel IF chip 399.

  The serial IF chip 398 receives the parallel data TDb from the CPU 333, receives the transmission buffer register 400 that stores the data, and the data stored in the transmission buffer register 400, converts the data into serial data Dba, and converts the data into the main control board. The transmission shift register 401 for serial transfer to 131, the serial data Dab from the main control board 131, the reception shift register 402 for storing the data, the data stored in the reception shift register 402, and the data by the CPU 333 A reception buffer register 403 that stores data readable as parallel data RDb, and a serial management unit 404 that manages the operation state of each unit in the serial IF chip 398 are provided, and these are integrated on one chip. . The transmission buffer register 400, the transmission shift register 401, the reception shift register 402, and the reception buffer register 403 are registers each having a storage capacity of 1 byte.

  The serial management unit 404 allows the transmission shift register 401 and the transmission buffer register 400 to transfer data from the transmission buffer register 400 to the transmission shift register 401 when the transmission shift register 401 is not performing serial transfer. The data is erased from the transmission buffer register 400.

  The serial management unit 404 permits the transfer of data from the reception shift register 402 to the reception buffer register 403 when no data is stored in the reception buffer register 403 with respect to the reception shift register 402 and the reception buffer register 403, and the CPU 333. Is configured to erase data from the reception buffer register 403 after reading the parallel data RDb from the reception buffer register 403.

  Note that the timing at which the serial IF chip 398 samples the serially transferred command is determined based on a sampling clock obtained by dividing the clock signal for operating the CPU 314 of the main control board 131. The frequency division ratio of the clock signal for determining the sampling clock can be set by the value of a register (not shown) included in the serial IF chip 398.

  The CPU 333 writes the parallel data TDb to the transmission buffer register 400 by raising the write signal #WRb to the transmission buffer register 400, and raises the read signal #RDb to the reception buffer register 403. Then, the parallel data RDb is read from the reception buffer register 403.

  The CPU 333 receives signals indicating various states in the serial IF chip 398 from the serial management unit 404. The signal received by the CPU 333 from the serial management unit 404 includes a transmission buffer empty signal TEb that is high when the transmission buffer register 400 is cleared, and a high level when the transmission shift register 401 is performing serial transfer. There is a serial transfer in-progress signal TCb and a reception data presence signal DFb which is set to a high level when data is stored in the reception buffer register 403.

  Next, the operation at the time of command transfer between the main control board 131 and the payout control board 197 will be described. The pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment can perform command transfer from the main control board 131 to the payout control board 197 and command transfer from the payout control board 197 to the main control board 131.

(About command transmission of main control board)
The operation of the main control board 131 that transmits a command to the payout control board 197 will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing command transmission processing executed by the arithmetic processing unit 390 of the main control board 131. The arithmetic processing unit 390 of the main control board 131 repeatedly executes a scheduled interrupt process at a predetermined interval (in this embodiment, 4 milliseconds (hereinafter referred to as ms)) in order to realize a process for controlling the progress of the game. Then, as part of the regularly executed interrupt process, the command transmission process shown in FIG. 13 is executed when a command is transmitted to the payout control board 197.

  The arithmetic processing unit 390 generates a command for the payout control board 197 when the command transmission process shown in FIG. 13 is started (step S1001). In this embodiment, the command for the payout control board 197 is a 2-byte command larger than 1 byte which is the storage capacity of each register of the serial IF unit 391.

  After the command is generated (step S1001), whether or not “transmission buffer empty signal TEa is high level” and “serial transfer in-progress signal TCa is low level”, that is, “data is stored in transmission buffer register 393” It is determined whether or not “when there is no” and “when the transmission shift register 394 is not performing serial transfer” (step S1002).

  When “the transmission buffer empty signal TEa is at the high level” and “the serial transfer in-progress signal TCa is at the low level” (step S1002), the first byte which is the upper 1 byte among the 2 bytes of the generated command is transmitted. Write to the buffer register 393 (step S1003). Thereafter, after waiting for a preset write standby period Lwa (step S1004), the second lower byte of the generated command is written into the transmission buffer register 393 (step S1005). The transmission process ends.

  Here, the write standby period Lwa is longer than the transmission register delivery period Lbs, which is the period from the writing of the first byte of the command to the transmission buffer register 393 until the transfer of the first byte to the transmission shift register 394. Is a period in which the second byte write process (step S1005 in FIG. 13) can be executed before the end of the scheduled interrupt process, and the period is prolonged until the start of the next scheduled interrupt process. is not. The write standby period Lwa is shorter than the serial transfer period Lsc which is a period until the serial transfer of the first byte of the command is completed, and is shorter than 4 ms which is the interval of the regular interrupt processing. . In this embodiment, the write standby period Lwa is set to 2.5 microseconds (hereinafter referred to as μs). Note that the transmission register delivery period Lbs according to the hardware specifications of the serial IF unit 391 of this embodiment is about 1.25 μs. If the arithmetic processing time of the arithmetic processing unit 390 required for the second byte write processing (step S1005 in FIG. 13) is abnormal in the transmission register delivery period Lbs of the serial IF unit 391, the command shown in FIG. The standby process (step S1004) by the standby process software is not necessary.

  FIG. 14 is a time chart showing the state of each signal on the main control board 131 when the command transmission process is executed. In the command transmission process described above, if it is determined that “the transmission buffer empty signal TEa is at the high level” and “the serial transfer in-progress signal TCa is at the low level” (step S1002 in FIG. 13), the command is sent to the parallel data TDa. Output of the first byte is started (timing ta1). Thereafter, the first byte of the command is written to the transmission buffer register 393 at the rising edge of the write signal #WRa (timing ta2, step S1002 in FIG. 13).

  The transmission buffer register 393 delivers the first byte of the written command to the transmission shift register 394, and is cleared by the serial management unit 397 when the delivery is completed. The transmission shift register 394 outputs the first byte of the command received from the transmission buffer register 393 to the serial data Dab. In serial data Dab during serial transfer, each bit from the first bit D0 to the eighth bit D7 of the command follows the start bit ST, and finally a stop bit SP is output. Thus, when the serial transfer of the first byte of the command is started, the serial transfer in-progress signal TCa becomes high level (timing ta3).

  After writing the first byte of the command (timing ta2, step S1002 in FIG. 13) and after waiting for the write standby period Lwa (step S1004 in FIG. 13), as in the first byte of the command, the transmission buffer The second byte of the command is written to the register 393 (timing ta4, step S1005 in FIG. 13).

  At this time, the transmission shift register 394 is serially transferring the first byte of the command and cannot receive the second byte of the command from the transmission buffer register 393. The byte is stored and held, and the transmission buffer empty signal TEa becomes low level (timing ta4).

