JP4709072B2 - Amusement stand - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a game machine represented by a slot machine.

  A game machine represented by a slot machine produces effects in a variety of effects and delights players. Such effects include, for example, a notification or suggestion of what the player acquires an advantageous right, and has an effect of improving or sustaining the player's expectation. As an effect device that executes such an effect, many types of image display units such as a liquid crystal display device that displays a large and beautiful image have appeared (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-353257 A

  Here, in the case where a certain amount of time is required for switching the effect mode, if the player perceives the next effect mode in the middle of the switching, the effect of switching the effect mode is diminished. Although it is possible to prevent the player from perceiving the next production mode by making the production mode switching invisible to the player, it is difficult to achieve perfection, and the player is not able to expect completeness and changes in light that occur during the switching If the operation sound is seen by the player or the mechanical sound is heard by the player, the player again senses the next effect mode.

According to the present invention, in the gaming machine including the effect unit, the effect unit can execute the first effect mode and the second effect mode by switching between the first effect mode and the first effect mode. The effect unit is provided with shielding means for making it difficult for the player to visually recognize the aspect during switching between the effect according to the effect aspect and the effect according to the second effect aspect, and the effect unit includes the effect according to the first effect aspect. When the second effect mode is not switched to the effect, a pseudo effect is generated to simulate that the switching is being performed, and the effect unit includes an image display device, the image A half mirror that reflects an image projected from the display device, a first position that is the first rendering mode, the first position where the image display device is a display surface of the rendering unit, and a second rendering mode. The image display device moves the image display device between a second position at which the image display device projects an image onto the half mirror and the half mirror serves as a display surface of the effect unit. Driving means, and the shielding means is a pair of door members that open and close like a door, and when the shutter is closed, the display image by the image display device and the half mirror is shielded from the player, and when the shutter is opened, An image display device and a pair of door members that allow a player to visually recognize a display image by the half mirror are provided, and when the image display device is in the first position, the effect unit includes the pair of door members. A first operation of closing and moving the image display device in the first position to the second position and then opening the pair of door members; and the image display device in the first position In The pair of door members are closed, and the second operation of opening the pair of door members is performed while the image display device in the first position is positioned in the first position. The display of the display area located behind the boundary portion of the pair of door members in the display screen of the image display device while the pair of door members is closed in the second operation as the pseudo effect. There is provided a game table characterized by continuously changing contents .

  According to the present invention, in the gaming machine including the effect unit, the effect unit can execute the first effect mode and the second effect mode by switching between the first effect mode and the first effect mode. The effect unit is provided with shielding means for making it difficult for the player to visually recognize the aspect during switching between the effect according to the effect aspect and the effect according to the second effect aspect, and the effect unit includes the effect according to the first effect aspect. There is provided a gaming machine characterized by executing a pseudo effect that simulates the fact that the switching is being performed when the effect of the second effect mode is not switched.

  In the gaming machine of the present invention, the effect mode switching is made difficult to visually recognize by the function of the shielding means. Furthermore, by executing the pseudo effect, the player is given the illusion that the effect is not actually switched, although it is not performed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the player from perceiving the change of the production mode.

Further, according to the present invention, in the gaming machine including an effect unit, the effect unit includes an image display device, a half mirror that reflects an image projected from the image display device, and the image display device includes the effect. Between the first position that becomes the display surface of the unit and the second position that the image display device projects an image on the half mirror and the half mirror becomes the display surface of the effect unit, An image display device driving means for moving the image display device and a pair of door members that open and close like a door, and when the image display device and the half mirror are closed, a display image by the player is shielded from the player and opened. A pair of door members that allow a player to visually recognize a display image by the image display device and the half mirror. A first operation of closing the pair of door members and closing the pair of door members after closing the pair of door members and moving the image display device in the first position to the second position. When the image display device is in the first position, the pair of door members are closed, and the image display device in the first position remains in the first position, A second operation of opening the door member, and the gaming table further includes output means for outputting a pseudo operation sound simulating the operation sound of the image display device drive means, and the output means includes: While the pair of door members are closed in the second operation, the game stand is provided that outputs the simulated operating sound.

  In the gaming machine of the present invention, it is difficult to visually recognize the change of the effect mode according to the position of the image display device by the function of the pair of door members. Further, by outputting the simulated operating sound, the player is given the illusion that the actual appearance mode is not actually switched. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the player from perceiving the change of the production mode.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the player from perceiving the change of the effect mode.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of a slot machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Overall configuration>
A slot machine 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a main body 101 and a front door 102 that is attached to the front surface of the main body 101 and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body 101. Three reels (left reel 110, middle reel 111, and right reel 112) having a plurality of types of patterns arranged on the outer peripheral surface are stored in the center of the main body 101 and can be rotated inside the slot machine 100. Has been. These reels 110 to 112 are rotationally driven by a driving means such as a stepping motor (not shown).

  In this embodiment, an appropriate number of each pattern is printed on the belt-like member at equal intervals, and the reels 110 to 112 are configured by sticking this belt-like member to a predetermined circular frame material. When viewed from the player, approximately three patterns on the reels 110 to 112 are displayed in the vertical direction from the pattern display window 113 so that a total of nine patterns can be seen. Then, by rotating each of the reels 110 to 112, the combination of pictures that can be seen by the player varies. That is, each of the reels 110 to 112 functions as a display unit that displays the pattern combination in a variable manner. In the present embodiment, three reels are provided in the center of the slot machine 100, but the number of reels and the installation position of the reels are not limited to this.

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

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

  The notification lamp 121 is, for example, a lamp that informs the player that a specific winning combination (specifically, a bonus) has been won internally in an internal lottery to be described later. The start lamp 122 is a lamp that informs the player that the reels 110 to 112 are in a state of being able to rotate. The replay lamp 123 is a lamp that informs the player that the current game can be replayed (the medal does not need to be inserted) when winning a replay that is one of the winning combinations in the previous game. . The medal insertion lamp 124 is a lamp that notifies that a medal can be inserted. The reel panel lamp 125 is an effect lamp.

  The medal insertion buttons 132 and 133 are buttons for inserting a predetermined number of medals stored electronically in the slot machine 100. In this embodiment, every time the medal insertion button 132 is pressed, a maximum of three is inserted one by one, and when the medal insertion button 133 is pressed, three are inserted. The medal slot 160 is an slot for a player to insert a medal when starting a game. That is, the medal can be inserted electronically by the medal insertion button 132 or 133, or an actual medal can be inserted from the medal slot 160, and the insertion means both. The stored number display 126 is a display for displaying the number of medals electronically stored in the slot machine 100. The display device 127 is a display device for displaying various internal information as numerical values. The payout number display 128 is a display for displaying the number of medals to be paid out to the player as a result of winning a winning combination.

  The start lever 130 is a lever type switch for starting the rotation of the reels 110 to 112. That is, when a desired medal number is inserted into the medal insertion slot 160 or when the medal insertion buttons 132 and 133 are operated and the start lever 135 is operated, the reels 110 to 112 start to rotate. The stop button unit 131 is provided with stop buttons 131a to 131c. The stop buttons 131a to 131c are button-type switches for individually stopping the reels 110 to 112 that have started rotating by operating the start lever 130. Note that a light emitter may be provided inside each of the stop buttons 131a to 131c. When the stop buttons 131a to 131c can be operated, the light emitter can be turned on to notify the player.

  The medal return button 134 is a button that is pressed to remove a medal when the inserted medal is clogged. The adjustment button 135 is a button for adjusting the medals electronically stored in the slot machine 100 and the bet medals and discharging them to the medal tray 156 from the medal payout outlet 161. The door key 136 is a hole into which a key for unlocking the front door 102 of the slot machine 100 is inserted. The operation button 137 is a button used when the player performs various selection operations. The medal payout port 161 is a payout port for paying out medals. The medal tray 156 is a container for collecting medals paid out from the medal payout outlet 161. In this embodiment, the medal tray 156 employs a tray that can emit light, and may be hereinafter referred to as a tray lamp.

  The ashtray unit 170 is a container for storing cigarette butts, and is screwed inside the medal tray 156. The sound hole 171 is a hole for outputting the sound of a speaker provided inside the slot machine 100 to the outside. The upper lamp 151, the side lamp 152, the center lamp 153, the waist lamp 154, the lower lamp 155, and the saucer lamp 156 are decorative lamps for exciting the game. The title panel 140 is a panel on which the model name of the slot machine and various designs are drawn, and the reel panel 141 is a panel having a picture display window 113. A production unit A is provided at the top of the slot machine 100. A panel 180 that protects the effect unit A is provided in front of the effect unit A. Hereinafter, the configuration of the rendering unit A will be described.

<Directing unit>
Next, the configuration of the rendering unit A will be described. 2 is an external view of the effect unit A, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the effect unit A. The effect unit A includes an image display unit 1 and a shutter unit 50 that is detachably mounted on the front surface of the image display unit 1, and constitutes a kind of information display unit. The effect unit A is detachably attached to the back side of the front door 102 by engaging with a panel 180 fixed to the front door 102. As shown in FIG. 2, the panel 180 is formed by fixing a transparent plate 180b to a frame body 180a, and an engagement piece engaged with a hook-shaped engagement portion 52 formed on the shutter unit 50 on the upper portion of the frame body 180a. Are formed substantially uniformly in the left-right direction. By engaging the engaging portion 52 with the engaging piece, the rendering unit A is attached to the panel 180 in a suspended state and attached to the back side of the front door 102.

  Thereafter, the effect unit A is fixed to the panel 180 by screwing screws through holes provided in the four corners of the shutter unit 50 and screwed bosses provided in the four corners of the frame body 180a. It will be fixed to the back side. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the image display unit 1 has hook-shaped engaging portions 1 b ″ and 1 c ″, and the shutter unit 50 is engaged with the back side of the shutter unit 50, so that the shutter unit 50 is connected to the image display unit 1. (Details will be described later). Thereafter, screws are passed through holes provided at the four corners of the image display unit 1 (two at each of the bent portions 1b ′ and 1c ′) and screwed into four screw holes provided at the frame 53 of the shutter unit 50, respectively. Thus, the shutter unit 50 and the image display unit 1 are fixed.

<Image display unit>
Next, the configuration of the image display unit 1 will be described. The image display unit 1 includes a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter referred to as LCD) 10 that is an image display device, and a half mirror 20. As will be described later, the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 are movable in conjunction with each other. FIG. 3 shows a state where the display screen 11 of the LCD 10 is exposed in front of the image display unit 1. A state in which a part of the half mirror 20 is exposed on the front surface of the image display unit 1 is shown.

  The LCD 10 is an image display device capable of displaying an electronic image on the display screen 11. In this embodiment, an LCD is used, but other types of image display devices may be used. The control circuit and the like of the LCD 10 are disposed above the top plate 1a and are protected by being covered with a cover member 1a '. The half mirror 20 is, for example, a mirror having a light transmittance of about 50%.

  The image display unit 1 has a hollow, substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped accommodation portion having a front surface that includes a top plate 1a, a pair of side plates 1b and 1c, a back cover 1d, and a bottom plate 1e. The LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 are accommodated in the housing. The shutter unit 50 functions as a shielding unit that can shield a display image by the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 that can be seen from the front of the housing portion from a viewer. Details will be described later. As shown in FIG. 3, each side plate 1 b, 1 c is bent 90 degrees at the front end thereof to constitute bent portions 1 b ′ and 1 c ′, and a part of the side plates 1 b, 1 c is projected without being bent. Hook-like engaging portions 1b "and 1c" are formed.

<Drive mechanism>
Next, a drive mechanism that moves the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 in conjunction with each other will be described. FIG. 4A is a right side view of the image display unit 1. A drive source unit 31 is attached to the side plate 1b. The driving source unit 31 has a fixing plate 31a for fixing the driving source unit 31 to the side plate 1b. The fixing plate 31a has a driving mechanism for moving the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 in conjunction with each other. A motor 32 serving as a drive source is supported. The motor 32 is, for example, a DC motor. In this embodiment, the motor 32 is used as a single drive source to drive the drive mechanism. Although the two configurations of the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 are moved, by using a single drive source, the cost can be reduced and the control of the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 is facilitated.

  A worm gear 33 supported by a fixing plate 31 a is connected to the output shaft of the motor 32 and rotates with the rotation of the motor 32. A worm wheel 34 is attached to the side plate 1b so as to be rotatable around a shaft 34a, and the worm wheel 34 is engaged with the worm gear 33 so as to rotate around the shaft 34a as the worm gear 33 rotates. A small-diameter spur gear 34b is integrally provided on the inner side surface of the worm wheel 34, and the spur gear 34b rotates around the shaft 34a together with the worm wheel 34.

  A rotating plate 30 that is a spur gear is disposed at a substantially central portion of the side plate 1b, and the rotating plate 30 is rotatably attached around a shaft 30a supported by the side plate 1b. The rotating plate 30 is rotated with the rotation of the spur gear 34b by meshing with the spur gear 34b. That is, the rotating plate 30 is rotated by the driving force of the motor 32 via the spur gear 34 b, the worm wheel 34 and the worm gear 33. The rotating plate 30 is a main configuration of a driving mechanism that moves the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20. By using the worm gear mechanism described above to transmit the rotational force of the motor 32 to the rotating plate 30, the rotating plate 30 has a compact configuration. A large ratio can be obtained, and even a low output motor can obtain a larger torque. In addition, since the motor 32 is arranged in the tangential direction of the worm wheel 32 and the width between the motor 32 and the worm gear mechanism can be reduced, the side plate 1b is provided on the side plate 1b as in this embodiment as compared with the case where a spur gear mechanism is employed. It can arrange | position without extending too much along.

