JP5137887B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a game machine such as a ball ball game machine or a slot machine that generates a big hit state by a lottery process caused by a game operation, and more particularly, to a game machine that provides an opportunity for a player to participate in a game and has a new interest. .

  A ball game machine such as a pachinko machine has a symbol start opening provided on the game board, a symbol display section for displaying a series of symbol variation patterns by a plurality of display symbols, and a big winning opening for opening and closing the opening and closing plate. Configured. When the detection switch provided at the symbol start port detects the passage of the game ball, the winning state is entered, and after the game ball is paid out as a prize ball, the display symbol is changed for a predetermined time in the symbol display section. Thereafter, when the symbol is stopped in a predetermined manner such as 7-7-7, a big hit state is established, and the big winning opening is repeatedly opened to generate a gaming state advantageous to the player.

  Whether or not to generate such a game state is determined by a jackpot lottery executed on the condition that a game ball has won at the symbol start opening, and the above symbol variation operation is based on this lottery result. It has become a thing. For example, when the lottery result is in a winning state, an effect operation called reach action (reach effect) is executed for about 20 seconds, and then the special symbols are aligned.

  On the other hand, a similar reach action may be executed even in the case of a lost state. In this case, the player pays close attention to the big hit state and pays close attention to the transition of the performance operation. Before the final result is finalized, an effect is also performed in which a character appears and notifies the invitation of a big hit state.

  Although various effects are performed to boost the player, including such a notice effect, the player only expects a big hit state, and the player cannot be actively involved There was a limit to the direction of the performance. Here, if a player's movement is grasped and the production | generation corresponding to this can be implement | achieved, a player's interest can be intrigued.

  Therefore, the present applicant has already proposed a gaming machine having a simple configuration that can reflect the movement of the player in the effect operation (Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2).

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, the hue value (Hue) of each pixel is extracted from the image data acquired from the camera, and the hue range in which the filing frequency exceeds a predetermined level is that the player's hand. Judgment. On the other hand, in the invention described in Patent Document 2, the movement of the player's hand is recognized by acquiring infrared reflected waves with a camera.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-202018 Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-036113

  In any of the above-described inventions, the shorter the distance between the camera and the player's hand, the higher the detection accuracy for recognizing the player's movement.

  However, with a simple camera that can be mounted on a gaming machine, it is difficult to accurately grasp the movement of the hand because the hand occupies the entire light-receiving surface of the camera when the player's hand is approached to a close position. It becomes. In particular, in the case of adopting a configuration in which infrared rays radiated from the gaming machine side are received by the camera, it is necessary to bring a hand close to the camera, so the above problem is remarkable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that can grasp a player's movement at a close position of a camera with a simple configuration.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention executes a lottery process based on a random value when a predetermined switch signal is turned on to determine whether or not to generate a gaming state advantageous to the player. Whether or not to generate an advantageous gaming state is configured to be notified to the player by whether or not a specific symbol is aligned with the display device in a predetermined manner, and a subject located in front of the gaming machine A camera unit that acquires the image of the image through a wide-angle lens, and an effect unit that grasps the subject based on the output of the camera unit and executes a game effect corresponding to the movement of the camera unit. It functions in a gaming state that may lead to an advantageous gaming state, and is configured to execute an effect that aligns the symbols in a predetermined manner in response to the movement of the subject.

  The rendering means of the present invention preferably includes a dedicated chip for grasping the subject based on the output of the camera unit, and a general-purpose computer circuit that receives the data output from the dedicated chip and executes the rendering operation. It consists of

  In the present invention, it is preferable that a radiation unit that emits invisible light should be provided for the subject. In this case, it is preferable that the camera unit receives a reflected wave from the subject via a visible region cutoff filter.

  Further, it is preferable that the radiating unit and the receiving unit are arranged on a game board located inside the glass door. The subject is typically a player's hand, and the dedicated chip is configured to specify the moving direction of the center position of the subject. Here, it is preferable that the dedicated chip is an SOC (System On a Chip) in which main functions of the computer are mounted on one chip. In addition, it is effective that the effect means changes the sound effect and / or the lamp effect in response to the grasped movement of the subject.