  Thereafter, when the serial transfer of the first byte of the command by the transmission shift register 394 is completed, the transmission buffer register 393 delivers the second byte of the command to be stored to the transmission shift register 394, and when this delivery is completed, the serial management unit 397 Cleared and the transmission buffer empty signal TEa becomes high level (timing ta5).

  Thereafter, the transmission shift register 394 outputs the second byte of the command received from the transmission buffer register 393 to the serial data Dab in the same manner as the first byte of the command (timing ta6 to ta7).

  By the operation of the main control board 131 described above, a 2-byte command is transmitted to the payout control board 197. The main control board 131 according to the present embodiment retransmits the command when there is no response of the ACK signal from the payout control board 197 within a predetermined period after transmitting the command to the payout control board 197.

  Conversely, the operation of the payout control board 197 for transmitting a command to the main control board 131 is performed by the CPU 333 instead of the arithmetic processing unit 390, the transmission buffer register 400, and the transmission shift register 394 instead of the transmission buffer register 393. Instead, the transmission shift register 401 is realized by performing the same operation as that of the main control board 131 described above.

  In the present embodiment, the CPU 314 repeatedly executes the scheduled interrupt process in a sense of 4 milliseconds, whereas the serial IF unit 391 executes serial transfer at a transfer rate of 1200 bps (Bit Per Second). Therefore, in the present embodiment, the time for serial transfer of the 2-byte command by the serial IF unit 391 is about 16.7 ms, and the CPU 314 repeatedly executes the scheduled interrupt process about four times during that time. As described above, if the CPU 314 writes a command in the transmission buffer register 393, the serial IF unit 391 can leave the serial transfer of the command to the payout control board 197. The transfer rate of 1200 bps in serial transfer is a transfer rate that can ensure the reliability of command transfer with respect to electrical noise, and can be transferred serially by isolation using a relatively inexpensive photocoupler. The transfer rate.

  Note that the main control board 131 executes other control processing such as storing winning information if there is a win without interrupting the control processing during serial transfer (a state in which there is a command in the transmission buffer register 393). In the case of a pachinko machine, the number of game balls launched into the game board 13 is restricted to a maximum of 100 per minute, so the launch interval of game balls is about 600 ms. Therefore, even if game balls continuously win the winning opening 61, the main control board 131 can process the detection information of the game balls without delay and serially transfer the prize ball commands to the payout control board 197.

(Receipt control board command reception)
The operation of the payout control board 197 that receives a command from the main control board 131 will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing command reception processing executed by the CPU 333 of the payout control board 197. The CPU 333 of the payout control board 197 executes the command receiving process shown in FIG. 15 when receiving a command from the main control board 131 as part of controlling the payout of the game ball.

  When starting the command reception process, the CPU 333 determines whether or not “the reception data present signal DFb is at a high level”, that is, “when data is stored in the reception buffer register 403”. (Step S1101).

  Here, when it is determined in the command reception process that “the received data present signal DFb is at the high level” (step S1101), the 2-byte command transmitted from the main control board 131 to the payout control board 197. Among these, the first byte of the command is stored in the reception buffer register 403.

  If “the received data present signal DFb is at the high level” (step S1101), the first byte of the command stored in the reception buffer register 403 is read (step S1102). Thereafter, the second byte of the command stored in the reception buffer register 403 is read via the reception shift register 402 (step S1103), and the command reception process is terminated.

  FIG. 16 is a time chart showing the state of each signal on the payout control board 197 when the command receiving process is executed. When the first byte of the command is output to the serial data Dab by the command transmission process in the main control board 131 described above (timing tb1 to tb2), the first byte of the command is stored in the reception shift register 402 and then received. The first byte of the command is transferred to the buffer register 403, and the received data presence signal DFb becomes high level.

  When the second byte of the command is output to the serial data Dab following the first byte of the command (timing tb1 to tb2), the second byte of the command is stored in the reception shift register 402. At this time, since the first byte of the command has not been read from the reception buffer register 403 and the reception buffer register 403 has not been cleared by the serial management unit 404, the reception shift register 402 has the second byte of the command. Retain memory.

  Thereafter, in the command reception process shown in FIG. 15, when it is determined that “the reception data present signal DFb is at the high level” (step S1101 in FIG. 15), the reception buffer #REb is fallen by the fall of the read signal #REb. The first byte of the command is output from the register 403 to the parallel data RDb, and the first byte of the command is read from the reception buffer register 403 by the CPU 333 (timing tb5 to tb6, step S1102 in FIG. 15).

  When the reading of the first byte of the command is completed, the reception buffer register 403 is cleared by the serial management unit 404, and the reception data presence signal DFb becomes low level (timing tb6). Thereafter, when the second byte of the command is passed from the reception shift register 402 to the reception buffer register, the received presence signal DFb becomes high level (timing tb7). Thereafter, similarly to the first byte of the command, the second byte of the command is read from the reception buffer register 403 (timing tb8 to tb9, step S1103 in FIG. 15). For convenience of explanation, in FIG. 16, the scale of the serial transfer time for the first byte and the second byte of the command is reduced as compared with the scale of the arithmetic processing time of the CPU 333. The serial transfer time between the byte and the second byte requires a considerable time compared to the calculation processing time of the CPU 333. Therefore, the command reception process shown in FIG. 15 is a process that is executed by being divided into a plurality of scheduled interrupt processes as part of the scheduled interrupt process that the CPU 333 repeatedly executes at predetermined intervals.

  Through the operation of the payout control board 197 described above, a 2-byte command transmitted from the main control board 131 is received. The payout control board 197 of this embodiment transmits an ACK signal to the main control board 131 during a predetermined period after receiving the command from the main control board 131.

  In this embodiment, the sampling timing of the serial IF chip 398 is set to 19.2 kilohertz (kHz), which is 16 times the transfer rate (1200 bps). In this embodiment, the serial IF chip 398 performs sampling three times for each of the start bit, each data bit of the command, and each bit of the stop bit, and determines the majority of the values detected by these three samplings. As a result, the reliability of command reception is improved.

  Conversely, the operation of the main control board 131 that receives a command from the payout control board 197 is replaced with the arithmetic processing unit 390 instead of the CPU 333, the reception shift register 395 instead of the reception shift register 402, and the reception buffer register 403. The reception buffer register 396 is realized by performing the same operation as that of the above-described payout control board 197.

  With the above configuration, while the CPU 314 of the main control board 131 performs one timed interrupt processing, the serial IF unit 391 transmits two bytes of commands that can be serially transferred, the transmission buffer register 393 of the serial IF unit 391, and the transmission The data can be stored in the shift register 394, and the CPU 314 of the main control board 131 can shorten the period related to the serial transfer of commands. As a result, the progress of other control processes on the main control board 131 and the complexity of the control program executed on the main control board 131 can be suppressed. Therefore, smooth game control can be realized when commands are divided and serially transferred.