  A cam groove 30 b is formed on the outer side surface of the rotating plate 30. The cam groove 30b is a cam groove for detecting the rotational position of the rotating plate 30. Specifically, a pair of sensors 41 a and 41 b are disposed on the fixing plate 31 a of the drive source unit 31. In the case of the present embodiment, the sensors 41 a and 41 b are optical sensors and detect the presence or absence of the detected piece 40 b provided at one end of the sensor arm 40. The sensor arm 40 is a plate-like member that is rotatably supported by a shaft 34a, and a pin-like sliding portion 40a is provided at the other end. When the rotating plate 30 rotates, the sliding portion 40a slides in the cam groove 30b, and is guided by the cam groove 30b to rotate the sensor arm 40 around the shaft 34a. The sensors 41a and 41b are respectively arranged so as to correspond to two positions (first and second positions described later) of the LCD 10, and the position of the detected piece 40b is moved by the rotation of the sensor arm 40. When detected by the sensor 41a, it is detected that the LCD 10 is present at the second position, and when detected by the sensor 41b, it is detected that the LCD 10 is present at the first position. That is, the sensors 41a and 41b function as sensors that detect the position of the LCD 10.

  Next, a spur gear 35 that meshes with the rotating plate 30 is provided on the side plate 1b. The spur gear 35 is fixed to a shaft 35a penetrating between the side plates 1b-1c. The shaft 35a is rotatably supported by the side plates 1b and 1c and is disposed substantially horizontally. The spur gear 35 and the shaft 35a are for transmitting the driving force of the motor 32 to the driving mechanism on the side plate 1c side. FIG. 4B is a left side view of the image display unit 1. Except for the drive source unit 31, the side plate 1c side is provided with the same mechanism as the side plate 1b side, and the rotational force of the shaft 35a is transmitted to the side plate 1c side rotating plate 30 via the side plate 1c side spur gear 35. Will be. In FIG. 4B, the same reference numerals are given to the configurations corresponding to the configuration of FIG. In this embodiment, the design is reduced and the types of parts are reduced by adopting the same configuration on both side plates except for the drive source unit 31 in this way. In addition, since it is the same structure on the both-sides board side, below, a drive mechanism is demonstrated by the structure by the side board 1b side.

  Returning to FIG. 4A, an arm member 22 is rotatably attached to the side plate 1b. The arm member 22 constitutes a part of a mechanism for moving the half mirror 20. An arm member 14 is rotatably attached to the side plate 1b. The arm member 14 constitutes a part of a mechanism for moving the LCD 10. Details of these will be described later. The arm member 14 has a locking portion 14b to which one end of a spring 15 is locked, and the other end of the spring 15 is locked to a locking portion 1a "formed on the top plate 1a. When the member 14 rotates in one direction, it assists the rotation, and when it rotates in the other direction, it functions as an elastic member that resists the rotation. The LCD 10 moves (rotates) between the first position and the second position. At this time, the load of the motor 32 increases due to the weight of the LCD 10, and the movement from the first position to the second position occurs. In this case, the spring 15 assists the rotation of the arm member 14, and the spring 15 resists the rotation of the arm member 14 when the LCD 10 moves from the second position to the first position. This adjusts the load on the motor 32. It is possible to become.

  Next, the drive mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. 5A in addition to FIG. FIG. 5A is a view showing a mode in which the drive unit 31 is removed from the side plate 1b. Moreover, in the same figure, the rotating plate 30 is shown by a broken line and cam grooves 30c and 30d carved on the inner side surface thereof are shown. That is, the cam groove 30b is formed on the outer side surface of the rotating plate 30, and the cam grooves 30c and 30d are formed on the inner side surface. The cam groove 30 c is a cam groove for guiding the movement of the LCD 10, and the cam groove 30 d is a cam groove for guiding the movement of the half mirror 20.

  The arm member 14 is rotatably arranged around a shaft 14a supported by the side plate 1b, and a sliding portion 14d that slides in the cam groove 30c is seen at one end as viewed from the shaft 14a. A sliding portion 14c is provided at the end. The sliding portion 14d is a shaft and protrudes from the arm member 14 toward the rotating plate 30 side. When the rotary plate 30 rotates, the arm member 14 is guided by the cam groove 30c and rotated about the shaft 14a by the sliding portion 14d sliding along the cam groove 30c. The sliding portion 14c protrudes toward the side plate 1b and slides in an arcuate guide hole 16 provided in the side plate 1b.

  The arm member 22 is disposed so as to be rotatable around a shaft 22a supported by the side plate 1b, and a sliding portion 22c that slides on a cam groove 30d at one end when viewed from the shaft 22a is provided on the other side. An engaging portion 22b is provided at the end. The sliding portion 22c is a shaft body and protrudes from the arm member 22 toward the rotating plate 30 side. When the rotating plate 30 rotates, the arm member 22 is guided by the cam groove 30d and rotated about the shaft 22a by the sliding portion 22c sliding along the cam groove 30d. The engaging portion 22 b engages with a shaft body 23 a supported on one end portion of the auxiliary plate 23. The engaging portion 22b is formed in a long hole shape whose end is open so that the arm member 22 can be rotated around the shaft body 23a and the parallel movement of the shaft body 23a within the engaging portion 22b is allowed. .

  A shaft body 23b is supported at the other end of the auxiliary plate 23, and the auxiliary plate 23 is a plate-like member that supports the shaft bodies 23a and 23b at both ends thereof. Each shaft body 23a and 23b slides in guide holes 24a and 24b provided in the side plate 1b. Moreover, the front ends of the shaft bodies 23a and 23b are formed with a small diameter, and the front end portions thereof are inserted into holes of the support frame 21 of the half mirror 20 described later.

  Next, FIG.5 (b) is a figure which shows the aspect which removed the mechanism on the side plate 1b. In the figure, the arm members 14 and 22 and the auxiliary plate 23 are indicated by broken lines, and the shapes of the guide holes 16, 24 a and 24 b and the positional relationship with the arm members 14 and 22 and the auxiliary plate 23 are shown. Holes 14a ', 22a', 30a 'and 35a' indicate holes for the shafts 14a, 22a, 30a and 35a, respectively. FIG. 6A is a view showing a state in which the side plate 1 b is removed, and is a right side view of the inside of the image display unit 1. In the figure, the arm members 14 and 22 and the auxiliary plate 23 are indicated by broken lines.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the LCD 10 is supported by a bracket 13. The bracket 13 is a frame member that includes a back plate portion 13b to which the back surface of the LCD 10 is attached, and a side plate portion 13a that is formed integrally with the back plate portion 13b and is spaced from the side surface of the LCD 10. A shaft 12 serving as a rotation center of the LCD 10 is attached above the side plate portion 13a. The shaft 12 is supported by the side plate 1b, and an end thereof is connected to a stopper 12a (see FIGS. 4 and 5) provided outside the side plate 1b through the side plate 1b. The axis of the shaft 12 is set to the horizontal direction, and the LCD 10 is supported so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis defined by the shaft 12.

  The side plate portion 13a is provided with a long hole-shaped guide portion 13c extending vertically. The guide portion 13c is for guiding the movement of the LCD 10, and the slide portion 14c of the arm member 14 slides in addition to the guide portion 16 of the side plate 1b. That is, the sliding portion 14c passes through the guide portions 16 and 13c and penetrates the side plate 1b and the side plate portion 13a.

  Next, a half mirror 20 is disposed behind the LCD 10. Support frames 21 that support the half mirror 20 are attached to both sides of the half mirror 20. FIG. 7A is an exploded view of the half mirror 20 and the support frame 21. The support frame 21 is provided with four holes 21a to 21b. The ends of the shafts 23a and 23b of the auxiliary plate 23 are inserted into any two of the four holes 21a to 21b, and the support frame 21 and the auxiliary plate 23 are integrally attached with the side plate 1b interposed therebetween. become. In FIG. 6A, the tips 23 a ′ and 23 b ′ of the shaft bodies 23 a and 23 b of the auxiliary plate 23 are inserted into the holes 21 b and 21 c of the support frame 21, respectively. In addition, as shown in FIG.7 (b), the four holes 21a thru | or 21b are arrange | positioned symmetrically with respect to the linear point which passes along the center of the support frame 21, and have the shape used as right-and-left sharing. . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the support frames 21 having the same configuration are attached to both sides of the half mirror 20 in different directions. In this way, it is sufficient to prepare one type of support frame 21.

<Movement operation>
Next, a movement mode of the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 by the above drive mechanism will be described. FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are explanatory diagrams of movement modes of the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20, and are views of main structures of the LCD 10, the half mirror 20, and the drive mechanism as seen from the right side. First, in FIG. 8A, the LCD 10 is in a state where the display screen 11 is substantially vertical and is exposed to the front of the image display unit 1. This is called the first position. This first position is a position where the half mirror 20 is hidden behind the LCD 10 when the image display unit 1 is viewed from the front, and the display surface of the image display unit 1 is the display screen 11 of the LCD 10. In other words, the LCD 10 becomes a direct display subject. The LCD 10 rotates about 90 degrees around the axis 12 in the rear direction as will be described. For this reason, in the state of FIG. 8A, the half mirror 20 is located at a position (retracted position) on the farther side of the image display unit 1 in order to avoid interference with the LCD 10.

  FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a state in which the rotating plate 30 is rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise. As the rotating plate 30 rotates, the sliding portion 14d slides along the cam groove 30c, and the arm member 14 rotates clockwise around the shaft 14a by the guide of the cam groove 30c. The position of the sliding portion 14c is moved by the rotation of the arm member 14, and the sliding portion 14c slides on the guide portion 16 of the side plate 1b and the guide portion 13c of the bracket 13. Since the sliding portion 14c moves in an arc around the shaft 14a, the bracket 13 rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 12 by the sliding of the bracket 13 to the guide portion 13c. The LCD 10 supported by the bracket 13 also rotates counterclockwise. Although not shown, when the LCD 10 is in the first position, the spring 15 is extended beyond the natural length, and the contraction force urges the LCD 10 to rotate counterclockwise. .

  In the state of FIG. 8B, the half mirror 20 hardly moves. As can be seen from the shape of the cam groove 30d, the shape of the cam groove 30d is set so that the distance between the sliding locus of the sliding portion 22c and the rotation center (the shaft 30a) of the rotating plate 30 is substantially constant. Because.

  FIG. 9A is a view showing a state in which the rotating plate 30 is further rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise. The clockwise rotation of the arm member 14 further proceeds, and the LCD 10 is rotated to a position where the orientation of the LCD 10 is substantially horizontal. In this state, although not shown, the spring 15 is close to the natural length, and the biasing force of the counterclockwise rotation of the LCD 10 due to the contraction force is also small. In the state of FIG. 9A, the movement of the half mirror 20 is also progressing. As the rotating plate 30 rotates, the sliding portion 22c slides along the cam groove 30d, and the arm member 22 rotates clockwise around the shaft 22a by the guide of the cam groove 30d. The position of the locking portion 22b is moved by the rotation of the arm member 22, and presses the shaft body 23a.

  The auxiliary plate 23 moves together with the support frame 21 by being biased by the pressing of the shaft body 23a, and as a result, the half mirror 20 moves. The shaft bodies 23a and 23b are guided by the guide portions 24a and 24b of the side plate 1b to move the half mirror 20 to the front side of the image display unit A. At this time, in this embodiment, since the two guide portions 24a and 24b are provided and the shaft bodies 23a and 23b are slid, respectively, the posture of the half mirror 20 can be changed instead of simply moving. . That is, the posture when the half mirror 20 is moved is defined by the guide portions 24a and 24b. In the state of FIG. 9A, it can be seen that the posture of the half mirror 20 lies down compared to the state of FIG.

  FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the rotating plate 30 is further rotated counterclockwise by approximately 90 degrees, and illustrates a state in which the movement of the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 is completed. The arm member 14 is directed substantially vertically, and the posture of the LCD 10 is substantially horizontal as compared with the posture shown in FIG. This position of the LCD 10 is referred to as a second position. The display screen of the LCD 10 is substantially horizontal and faces directly below. In this state, a line connecting the rotation center of the arm member 14 (the shaft 14a) and the axis of the sliding portion 14c is oriented in a substantially vertical direction. Therefore, the rotational moment received by the arm member 14 due to the weight of the LCD 10 is substantially zero, and the arm member 14 makes it easier to maintain the stationary state of the LCD 10. Although not shown, the spring 15 has a substantially natural length, and the rotational moment received by the arm member 14 by the spring 15 is also substantially zero.

  Between FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the movement amount of the LCD 10 is small. As can be seen from the shape of the cam groove 30c, the shape of the cam groove 30c is set so that the distance between the sliding locus of the sliding portion 14d and the rotation center (the shaft 30a) of the rotating plate 30 is substantially constant. Because. That is, when the LCD 10 is moved from the first position to the second position, the movement amount of the LCD 10 is increased in the first half, and the movement amount of the half mirror 20 is increased in the second half, thereby preventing interference between the two. It is.

  In the state of FIG. 9B, the half mirror 20 is moved to the front side of the image display unit 1 larger than the retracted position, and is positioned almost directly below the LCD 10. Also, the posture is more slanted than in the retracted position, and has an inclination of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. The position of the half mirror 20 is referred to as a display position. When in this display position, the half mirror 20 is exposed to the front of the image display unit 1. The LCD 10 in the second position projects an image on the half mirror 20, and the half mirror 20 becomes a display surface of the image display unit 1. In other words, the LCD 10 is an indirect display subject, and the half mirror 20 is a direct display subject.

  In this manner, when the LCD 10 is in the first position, the half mirror 20 is moved to the retracted position, and when the LCD 10 is in the second position, the half mirror 20 is moved to the display position. Become. When returning from the state shown in FIG. 9B to the state shown in FIG. 8A, the motor 32 is reversely rotated to rotate the rotating plate 30 in the reverse direction (clockwise), so that the LCD 10 is moved from the second position to the first position. The half mirror 20 moves in conjunction with the position from the display position to the retracted position. At this time, since the spring 15 is gradually extended, it resists the counterclockwise rotation of the arm member 15. As a result, the load of the motor 32 can be made closer to a constant value when the LCD 10 is raised from the first position to the second position and when the LCD 10 is lowered from the second position to the first position.