  According to the above-described present invention, it is possible to reliably grasp the movement of the player in the vicinity of the camera while having a simple configuration.

It is a perspective view of the pachinko machine shown in an example. It is the front view which illustrated in detail the game board of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is drawing for demonstrating the structure of an effect control part. It is drawing explaining the circuit structure and operation | movement of a camera part and a composite chip. It is a flowchart explaining a part of operation | movement of a composite chip | tip. It is a flowchart which shows a part of process of FIG. 6 in detail. This is an example of a player's movement. It is a flowchart which shows a part of process of FIG. 6 in detail. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of an effect control part. It is drawing which illustrated the operation | movement at the time of camera production.

  Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pachinko machine GM of the present embodiment. This pachinko machine GM includes a rectangular frame-shaped wooden outer frame 1 that is detachably mounted on an island structure, and a front frame 3 that is pivotably mounted via a hinge 2 fixed to the outer frame 1. It is configured. A game board 5 is detachably attached to the front frame 3, and a glass door 6 and a front plate 7 are pivotally attached to the front side of the game board 5 so as to be openable and closable.

  On the outer periphery of the glass door 6, an electric lamp such as an LED lamp is arranged in a substantially C shape. An upper plate 8 for storing game balls for launch is mounted on the front plate 7, and a lower plate 9 for storing game balls overflowing from or extracted from the upper plate 8 and a launch handle 10 are mounted at the bottom of the front frame 3. And are provided. The launch handle 10 is interlocked with the launch motor, and a game ball is launched by a striking rod that operates according to the rotation angle of the launch handle 10.

  A chance button 11 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the upper plate 8. The chance button 11 is provided at a position where it can be operated with the left hand of the player, and the player can operate the chance button 11 without releasing the right hand from the firing handle 10. The chance button 11 does not function normally, but when the game state becomes the button chance state, the built-in lamp is turned on and can be operated. The button chance state is a game state provided as necessary.

  On the right side of the upper plate 8, an operation panel 12 for ball lending operation with respect to the card-type ball lending machine is provided, a frequency display unit for displaying the remaining amount of the card with a three-digit number, and a ball of game balls for a predetermined amount A ball lending switch for instructing lending and a return switch for instructing to return the card at the end of the game are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the game board 5 is provided with a guide rail 13 formed of a metal outer rail and an inner rail in an annular shape, and a display device is provided at the approximate center of the game area 5a on the inside. An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is arranged. In addition, at a suitable place in the game area 5a, a symbol start opening 15, a big winning opening 16, a plurality of normal winning openings 17 (four on the right and left of the large winning opening 16), and a gate 18 serving as a passing opening are arranged. Yes. Each of these winning openings 15 to 18 has a detection switch inside, and can detect the passage of a game ball.

  The display device LCD is a device that variably displays a specific symbol related to the big hit state and displays a background image and various characters in an animated manner. This display device LCD has special symbol display portions Da to Dc in the center portion and a normal symbol display portion 19 in the upper right portion. And, in the special symbol display parts Da to Dc, a reach effect is executed that expects a big hit state to be invited, or in the special symbol display parts Da to Dc and the surroundings, a notice effect that informs the result of the success / failure is executed. Is done.

  The normal symbol display unit 19 displays a normal symbol. When a game ball that has passed through the gate 18 is detected, the normal symbol fluctuates for a predetermined time, and the lottery extracted at the time when the game ball passes through the gate 18 is extracted. The stop symbol determined by the random number for use is displayed and stopped.

  Outside the two normal winning openings 17 and 17 arranged on the left side, a radiating unit 50 that emits infrared rays and a camera unit 51 that receives infrared reflected light at the time of camera production are respectively a game board 5 and a makeup. It is disposed through the plate PLA (see FIG. 2B). The camera effect of the present embodiment is executed only when the camera effect lottery is won, and the effect symbols appearing during the reach effect are made movable so as to reach the big hit state according to the movement of the player's hand. . However, whether or not to actually reach the big hit state is determined in advance by the big hit lottery, and if the big hit lottery is not won, regardless of the movement of the player's hand, it will eventually become a lost state Become.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the radiating portion 50 includes a main body portion BDY having a cylindrical inner peripheral surface processed into a mirror surface MIR, and an elastic portion CV that is externally fitted to the distal end side of the main body portion BDY. Has been. And in the main-body part BDY, infrared rays LED which is not shown in figure is arrange | positioned, and radiates | emits infrared rays toward the glass door 6. FIG. Here, since the elastic portion CV has an appropriate elasticity and is in contact with the glass door 6, regular reflection light on the inner surface of the glass door 6 does not leak to the camera portion 51. Further, the inner peripheral surface of the main body BDY is mirror-finished, and the elastic portion CV is also non-translucent, so that energy loss is minimized and infrared rays are radiated substantially in a beam shape. In addition, a condensing lens is arrange | positioned at the radiation | emission part 50 as needed.