  By the way, although the above-described payout control board 197 is shown to include the CPU 333, the serial IF chip 398, and the parallel IF chip 399, it may be configured as follows. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, the payout control board 197 is formed with a CPU 333 (payout CPU) that performs various arithmetic processes in the payout control board 197 and a circuit that performs serial communication and parallel communication with the outside. A serial IF IF chip 405 can be provided. The serial IF chip 405 includes a parallel IF unit 406 that performs parallel communication with the parallel IF unit 392 of the main control board 131. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing details of the electrical configuration of the main control board 131 and the payout control board 197 different from those shown in FIG. Further, the configuration other than the above is the same as that shown in FIG.

  The serial management unit 407 of the payout control board 197 shown in FIG. 17 is different from the serial management unit 404 shown in FIG. The serial management unit 407 is different from the serial management unit 404 shown in FIG. 13 in which the data in the reception buffer register 403 is erased by reading from the CPU 333. The serial management unit 407 is based on the buffer clear signal #CBb from the CPU 333. Thus, data is erased from the reception buffer register 403.

(Regarding command transmission of main control board in FIG. 17)
The operation of the main control board 131 that transmits a command to the payout control board 197 will be described. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing command transmission processing executed by the arithmetic processing unit 390 of the main control board 131. The arithmetic processing unit 390 of the main control board 131 repeatedly executes the command transmission process shown in FIG. 18 at a predetermined timing as part of the process for controlling the progress of the game.

  When the command transmission process shown in FIG. 18 is started, the arithmetic processing unit 390 determines the value of the job flag Fj (step S1201). The job flag Fj is a flag indicating a state in the command transmission process, and is set to “0” when the arithmetic processing unit 390 is activated.

  If “job flag Fj = 0”, command output processing for outputting a command to the payout control board 197 is executed (step S1202). If “job flag Fj = 1”, the payout control board 197 is executed. An ACK wait process for confirming the ACK signal from is executed (step S1203). After completing the command output process (step S1202) or the ACK waiting process (step S1203), the command transmission process is terminated. Details of the command output process (step S1202) and the ACK wait process (step S1203) will be described later.

  Details of the command output process (step S1202 in FIG. 18) in the command transmission process shown in FIG. 18 will be described. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing command output processing (step S1202 in FIG. 18). The arithmetic processing unit 390 is. When the command output process shown in FIG. 19 is started, whether or not “transmission buffer empty signal TEa is high level” and “serial transfer in-progress signal TCa is low level”, that is, “data is stored in transmission buffer register 393”. It is determined whether or not “if not” and “if the transmission shift register 394 is not performing serial transfer” (step S1301). If “the transmission buffer empty signal TEa is at the high level” and “the serial transfer in-progress signal TCa is at the low level” (step S1301), it is determined whether or not “check flag Fc = 1” (step S1302). . The check flag Fc is a flag for instructing the payout control board 197 to report the operation state when the ACK signal from the payout control board 197 cannot be confirmed, and is set to “0” when the arithmetic processing unit 390 is activated. Is set.

  If it is not “check flag Fc = 1” (step S1302) and there is a winning of a game ball in the winning opening (step S1303), the payout control board 197 is instructed to pay out a predetermined number of prize balls. The first byte of the winning command to be generated is generated (step S1304).

  On the other hand, if “check flag Fc = 1” (step S1302), the check flag Fc is set to “0” (step S1305), and a check command for instructing the dispensing control board 197 to report the operation state. The first byte is generated (step S1306). The main control board 131 receives the report of the operation state from the payout control board 197 in the form of a command for the main control board 131 from the payout control board 197.

  After the first byte of the winning command or the check command is generated (steps S1304 and S1306), each bit of the generated first byte is inverted, that is, the bit which is “0” among the bits of the first byte. “1” is set, the bit “1” is set to “0”, and the second byte of the command is generated (step S1307). In this embodiment, the first byte of the command is data having a substantial meaning as a command, and the second byte of the command is data for determining whether the command is correct on the payout control board 197 side.

  After the second byte of the command is generated (step S1307), the generated command is transmitted (steps S1308 to S1310). This process (steps S1308 to S1310) is the same as the process (steps S1003 to S1005) in the command transmission process shown in FIG. After transmitting the command (steps S1308 to S1310), the job flag Fj is set to “1” (step S1311), and the command output process is terminated.

  The state of each signal on the main control board 131 when command transmission is executed in the command output process (steps S1308 to S1310) is the same as the state of each signal on the main control board 131 shown in FIG.

  Details of the ACK wait process (step S1203 in FIG. 18) in the command transmission process shown in FIG. 18 will be described. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the ACK wait process (step S1203 in FIG. 17). When the arithmetic processing unit 390 starts the ACK waiting process shown in FIG. 20, it determines whether or not an ACK signal is detected from the payout control board 197 (step S1401). If an ACK signal is detected (step S1401), the job flag Fj is set to “0” (step S1402), and the ACK waiting process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if no ACK signal is detected (step S1401), it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the command transmission (steps S1308 to S1310 in FIG. 19) was completed (step S1403). This predetermined time is a time for waiting for the response of the ACK signal from the payout control board 197, and is set to 100 ms in this embodiment. If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S1403), the ACK waiting process is terminated as it is, and if the predetermined time has elapsed (step S1403), the check flag Fc is set to “1” (step S1403). S1404) After setting the job flag Fj to “0” (step S1402), the ACK waiting process is terminated.

  By the operation of the main control board 131 described above, a 2-byte command is transmitted to the payout control board 197. Conversely, the operation of the payout control board 197 for transmitting a command to the main control board 131 is performed by the CPU 333 instead of the arithmetic processing unit 390, the transmission buffer register 400, and the transmission shift register 394 instead of the transmission buffer register 393. Instead, the transmission shift register 401 is realized by performing the same operation as that of the main control board 131 described above.

(Regarding command reception of the payout control board in FIG. 17)
The operation of the payout control board 197 that receives a command from the main control board 131 will be described. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing command reception processing executed by the CPU 333 of the payout control board 197. The CPU 333 of the payout control board 197 executes the command receiving process shown in FIG. 21 when receiving a command from the main control board 131 as part of controlling the payout of the game ball. The command reception process shown in FIG. 21 is executed by dividing it into a plurality of scheduled interrupt processes as part of the scheduled interrupt process repeatedly executed by the CPU 333 at predetermined intervals, similarly to the command reception process shown in FIG. Process.

  When starting the command reception process, the CPU 333 determines whether or not “the reception data present signal DFb is at a high level”, that is, “when data is stored in the reception buffer register 403”. (Step S1501).