  That is, since the LCD 10 is relatively heavy, the load on the motor 32 increases when the LCD 10 is moved from the first position to the second position, and conversely, when the LCD 10 is moved from the second position to the first position. Get smaller. On the other hand, the spring 15 acts in a direction to bias the LCD 10 when it moves from the first position to the second position, and acts in a direction to resist it when it moves from the second position to the first position. become. Therefore, the load of the motor 32 can be adjusted by the spring 15, and the load of the motor 32 is further increased when moving from the first position to the second position and when moving from the second position to the first position. Can be close to constant. This has the merit that the movement speed can be easily controlled.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as the half mirror 20 moves from the display position to the retracted position, the half mirror 20 is moved so that the posture thereof stands (inclination angle increases) (reversely, the retracted position from the display position to the retracted position). As the user moves to the position, the posture is moved to sleep (so that the inclination angle becomes smaller). Although the half mirror 20 may be moved in parallel, the length of the image display unit 1 in the depth direction can be further shortened by preventing the interference between the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 by tilting the half mirror 20 at the retracted position. There is an effect, and the amount of movement of the half mirror 20 in the depth direction can be reduced.

<Position detection of LCD 10>
Next, the position detection of the LCD 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Although the position detection of the LCD 10 can be performed by various methods, in the present embodiment, as described above, the position detection of the LCD 10 is performed by the sensors 41a and 41b, and the LCD 10 is in the first position or the second position. Detect if there is. The position of the LCD 10 corresponds to the rotation angle of the rotating plate 30. Accordingly, the position of the LCD 10 can be detected by detecting the rotational position of the rotating plate 30.

  First, FIG. 10A shows a state when the LCD 10 is in the first position. At this time, the detected piece 40b of the sensor arm 40 is located in the vicinity of the sensor 41b, and its presence is detected by the sensor 41b. That is, it is detected that the LCD 10 is in the first position. FIG. 10B is a view showing a state in which the rotating plate 30 is rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise. The position is changed by the sliding portion 40a being guided by the cam groove 30b, and the sensor arm 40 is rotated around the shaft 34a. As a result, the detected piece 40b moves up and moves away from the sensor 41b, and is positioned between the sensors 41a and 41b. Since both the sensors 41a and 41b do not detect the detected piece 40b, it is detected that the LCD 10 is moving.

  FIG. 10C is a view showing a state in which the rotating plate 30 is further rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise. The sensor arm 40 hardly rotates, and the detected piece 40b remains positioned between the sensors 41a and 41b. As can be seen from the shape of the cam groove 30b, the shape of the cam groove 30b is set so that the distance between the sliding locus of the sliding portion 40a and the rotation center (shaft 30a) of the rotating plate 30 is substantially constant. Because.

  FIG. 10D is a view showing a state in which the rotating plate 30 is further rotated approximately 90 degrees counterclockwise. The position is changed by the sliding portion 40a being guided by the cam groove 30b, and the sensor arm 40 is rotated around the shaft 34a. As a result, the detected piece 40b rises and is positioned in the vicinity of the sensor 41a, and its presence is detected by the sensor 41a. That is, it is detected that the LCD 10 is in the second position.

<Rotation center of LCD 10>
Next, the setting of the rotation center (axis 12) of the LCD 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the rotation center (axis 12) of the LCD 10 faces a direction substantially orthogonal to the width direction of the LCD 10 and is displaced from the center line of the width of the LCD 10 (displaced to the front side of the image display unit 1). Position). Thereby, the length of the image display unit 1 in the depth direction can be further shortened. Specifically, if the rotation center of the LCD 10 is set on the center line of the width of the LCD 10 (point C in the figure), the rotation locus of the lower end portion of the LCD 10 is a broken line N shown in FIG. On the other hand, in the case of the present embodiment, the turning locus of the lower end portion of the LCD 10 is a broken line M shown in FIG. 6B, and when the LCD 10 is in the second position (position indicated by the broken line), the LCD 10 is moved by the distance d. It will be located on the front side. Therefore, the length of the image display unit 1 in the depth direction can be further shortened.

<Image display mode>
Next, an image display mode of the image display unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of displaying a three-dimensional image by the image display unit 1, and the diagram on the right side of FIG. 11 is a diagram of the main part of the image display unit 1 as viewed from the side. Indicates a display image that is visible to the player when the LCD 10 is in the second position. In the example of the figure, a three-dimensional object X is disposed behind the half mirror 20. The three-dimensional object X is a model simulating a mountain.

  Now, when the LCD 10 is in the position of the broken line (first position) in the figure, as described above, the display screen 11 of the LCD 10 is exposed to the front of the image display unit 1, and the display screen 11 is displayed from the player. However, the half mirror 20 is in the retracted position (indicated by a broken line) and is hidden behind the LCD 10 and cannot be seen. From the image display unit 1, a two-dimensional image by the LCD 10 is presented to the player.

  On the other hand, when the LCD 10 is at the solid line position (second position) in the figure, the LCD 10 is substantially horizontal, so the player cannot directly see the display screen 11. And the half mirror 20 exists in the display position shown as a continuous line, and the image (virtual image) projected on the half mirror 20 from LCD10 is shown to a player. As seen from the player, this virtual image appears to be floating behind the half mirror 20 and becomes a three-dimensional image with a three-dimensional feeling. The position of the virtual image is determined by the distance (L1, L2) between the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 and the angle between the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 (approximately 45 degrees in this example). A virtual image can be seen at a position away from 20 by L1 and L2 in the depth direction.

  In the example of FIG. 11, the three-dimensional object X is arranged behind the half mirror 20 and behind the virtual image position in the player's visual recognition direction. The three-dimensional object X passes through the half mirror 20 as a real image and is visible to the player. For this reason, in the display image shown on the left side of the figure, a virtual image (UFO) and a three-dimensional object X are combined and are viewed in the order of virtual image (UFO) → three-dimensional object X when viewed from the player. looks like. The presence of the three-dimensional object X enhances the sense of depth, resulting in a further three-dimensional image.

  FIG. 46A is a display image example that more realistically represents the composite image, where the image of the king's face and a gentleman with a diamond is a virtual image, and the other is a model arranged behind the half mirror 20. It is. In the example of the figure, a dark color is used as the color of the gentleman's image so that the model existing behind the virtual image is difficult to see through. FIGS. 46B and 46C are more realistic representations of examples of three-dimensional objects (models).

  As described above, according to the image display unit 1 of the present embodiment, an effect mode for displaying a two-dimensional image and an effect mode for displaying a three-dimensional image can be selected as an effect mode, and an image display that surprises the viewer is realized. can do. In particular, since the half mirror 20 is disposed behind the LCD 10 at the first position, when the image display unit 1 is viewed from the front, the image display area of the LCD 10 at the first position and the image display area by the half mirror 20 are The two-dimensional image and the three-dimensional image are exchanged by the movement of the LCD 10. In addition, by moving the LCD 10 between the first and second positions, it is possible to display both a two-dimensional image and a three-dimensional image on one LCD 10, and it is not necessary to use a plurality of image display devices. Reduction can be achieved.

<Shutter unit>
Next, the configuration of the shutter unit 50 will be described. 12A is a front view of the shutter unit 50, and FIG. 12B is a right side view. The shutter unit 50 includes a left door 51a and a right door 51b (hereinafter, both are collectively referred to as the door 51). The left door 51a and the right door 51b are provided on the front surface of the image display unit 1 so as to be freely opened and closed. When the left door 51a and the right door 51b are closed, the display image by the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 is shielded from the player. It constitutes a member.

  2 and 3 and FIG. 12A, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are opened, and the display image by the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 is located at a position (non-shielding position) visible to the player. When these are moved inward and are in the closed position (shielding position), the display image by the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 is shielded from the player. The display image may be shielded by configuring the left door 51a and the right door 51b from opaque members so that the back of the left door 51a and the right door 51b cannot be seen at all, or from a member that is slightly transparent such as ground glass. Although it does not mean that the back of the left door 51a and the right door 51b cannot be seen at all, the display content of the display image may be difficult to visually recognize.

  The shutter unit 50 has a frame 53 having an opening 53a at the center. The hook-like engaging portion 52 described above is formed in which a part of the upper end portion of the frame 53 is bent in a U shape and engages with an engaging piece on the upper portion of the frame body 180a. A hollow protrusion 53b (shown in cross section in FIG. 12B) is formed on the back surface of the frame 53, and a slit 53b 'is formed in the protrusion 53b. The slits 53b ′ are respectively formed corresponding to the engaging portions 1b ″ and 1c ″ of the image display unit 1, and the engaging portions 1b ″ and 1c ″ are inserted as shown by broken lines in FIG. Engage. To release the engagement, the engaging portions 1b "and 1c" may be moved slightly upward and extracted from the slit 53b '. Thereby, the image display unit 1 and the shutter unit 50 are detachably attached to each other. By making them both detachable, the image display unit 1 and the shutter unit 50 can be individually designed, manufactured and assembled later, so that productivity is excellent and maintenance is facilitated.

  The frame 53 is provided with two pairs of upper and lower guide rail members (58a, 58b). Each guide rail member 58a, 58b has a U-shaped cross section, and is a member that guides parallel movement of the door 51 in the left-right direction by fitting the lower end portion and the upper end portion of the door 51 respectively. The guide rail member 58a guides the door 51a, and the guide rail member 58b guides the door 51b.

  Next, driving means for moving the door 51 will be described. In this embodiment, a belt transmission mechanism is employed. By adopting the belt transmission mechanism, the door 51 can be moved quietly and smoothly. Although the left door 51a and the right door 51b are independently driven, since the drive means and the like have the same configuration, only the configuration of the drive means and the like of the right door 51b will be described here. In addition, in FIG. 12, the code | symbol which attached | subjected "a" to the end is attached | subjected about each structure of the left door 51a corresponding to each structure, such as a drive means of the right door 51b.

  The shutter unit 50 includes an endless belt 56b wound between a pair of pulleys 55b and a motor 54b that travels the endless belt 56b. The pulley 55b is a rotating body that is rotatably supported by the frame 53. One pulley 55b is connected to the output shaft of the motor 54b as a driving pulley. The motor 54 b is a stepping motor, for example, and is fixed to the back side of the frame 53. The right door 51b is attached to the endless belt 56b, and moves as the endless belt 56b travels. A pair of sensor units 57b for detecting the position of the right door 51b are attached to the frame 53 apart from each other in the moving direction of the right door 51b. When the right door 51b is detected by each sensor unit 57b, the endless belt 56b is driven by a predetermined amount by the motor 54b and then stopped, so that the right door 51b can be stopped at a predetermined position.

  FIG. 13A is a front view showing details of the configuration in the vicinity of the right door 51b, and FIG. 13B is a right side view. At the four corners of the right door 51b, a roller 60a that rotates about a horizontal axis and a roller 60b that rotates about a vertical axis are provided. These rollers 60a and 60b abut against the peripheral wall of the guide rail 58b in the guide rail 58b, and realize a smooth movement of the right door 51b.

  Above the right door 51b, an engaging portion is provided for detachably engaging the right door 51b with the endless belt 56b. In the case of this embodiment, this engaging part consists of the board 61a with which the edge part was rounded, and the tooth | gear part 61b above the board 61a. The tooth portion 61b is engraved with a tooth shape corresponding to the tooth shape provided on the endless belt 56b, and the endless belt 56b is inserted into the gap between the tooth portion 61b and the plate 61a from the side. The right door 51b can be engaged with the endless belt 56b by being sandwiched between the tooth portion 61b and the plate 61a. When releasing the engagement, the endless belt 56b may be shifted in the direction opposite to that at the time of insertion.

  A detection piece 61c is integrally provided on the upper portion of the tooth portion 61b. The sensor unit 57b is provided with a sensor 57b ', and the sensor 57b' detects passage of the detected piece 61c. By providing the detected piece 61c in the engaging portion, the position of the right door 51b can be detected more reliably and the number of parts can be reduced.

  Next, FIGS. 14A to 14C are explanatory diagrams of the image switching of the effect unit A by the shutter unit 50, and are views of the effect unit A viewed from the front. FIG. 14A is a diagram showing a case where the door 51 is in the non-shielding position and the LCD 10 is in the first position. The player can see the display screen 11 of the LCD 10. FIG. 14B is a diagram illustrating a case where the door 51 is in the shielding position. Neither the LCD 10 nor the half mirror 20 is visible to the player due to the presence of the door 51. FIG. 14C shows a case where the door 51 is in the non-shielding position and the LCD 10 is in the second position. The player can see the half mirror 20.

  By providing such a shutter unit 50, in this embodiment, the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 can be moved while the door 51 is in the shielding position. In this way, the movement of the LCD 10 or the like can be made invisible to the player, and the player feels that the switching between the two-dimensional image and the three-dimensional image is suddenly performed by opening and closing the door 51. It is possible to give a feeling that the two-dimensional image and the three-dimensional image have been exchanged. In this embodiment, like the shoji, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are configured to move in parallel in the left-right direction so as to oppose each other. Further, other configurations may be used as long as the display images of the LCD 10 and the half mirror 20 are difficult for the player to visually recognize.

<Control unit>
Next, the circuit configuration of the control unit of the slot machine 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17. The slot machine 100 controls the central part of the game, that is, the main control unit 300 that executes processing related to the game progress of the slot machine 100, and various devices according to signals (control commands) transmitted from the main control unit 300. The control unit 400 includes a sub-control unit 400 that controls, and an effect unit control unit 500 that controls the effect unit A in accordance with a signal transmitted from the sub-control unit 400. The sub-control unit 400 and the rendering unit control unit 500 execute processing related to rendering.

  In this embodiment, there is no configuration for transmitting a control command or the like from the sub control unit 400 to the main control unit 300, and data communication between the main control unit 300 and the sub control unit 400 is performed from the main control unit 300. This is one-way communication in which data is transmitted only to the sub-control unit 400. Similarly, there is no configuration for transmitting a control command or the like from the production unit control unit 500 to the sub control unit 400, and data communication between the sub control unit 400 and the production unit control unit 500 is performed from the sub control unit 400 to the production unit control. One-way communication in which data is transmitted only to unit 500.