  In the camera unit 51 of the present embodiment, an infrared filter Fi and a wide-angle lens LEN are arranged on the optical path reaching the light receiving surface. Here, the wide-angle lens LEN is composed of a convex lens, a concave lens, and a convex lens. By appropriately setting the distance between the three lenses, the contour of the player's hand close to the glass door 6 can be accurately defined. We are trying to grasp it.

  The infrared filter Fi is a sharp cut filter that allows light having a cutoff wavelength (approximately 700 nm) or more to pass but blocks light having a wavelength shorter than that. Therefore, the visible light incident on the camera unit 51 is blocked by the infrared filter Fi, and only the infrared light reflected by the player's hand reaches the light receiving surface of the camera. Therefore, the camera unit 51 is not influenced by visible light in principle. In addition, in the present embodiment, the target (subject) is captured by infrared reflected light, so that the target recognition range (focal position) is effectively limited, and there is a possibility of acquiring an image farther than the recognition range. There is no.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, since the glass door 6 is disposed in front of the camera unit 51, the player's hand does not approach the camera unit 51 more than necessary. Therefore, an image of the player's hand can be acquired with an appropriate size. That is, even when the player's hand touches the glass door 6, the hand image does not overflow from the light receiving surface of the camera unit 51, and the contour image of the hand fits correctly on the light receiving surface of the camera unit 51. .

  By the way, in the case of a present Example, the radiation | emission part 50 and the camera part 51 are not functioning all the time, but it starts operation | movement and grasps | ascertains a player's movement only when winning a camera effect lottery. It has become. Since the display device LCD is informed that the operation of the camera unit 51 has started, when the hand is reached before the camera unit 51 and moved in an appropriate direction, the movement direction of the center position is determined. The production symbol related to the big hit state is configured to move corresponding to the moving speed.

  The symbol start port 15 located on the right side of the radiating unit 50 and the camera unit 51 is configured to be opened and closed by an electric tulip having a pair of left and right opening and closing claws 15a, for example, and the normal symbol display unit 19 after the fluctuation is stopped When the winning symbol is displayed, the opening / closing claw 15a is opened for a predetermined time or until a predetermined number of game balls are detected.

  When a game ball wins the symbol start port 15, the display symbols of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc change for a predetermined time and are determined based on the lottery result corresponding to the winning timing of the game ball to the symbol start port 15. Stop at the stop symbol. In addition, in special symbol display parts Da-Dc and its circumference, a notice effect may be performed between a series of symbol effects.

  The big winning opening 16 is controlled to open and close by, for example, an opening / closing plate 16a that can be opened forward, but when the stop symbol after the symbol change of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc is a big hit symbol such as “777”, the “big hit game” Is started, and the opening / closing plate 16a is opened.

  After the opening / closing plate 16a of the big prize opening 16 is opened, the opening / closing plate 16a is closed when a predetermined time elapses or when a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls wins. In such an operation, the special game is continued up to 15 times, for example, and is controlled in a state advantageous to the player. In addition, when the stop symbol after the change of the special symbol display parts Da to Dc is a specific symbol of the special symbols, a privilege that the game after the end of the special game is in a high probability state is given.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overall circuit configuration of the pachinko machine GM that realizes the above-described operations. A dashed line in the figure mainly indicates a DC voltage line.