  Here, when it is determined in the command reception process that “the received data present signal DFb is at the high level” (step S1501), the 2-byte command transmitted from the main control board 131 to the payout control board 197. Among these, the first byte of the command is stored in the reception buffer register 403.

  If “the received data present signal DFb is at the high level” (step S1501), the first byte of the command stored in the reception buffer register 403 is read (step S1502), and then stored in the reception buffer register 403 again. The first byte of the command being read is read (step S1503). Thereafter, the first byte of the command read for the first time is compared with the first byte of the command read for the second time (step S1504), and it is determined whether or not they match (step S1505).

  If the first byte of the read command matches the first time and the second time (step S1505), the first byte of the command stored in the reception buffer register 403 is cleared by falling the buffer clear signal #CBb. (Step S1506). As a result, the second byte of the command stored in the reception shift register 402 is transferred to the reception buffer register 403.

  After clearing the reception buffer register 403 (step S1506), the second byte of the command stored in the reception buffer register 403 is collated after being read twice, similarly to the first byte of the command (step S1507). , S1508, S1509) When the first time and the second time match (step S1510), the second byte of the command stored in the reception buffer register 403 is cleared (step S1511).

  Thereafter, the first byte of the read command is compared with the 2-byte date of the read command (step S1512), and it is determined whether or not they match (step S1513). As described above, the second byte of the command is data generated by the main control board 131 by inverting each bit of the first byte of the command.

  If the first byte and the second byte of the read command match (step S1513), an ACK signal is transmitted to the main control board 131 (step S1514), and the command transmission process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the first byte of the read command does not match between the first time and the second time (step S1505), or when the first byte and the second byte of the read command do not match (step S1513), the next time In order to prepare for command reception, the reception shift register 402 and the reception buffer register 403 are cleared (step S1515), and the command transmission process is terminated.

  FIG. 22 is a time chart showing the state of each signal on the payout control board 197 when the command receiving process is executed. For convenience of explanation, in FIG. 22, the scale of the serial transfer time for the first byte and the second byte of the command is reduced compared to the scale of the arithmetic processing time of the CPU 333.

  When it is determined in the command reception process shown in FIG. 21 that “the reception data present signal DFb is at the high level” (step S1501 in FIG. 21), the reception buffer register 403 is detected by the fall of the read signal #REb. The first byte of the command is output to the parallel data RDb, and the first byte of the command is read from the reception buffer register 403 by the CPU 333 (timing tb11 to tb12, step S1502 in FIG. 21). Thereafter, the first byte of the command is read in the same manner as the first time (timing tb13 to tb14, step S1503 in FIG. 21).

  After the second reading of the first byte of the command is completed, the reception buffer register 403 is cleared by the fall of the buffer clear signal #CBb, and the reception data present signal DFb becomes low level (timing tb15, in FIG. 21). Step S1506). Thereafter, when the second byte of the command is transferred from the reception shift register 402 to the reception buffer register, the reception data present signal DFb becomes high level (timing tb16).

  Thereafter, the second byte of the command is read from the reception buffer register 403 in the same manner as the first byte of the command (timing tb21 to tb24, steps S1507 and S1508 in FIG. 21). After the reading of the second byte of the command is completed, the reception buffer register 403 is cleared by the fall of the buffer clear signal #CBb, and the reception data presence signal DFb becomes low level (timing tb25, step S1511 in FIG. 21). .

  Through the operation of the payout control board 197 described above, a 2-byte command transmitted from the main control board 131 is received. Conversely, the operation of the main control board 131 that receives a command from the payout control board 197 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the configuration shown in FIGS. 17 to 22, it is possible to suppress the progress of other control processes on the main control board 131 and the complexity of the control program executed on the main control board 131. Furthermore, since the command stored in the reception buffer register 403 can be erased according to the convenience of the CPU 333 side of the payout control board 197, for the command serially transferred in units of 2 bytes, The CPU 333 can facilitate the handling in units of 2 bytes.

  Further, the payout control board 197 reads the command redundantly and collates the redundantly read command (steps S1502 to S1505 in FIG. 21), so that the command is transferred from the reception buffer register 403 to the CPU 333. It is possible to prevent the processing from being performed based on an abnormal command that has been rewritten due to the influence of noise or the like.

  The main control board 131 inverts the first byte of the command to generate the second byte (step S1307 in FIG. 19), and the payout control board 197 collates the first byte and the second byte of the command. (Steps S1512 to S1513 in FIG. 21), processing is performed based on an abnormal command that has been rewritten due to the influence of noise or the like during command transfer from the main control board 131 to the payout control board 197. Can be prevented.

  Further, since the payout control board 197 that has received the command transmits an ACK signal to the main control board 131, the main control board 131 can confirm whether or not the command has been normally transferred. Further, since the main control board 131 transmits a check command to the payout control board 197 when there is no response of the ACK signal from the payout control board 197, the reason why the command was not normally transferred is the payout control board. It can be determined whether or not it is based on an abnormal operation in 197.

  The configuration shown in FIGS. 12 to 22 can be applied to a substrate such as the sub integrated substrate 336, the illumination control substrates 337 and 338, and the waveform control substrate 339, or the main control substrate 131 and the sub integrated substrate. 336 may be applied to command transfer to and from 336. As a command from the main control board 131 to the sub integrated board 336, there is an effect command for instructing the effect contents of the display image on the effect display device 115.

  Further, a command of 2 bytes or more generated by the sending CPU may be an even number of bytes. As a result, it is possible to efficiently store a command for 2 bytes per one-time interrupt process from the sending CPU to the serial communication unit. For example, the main control board 131 generates a total of 4-byte commands consisting of a 3-byte instruction command defining the production instruction and a 1-byte check command for calculating the checksum of the instruction command as a group of commands. A group of 4-byte commands may be divided into two portions and serially transferred every two bytes by two scheduled interrupt processes.

  The main control board 131 also generates a total of 8 bytes of commands as a group of commands, including a 4-byte inversion command obtained by inverting each bit of the 3-byte instruction command and the 1-byte check command. A group of commands of 8 bytes may be divided into 4 times, and serial transfer may be performed every 2 bytes by 4 scheduled interrupt processes.

  Next, an example of control processing executed by the main control board 131 (particularly the CPU 314) will be described.

[Regarding the start winning process for the prize winning port for an accessory] A description will be given based on FIG.
FIG. 23 shows a routine of the start winning process for the prize winning opening for an accessory.
In this start winning process, it is determined whether or not there is a start winning in the game (step S1601). Specifically, when a game ball enters the first start winning opening 96 or the second start winning opening 97, the first start opening sensors corresponding to the first start winning opening 96 and the second start winning opening 97, respectively. 318a and the second start port sensor 318b output a detection signal, and when the detection signal is input, it is determined that there is a start prize. On the other hand, if no detection signal is input, it is determined that there is no start prize.