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

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

  In addition, the CPU 310 stores a ROM 312 for storing various data such as a program for controlling each IC, lottery data used for internal winning lottery, reel stop control data, and temporary data storage. A RAM 313 is connected. Other storage means may be used for these ROM 312 and RAM 313, and this is the same in the sub-control unit 400 and the rendering unit control unit 500 described later. The RAM 313 is configured so that the stored contents are not lost even when the power of the slot machine 100 is cut off by a battery backup circuit (not shown).

  The CPU 310 is connected to an input interface 360 for receiving an external signal. The medal acceptance sensor 320, the start lever sensor 321, the stop button sensor 322, and the medal insertion button are connected via the input interface 360 every interrupt time. Each sensor is monitored by detecting states of the sensor 323, the settlement switch 324, the reset switch 326, and the power supply voltage monitoring circuit 327.

  Two medal acceptance sensors 320 are installed in the passage inside the medal slot 160 and detect whether or not a medal has passed. The start lever sensor 321 is installed on the start lever 130 and detects a start operation by the player. The stop button sensor 322 is installed in each of the stop buttons 131a to 131c, and detects the operation of the stop button by the player. The medal insertion button sensor 323 is installed in each of the medal insertion buttons 132 and 133, and detects an insertion operation when a medal electronically stored in the RAM 313 is inserted as a game medal.

  The settlement switch 324 detects an operation on the settlement button 135, and when the settlement button 135 is pressed once, a medal that can be settled is paid out. In this embodiment, the medals that can be settled are both the stored medals and the bet medals, but only the stored medals may be used.

  The reset switch 326 is for initializing various information stored in the RAM 313. The power supply voltage monitoring circuit 327 monitors the power supply voltage of the slot machine 100 and outputs a signal when the voltage drops below a certain voltage. The power supply voltage monitoring circuit 327 is used to perform processing for backing up information in the RAM 313 and the like before the voltage drops completely when the power of the slot machine 100 is turned off.

  The CPU 310 further has an input interface 361 and output interfaces 370 and 371 connected to an address bus via an address decoding circuit 350. The CPU 310 exchanges signals with external devices via these interfaces. An index sensor 325 is connected to the input interface 361. The index sensor 325 is installed at a predetermined position on the mounting base of each of the reels 110 to 112, and becomes H level each time the light shielding piece provided on the reel passes through the index sensor 325. When detecting this signal, the CPU 310 determines that the reel has made one rotation, and resets the rotational position information of the reel to zero.

  The output interface 370 includes a reel motor driving unit 330 for driving a stepping motor and the like for rotating the reel, and a hopper (a device for paying out medals accumulated in the bucket from the medal payout port 161, not shown). ) And a game lamp 340 (specifically, a winning line display lamp 120, an announcement lamp 121, a start lamp 122, a re-game lamp 123, a medal insertion lamp 124, etc.) 7 segment display 341 (display 127, stored number display 126, payout number display 128, etc.) is connected.

  A random number generation circuit 317 is connected to the CPU 310 via a data bus. The random number generation circuit 317 is an increment counter capable of incrementing a value within a certain range and outputting the count value to the CPU 310 based on a clock oscillated from the crystal oscillator 311 and the crystal oscillator 316, which will be described later. Used for various lottery processes, including internal lottery for winning positions. The random number generation circuit 317 in the present embodiment includes two random number counters. An output interface 371 for transmitting a control command to the sub control unit 400 is connected to the data bus of the CPU 310.

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

  In addition, the CPU 410 temporarily stores a ROM 412 in which commands and data for controlling the entire sub-control unit 400, backlight lighting patterns and data for controlling various displays, and the like are stored. The RAM 413 is connected via each bus. The RAM 413 is configured so that the stored contents are not lost even when the power of the slot machine 100 is cut off by a battery backup circuit (not shown).

  The CPU 410 is connected to an input / output interface 460 for transmitting and receiving external signals. The input / output interface 460 includes a backlight 420 for illuminating the picture of each reel 110 to 112 from the back, a front surface. A door sensor 421 for detecting opening / closing of the door 102, a reset switch 422 for initializing information stored in the RAM 413, and a power supply voltage monitoring circuit 423 are connected. The power supply voltage monitoring circuit 423 is the same as the power supply voltage monitoring circuit 327 described above, and monitors the power supply voltage of the slot machine 100 and outputs a signal when the voltage drops below a certain voltage. The power supply voltage monitoring circuit 423 is for performing processing for backing up information in the RAM 413 and the like before the voltage is completely dropped when the power of the slot machine 100 is turned off.

  An input interface 461 for receiving a control command from the main control unit 300 via a data bus is connected to the CPU 410, and an effect process that excites the entire game based on the control command received via the input interface 461. Etc. are executed. A sound source IC 480 is connected to the data bus and address bus of the CPU 410. The sound source IC 480 controls sound according to a command from the CPU 410. The sound source IC 480 is connected to a ROM 481 that stores sound data. The sound source IC 480 amplifies the sound data acquired from the ROM 481 by the amplifier 482 and outputs the sound data from the speaker 483.

  The CPU 410 is connected to an address decoding circuit 450 for selecting an external IC, similar to the main control unit 300, and the address decoding circuit 450 has an input for receiving a control command from the main control unit 300. An output interface 472 for outputting signals to the interface 461, the clock IC 423, and the 7-segment display 440 is connected.

  The CPU 410 can acquire the current time by connecting the clock IC 423. The 7-segment display 440 is provided inside the slot machine 100 so that a store clerk or the like can check predetermined information set in the sub-control unit 400, for example. Further, a demultiplexer 419 is connected to the output interface 470. The demultiplexer 419 distributes the signal transmitted from the output interface 470 to each display unit and the like. That is, the demultiplexer 419 flashes the upper lamp 151, the side lamp 152, the center lamp 153, the waist lamp 154, the lower lamp 155, the reel panel lamp 125, and the medal payout outlet 161 from the inside according to the data received from the CPU 410. The outlet strobe 159 and the saucer lamp 156 that are illuminated are controlled. The CPU 410 performs signal transmission to the rendering unit control unit 500 via the demultiplexer 419.

<Direction unit control unit>
Next, the rendering unit controller 500 of the slot machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The rendering unit control unit 500 includes a CPU 510 that is an arithmetic processing unit, a data bus and an address bus for transmitting and receiving signals to and from each IC and each circuit, and has a configuration described below. The clock correction circuit 514 is a circuit that corrects the clock oscillated from the crystal oscillator 511 and supplies the corrected clock to the CPU 510 as a system clock.

  A timer circuit 515 is connected to the CPU 510 via a bus. The CPU 510 transmits the frequency dividing data stored in the predetermined area of the ROM 512 to the timer circuit 515 via the data bus at a predetermined timing. The timer circuit 515 determines an interrupt time based on the received frequency division data, and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 510 for each interrupt time. The CPU 510 controls each IC and each circuit based on the interrupt request timing. The CPU 510 receives a signal from the CPU 410 output via the output interface 470 and the demultiplexer 419 of the sub-control unit 400 via the input interface 520 and the bus, and controls the effect unit control unit 500 as a whole. In addition, the CPU 510 transmits a signal to the sub-control unit 400 via the output interface 521 as necessary.

  The ROM 512 stores a program and data for controlling the production unit control unit 500 as a whole. The RAM 513 includes a work area for programs processed by the CPU 510. The ROM 512 and RAM 513 are connected to the CPU 510 via a bus. The CPU 510 is connected to the CPU 530, motor drivers 542, 552, and 562, and sensors 57a ', 57b', 41a, and 41b via a bus. Although not shown, two sensors 57a 'and 57b' are provided as described above. Further, a ROM 531, a RAM 532, and a VDP (video display processor) 534 are connected to the CPU 530 via a bus.

  On the other hand, the ROM 531 stores a program processed by the CPU 530. The RAM 532 has a work area for programs processed by the CPU 530 and the like. A crystal oscillator 533 is connected to the VDP 534, and further a ROM 535 and a RAM 536 are connected via a bus. The ROM 535 stores a plurality of types of image data of the LCD 10. The CPU 530 reads out the image data in the ROM 535 based on the signal from the CPU 510, generates an image signal using the work area of the RAM 536, and displays the image on the display screen of the LCD 10 via the D / A converter 537. indicate.

<Pattern arrangement>
FIG. 18 is a diagram in which a pattern arrangement applied to each of the reels 110 to 112 is developed in a plane. As shown in the figure, each reel 110 to 112 has a plurality of types of patterns arranged in a predetermined number of frames (21 frames in this case). A frame is a unit of a region in which one unit of pattern is arranged. The arrangement number is an identifier for identifying each frame, and the rotational position of each reel 110 to 112 is managed by this arrangement number.

<Type of winning prize>
The kind of winning combination can be arbitrarily adopted, but the following winning combination is adopted in the present embodiment. 19, 20, and 21 (a) to (c) are diagrams showing the internal winning types in each gaming state, their winning probabilities, the corresponding winning combinations and symbol combinations, and the number of medals paid out when winning. It is. 19 shows a case where the game state is a normal game (replay normal probability state), FIG. 20 shows a case where the game state is a high replay probability state (RT1 mode), and FIG. 21A shows a game state where the replay high probability state. In the case of (RT2 mode), FIG. 21B shows a case where the gaming state is a big bonus game, and FIG. 21C shows a case where the gaming state is a big bonus game.

  To outline the internal lottery of the winning combination, the range of random values (for example, 0 to 65535) acquired at the time of the internal lottery is divided in advance into several regions (regions corresponding to the size of each winning probability) Each area is associated with winning or disapproval. These pieces of information are stored in the ROM 312 as a winning combination lottery table. In the internal lottery of the winning combination, whether or not the internal winning of the winning combination is determined according to which range the acquired random number value belongs. A similar method can be adopted for various lottery processes other than the internal lottery.

  The internal winning types shown in FIG. 19, FIG. 20, and FIGS. 21A to 21C correspond to the respective areas in the range of random number values acquired at the time of the internal lottery described above. There are two types of internal winning types: single and one winning combination in an internal lottery, and multiple (in this case, two) winning combinations in one internal lottery. It will be a winner. For example, when the “name” given for convenience is won as the type of BB1 & replay, BB1 and replay are won at the same time, and a big bonus (BB) or replay can be won. The internal winning state is managed by turning ON / OFF an internal winning flag whose storage area is set in the RAM 313. The internal winning flag is valid only for one game, except when the flag is carried over, and is turned OFF when the game ends.

  There are setting 1 to setting 6 for the internal winning probability, and the attendant of the game hall can arbitrarily select any one. In the examples of FIGS. 19, 20 and 21A to 21C, one of the settings 1 to 6 (indicated by the setting N) is illustrated. Hereinafter, each winning combination will be described individually.

・ Big Bonus (BB):
This is a winning combination in which the gaming state is changed by winning, and in the case of this embodiment, it is a winning combination in which a big bonus gaming state (BB game) is started. There are two types of corresponding picture combinations, which are blue 7-blue 7-blue 7 or red 7-red 7-red 7 depending on the types of internal winning flags (BB1, BB2). In this embodiment, even if the BB is won internally, even if the BB is not won in that game, the flag remains ON until the prize is won and the internal winning state is maintained. Become.

・ Regular Bonus (RB):
This is a winning combination in which the gaming state is changed by winning, and in the case of this embodiment, a winning combination in which a regular bonus gaming state (RB game) is started. The corresponding picture combination is BAR-BAR-BAR. In the present embodiment, the above-described flag carryover is also performed for the RB. BB and RB are collectively referred to as a bonus.

・ Small role:
This is a combination in which a predetermined number of medals are paid out by winning, and there are four types: watermelon, bell, chance, and cherry. Corresponding pattern combinations and the number of payouts are as shown in FIG. In the case of “cherry”, the design of the middle reel 112 and the right reel 113 may be any design. Among these small combinations, a chance is a winning combination whose gaming state is changed by winning, and in the case of this embodiment, a re-gaming high probability state (RT1 mode) is started.

・ Replay:
The winning combination is a winning combination in which a game can be performed without inserting medals in the next game, and medals are not paid out. In the case of the present embodiment, the corresponding pattern combination is “replay-replay-replay”. In the present embodiment, there are cases where the internal winning probability of replaying is a normal probability and a high probability, and in the case of a high probability, there are two more types (RT1 mode and RT2 mode).

  In the field of slot machines, big bonuses (BB) and regular bonuses (RB) that shift to bonus games, and replays (replays) that allow the next game without newly inserting medals, In some cases, it is called an “acting picture”, etc., but the “winning part” in this embodiment includes any of a big bonus, a regular bonus, and a replay, and the “winning” includes a prize. For example.

<Game state>
In the present embodiment, the gaming state is roughly divided into a normal gaming state and a bonus gaming state (bonus game). The normal game state is classified into a replay normal probability state and a replay high probability state, and the replay high probability state is further distinguished into an RT1 mode and an RT2 mode. Note that the RT2 mode is also in a state where the bonus is being won internally. The bonus game state is classified into a big bonus game state (BB game) and a regular bonus game state (RB game).

Replay normal probability state:
It is a gaming state that is initially set, and returns to this gaming state when another gaming state is released. However, when the RT2 mode is released, the gaming state is a bonus game.

RT1 mode / RT2 mode:
Although it is a gaming state in which the probability of replay internal winning (replay) is higher than the replaying normal probability state, the RT1 mode has a relatively high probability. FIG. 29B is a diagram showing setting / cancellation conditions for the RT1 mode and the RT2 mode. The RT1 mode is set when a winning combination: a chance is won (limited to a single internal winning) and is canceled when a predetermined number of games (5 in this case) is consumed. Winner: A chance is the same as bonuses (BB, RB) in that the game state is changed by winning, but the RT1 mode only increases the probability of replay internal winning (replay), and the bonus game Is positioned as a gaming state in which the player can obtain a larger profit. The RT2 mode is set when the bonus is won internally (both single and simultaneous internal wins) and is canceled when the bonus is won.