  As shown in the figure, this pachinko machine GM is provided with a power supply board 20 that receives AC 24V and outputs various DC voltages, system reset signals (power reset signals) SYS, and the like, and a main control board 21 that plays a central role in game control operations. And an effect control board 22 that executes a lamp effect and a sound effect based on the control command CMD received from the main control board 21, and an image that drives the display device LCD based on the control command CMD ′ received from the effect control board 22. The control board 23, the payout control board 24 for controlling the payout motor M based on the control command CMD "received from the main control board 21 and paying out the game ball, and the game ball is fired in response to the player's operation. The launch control board 25 is mainly configured.

  However, in this embodiment, the control command CMD output from the main control board 21 is transmitted to the effect control board 22 via the command relay board 26 and the effect interface board 27. Further, the control command CMD ′ output from the effect control board 22 is transmitted to the image control board 23 via the effect interface board 27, and the control command CMD ″ output from the main control board 21 is the main board relay board. It is transmitted to the payout control board 24 via 28.

  The main control board 21, the effect control board 22, the image control board 23, and the payout control board 24 are each equipped with a computer circuit including a one-chip microcomputer. Thus, the circuits mounted on the control boards 21 to 24 and the operations realized by the circuits are collectively referred to as a function. In this specification, the main control unit 21, the effect control unit 22, and the image control unit 23 are used. , And the payout control unit 24. All or part of the effect control unit 22, the image control unit 23, and the payout control unit 24 is a sub-control unit.

  By the way, the pachinko machine GM is roughly divided into a frame side member GM1 surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3 and a board side member GM2 fixed to the back of the game board 5. The frame side member GM1 includes a front frame 3 on which a glass door 6 and a front plate 7 are pivotally attached, and a wooden outer frame 1 on the outside thereof. Is fixedly installed. On the other hand, the board side member GM2 is replaced in response to the model change, and a new board side member GM2 is attached to the frame side member GM1 instead of the original board side member. All except the frame side member 1 is the panel side member GM2.

  As shown in the broken line frame in FIG. 3, the frame-side member GM1 includes a power supply board 20, a payout control board 24, a launch control board 25, and a frame relay board 32, and these circuit boards are Each is fixed in place on the front frame 3. On the other hand, a main control board 21, an effect control board 22, and an image control board 23 are fixed to the back of the game board 5 together with the display device LCD and other circuit boards. And the frame side member GM1 and the board | substrate side member GM2 are electrically connected by the connection connectors C1-C4 concentratedly arranged in one place.

  The power supply board 20 is connected to the main board relay board 28 through the connection connector C2, and is connected to the power supply relay board 30 through the connection connector C3. The main board relay board 28 outputs the system reset signal SYS, the RAM clear signal DEL, the voltage drop signal, the backup power supplies BAK, DC12V, and DC32V received from the power board 20 to the main controller 21 as they are. Similarly, the power relay board 30 also outputs the system reset signal SYS received from the power board 20 and the AC and DC power supply voltages to the effect interface board 27 as they are. The production interface board 27 outputs the received system reset signal SYS to the production control unit 22 and the image control unit 23 as they are.

  On the other hand, the payout control board 24 is directly connected to the power supply board 20 without going through the relay board, and the system reset signal SYS, the RAM clear signal DEL, the voltage drop signal, the backup power supply, which are received by the main control unit 21. BAK is received directly along with other power supply voltages.

  Here, the system reset signal SYS output from the power supply board 20 is a power supply reset signal indicating that the AC power supply 24V is turned on to the power supply board 20, and the one-chip microcomputers of the respective control units 21 to 24 by this power supply reset signal. The other IC elements are reset in power supply.

  The RAM clear signal DEL received from the power supply board 20 by the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 is a signal that determines whether or not to initialize all areas of the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcomputer of each control unit 21 and 24. Therefore, it has a value corresponding to the ON / OFF state of the initialization switch SW operated by the attendant.

  The voltage drop signal received from the power supply board 20 by the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 is a signal indicating that the AC power supply 24V has started to drop. By receiving this voltage drop signal, each control unit 21, In 24, a necessary termination process is started prior to a power failure or business termination. The backup power supply BAK is a DC5V DC power source that retains data in the RAM of the one-chip microcomputer of the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 even after the AC power supply 24V is shut off due to business termination or power failure. Therefore, the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 can resume the game operation before power-off after power-on (power backup function). This pachinko machine is designed to retain the stored contents of the RAM of each one-chip microcomputer for at least several days.