  If it is determined that there is a start winning (YES in step S1601), an opening / closing process for opening / closing the prize winning opening 92 for a predetermined number of times is performed in accordance with the start opening sensor 318 that has detected a game ball (step S1602). ). Specifically, when a game ball is detected by the first start port sensor 318a, the prize winning port 92 for an accessory is opened / closed only once for a predetermined time by a solenoid 331 for opening / closing the prize winning port 92 for an accessory. On the other hand, when a game ball is detected by the second start port sensor 318b, the prize winning port 92 for an accessory is opened and closed twice at a predetermined time interval by the solenoid 331. When the prize winning opening 92 for the accessory is opened / closed a predetermined number of times, the opening / closing process is completed and the routine is returned.

[About jackpot processing] It demonstrates based on FIG.
FIG. 24 shows the contents of the jackpot process.
When the game ball enters the jackpot winning opening 93 inside the accessory 91 and is detected by the jackpot winning sensor 330, the condition device is internally activated to execute the jackpot processing. First, a random number is generated in the main control board 131, and a set maximum continuation number that is the number of rounds of the big hit game is set by the generated random number (step S1701). In the present embodiment, the number of rounds is set by a random number from 2, 8, and 16 times. Specifically, for example, it is set by being distributed at a distribution rate as shown in the table shown in Table 1 below.

  When the set maximum continuation count is set in step S1701, a predetermined round counter is initialized (round counter value = 2) (step S1702). The round counter is secured in, for example, the RAM, and the value of the round counter is reset with the initialization. The round counter is for counting the number of rounds in the big hit game, and when the value reaches the set maximum number of times, the big hit process ends.

  After the above round counter is initialized, “0” is set to a predetermined winning ball counter (step S1703), and then the opening / closing operation of the prize winning port 92 for an accessory is started at predetermined time intervals (step S1703). S1704). Then, in the next step S1705, it is determined whether or not the number of times the opening / closing of the prize winning opening 92 for an accessory is within a set maximum number (for example, 18 times). If the open / close count is within the set maximum count (YES), it is next determined whether or not the value of the winning ball counter is less than 10 (step S1706). At this time, if the value of the winning ball counter is less than 10 (YES), it is determined whether or not the detection signal of the count sensor corresponding to the big winning opening is turned on (step S1707). When the count sensor is turned ON by winning a prize at the prize winning opening 92 for an accessory (YES), “1” is added to the winning ball counter in the next step S1708, and the determination in step S1604 is performed again. Alternatively, if there is no winning in the big winning opening in step S1707 and the count sensor is not ON (NO), the determination in step S1705 is performed without adding the winning ball number counter.

  In the case of “ordinary big hit” or “probable big hit”, one round is completed when either the maximum number of times set to 18 is reached or the winning ball reaches 10 counts. If either of these two conditions is satisfied, the determination in step S1705 or step S1706 is denied (NO), so that the opening / closing operation of the prize winning port 92 for an accessory is stopped for the end of the round (step S1709). . Then, in the next step S1710, it is determined whether or not the value of the round counter has reached a set maximum continuation count (for example, 16 rounds).

  If the value of the round counter has not reached the set maximum number of continuations (16 rounds) (NO in step S1710), then “1” is added to the value of the round counter (step S1711) and the winning ball counter is “0”. (Step S1703).

  The above processing is the content corresponding to the processing of the first round in the “normal big hit” or “probability big hit”. Thereafter, when the round operation is repeated and it is determined that the value of the round counter has reached the set maximum continuation count (16 rounds) (YES in step S1710), the big hit processing is ended there.

[About the composition of the character]
Next, a specific configuration of the accessory 91 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 25 is a front view showing an example of an accessory in the present embodiment, and FIG. 26 is a perspective view showing the accessory shown in FIG. 25 from the upper right front. FIG. 27A is an enlarged front view showing the prize winning port for an accessory, and FIG. 27B is an explanatory view showing a movable piece of the prize winning port for an accessory together with its movement.

  In the present embodiment, the accessory 91 has a prize-winning hole 92 through which a game ball can enter and a game ball that has entered the prize-winning hole 92 is rolled on a predetermined passage. A rolling effect device 95 that later distributes to one of the two sides, a big win winning port 93 disposed downstream of one of the rolling effect devices 95, a loser winning port 94 disposed downstream of the other, Rectifying means 500a and 500b that are arranged on the left and right of the rolling effect device 95 and rectify the flow of the distributed game balls, respectively, and the game ball that flows down from the top of the accessory 91 do not come into contact with the rolling effect device 95. And a warp passage 510 that leads to the downstream of the accessory 91. In this example, the lost winning port 94 corresponds to the first receiving port of the present invention, the jackpot winning port 93 corresponds to the second receiving port of the present invention, and the winning port 92 for bonuses corresponds to the starting port of the present invention. is doing.

(About the prize winning gates for works)
The prize winning opening 92 for an accessory is a mouth of the character body 455 that is arranged in the center of the accessory 91 and in the vicinity of the upper edge portion, and has a large opening, so that the game ball is swallowed by the character body 455. An atmosphere can be created, and an effect of enhancing the fun of the game can be expected.

  The prize winning opening 92 for the accessory is arranged between the pair of left and right movable pieces 456 (wing members) arranged on the left and right sides of the mouth of the character body 455 and the pair of movable pieces 456, and the game ball is brought into the inside of the accessory. , A count sensor 319 as a game ball detection sensor for detecting a game ball that has passed through the ball entrance 457, and a delivery port for delivering the game ball that has passed through the count sensor 319 to the rolling effect device 95. 458.

  In the pair of movable pieces 456, when a solenoid 331 disposed on the back surface of the accessory 91 is driven, its plunger (not shown) linearly moves, and the linear motion moves the drive shaft 471 via the link mechanism 470. The movable piece 456 is rotated by rotating it (see FIG. 26). The pair of movable pieces 456 are rotated in a direction in which the leading ends thereof are moved away from each other so that a game ball can enter the mouth of the character body 455 and the leading ends thereof are rotated in directions toward each other. As a result, the game ball cannot enter the mouth of the character body 455 (see FIG. 27A). In other words, the prize winning opening 92 for an accessory can be opened and closed by rotating the pair of movable pieces 456. In this example, the pair of movable pieces 456 are driven by separate solenoids 331, respectively.