・ Bonus game:
The bonus game is positioned as a gaming state in which the player can obtain a predetermined profit. Although the content of the BB game can be a plurality of types, in the present embodiment, the game ends when the total number of medals paid out in the BB game exceeds a specified number (for example, 465). In other words, the total payout number of medals is set as the end condition. Although there are a plurality of types of RB game content, in the present embodiment, the number of games played in the RB game reaches a predetermined number (for example, 12 times) or the number of winning prizes in the RB game is a predetermined number (for example, 8 times). ) To end. In other words, the number of games and the number of winnings are used as end conditions.

<Reel stop control>
Next, stop control of the reels 110 to 112 will be described. The reel stop control is performed based on the selected reel stop control data by selecting any one of a plurality of predetermined reel stop control data based on a predetermined condition. If multiple types of reel stop control data are set for the same condition, one of them is selected by lottery. The selection condition includes at least an internal lottery result in the game. In addition, whether or not a bonus flag is carried over is also included in the selection conditions.

  In this embodiment, so-called pull-in control (frame slip control) is performed. The pull-in control is a control in which the stop positions of the reels 110 to 112 are shifted within a certain number of frames (here, a maximum of 5 frames) after the player operates the stop buttons 131a to 131c. The reel stop control data is stored in the ROM 312 of the main control unit 300. Each reel stop control data includes an allowable control that allows a pattern combination of a predetermined winning combination to be displayed on the winning line 114, and a pattern combination of any winning combination is not displayed on the winning line 114. It is roughly divided into prohibition control.

  An example of the admissible control is, for example, when a winning combination is won internally, or when BB or RB is won internally (flag carryover), and each stop button 131a to 131c is operated by the player. Even if the timing is bad, the control is performed so that the combination of the winning symbols is displayed within the range of the number of frames. However, since it is only “permitted”, there are cases where the pattern combinations are not aligned depending on the timing of operating each of the stop buttons 13a to 131c.

  However, there is a case in which 100% is arranged depending on the arrangement of the patterns on the reels 110 to 112 and the number of drawn frames. For example, the winning symbol: Chance pattern corresponding to a chance is arranged at a maximum of 7 frames for the left reel 110, and a maximum of 5 frames for the center reel 111 and the right reel 112. When 110 to 112 are stopped (so-called forward pressing), 100% is won regardless of the timing. For this reason, for example, when BB (BB1, BB2) or RB (BAR) wins at the same time as the chance, the chance and any of these bonuses are won.

  As an example of the prohibition control, for example, the internal lottery result is lost and the BB or RB is not currently being won (flag carryover), and the timing at which the player operates each of the stop buttons 131a to 131c. At best, control is performed so that the symbol combinations of winning combinations are not displayed together within the range of the number of frames.

<Setting of production contents>
Next, with reference to FIG. 22, the setting of the contents of effects executed in the slot machine 100 will be described. FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing the basic setting of the production contents. The effect contents are set by the sub-control unit 400 according to the control command transmitted from the main control unit 300. Hereinafter, a basic setting method will be described. In addition to those described below, corresponding production contents are set according to a control command (for example, a command indicating an error) from the main control unit 300.

  The contents of the production are divided into a plurality of groups, and any one is selected according to the type of control command from the main control unit 300. Each effect group is for each control command from the main control unit 300 (in the example shown in the figure, operations for the stop buttons 131a to 131c (first to third stop operations, reel stop (first to third reel stop)). , And is determined for each winning determination result (winning determination), and when the individual control command is received, the corresponding effect data is selected.

  The production data is set for each production device and stored in the ROM 412. When the sub-control unit 400 receives an individual control command from the main control unit 300, the sub-control unit 400 reads the corresponding effect data and sets the data in each device. In addition, a control command necessary for controlling the rendering unit A is transmitted to the rendering unit control unit 500. The production unit control unit 500 controls the production unit A according to the received control command.

<Setting of operation contents of production unit A>
Next, with reference to FIG. 23, the setting of the control content of the rendering unit A will be described. FIG. 23A is a diagram showing control data of the rendering unit A stored in the ROM 512, and FIG. 23B is a diagram showing display control data of the LCD 10 stored in the ROM 531. When the production unit control unit 500 receives the control command described above from the sub-control unit 400, the production unit control unit 500 executes a process corresponding to the number indicated by the control command ("No." in FIG. 23A).

  In the control data shown in FIG. 23A, according to the number indicated by the control command, “processing order”, the control content of the left door 51a (“left door”), and the control content of the right door 51b (“right” Door ") and the control content of the LCD 10 (" liquid crystal display ") are set. For example, from the sub-control unit 400, No. When the control command 1 is received, the rendering unit control unit 500 first causes the LCD 10 to display the contents of the display control data 1 in the “processing order” 1. In detail, as shown in FIG. 1 display control data is acquired and a corresponding image is displayed on the LCD 10. Subsequently, in the “processing order” 2, the door 51 is fully opened.

  Further, for example, from the sub-control unit 400, No. When the control command 5 is received, the rendering unit control unit 500 first closes the door 51 in “processing order” 1. Subsequently, in the “processing order” 2, the LCD 10 is moved downward (first position). Further, for example, from the sub-control unit 400, No. When the control command 10 is received, the rendering unit control unit 500 first closes the door 51 in “processing order” 1. Subsequently, in the “processing order” 2, the LCD 10 is moved upward (second position). Further, for example, from the sub-control unit 400, No. When the control command 21 is received, the rendering unit control unit 500 first closes the door 51 in “processing order” 1. Subsequently, in the “processing order” 2, the LCD 10 is moved upward (second position). Then, the content of the display control data 2 is displayed on the LCD 10 in the “processing order” 3. This becomes a three-dimensional image. In “processing order” 4, the door 51 is fully opened and a three-dimensional image is presented to the player. In this way, the operation of the rendering unit A is controlled.

<Basic control of games>
FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the basic control of the game in the slot machine 100. The basic control of the game is a process related to the progress of the game, and is performed mainly by the CPU 310 of the main control unit 300. The process shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this process will be described. Although not particularly described except for a part, the main control unit 300 transmits a player's operation on the slot machine 100 and a control command indicating a processing result of each process to the sub-control unit 400 as needed. The sub-control unit 400 stores the status information of the slot machine 100 in the RAM 513, and can always grasp the state of the slot machine 100.

  When the power is turned on, first, initialization processing is executed in S101. Details will be described later. In S102, medal insertion / start operation acceptance processing is executed. Here, whether or not a medal has been inserted is checked, the operation of the start lever 130 is checked, and the like. Details will be described later. If there is an operation of the start lever 130, the process proceeds to S103.

  In S103, a valid pay line 114 is determined. In S104, the random number generated by the random number generator 311 is acquired. In S105, the winning combination lottery table stored in the ROM 312 is read according to the current gaming state, and the internal winning state is set while performing the internal lottery of the winning combination using this and the random value acquired in S104. Do. As a result of the internal lottery, when any winning combination is won internally, the winning combination flag is turned ON as described above. In S106, reel stop control data is selected.

  In S107, rotation of all reels 110 to 112 is started. In S108, the stop buttons 131a to 131c can be received. When any one of the stop buttons is pressed, any one of the reels 110 to 112 corresponding to the pressed stop button is selected as the reel stop control data selected in S106. Stop based on. When all the reels 110 to 112 are stopped, the process proceeds to S109.

  In S109, a winning determination is performed. Here, when a picture combination corresponding to some winning combination is displayed on the activated winning line 114, it is determined that the winning combination is won. For example, if “bell-bell-bell” is arranged on the validated winning line 114, it is determined that the bell is won. In addition, the flag indicating the internal winning of each winning combination is reset. However, as described above, when BB and RB are not won, the internal winning flag is kept ON and is carried over to the next game transition.

  In S110, if any winning combination with payout is won, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination is paid out. In S111, game state control processing is performed. Details will be described later. As described above, one game is completed, and thereafter, the process proceeds by returning to S102 and repeating the above-described processing.

<Initialization process>
Next, the initialization process in S101 will be described. Here, a process for resetting the information set when the power of the slot machine 100 is turned off will be described. As a premise thereof, first, processing at the time of power-off (interrupt processing) will be described. FIG. 25A is a flowchart of power supply voltage monitoring interrupt processing.

  In S121, the signal of the power supply voltage monitoring circuit 327 is checked to determine whether or not the power supply voltage of the slot machine 100 has dropped to a predetermined voltage. If applicable, the process proceeds to S122, and if not applicable, the process ends. In S122, the data stored in the register of the CPU 310 is saved in a predetermined area of the RAM 313. In S123, the saved register data and various data (mainly data related to the progress of the game) stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 313 are copied and stored as check data in other areas of the RAM 313. Thus, one unit of processing is completed.

  FIG. 25B is a flowchart of the initialization process in S101. In S131, the check data stored in the RAM 313 is collated, and it is checked whether there is an error (data is not corrupted). In S132, it is determined whether or not the collation result in S131 is an error. If applicable, the process proceeds to S133, and if not, the process proceeds to S134. In step S133, all pieces of information stored as check data are initialized and returned to default values. That is, since the setting at the time of power-off cannot be inherited, it is completely restored to the initial state. If no error is determined in the data verification in S131, the game can be resumed by inheriting the settings at the time of power-off.

  In S134, the register data saved when the power is turned off or the register data initialized in S133 is stored in the register of the CPU 310. In S135, other processing at power-on is performed. For example, it is processing related to transmission of a control command indicating the state of the main control unit 300 to the sub-control unit 400, setting change of the internal winning probability of the winning combination. This completes the initialization process.

<Medal insertion / start operation acceptance processing>
Next, the medal insertion / start operation acceptance process in S102 will be described. FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the medal insertion / start operation acceptance process in S102. In S141, a game start command is transmitted to the sub-control unit 400. In S142, the specified number is set. Here, the number of medals that can be inserted in the game is set. In S143, it is determined whether there is a waiting time setting. Here, the setting of the waiting time will be described.

  In the production unit A of the present embodiment, the production mode can be switched between the production mode for displaying a two-dimensional image and the production mode for displaying a three-dimensional image. Since this switching involves mechanical movement of the constituent elements of the rendering unit A, such as movement of the LCD 10, a switching time of about 2 seconds is required.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the main control unit 300 and the sub control unit 400 are one-way communication, and the main control unit 300 cannot grasp the state of the sub control unit 400. Therefore, there is a case where processing related to the game progresses during the switching of the effect mode, and in this case, the effect after the switching may be an effect with a poor timing. In particular, when switching from a two-dimensional image to a three-dimensional image, it is desired to produce a three-dimensional image with good timing so that a large effect can be expected.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, a waiting time related to the progress of the game is set in a fixed case. In the present embodiment, this waiting time is set at the beginning of one game, that is, before the processing related to medal insertion, but is not limited thereto. Since the game is stopped during this waiting time, the player's operation on the slot machine 100 is not accepted. The waiting time setting opportunity will be described later.

  Returning to FIG. 26, if a waiting time is set in S143, the process proceeds to S144, and if not, the process proceeds to S146. In S144, it is determined whether or not the waiting time has elapsed, and if applicable, the process proceeds to S145. In S145, the waiting time setting is canceled.

  In S146, it is determined whether or not a re-game is won in the previous game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S147, and if not, the process proceeds to S148. In S147, it is assumed that the same number of medals as the previous game are inserted in order to make it unnecessary to insert medals in the current game.

  In S148, it is determined whether or not a medal has been inserted and has been received normally. If applicable, the information on the number of inserted medals stored in the predetermined area of the RAM 313 is updated and the process proceeds to S149. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S150. In S149, a control command indicating that a medal has been inserted is transmitted to the sub-control unit 400. In S150, medal insertion confirmation processing is executed. Here, the current number of inserted medals is confirmed. Further, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has passed without the medal being inserted, and if applicable, a control command for executing a demonstration effect is transmitted to the sub-control unit 400.

  In S151, it is determined whether or not the accepted number of inserted medals is the minimum number of medals that can be played. If applicable, the process proceeds to S152; otherwise, the process returns to S148. In S152, it is determined whether or not the start lever 130 has been operated. If applicable, a control command indicating that the start lever 130 has been operated is output to the sub-control unit 400, and the process ends. If not applicable, the process returns to S148.

<Game state control processing>
Next, the gaming state control process of S111 will be described. FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing the gaming state control process of S111. Here, processing relating to the game state update and the above-described waiting time are set.

  In S161, it is determined whether or not the current game is a game in the BB game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S162. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S164. In S162, the counter that counts the number of medals paid out during the BB game is updated. This counter is a software counter set on the RAM 313. The counter may be updated based on the number of medals actually paid out in S110, and when a winning combination is won internally, the corresponding medal is paid out regardless of whether or not the prize is won. It may be considered that it has been issued, and this may be done according to this deemed payout number.

  In S163, it is determined whether or not the count value updated in S162 exceeds a predetermined value (BB game end condition). When it corresponds, it progresses to S176 and sets a normal game state (re-game normal probability state). This ends the BB game.

  In S164, it is determined whether or not the current gaming state is an RB game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S170, and if not, the process proceeds to S165. In S170, the information on the number of games played in the RB game and the information on the number of winnings is updated, and the RB game end condition is determined. If the RB game end condition is satisfied, the normal game state (replay normal probability state) is set and the RB game is ended.

  In S165, it is determined whether or not the RB has been won in this game. When it corresponds, it progresses to S171, a game state is set to RB game, and various settings regarding RB game are initialized. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S174. If not applicable in S165, the process proceeds to S166.

  In S166, it is determined whether or not BB is won in this game. When it corresponds, it progresses to S172, a game state is set to BB game, and various information regarding BB game is set. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S174. When not corresponding in S166, it progresses to S167. In S167, it is determined whether or not a chance is won in this game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S173, and if not, the process proceeds to S168.