  On the other hand, the effect control unit 22 and the image control unit 23 are not provided with the power supply backup function described above. However, as described above, the production control unit 22 and the image control unit 23 are commonly supplied with the system reset signal SYS via the power relay board 30 and the production interface board 27. A power supply reset operation is realized at a timing substantially synchronized with the control units 21 and 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the effect interface board 27 includes a command relay board 26, a power supply relay board 30, a frame relay board 31, an effect control board 22, a lamp connection board 34, and an image control board 23. And connected to. And at the time of camera production, the production control unit 22 acquires image information of the player's hand from the camera unit 51.

  In order to realize the operation as described above, the effect control unit 22 stores a one-chip microcomputer 40 that executes processing such as voice effect, lamp effect, camera effect, and data transfer, and a control program for the one-chip microcomputer 40. EPROM 41, audio reproduction output circuit 42 that reproduces and outputs an audio signal based on an instruction from the one-chip microcomputer 40, an audio memory 43 that stores compressed audio data, a watchdog timer WDT, a camera unit 51, A composite chip 52 for data communication and a ROM 53 for storing a control program for the CPU 64 of the composite chip 52 are provided (see FIG. 4).

  Here, the composite chip is a one-chip IC (System On a Chip) on which the main functions of a computer are mounted. For example, LR35501 (Sharp) is used. Note that the watchdog timer WDT is reset by a clear pulse periodically supplied from the one-chip microcomputer 40. When the clear pulse is interrupted due to a program runaway or the like, a reset signal RESET is output. Yes. As a result, the one-chip microcomputer 40 is forcibly reset to the initial state, and the program runaway state is solved.

  The one-chip microcomputer 40 includes a parallel input / output port PIO. The parallel port PIO outputs the control command CMD ′ and the strobe signal STB ′, while receiving the player's hand movement information DET from the composite chip 52 together with the strobe signal STB ″ (1 bit). In this embodiment, the CPU of the composite chip 52 outputs the movement direction and movement speed of the player's hand in real time as movement information DET.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control command CMD and the strobe signal (interrupt signal) STB output from the main control board 21 are sent to the one-chip microcomputer 40 of the effect control board 22 via the buffer 48 of the effect interface board 27. Is supplied. The interrupt signal STB is supplied to the interrupt terminal INT of the one-chip microcomputer. Then, the effect control unit 22 acquires the control command CMD by the reception interrupt process activated by the strobe signal STB.

  In addition to (a) error notification and other notification control commands, the control command CMD acquired by the effect control unit 22 includes (b) control for specifying an outline of various effect operations resulting from winning at the symbol start opening. Commands (variation pattern commands) are included. Here, the outline of the production operation specified by the variation pattern command includes the production total time from the production start to the production end, and the result of winning or failing in the big hit lottery. However, the specific content of the production content including whether or not to execute the camera production is not specified.

  Therefore, when the change pattern command CMD is acquired, the effect control unit 22 performs an effect lottery or a camera effect lottery to further specify the effect outline specified by the acquired change pattern command CMD.

  For example, the specific contents of the reach effect and the notice effect are determined. Then, in accordance with the determined specific game content, a lamp effect by blinking the LED group and a sound effect preparation operation by the speaker are performed, and the image control unit 23 is synchronized with the effect operation by the lamp and the speaker. The control command CMD ′ related to the rendered symbol effect is output. When the camera effect lottery is won, at the time of the camera effect, the effect control unit 22 outputs image control information regarding the movement of the player's hand to the image control unit 23 as a control command CMD '. The image control information is output after the movement information DET output from the composite chip 52 in real time is counted for a predetermined time.

  Including the image control information, the effect control unit 22 outputs a control command CMD ′ to the effect interface board 27 together with a strobe signal (interrupt signal) STB ′ for the image control unit 23. When receiving the notification control command related to the display device LCD and other control commands, the effect control unit 22 outputs the control command to the effect interface board 27 together with the interrupt signal STB ′. To do.

  Corresponding to the configuration of the effect control board 22, the effect interface board 27 is configured to receive an 8-bit control command CMD 'and a 1-bit interrupt signal STB'. These data CMD ′ and STB ′ are output to the image control board 23 via the buffer 46 as they are.