  The movable piece 456 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 27A is a front view showing a winning opening for an accessory of this embodiment, and FIG. 27B is an explanatory view showing the operation of the movable piece. As shown in FIG. 5B, the movable piece 456 includes a main movable piece 472 that has a drive shaft 471 that is rotationally driven by the drive of the solenoid 331, and that rotates about the drive shaft 471. A rotation shaft 473 is provided at a position different from the drive shaft 471 of the piece 472, and a sub movable piece 474 that rotates around the rotation shaft 473 as the main movable piece 472 rotates. That is, the movable piece 456 is configured such that the main movable piece 472 is rotatable about the drive shaft 471 and the auxiliary movable piece 474 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 473.

  The main movable piece 472 rotates together with the drive shaft 471 and extends in a predetermined direction. The main movable piece 472 rotates at a leading end of the rotation extending part 475 and a guiding part 476 that guides a game ball. And a guided portion 478 that is provided at a predetermined position of the extending portion 475 and engages with the guide portion 477 of the sub movable piece 474.

  On the other hand, the sub movable piece 474 engages with the guided portion 478 of the main movable piece 472 in addition to the rotation shaft 473 and guide portion 478 capable of guiding the guided portion 478 in the radial direction of the rotation shaft 473. And a guide surface 479 that is substantially parallel to the guide direction of the guide portion 477 and guides the game ball.

  In this movable piece 456, the rotation shaft 473, the guide portion 477, and the guided portion 478 are respectively disposed above the drive shaft 471, and the rotation radius of the main movable piece 472 around the drive shaft 471 is set. The rotation radius of the sub movable piece 474 around the rotation axis is set larger.

  Note that the prize winning port 92 for an accessory in this example corresponds to the entrance of the present invention, and the pair of movable pieces 456, the link mechanism 470, the drive shaft 471, and the solenoid 331 in this example are the same as those in the present invention. It corresponds to the opening / closing means.

  Next, the operation of the movable piece 456 will be described in detail. When the movable piece 456 is in a position (first posture) where the prize winning opening 92 for the accessory is closed, as indicated by a chain line (one-dot and two-dot chain line) in FIG. The guide portion 478 is located at an end portion of the sub movable piece 474 that approaches the rotation shaft 473 of the guide portion 477. In this state, as shown in the drawing, the guide portion 476 of the main movable piece 472 is positioned so as to largely overlap the guide surface 479 of the sub movable piece 474. Although not shown, in this state, the plunger of the solenoid 331 is in a state of being located at the immersive end.

  In this state, the movable piece 456 is rotated (counterclockwise in the figure) by driving the solenoid 331 to open the prize winning port 92 for the accessory (second posture) as shown by the solid line in the figure. ), When the main movable piece 475 is rotated by the rotation of the drive shaft 471, the guided portion 478 pushes the sub movable piece 474 in the rotation direction via the guide portion 477, thereby the sub movable piece. 474 rotates in the same direction as the main movable piece 472.

  At that time, the guided portion 478 of the main movable piece 472 moves in the direction away from the rotation shaft 473 in the guide portion 477 of the sub movable piece 474. Then, when both the main movable piece 472 and the sub movable piece 477 are rotated to the position indicated by the solid line in the same figure, they reach the extended end of the plunger of the solenoid 331, the rotational drive is stopped, and the movable piece 456 is rotated. Stops. In this state, as shown in the drawing, the portion where the guide portion 476 of the main movable piece 472 overlaps the guide surface 479 of the sub-movable piece 474 is reduced, and the position where the guide portion 476 protrudes outward from the guide surface 479. Become.

  As described above, when the movable piece 456 is opened and closed, the guide portion 476 of the main movable piece 472 relatively moves along the guide portion 477 of the sub-movable piece 474, and when the movable piece 456 is opened, the guide portion 476 is opened. Moves to a position protruding outward from the tip of the guide surface 479 of the sub movable piece 474, so that the movable piece 456 itself appears to be longer. However, the length from the drive shaft 471, which is the rotation center of the movable piece 456, to the outermost end, in other words, the length of the main movable piece 472 itself does not change. The length has not changed. That is, by rotating the position of the guide portion 476 and the guide surface 479, the player can be given the illusion that the length of the movable piece 456 has changed. ing.

  As a result, when the movable piece 456 is opened, it is possible to make an illusion that the movable piece 456 is long, so that it is possible to make it seem that the game ball is likely to win the prize winning opening 92 for an accessory, In particular, the pachinko machine 1 of this embodiment can be made to want to play a game among a number of gaming machines, and a sense of expectation for winning a prize can be enhanced, thereby enhancing the interest. Actually, since the opening width of the pair of opened movable pieces 456 does not change, the rate of winning is not increased compared to the appearance, and it is possible to prevent the interest from becoming higher than necessary and the burden on the hall side. It is possible to suppress the increase.

  In the movable piece 456, the rotation end of the drive shaft 471, that is, the rotation end of the movable piece 456 is shown to be regulated by the plunger immersing end and the extension end of the solenoid 331. 478 may be configured such that the rotating end of the movable piece 456 is regulated by contacting both ends of the guide part 477, or the rotating end is regulated by both the plunger and the guide part 477. Also good.

(About rolling effect device)
Next, the rolling effect device 95 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 28 is a front view showing the rolling effect device in a schematic configuration. FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the rolling effect device. FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing the movement of the game medium in the rolling effect device. FIG. 31 is a time chart showing the operation of the motor in the rolling effect device.

  As shown in FIGS. 25, 26 and 28, this rolling effect device 95 includes a long guide member 491 having a rolling surface 490 that extends in the left-right direction and on which the game ball can roll. A rotation support shaft 492 unit that rotatably supports the guide member 491, a rotation drive unit 493 that rotates the guide member 491, and a rotation detection sensor 494 that detects the rotation state of the guide member 491. I have.

  The guide member 491 is provided with a weir portion 495 that covers a substantially entire length of the rolling surface 490 from preventing the game ball from dropping from the rolling surface 490 to the front side (the player side with respect to the gaming machine). In addition, the rolling surface 490 is inclined in the front-rear direction so that the front side thereof is lowered, whereby the game ball B thrown on the rolling surface 490 rolls along the weir 495 and guides The game ball B is prevented from coming into contact with the delivery port 458 disposed on the rear side of the member 491.

  The rotation driving means 493 includes a motor 332, a crank portion 496 that is operated by the rotation of the motor 332, and a link portion 498 that transmits the movement of the crank portion 496 to a pin 497 provided at one end of the guide member 491. ing. As shown in FIG. 29, by rotating the motor 332 in a predetermined direction, the guide member 491 rotates around the rotation support shaft 492 like a seesaw via the crank portion 496 and the link portion 498. It has become. Although illustration is omitted, a gear is interposed between the motor 332 and the crank portion 496. In this example, when the motor 332 is rotated once, the guide member 491 rotates like a two-way reciprocating seesaw. It comes to move.