  In S173 and S174, the above-described processing for setting the waiting time is performed. The waiting time is set when winning a BB, RB, or chance. That is, the waiting time is set at the beginning of the game next to the winning game. The waiting time varies depending on the type of winning, and BB is different depending on whether or not BB1 has won an internal prize and BB2 has won an internal prize, that is, it differs depending on the combination of pictures at the time of winning. It has become. FIG. 29A is a diagram showing the length of the waiting time corresponding to each winning combination.

  In the case of BB winning, when the pattern combination is blue 7-blue 7-blue 7, the waiting time is about 6 seconds, and when red 7-red 7-red 7 is used, the waiting time is about 8 seconds. As a result, it is possible to execute an effect with different effect times as an effect at the start of the BB game depending on whether the pattern combination is blue 7-blue 7-blue 7 or red 7-red 7-red 7. In the case of RB winning, the waiting time is 6 seconds. In the case of a chance win, the waiting time is 4 seconds. In this embodiment, as will be described later, since the effect mode of the effect unit A is switched from the effect mode of the two-dimensional image to the effect mode of the three-dimensional image in response to the chance winning, the waiting time in the case of the chance winning is the effect mode. It has the meaning to secure the switching time (about 2 seconds). After the processing of S173 and S174, the process proceeds to S175.

  Returning to FIG. 27, in S168, it is determined whether or not the bonus (BB, RB) has been won internally (BB1, BB2, BAR) in the current game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S175, and if not, the process proceeds to S169. In S175, RT mode control processing is performed. Details will be described later. In S169, other processing is executed, and one unit of gaming state control processing ends.

<RT mode control processing>
Next, the RT mode control process of S175 will be described. Here, processing relating to setting of the RT1 mode and the RT2 mode is performed. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing the RT mode control process of S175.

  In S181, it is determined whether or not the current gaming state is the RT1 mode. If applicable, the process proceeds to S182, and if not, the process proceeds to S185. In S182, the RT1 mode counter is decremented by one. The RT1 mode counter is a software counter that is set on the RAM 313 and counts the number of games in the RT1 mode. The initial value is the number of games (in this case, 5 times), which is the termination condition of the RT1 mode. In S183, it is determined whether or not the count value of the RT1 mode counter subtracted in S182 is zero. If applicable, the process proceeds to S184, the RT1 mode setting is canceled (replay normal probability state is entered), and if not applicable, the process proceeds to S185.

  In S185, it is determined whether or not the bonus (BB, RB) has been won internally (BB1, BB2, BAR) in the current game. When it corresponds, it progresses to S186 and sets RT2 mode as a gaming state. If not applicable, the process proceeds to S189. In S187, it is determined whether or not a bonus (BB, RB) has been won in the current game. If applicable, the setting of the RT2 mode is canceled in S188.

  In S189, it is determined whether or not a chance is won in this game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S190, and if not applicable, the process ends. In S190, it is determined whether the current gaming state is either the RT1 mode or the RT2 mode. When it corresponds, it progresses to S191 and sets RT1 mode as a gaming state. At this time, the initial value of the RT1 mode counter is also set. Thereafter, the process ends. If not applicable in S189, the process ends. Thus, one unit of RT mode control processing is completed.

<Processing of sub-control unit>
Next, processing of the sub control unit 400 will be described. 30A is a flowchart of main processing executed by the CPU 410 of the sub-control unit 400, and FIG. 30C is a flowchart of interrupt processing executed by the CPU 410 of the sub-control unit 400. First, the interrupt process will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 410 performs the process of FIG. In S221, it is determined whether or not a control command from the main control unit 300 has been received. If applicable, the process proceeds to S222, and if not, the process proceeds to S223. In S222, the control commands received from the main control unit 300 are sequentially stored without overwriting a predetermined area (referred to as a command storage area) of the RAM 413. In S223, a power supply voltage monitoring process is executed.

FIG. 30D is a flowchart showing the power supply voltage monitoring process in S223. In S231, the signal of the power supply voltage monitoring circuit 423 is checked to determine whether or not the power supply voltage of the slot machine 100 has decreased to a predetermined voltage. If applicable, the process proceeds to S232, and if not applicable, the process ends. In S232, the data stored in the register of the CPU 410 is saved in a predetermined area of the RAM 413. In step S233, the saved register data and various data stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 413 (mainly data related to effects) are copied and stored as check data in other areas of the RAM 413. Thus, one unit of processing is completed. Next, the main processing will be described with reference to FIG. In S201, initialization processing is performed. Here, processing at the time of power-on is mainly performed. Details will be described later. In S202, it is determined whether or not at least one control command is stored in the command storage area. If applicable, the process proceeds to S203, and if not, the process returns to S202. In S203, one control command is acquired from the command storage area, and its content is determined. The acquired control command is deleted from the command storage area. In S204, an effect process is performed according to the determination result in S203. Details will be described later. Thus, one unit of main processing is completed, and the processing returns to S202 and the above processing is repeated.

<Initialization process>
FIG. 30B is a flowchart of the initialization process in S201. In S211, the check data stored in the RAM 413 is collated to check whether there is an error (data is not broken). In S212, it is determined whether or not the collation result in S211 is an error. If applicable, the process proceeds to S213, and if not, the process proceeds to S214. In step S213, all pieces of information stored as check data are initialized and returned to default values. In other words, since the setting at the time of power-off cannot be inherited, it returns to the initial state. In S214, the register data saved when the power is turned off or the register data initialized in S213 is stored in the register of the CPU 410. In S215, resetting processing is performed. In this embodiment, unlike the initialization process in the case of the main control unit 300, the sub control unit 400 resets the information that was set when the power was turned off according to the gaming state when the power was turned off. Details will be described later after the description of the production example.

<Processing of production unit control unit>
Next, processing of the rendering unit control unit 500 will be described. FIG. 31A is a flowchart of interrupt processing executed by the CPU 510 of the effect unit control unit 500, and FIG. 31B is a flowchart of main processing executed by the CPU 510 of the effect unit control unit 500. First, interrupt processing will be described with reference to FIG. The CPU 510 performs the process of FIG. In S401, it is determined whether a control command from the sub-control unit 400 has been received. If applicable, the process proceeds to S402, and if not applicable, the process ends. In S402, control commands received from the sub-control unit 400 are sequentially stored without overwriting a predetermined area (referred to as a command storage area) of the RAM 513.

  Next, the main process will be described with reference to FIG. In S411, it is determined whether or not at least one control command is stored in the command storage area of the RAM 513. If applicable, the process proceeds to S412; otherwise, the process returns to S411. In S412, one control command is acquired from the command storage area of the RAM 513, and the content is determined. The acquired control command is deleted from the command storage area. In S413, the effect data is acquired according to the determination result in S412 and the effect data is sequentially set in each device driver of the effect unit A. The production unit A executes the production according to the data by setting the data. Thus, one unit of main processing is completed.

<Production configuration example>
Next, a configuration example of effects in the slot machine 100 centered on the effect unit A will be described. FIG. 32A is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of effects in the slot machine 100. The production is roughly divided into three production modes, a normal production mode, an expectation production mode, and a bonus production mode. The normal effect mode and the expectation effect mode are effect modes set during normal games, and the bonus effect mode is an effect mode set during a bonus game.

  The normal performance mode is set when the expectation performance mode is not set during the normal game. The anticipation effect mode is an effect mode in which an internal winning of the bonus is expected, and there are cases of “true” and “gase”.

  FIG. 32B is a diagram showing the specifications of the normal effect mode and the expectation effect mode. Among the expectation effect modes, the “true” expectation effect mode is set on the condition that at least a bonus is won internally. In the present embodiment, a “true” expectation effect mode is further set on the condition that a winning combination: an internal winning at the same time as an internal winning of a chance and a win in the game is won. The condition for canceling the “true” expectation effect mode is winning a bonus.

  While the “true” expectation effect mode is set, the bonus (BB, RB) is being won internally (BB1, BB2, BAR). Further, from the relationship with the setting conditions of the RT2 mode (FIG. 29B), the gaming state is always the RT2 mode while the “true” expectation effect mode is set. Conversely, when the gaming state is the RT2 mode, there can be both a case where the normal performance mode is set and a case where the “true” expectation effect mode is set.

  On the other hand, the expectation effect mode of “GASE” among the expectation effect modes is set on the condition that at least a winning combination: a chance is won in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the “gase” expectation effect mode is further set on condition that the internal winning of the chance is independent and that the lottery (switch lottery) is won. The condition for releasing the expectation effect mode of “GASE” is the number of games. In addition, when lost in the switching lottery, a pseudo effect described later is performed in the present embodiment.

  The expectation effect mode of “Gase” is “Gase” in that the expectation effect mode is set even though the bonus is not being won internally. Further, from the relationship with the setting conditions of the RT1 mode (FIG. 29B), the gaming state is always the RT1 mode while the “gase” expectation effect mode is set. Conversely, when the gaming state is the RT1 mode, there can be both a case where the normal performance mode is set and a case where the “gase” expectation performance mode is set. This is because “Gase” expectation effect mode setting is based on the winning of the switching lottery.

  The expectation direction mode is based on the condition that the winning combination: chance is won in both “true” and “gase”. Winning a chance becomes a trigger for switching the production mode, so that the player has an advantage that the trigger for switching the production mode is easy to understand. On the other hand, when the winning prize becomes a trigger for switching the production mode, it becomes difficult for the player to know whether the production mode is “true” or “gase”, and the game is played in the production mode. Can increase the feeling of throbbing.

  Next, in the normal effect mode, the effect mode of the effect unit A is an effect mode of 2D image display. In the expectation effect mode, the effect mode of the effect unit A is an effect mode of 3D image display. Switching from the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display to the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display is performed in accordance with the game state (here, the low replay probability state → RT1 or RT2 mode). The change in the production mode of the production unit A has a meaning of notifying the switching of the gaming state.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 32, in the bonus effect mode, an effect determined in advance as “selection” that allows the player to select from a plurality of types of effect contents executed during the bonus game is executed ( There is “normal” that the player cannot select. The “selection” bonus effect mode is set when a bonus is won during the setting of the expectation effect mode (true), and is not set when the bonus is won during the setting of the normal effect mode.

  In the “selection” bonus effect mode, the effect mode in the expectation effect mode is inherited, and the effect mode of the effect unit A becomes the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display. In the “normal” bonus effect mode, the effect mode in the normal effect mode is inherited, and the effect mode of the effect unit A becomes the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by limiting the case where the player can select the effect in the bonus game, the player's joy when the effect can be selected can be increased. Further, the player can select a bonus game that can be subsequently executed when the expectation effect mode is set by relating the condition for allowing the player to select the effect in the bonus game to the effect mode at the time of bonus winning. There will be a sense of expectation that it is possible to select the production. Thus, in the present embodiment, it is possible to realize an effect that further enhances the enjoyment of the player.

  Next, the options in the “selection” bonus effect mode will be described. In the present embodiment, the player can select the type of effect even in the expectation effect mode, and the choices in the bonus effect mode of “Select” will differ depending on the type of effect selected in the expectation effect mode. . FIG. 33A is an explanatory diagram of the expectation effect mode and the bonus effect mode.

  When the expectation effect mode is set, regardless of whether it is “true” or “gase”, the selection effect is executed first, and the player selects one of the expectation effects 1 to 3 Can do. When the “true” expectation effect mode is set, the bonus selection mode of “select” is set after winning a bonus. The “selection” bonus production mode includes bonus productions 1 to 3 corresponding to expectation productions 1 to 3. When the expectation effect 1 is selected by the player, it always becomes the bonus effect 1. The relationship between the expectation effects 2 and 3 and the bonus effects 2 and 3 is the same.

  In the “selection” bonus effect mode, the selection effect is executed, and the player can select any effect of A to C in which characters appearing in the effect are different. In the present embodiment, the bonus effects 1 to 3 have the same three types of characters (A to C). However, even if the characters appearing are the same, the development of the effects, BGM, The displayed image will be different.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the options for the effects in the bonus game differ depending on the expectation effects 1 to 3 executed by the effect unit A due to the internal winning of the bonus. Can be Furthermore, by relating the options of the effects in the bonus game to the expectations feeling effects 1 to 3, the player predicts the options for the effects of the bonus game that can be executed after the effects, and has a sense of expectation. . Thus, in the present embodiment, it is possible to realize an effect that further enhances the enjoyment of the player.

  Next, the difference in expectation effects 1 to 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 33 (b) to 33 (d). In anticipation effects 1 to 3, a notification regarding the internal winning of the bonus is given. In the present embodiment, if the bonus is won internally, this is informed, and if not, the effect is not notified.

  In the expectation effects 1 to 3, first, the notification timing of this notification is different. The expectation effect 1 is when the start lever 130 is operated or when the reels 110 to 112 are stopped for the second time (second stop operation). When one of the expectation effects 1 is selected, a lottery is performed. Determined. The expectation effect 2 is at the time of the third stop operation of each reel 110 to 112 (at the time of the third stop operation). Expectation 3 is the final stage. Expectation feeling effect 3 is an effect in which the stage of the effect changes step by step (here, four steps) according to the number of games, and the final stage is the final stage.

  In the expectation effects 1 to 3, the notification conditions are substantially the same. In the expectation effect 1, when the notification timing is when the start lever 130 is operated, the replay (re-game) is not internally won in the game, and when the second stop operation is performed, the second stop operation is stopped. In other words, blue 7-blue 7, red 7-red 7 or BAR-BAR is displayed by the two reels (during bonus tempering). In the expectation feeling effects 2 and 3, both the replays (replays) are not internally won in the game.

  Next, in the anticipation effects 1 to 3, the effects provided to the player as the game progresses are different. In this embodiment, the provision mode of the progress information positioned as suggesting the end of the expectation effect mode and the update timing thereof are different. In the expectation effect 1, the progress information is provided by the display of the level meter, and this is updated when the start lever 130 is operated (however, before the bonus internal winning is notified). The level meter is displayed so as to be an index of the number of games in the expectation effect mode, and for example, each level meter cell is filled in step by step.