  The symbol effect executed by the image controller 23 based on the control command CMD 'is centered on a so-called symbol variation operation in which the special symbol moves cyclically, and includes a reach effect. The reach effect is a symbol effect that starts after the two special symbols whose fluctuations have been stopped among the three special symbols are correctly aligned. Is done.

  As described above, the production control unit 22 of the present embodiment is configured to cause the radiation unit 50 to emit light and to obtain a captured image from the camera unit 51 during a camera production that may be executed during the reach production. ing. Whether or not to execute a camera effect is determined by a camera effect lottery, but in this embodiment, a high probability is obtained when reaching a big hit state and when executing a reach effect that is likely to reach a big hit state. Thus, the camera production lottery is won.

  On the other hand, when a reach effect that is unlikely to reach a big hit state is executed, the camera effect lottery is selected with a low probability. Since the fact that the camera effect lottery has been won is notified to the display device LCD at an appropriate timing, the player is expected to participate in the camera effect with a sense of expectation based on the above high probability of winning. .

  FIG. 11 illustrates two camera effects. The illustrated example is the final stage of the reach effect, and shows the symbol effect at a delicate timing as to whether or not the special symbol “7-7-7” (effect symbol) is aligned. A camera effect is started at such a delicate timing. For example, in the case of camera effect NO1, a display such as “camera chance !!” is displayed on the display device LCD. In response to this screen notification, when the player moves his / her hand up or down in front of the camera, the character moves to the center position of the special symbol “7” corresponding to the downward movement of the player's hand. Repeat the pushing operation.

  Further, in the case of camera production NO2, in response to the screen display of “camera chance!”, When the player moves his / her hand left or right in front of the camera, In response to the movement, the character repeats the action of pushing the special symbol “7” into the center position.

  Since any of the above operations is a support operation for inviting a big hit state, if the support operation is successful, the player can feel that he has won the big hit state by his contribution, and with great joy. , You can enjoy new gaming. However, whether or not the big hit state is reached is not actually affected by the quality of the support operation. Therefore, as an effect at the time of losing, if the moving speed of the player's hand is fast, the special symbol “7” executes an effect that goes too far from the center position, and the losing state is determined at “7-8-7”. On the other hand, when the moving speed of the player's hand is slow, the special symbol “7” executes an effect of being pushed back from the center position, and the lost state is determined at “7-6-7”.

  Note that the player may not use the camera effect, but in such a case, after the start of the camera effect, all special symbols are changed again at an appropriate timing, and then stopped at the scheduled symbol array. Let

  In order to realize the camera production operation as described above, it is necessary to grasp the movement of the player's hand. In this embodiment, a composite chip 52 (System On a Chip) is used to realize this. ing. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the connection relationship between the radiation unit 50, the camera unit 51, the composite chip 52, and the one-chip microcomputer 40, and the configuration of each unit.

  As described above, the radiating unit 50 is configured by arranging an infrared LED on the main body BDY whose inner surface is mirror-finished. The camera unit 51 receives the reflected light via the infrared filter Fi and the wide-angle lens LEN, and receives the output from the image sensor 60 in the UYVY format. It has a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 61 that outputs frame image data.

  Here, the UYVY format refers to the luminance (Y), color difference U (= BY), and color difference V (for the R (red), G (green), and B (blue) levels of each sampling point. = R−Y). In this embodiment, 30 frames of image data per second are output to the composite chip 52 in the form of serial data.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the composite chip 52 constitutes a DSPC unit 62 (Digital Signal Processor controller), a COD unit 63 (colored object detect), a CPU 64 that detects the position of the player's hand, and a work area of the CPU 64. RAM 65, data that defines the operation of DSPC unit 62 and COD unit 63 (operation parameters) are stored, register group 66 that stores the operation results of COD unit 63, and output port 67. It is configured.

  A control program that defines the operation of the CPU 64 is stored in the external ROM 53. Further, the data output from the output port 67 is configured to be supplied to the input port of the one-chip microcomputer 40 of the effect control unit.