  A rotation detection unit 499 that can be detected by a rotation detection sensor 494 is provided at the end opposite to the pin 497 of the guide member 491 across the rotation support shaft 492. As shown in FIG. 29, the rotation detection sensor 494 is disposed at a position where the rotation detection unit 499 is detected when the guide member 491 is in a substantially horizontal position. Note that the rotation detection sensor 494 and the rotation detection unit 499 of this example correspond to the rotation state detection means of the present invention.

  Next, the operation of the game ball B in the rolling effect device 95 will be described in detail based on FIG. For convenience, the description will be made assuming that the counterclockwise rotation is positive and the clockwise rotation is negative. The guide member 491 is repeatedly rotated like a seesaw at a predetermined period by the rotation of the motor 332, and in this state, the game ball B is supplied onto the rolling surface of the guide member 491. At this time, for example, when the guide member 491 is inclined so that the right side in the drawing is lowered as shown in FIG. 5A, the game ball B supplied onto the guide member 491 is pulled by the guide member 491 by gravity. Roll in the direction of the right end of Thereafter, when the guide member 491 rotates in the positive direction and the right end thereof becomes higher than the rotation support shaft 492, the game ball B turns back in the rolling direction and moves in the direction of the rotation support shaft 492. Rolls (see (a) in the figure). Since the inertial force acts on the game ball B in the rolling direction, even if the inclination direction of the guide member 491 changes, the rolling direction of the game ball B does not change immediately.

  Then, before the game ball B reaches the rotation support shaft 492, when the guide member 491 rotates in the negative direction and the right end becomes lower than the rotation support shaft 492, the game ball B rolls again. The direction to be turned is turned and rolled in the direction of the right end portion of the guide member 491 (see FIG. 5C). After that, when the guide member 491 is rotated in the positive direction and the right end thereof is higher than the rotation support shaft 492, the direction of rolling is turned back again, and the game ball B is again in the direction of the rotation support shaft 492. (See (D) in the figure). At this time, the turning position of the rolling of the game ball B is closer to the right end of the guide member 491 than the previous turning position. This is because the game ball B rotates about the rotation support shaft 492 with the rotation of the guide member 491, so that centrifugal force acts on the game ball B in a direction away from the rotation support shaft 492, This is because the distance that the game ball B moves in the direction of the end of the guide member 491 is longer than the distance that the game ball B moves in the direction of the rotation support shaft 492.

  As described above, when the guide member 491 rotates like a seesaw, the game ball B on the guide member 491 swings and gradually moves to the end of the guide member 491, and eventually the guide member 491. Is discharged from the end portion (see (g) in the figure). In the process in which the game ball B is released, the game ball B that has rolled to the vicinity of the right end portion of the guide member 491 is placed on the rotation support shaft 492 as shown in FIGS. In some cases, the game ball B may be turned back in direction, and the movement in which the game ball B is unlikely to be released makes the player feel excited and excited. In the above description, the movement of the game ball B on the right side of the rotation support shaft 492 of the guide member 491 is shown, but the game ball B also moves on the left side of the rotation support shaft 492. .

  Incidentally, in this example, the rotation of the motor 332 is stopped at a predetermined cycle as shown in FIG. Specifically, each time the rotation detection unit 499 is detected by the rotation detection sensor 494 a predetermined number of times (here, four times), the motor 332 is stopped for a predetermined time after the detection, thereby the guide member 491 is stopped. However, it stops for a predetermined time at a position where the right end is raised (see FIG. 29A). Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 30 (f), the game ball B swinging on the right side of the rotation support shaft 492 is moved to the left side of the rotation support shaft 492, and the game ball B is swung on the left side thereof. Thus, the game ball B can be released from the left end portion of the guide member 491.

  In this rolling effect device 95, the length, rotation angle, and rotation speed of the guide member 491 are such that the moving speed and moving direction of the game ball B supplied on the guide member 491 have predetermined conditions. When it is satisfied, the game ball B swings on the guide member 491. When the game ball B is supplied under conditions other than the above, the game ball B is released from any one without swinging on the guide member 491. .

  Further, the rotation control of the motor 332 is controlled by the rolling effect control means that functions by executing a predetermined program in the CPU 314 of the main control board 131 in the main board 310.

(Regarding rectification means)
As shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26, a rectifying means 500a for receiving a game ball released from the right end portion of the guide member 491 and rectifying its movement is obliquely below and to the right of the right end portion of the guide member 491. Is provided. Further, on the lower left side of the left end portion of the guide member 491, there is provided a rectifying means 500b that receives a game ball released from the left end portion of the guide member 491 and rectifies its movement. The rectifying means 500a on the right side in the figure has a cup shape with an open top, and the game ball received by the rectifying means 500a is rectified while rotating in a spiral shape, and is a big hit winning prize arranged below the rectifying means 500a. It is sent to the mouth 93.

  Further, the rectifying means 500b on the left side in the figure includes a partition portion 501 extending in the vertical direction on the left side, a receiving portion 502 that receives a game ball at the lower end of the partition portion 501 and guides it to the back of the accessory 91, and a receiving portion 502 And an outflow port 503 for allowing a game ball received by the receiving unit 502 to flow out to the game area. The game ball received by the rectifying means 500b is rectified by the partition portion 501 and the receiving portion 502, and sent from the outflow port 503 to the lost winning prize port 94 disposed below.

  The game balls distributed by the guide member 491 are rectified by the rectifying means 500a and 500b, and can be smoothly delivered to the downstream large winning opening 93 and the lose winning opening 94.

(Warp passage)
As shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26, the warp passage 510 is disposed on the left and right of the prize winning hole 92 for a bonus, and a receiving port 511 that receives a game ball flowing down the game board 5 and a game received by the receiving port 511. A guide path 512 that guides the ball to the lower side of the guide member 491 without abutting the guide member 491 and an outlet 513 that allows the game ball guided by the guide path 512 to flow out to the game board 5 are provided. The warp passage 51 of this example corresponds to the game medium guiding path of the present invention. The receiving port 511 is positioned and sized so that the upper part of the receiving port 511 is substantially covered when the movable piece 456 of the prize winning port 92 for an accessory is opened.

  The warp passage 510 is configured so that a game ball that has not won the prize winning hole 92 for the bonus item can be received by the receiving port 511 above the guide member 491, and the game ball is received by the guide member 491 from other than the delivery port 458. Is not supplied. As a result, the game ball swinging on the guide member 491 is brought into contact with another game ball unnecessarily so that the swing of the game ball is not hindered.