  In the expectation effect 2, progress information is provided by a countdown display of numbers, and this is updated at the time of the third stop operation of each reel 110 to 112 (however, before the bonus internal winning notification is made). The countdown display is displayed so as to serve as an index of the number of games in the expectation effect mode, and the number decreases as it is updated.

  In the expectation effect 3, the progress information is provided by the change of the background color of the three-dimensional image, and this is updated (changed) by the number of games. The background color changes in the order of blue → yellow → green → red. After the background color turns red, the bonus internal notification timing is set.

<Progress example of production>
An example of the progress of the production will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 34 shows an example of winning the BB after the internal winning type: “BB1 & Chance” and winning the chance. When “BB1 & Chance” is won internally and a chance is won, the gaming state is set to the RT2 mode, and the effect mode is set to the expectation effect mode (true). The production mode of the production unit A is switched from the production mode of the 2D image display to the production mode of the 3D image display by setting the expectation production mode.

  When the effect mode is switched, a waiting time is set in the main control unit 300 (S173 in FIG. 27, S144 in FIG. 26), and a movable process for switching the effect mode is executed during this waiting time. In the movable process, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are temporarily moved to the shielding position, and the LCD 10 is moved from the first position to the second position. Thereafter, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are returned to the non-shielding position again. Next, a selection effect for selecting any one of the expectation effects 1 to 3 is executed, and the selected expectation effect is executed. By switching the production mode while waiting for the game to proceed, it is possible to prevent the production after switching from being a production with a poor timing, and to switch the production mode at a good timing.

  Further, when winning BB, the game state is set to the BB game, and the effect mode is set to the bonus effect mode (selection). The effect mode of the effect unit A remains the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display, and the BB winning notification effect that notifies the player that the BB has been won and congratulates the player is executed. In the winning notification effect, a notification effect image for notifying the player that the BB has been won is displayed on the display screen of the LCD 10, and a blessing effect sound is output.

  When executing the BB winning notification effect, a waiting time is set in the main control unit 300 (S174 in FIG. 27, S144 in FIG. 26), and the BB winning notification effect is executed during this waiting time. Thereafter, a selection effect in which the player selects one of the character A effect and the character C effect is executed, and a bonus effect is executed in the selected type.

  Next, FIG. 35 shows an example in which an internal winning type: “BB1” is won internally and BB is won. When “BB1” is won internally, the RT2 mode is set as the gaming state, but the effect mode remains the normal effect mode. Therefore, the effect mode of effect unit A remains the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display. When winning BB, the game state is set to BB game, and the effect mode is set to the bonus effect mode (normal). The effect mode of the effect unit A remains the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display, and the BB winning notification effect that informs the player that the BB has been won and congratulates the player is executed.

  When executing the BB winning notification effect, a waiting time is set in the main control unit 300 (S174 in FIG. 27, S144 in FIG. 26), and the BB winning notification effect is executed during this waiting time. Thereafter, a predetermined bonus effect is executed without performing a selection effect.

  Next, FIG. 36 shows an example in which an internal winning type “chance” is won internally to win a chance and win a switching lottery. When winning a chance, the RT1 mode is set as the gaming state, and the expectation effect mode (gase) is set as the effect mode. The production mode of the production unit A is switched from the production mode of the 2D image display to the production mode of the 3D image display by setting the expectation production mode.

  When the effect mode is switched, the same processing as in the example of FIG. 34 is performed. That is, a waiting time is set in the main control unit 300 (S173 in FIG. 27, S144 in FIG. 26), and a movable process for switching the effect mode is executed during this waiting time. In the movable process, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are temporarily moved to the shielding position, and the LCD 10 is moved from the first position to the second position. Thereafter, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are returned to the non-shielding position again. Next, a selection effect for selecting any one of the expectation effects 1 to 3 is executed, and the selected expectation effect is executed. By switching the production mode while waiting for the game to proceed, it is possible to prevent the production after switching from being a production with a poor timing, and to switch the production mode at a good timing.

  When the number of games in the RT1 mode reaches a predetermined number, the gaming state returns from the RT1 mode to the re-game normal probability state. The effect mode also returns to the normal effect mode, and the effect mode of the effect unit A is switched from the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display to the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display. In this case, the waiting time of the main control unit 300 is not particularly set.

<Pseudo production>
In the present embodiment, it takes about 2 seconds to switch the production mode of the production unit A. If the player perceives this in the middle of switching from the two-dimensional image display effect mode to the three-dimensional image effect mode, the effect of switching the effect mode is diminished. For this reason, when the effect mode of the effect unit A is switched, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are once moved to the shielding position, thereby making it difficult for the player to visually recognize the mode being switched.

  However, even if the left door 51a and the right door 51b are moved to the shielding position and closed, the light from the LCD 10 leaks from the gap between the left door 51a and the right door 51b, and the player is informed of the change of the production mode. There is a fear that will be done. Further, since an operating sound is generated when the LCD 10 is moved, there is a possibility that the player will be aware of the change of the effect mode.

  In the present embodiment, when the effect mode is not switched, by executing the pseudo effect that simulates that the mode is being switched, the effect mode is not actually switched. Give the player the illusion of being. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the player from perceiving the change of the production mode.

  FIG. 37 shows an example in which the internal winning type “chance” is internally won and a chance is won, but the switching effect is lost and the pseudo effect is executed. When winning a chance, the RT1 mode is set as the gaming state, but the effect mode remains the normal effect mode, and the effect mode of the effect unit A remains the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display.

  When winning a chance, a waiting time is set in the main control unit 300 (S173 in FIG. 27, S144 in FIG. 26), and a pseudo effect is performed during this waiting time. In the pseudo effect, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are once moved to the shielding position and closed. While the left door 51a and the right door 51b are in the shielding position, the display content of the LCD 10 is continuously changed, and the pseudo operation sound imitating the operation sound of the drive mechanism of the effect unit A described above is output from the speaker 483. Output. Thereafter, the left door 51a and the right door 51b are again moved to the non-shielding position and opened.

  FIG. 38 shows an example of a pseudo effect. In the example shown in the figure, the LCD 10 continuously changes the display contents of the display screen 11 in the display area located behind the boundary between the left door 51a and the right door 51b when closed. In the present embodiment, when switching from the display mode of the two-dimensional image to the display mode of the three-dimensional image, the lower end portion of the display screen 11 moves rearward and upward from a substantially vertical position and becomes substantially horizontal. In this case, the light of the LCD 10 that leaks from the gap between the left door 51a and the right door 51b and is visible to the player becomes gradually darker below or below the gap as the LCD 10 rotates.

  Therefore, as shown in the display example of the LCD 10 in FIG. 38, the display contents of the display area located behind the left door 51a and the right door 51b and the boundary portion are gradually darkened from the bottom to the top of the display area. By continuously changing, the player can be given the illusion that the LCD 10 is rotating.

  Further, by outputting a pseudo operation sound from the speaker 483, an illusion that the LCD 10 is rotating can be given to the player. If the speaker 483 is arranged in the vicinity of the effect unit A or the effect unit A, it is possible to make the player feel that the pseudo operation sound is just coming out of the effect unit A, so that the LCD 10 can be rotated more effectively. The player can be given the illusion that he is doing.

  In the example of FIG. 38, when the left door 51a and the right door 51b are opened after execution of the pseudo effect, it is clear that the LCD 10 displays “Sorry ...” and the effect cannot be switched to the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display. To be.

<Direction processing>
Next, an effect process (S204 in FIG. 30A) executed by the CPU 410 of the sub-control unit 400 will be described with reference to FIG. In S241, effect mode setting processing is performed. In S242, a game start effect is performed. In S243, a push game process is performed. Details of these will be described later. In S244, other effect processing is executed. Thus, one unit of effect processing is completed.

<Direction mode setting>
FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing the effect mode setting process of S241. In S251, it is determined whether or not the expectation effect mode (true) setting condition (FIG. 32B) is satisfied. If applicable, the process proceeds to S252, and if not, the process proceeds to S254. In S252, expectation effect mode (true) is set as the effect mode. In S253, the expectation effect start flag is turned ON, and the effect mode setting process is terminated. The expectation effect start flag is a flag stored in a predetermined storage area of the RAM 413.

  In S254, it is determined whether or not a lottery condition (FIG. 32 (b): chance win) in the expectation effect mode (gasse) is satisfied. If applicable, the process proceeds to S255, and if not, the process proceeds to S260. In S255, a switching lottery is performed. In S256, it is determined whether or not the result of the switching lottery in S255 is winning. If applicable, the process proceeds to S258, and if not, the process proceeds to S257.

  In S257, the pseudo effect flag is turned ON, and the effect mode setting process is terminated. The pseudo effect flag is a flag stored in a predetermined storage area of the RAM 413. In S258, the expectation effect mode (gase) is set as the effect mode. In S259, the expectation effect start flag is set to ON, and the effect mode setting process ends.

  In S260, it is determined whether or not a bonus is won in this game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S261; otherwise, the process proceeds to S264. In S261, it is determined whether or not the expectation effect mode (true) is being set as the effect mode. If applicable, the process proceeds to S262, and if not, the process proceeds to S263. In S262, the bonus selection effect flag is turned ON. The bonus selection effect flag is a flag stored in a predetermined storage area of the RAM 413. In S253, the bonus effect mode is set as the effect mode, and the effect mode setting process ends. When the bonus selection effect flag is ON, the bonus effect mode (selection) is set, and when it is OFF, the bonus effect mode (normal) is set.

  In S264, it is determined whether or not the expectation effect mode (gase) release condition (FIG. 32B) is satisfied. If applicable, the process proceeds to S265, and if not, the process proceeds to S267. In the case of this embodiment, the release condition of the expectation effect mode (gase) is the number of games, which is managed by a software counter using a predetermined storage area of the RAM 413.

  In S265, the expectation effect mode (gase) is canceled, and the normal effect mode is set as the effect mode. In S266, the movable command is transmitted to the effect unit control unit 500, and the effect mode setting process is terminated. With this command, the LCD 10 of the effect unit A is rotated and the effect mode is switched from the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display to the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display.

  In S267, it is determined whether or not the bonus game has ended. When it corresponds, it progresses to S268 and sets normal production mode as production mode. In S269, it is determined whether the effect mode of the finished bonus game is the bonus effect mode (selection) based on the effect mode of 3D image display or the bonus effect mode (normal) based on the effect mode of 2D image display. Advances to S270, and in the latter case, the effect mode setting process ends. In S270, the movable command is transmitted to the rendering unit control unit 500. With this command, the LCD 10 of the effect unit A is rotated and the effect mode is switched from the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display to the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display. Thus, one unit of effect mode setting process is completed.

<Direction at game start>
FIG. 41 is a flowchart showing the game start effect process in S242. In S281, it is determined whether or not the control command to be processed this time is a game start command. If applicable, the process proceeds to S282, and if not applicable, the game start effect process ends.

  In S282, it is determined whether or not the expectation effect start flag is ON. If applicable, the process proceeds to S283, and if not, the process proceeds to S286. In S283, the expectation effect start flag is turned OFF, and in S284, a movable command is transmitted to the effect unit controller 500. By this command, the LCD 10 of the effect unit A is rotated and the effect mode is switched from the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display to the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display. Further, when the movable command is transmitted in response to the reception of the game start command, the movable process is performed during the waiting time of the main control unit 300 shown in S144 of FIG. In S285, selection effect execution processing is performed. This is a selection effect process at the start of the expectation effect mode, and the selection of the effect type is selected and the selected effect is set (FIGS. 33B to 33D). Thereafter, the game start time effect process is terminated.

  In S286, it is determined whether or not the pseudo effect flag is ON. If applicable, the process proceeds to S287, and if not, the process proceeds to S289. In S287, the pseudo effect flag is turned off. In S288, a process of executing a pseudo effect is performed. When the pseudo effect is executed in response to the reception of the game start command, the pseudo effect is performed during the waiting time of the main control unit 300 shown in S144 of FIG. Thereafter, the game start time effect process is terminated.

  In S289, it is determined whether or not the bonus has been won in the previous game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S291, and if not, the process proceeds to S290. In S290, another effect process at the start of the game is performed, and the game start effect process is terminated. In S291, it is determined whether or not the bonus selection effect flag is ON. If applicable, the process proceeds to S292, and if not, the process proceeds to S295. The process proceeds to S292 when the bonus effect mode (selection) is started, and the process proceeds to S295 when the bonus effect mode (normal) is started.

  In S292, the bonus selection effect flag is turned off. In S293, a process of executing a bonus winning notification effect is performed. When the bonus winning notification effect is executed in response to the reception of the game start command, the bonus winning notification effect is performed during the waiting time of the main control unit 300 shown in S144 of FIG. In S294, a selection effect execution process is performed. This is a process of selection effect at the start of the bonus game, and selection of the type of effect is accepted and the selected effect is set. Thereafter, the game start time effect process is terminated. In S295, a bonus winning notification effect is executed. When the bonus winning notification effect is executed in response to the reception of the game start command, the bonus winning notification effect is performed during the waiting time of the main control unit 300 shown in S144 of FIG. Thus, one unit of the game start time effect process is completed.

<A push game>
Next, the pushing game process in S243 will be described. The push game is a game effect performed during the bonus game. In a bonus game, when a winning combination is continuously won in either a bell or a chance, the blessing sound changes depending on the number of consecutive wins. FIG. 42 is a flowchart showing the pushing game process of S243.

  In S301, it is determined whether or not a bonus is won in this game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S302; otherwise, the process proceeds to S303. In S302, a push game is set. Here, processing for resetting a count value of a continuous success counter, which will be described later, is performed. The continuous success counter is a software counter that uses a predetermined storage area of the RAM 413. In S303, it is determined whether or not the bonus game is over in the current game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S304, and if not, the process proceeds to S305. In S304, the setting of the eye-pushing game is canceled.

  In S305, it is determined whether or not the current game is a game during a bonus game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S306, and if not applicable, the eye-pressing game process is terminated. In S306, it is determined whether or not a winning combination: a bell or a chance has been won in this game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S307, and if not, the process proceeds to S309. In S307, the count value of the continuous success number counter is incremented by one.