  As described above, according to the pachinko machine 1 of the present embodiment, the game ball B on the rolling surface 490 is swung by the rotation of the guide member 491 by the motor 332, so that the game medium is stored in the game area. Not only simply flowing down, but also moving back and forth in the left-right direction, it becomes an unprecedented movement of the game medium, making it possible to draw attention to the player, and entertaining with the movement of the game medium itself It can be expected that the interest of the player can be enhanced.

  Further, since the game ball B moves back and forth on the guide member 491 and is distributed in any direction, it is difficult to predict which direction the game ball B is distributed, and the game is further increased. You can focus on the movement of the medium.

  Further, a jackpot winning port 93 is arranged at the distribution destination of the guide member 491. When winning in the jackpot winning port 93, an advantageous gaming state that is advantageous to the player occurs, so that the game ball B is placed on the guide member 491. Since it may come and go and be returned to the big hit prize winning opening 93 side, it may be relieved to the movement of the game ball B, and it can be rich and interesting.

  The present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention as described below. And design changes are possible.

  That is, in the above-described embodiment, the rotation driving means 493 that rotates the guide member 491 is illustrated as being rotated by the motor 332 that rotates in a certain direction via the crank portion 496 and the link portion 498. 332 may be a stepping motor or a servo motor, and the guide member 491 may be rotated like a seesaw by rotating the motor forward or backward by a rolling effect control means.

  In the above embodiment, the guide member 491 is rotated like a seesaw at a predetermined cycle by the rotation drive unit 493. However, the position detection unit that detects the position of the game ball on the guide member 491 is provided. The game medium on the guide member may be swung by controlling the rotation driving means based on the detection result of the position detection means. Thereby, not only the rocking on the guide member but also a complicated movement can be made, so that the movement of the game medium can be made more interesting.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the pachinko gaming machine 1 is shown as a gaming machine. However, a gaming machine other than the pachinko machine, for example, a gaming machine formed by fusing a pachinko machine and a slot machine, or the like may be used. The present invention can be applied.

It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the main body frame was opened by the one side of the outer frame of a pachinko machine, and the front frame was opened by the one side of the main body frame. It is a front view which shows the whole front side of a pachinko machine. It is an enlarged front view which shows the structure of a game area | region. It is a perspective view which isolate | separates the main body frame and game board of a pachinko machine, and shows from diagonally upper right front. It is a rear view which shows the whole rear side of a pachinko machine. It is a perspective view which shows the whole rear side of a pachinko machine from upper right back. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the back cover, various control boards, etc. from the perspective view of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which various members were assembled | attached to the main body frame of the pachinko machine from diagonally upper right back. It is a perspective view which shows a main-body frame simple substance from diagonally upper right back. It is a perspective view which shows the game board with which various control board boxes were mounted | worn from lower right back. It is a block diagram which shows a control structure roughly. It is a block diagram which shows the detail of the electrical structure of a main control board and a payout control board. It is a flowchart which shows the command transmission process which the arithmetic processing part of a main control board performs. It is a time chart which shows the mode of each signal in the main control board at the time of command transmission processing being performed. It is a flowchart which shows the command reception process which the payout CPU of a payout control board performs. It is a time chart which shows the mode of each signal in the payout control board at the time of command reception processing being performed. It is a block diagram which shows the detail of the electrical structure of a main control board and a payout control board. It is a flowchart which shows the command transmission process which the arithmetic processing part of a main control board performs. It is a flowchart which shows a command output process. It is a flowchart which shows an ACK waiting process. It is a flowchart which shows the command reception process which the payout CPU of a payout control board performs. It is a time chart which shows the mode of each signal in the payout control board at the time of command reception processing being performed. It is a flowchart which shows the routine of the start winning process of a prize opening for prizes. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the jackpot process. It is a front view which shows an example of the accessory in this embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the accessory shown in FIG. 25 from the upper right front. (A) is a front view which shows the prize winning opening for accessories of this embodiment, (B) is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of a movable piece. It is a front view which shows a rolling effect apparatus by schematic structure. It is explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of a rolling effect production apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the motion of the game medium in a rolling effect production apparatus. It is a time chart which shows operation | movement of the motor in a rolling effect production apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Pachinko machine 5 Game board 90 Windmill 91 Bonuses 92 Prize winning entrance (entrance)
93 jackpot winning entrance (second entrance)
94 Lost prize opening (first entrance)
95 Rolling effect device 96 First start winning opening (start opening)
97 Second starting prize opening (starting opening)
99 Warp entrance (receipt)
310 Main board 317 Gate sensor 318 Start port sensor 319 Count sensor 329 Loss prize sensor 330 Big hit prize sensor 332 Motor 490 Rolling surface 491 Guide member 492 Rotation support shaft 493 Rotation drive means 494 Rotation detection sensor (rotation status detection) means)
495 Weir part 496 Crank part 497 Pin 498 Link part 499 Rotation detection part (rotation state detection means)

Claims (3)

The game medium is placed in a game area where the game medium is driven, the game medium has a rolling surface that can roll in the left-right direction, and the game medium supplied on the rolling surface is any one of the left-right direction. An elongate guide member that can be discharged from one end or the other end opposite to the one end;
Rotation drive means for rotating the guide member so that the game medium on the rolling surface rolls in the left-right direction;
A jackpot disposed on the one end side and capable of receiving the game medium discharged by the guide member;
Advantageous game executing means for executing an advantageous gaming state advantageous to the player based on the fact that the game medium is received at the jackpot;
An outlet that is disposed on the other end side and discharges the game medium discharged by the guide member to the outside of the game area;
The rotation driving means is
By inclining the rolling surface such that the one end portion is lower than the other end portion, the game medium on the rolling surface is directed toward the side where the big hit hole is arranged. A first operation mode to roll,
By inclining the rolling surface so that the one end portion is higher than the other end portion, the game medium on the rolling surface is directed toward the side where the discharge port is disposed. The guide member is reciprocated between the second operation mode and the second operation mode of rolling, and when the guide member is reciprocated , a direction toward the side where the large hitting port is disposed and the discharge port are disposed. A pattern that switches between the first operation mode and the second operation mode at a constant cycle so that the game medium on the rolling surface reciprocally rolls in the direction toward the side to be played. And switching between the first operation mode and the second operation mode at a cycle different from the fixed cycle so that the game medium on the rolling surface rolls toward the side where the discharge port is disposed. Control with patterns Ru
Thus, even if the guide member has the same inclination when the game medium is supplied to the guide member, the one end and the other end can be changed so that the discharge destination of the game medium can be changed. A gaming machine characterized by being able to repeatedly roll with a club. The guide member further includes a weir portion that prevents the game medium from being discharged from the rolling surface at least one of the one end portion and the other end portion. The gaming machine described. The gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the guide member is supported so as to be rotatable about a substantially center in a longitudinal direction thereof.

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