  In S309, a blessing effect sound corresponding to the count value of the continuous success counter is output. FIG. 43 is a diagram showing the types of blessing effect sounds output according to the count value of the continuous success counter. In S307, the count value of the continuous success counter is cleared. Thus, the one-unit pushing game process is completed.

<Resetting process>
Next, the resetting process in S215 in FIG. 30B will be described. Since there may be unpredictable errors that occur when the power is turned on after the power is turned off, all the information related to the performance that does not directly affect the game result is initialized, so that the progress of the game at the time of power on It is possible to prevent the effect of hesitation from being executed.

  However, the production also plays a role of providing information about the current gaming table to the player, and in this way, the player is not provided with any information about the current gaming table status in the game when the power is turned on. There is a drown that creates a case. In particular, with regard to the setting of effects during the bonus game, when all of these are initialized, the progress of the bonus game is completely unknown to the player, and the fun of the bonus game is significantly reduced.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, in this resetting process, a different process is executed depending on whether or not the gaming state when the power is turned off is a bonus game. Specifically, a part of the information related to the bonus game is reset as the minimum information to be provided to the player, while the remaining information is initialized to prevent the occurrence of an error. That is, it is possible to provide certain information to the player while preventing an error from occurring when the power is turned on after the power is turned off.

  On the other hand, there is a limit to the information that is backed up when the power is turned off. In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit is configured by one-way communication of the main control unit 300 → the sub control unit 400 → the effect unit control unit 500, and the effect unit control unit 500 is set when the power is turned off. Does not have a process of returning when the power is turned on. Therefore, for example, when the power is turned off during the rotation of the LCD 10, the sub-control unit 400 cannot grasp the position of the LCD 10 when the power is turned on.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the power is turned on, the LCD 10 is positioned at the first position (a two-dimensional image display effect mode) regardless of the position of the LCD 10 when the power is turned off. By uniformly positioning the LCD 10 at the first position when the power is turned on, it is not necessary for the sub-control unit 400 to grasp the position of the LCD 10 when the power is turned on, and the occurrence of errors due to the position of the LCD 10 can be prevented. .

  FIG. 44A is a flowchart showing the resetting process of S215. In S311, it is determined whether or not the gaming state when the power is turned off is a bonus game. If applicable, the process proceeds to S312; otherwise, the process proceeds to S313. The gaming state when the power is turned off can be determined based on the information backed up in the RAM 413 or the control command transmitted from the main control unit 300 to the sub control unit 400 in S135 of the initialization process of FIG.

  In S312, only a part of the bonus related information of the effect control information stored in the RAM 413 of the sub-control unit 400 is maintained, and the other effect control information is initialized. FIG. 44 (b) is a diagram showing examples of the effect control information to be initialized and reset. Among bonus-related information, bonus game number information (bonus game number of times), bonus payout number information (cumulative value of medals paid out to the player during bonus game. The bonus inserted number information (cumulative value of medals paid out to the player during the bonus game) and bonus earned number information (bonus paid out number information and bonus inserted number information). The difference number is reset without being initialized. This is because these are considered to be minimum information to be provided to the player in the bonus game.

  Returning to FIG. 44A, in S313, all the effect control information is initialized. In S314, the effect control information that has undergone the processing of S312 or S313 is transmitted to the effect unit control unit 500, and these are set. In S315, a command is transmitted to the rendering unit controller 500 so that the LCD 10 is positioned at the first position. This completes the resetting process for one unit.

<Other examples of production>
In the above-described configuration example of the effect, when a bonus is won during the normal effect mode, the effect mode of the effect unit A remains the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display (the bonus effect mode ( Even if the bonus is won during the normal production mode, for example, when the lottery is won, the production mode of the production unit A is switched to the production mode of the three-dimensional image display. The composition of production may be sufficient.

  In this case, it is necessary to switch the effect mode of the effect unit A to the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display. Here, when winning a bonus, as shown in FIG. 34 and FIG. 35 as an example of the BB winning notification effect, the winning notification effect is executed. Within the same processing time as the processing time of the winning notification effect, if the winning notification effect when the bonus is won during the normal effect mode and the switching process of the effect mode can be executed, the processing time can be unified, The waiting time of the main control unit 300 can be used in common.

  Therefore, when the bonus is won during the normal effect mode, and when the effect mode of the effect unit A is switched to the effect mode of 3D image display, the execution time is shorter than in other cases where the bonus is won. A winning notification effect is prepared, and then a movable process for switching the effect mode of the effect unit A can be performed.

  FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a progress example of the effect in which the effect mode of the effect unit A is switched to the effect mode of the three-dimensional image display when the bonus is won during the normal effect mode. In the example of the figure, an example is shown in which an internal winning type: “BB1” is won internally and BB is won. When “BB1” is won internally, the RT2 mode is set as the gaming state, but the effect mode remains the normal effect mode. Therefore, the effect mode of effect unit A remains the effect mode of the two-dimensional image display.

  On the other hand, when winning BB, the effect mode of the effect unit A is switched to the effect mode of the three-dimensional image. When winning a BB, first, a BB winning notification effect is executed. This BB winning notification effect is performed by displaying a notification effect image for notifying the player that the BB has been won and outputting a blessing effect sound on the display screen of the LCD 10, as shown in FIG. 34 and FIG. Although it is the same as the case where it showed, it is the version by which the time was shortened, and the movement process of the production unit A is performed after that. The total processing time of the BB winning notification effect and the movable effect processing in FIG. 45 is set substantially the same as the processing time of the BB winning notification effect in FIG. 34 and FIG. In the example of (6), it is set to be within 6.001 seconds). After the movable process, a bonus game effect is executed, and in the example of FIG. 45, it is assumed that a predetermined bonus effect that cannot be selected by the player is executed.

1 is an external view of a slot machine 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 44 is an external view of a production unit A. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the effect unit A. FIG. (A) is a right side view of the image display unit 1, and (b) is a left side view. (A) is a figure which shows the aspect which removed the drive unit 31 from the side plate 1b, (b) is a figure which shows the aspect which removed the mechanism on the side plate 1b. (A) is a figure which shows the aspect which removed the side plate 1b, the right view inside the image display unit 1, (b) is explanatory drawing of the rotation center of LCD10. (A) is an exploded view of the half mirror 20 and the support frame 21, and (b) is an explanatory view of the shape of the support frame 21. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing of the movement aspect of LCD10 and the half mirror 20. FIG. (A) And (b) is explanatory drawing of the movement aspect of LCD10 and the half mirror 20. FIG. (A) thru | or (c) are explanatory drawings of the position detection of LCD10. It is explanatory drawing of the display principle of the three-dimensional image by the image display unit 1. FIG. (A) is a front view of the shutter unit 50, and (b) is a right side view. (A) is a front view which shows the detail of the structure of the right door 51b vicinity, (b) is a right view. (A) thru | or (c) are explanatory drawings of the image switching of the production | presentation unit A by the shutter unit 50. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a main control unit 300 of the slot machine 100. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a sub control unit 400 of the slot machine 100. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a rendering unit control unit 500 of the slot machine 100. FIG. It is the figure which expanded and showed the arrangement | sequence of the pattern given to each reel 110-112. It is the figure which showed the type of internal winning, its winning probability, the corresponding winning combination and design combination, and the number of medals paid out at the time of winning. It is the figure which showed the type of internal winning, its winning probability, the corresponding winning combination and design combination, and the number of medals paid out at the time of winning. (A) thru | or (c) are the figures which showed the type of internal winning, the winning probability, the corresponding winning combination and picture combination, and the number of medals paid out at the time of winning. It is explanatory drawing which shows the basic setting of production content. (A) is a figure which shows the control data of the production unit A stored in ROM512, (b) is a figure which shows the display control data of LCD10 memorize | stored in ROM531. 7 is a flowchart showing basic control of a game in the slot machine 100 executed by the CPU 310 of the main control unit 300. (A) is a flowchart which shows a power supply voltage monitoring interruption process, (b) is a flowchart which shows the initialization process of S101. It is a flowchart which shows medal insertion / start operation reception process of S102. It is a flowchart which shows the game state control process of S111. It is a flowchart which shows RT mode control processing of S175. (A) is a figure which shows the length of the waiting time corresponding to each winning combination, (b) is a figure which shows the setting and cancellation | release conditions of RT1 mode and RT2 mode. (A) is a flowchart of a main process executed by the CPU 410 of the sub-control unit 400, (b) is a flowchart showing an initialization process of S201, (c) is a flowchart of an interrupt process executed by the CPU 410 of the sub-control unit 400, ( d) is a flowchart showing the power supply voltage monitoring process of S223. (A) is a flowchart of interrupt processing executed by the CPU 510 of the rendering unit control unit 500, and (b) is a flowchart of main processing executed by the CPU 510 of the rendering unit control unit 500. (A) is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of effects in the slot machine 100, (b) is a diagram showing the specifications of the normal effect mode and the expected feeling effect mode. (A) is explanatory drawing of expectation effect mode and bonus effect mode, (b) thru | or (d) is a figure which shows the specification of each choice of expectation effect mode. It is a figure which shows the example of progress of production. It is a figure which shows the example of progress of production. It is a figure which shows the example of progress of production. It is a figure which shows the example of progress of production. It is a figure which shows the example of a pseudo effect. It is a flowchart which shows the production process of S204. It is a flowchart which shows the production mode setting process of S241. It is a flowchart which shows the game start time effect process of S242. It is a flowchart which shows the eye push game process of S243. It is a figure which shows the kind of blessing production sound output according to the count value of a continuous success counter. (A) is a flowchart which shows the reset process of S215, (b) is a figure which shows the example of what is initialized and what is reset among effect control information. It is a figure showing other progress examples of production. (A) is an example of a display image that more realistically represents a composite image, and (b) and (c) are examples of a three-dimensional object (model) disposed in the support 21 more realistically.

Explanation of symbols

100 slot machine

Claims (8)

In a game machine equipped with a production unit,
The production unit can be executed by switching between the production by the first production mode and the production by the second production mode,
A shielding means for making it difficult for the player to visually recognize the aspect during switching between the effect according to the first effect aspect and the effect according to the second effect aspect,
When the effect unit does not switch between the effect according to the first effect mode and the effect according to the second effect mode, the effect unit performs a pseudo effect that simulates that the switching is being performed. And
The stage unit is
An image display device;
A half mirror that reflects an image projected from the image display device;
Wherein a first representation embodiment, the display surface to become the first position of the image display device the presentation unit, the a second representation embodiment, the image display device projects an image on the half mirror And an image display device driving means for moving the image display device between a second position at which the half mirror is a display surface of the effect unit, and
The shielding means is
A pair of door members that open and close like a door, and when the shutter is closed, the display image by the image display device and the half mirror is shielded from the player, and when the door is opened, the display image by the image display device and the half mirror is played. A pair of door members that can be visually recognized by the person,
The stage unit is
When the image display device is in the first position, the pair of door members are closed, and the image display device in the first position is moved to the second position, and then the pair of doors A first action of opening the door member;
When the image display device is in the first position, the pair of door members are closed, and the image display device in the first position remains in the first position, and the pair of doors Performing a second action of releasing the member;
As the pseudo effect, the display content of the display region located behind the boundary portion of the pair of door members in the display screen of the image display device while the pair of door members is closed in the second operation Yu TECHNICAL stand you characterized by continuously varied. The first position is a position where the display screen of the image display device is substantially vertical;
The second position is a position where the display screen of the image display device is substantially horizontal, with the lower end of the display screen moving rearward and upward as the image display device rotates from the first position. ,
While the pair of door members are closed in the second operation, the display content of the display area located behind the boundary portion of the pair of door members in the display screen of the image display device, 2. The game table according to claim 1 , wherein the game table is continuously changed so as to become darker from the lower side to the upper side of the display area. In a game machine equipped with a production unit,
The production unit is
An image display device;
A half mirror that reflects an image projected from the image display device;
A first position where the image display device becomes a display surface of the effect unit; a second position where the image display device projects an image onto the half mirror; and the half mirror becomes a display surface of the effect unit. An image display device driving means for moving the image display device between the position,
A pair of door members that open and close like a door, and when the shutter is closed, the display image by the image display device and the half mirror is shielded from the player, and when the door is opened, the display image by the image display device and the half mirror is played. A pair of door members that are visible to a person,
The stage unit is
When the image display device is in the first position, the pair of door members are closed, and after the image display device in the first position is moved to the second position, the pair of doors A first action of opening the door member;
When the image display device is in the first position, the pair of door members are closed, and the image display device in the first position remains in the first position, and the pair of doors Performing a second action of releasing the member;
The game table further comprises:
An output unit that outputs a pseudo operation sound imitating the operation sound of the image display device driving unit;
The game machine characterized in that the output means outputs the pseudo operation sound while the pair of door members are closed in the second operation. The game table further comprises:
An output unit that outputs a pseudo operation sound imitating the operation sound of the image display device driving unit;
And the output means, while the pair of door members are closed in the second operation, the amusement machine according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that outputs the pseudo operation sound. Furthermore,
A plurality of reels that are given multiple types of patterns and are driven to rotate,
A lottery means for determining whether or not an internal winning of a plurality of types of winning combinations is a lottery;
A start switch for starting rotation of the reel;
A stop switch provided for each of the reels, for individually stopping the rotation of the reels;
Reel stop control means for performing stop control of the reel based on at least a lottery result of the lottery means;
A winning determination means for determining a winning based on whether or not the combination of the patterns displayed by the reel at the time of stopping is a predetermined combination of patterns;
The game table according to claim 1, further comprising: The plurality of types of winning combinations include a first winning combination in which a first gaming state is started by the winning,
6. The game table according to claim 5 , wherein the effect according to the second effect mode is executed on the condition that at least the first winning combination is won in the inside. The game table according to claim 3 or 4 , wherein the output means is arranged in the vicinity of the effect unit or the effect unit. The position of the image display device, gaming table according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that switched in accordance with the gaming state of the gaming table.