  In the composite chip 52 having the above-described internal configuration, the DSPC unit 62 performs data communication with the DSP 61 of the camera unit 51 to acquire 30 pieces of frame image data (YUV signal) per second. On the other hand, the COD unit 63 converts the YUV signal that has passed through the DSPC unit 62 into an HSV signal, extracts a specific color component region designated in advance, and represents four coordinate data indicating the outline of the extraction region. Is written in the corresponding address of the register group 66. In this embodiment, the hue H (hue) is given by H = tan−1 (V / U) * 256 / 3.14, and the saturation S (saturation) is given by S = SQR (U2 + V2). The brightness V (value) is given by V = Y.

  By the way, in this embodiment, in order to eliminate disturbance noise, the infrared filter Fi is intentionally arranged to block visible light. Therefore, the original RGB values should not be detected in principle, and in fact, the detection level is not stabilized at all for the hue H in particular. However, according to the inventor's experimental research, the luminance Y (= lightness V) is significant for the intensity of the reflected infrared light and the characteristics of the on-chip color filter and the photodiode constituting the image sensor. It was confirmed that the level was detected stably.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the contour of the hand is extracted based on the brightness V of the reflected light reflected from the player's hand. Specifically, an appropriate threshold value TH is set, and the contour of the hand is specified based on whether the lightness V of each sampling point exceeds the threshold value TH.

  FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are flowcharts for explaining the processing contents of the CPU 64 and the COD unit 63 that realize this operation. When the power is turned on, the CPU 64 appropriately initializes the DSPC unit 62 and the COD unit 63 (ST10). In this initial setting process, (a) extracting an area having a lightness V exceeding the threshold TH, (b) connecting a plurality of extraction areas when they are close to each other by a predetermined distance, And (c) processing for instructing the COD unit 63 to calculate and store the center coordinate value of the extracted maximum region. Specifically, the CPU 64 completes the initial setting process by writing predetermined operation parameters including the instructions (a), (b), and (c) to the corresponding addresses in the register group 66 (ST10).

  As a result of the above initial setting, the COD unit 63 starts operation continuously based on the operation parameter written in the register group 66. Specifically, the YUV signal transmitted from the DSP unit 61 at 1/30 second intervals is converted into an HSV signal (ST1), and a region satisfying the above conditions (a) and (b) is extracted (ST2). ).

  Then, among the extracted areas, the center coordinates of the area (contour) of the maximum size are written into the corresponding address of the register group 66, and the corresponding address of the register is shown to indicate that the designated extraction operation is completed. The image recognition flag CMP in the set state is written in (ST3).

  As shown in FIG. 6C, the center coordinates of the contour of the hand are the point a corresponding to the minimum value Ymin in the Y-axis direction, the point b corresponding to the minimum value Xmin in the X-axis direction, and the maximum in the Y-axis direction. It is determined corresponding to the point c corresponding to the value Ymax and the point d corresponding to the maximum value Xmax in the X-axis direction. Specifically, for a point = (Xa, Ymin), b point = (Xmin, Yb), c point = (Xc, Ymax), and d point = (Xmax, Yd), the central coordinates are (Xmax + Xmin). ) / 2, (Ymax + Ymin) / 2. Xa means the X coordinate of point a, Yb means the Y coordinate of point b, Xc means the X coordinate of point c, and Yd means the Y coordinate of point d.

  After the initial setting process (ST10) of the CPU 64, the COD unit 63 continuously operates the processes in steps ST1 to ST3 described above at 1/30 second intervals. Therefore, after the initial setting process (ST10), the CPU 64 waits for the image recognition flag CMP to be set (ST11), and when the image recognition flag CMP is set, prohibits the subsequent update of the detection data. (ST12). This is because the COD unit 63 prohibits the coordinate data for the next frame from being written while the CPU 64 is reading the center coordinates extracted for one frame from the register group 66.

  Subsequent to the processing of step ST12, the CPU 64 reads the detection data (center coordinate value) from the register group 66 and writes it in the corresponding position of the storage table TBL having 30 storage areas (ST13). Although the storage capacity of the storage table TBL is not limited at all, in this embodiment, since the COD unit 63 acquires images at 1/30 second intervals, the storage table TBL is stored in the storage table TBL in order to store data for the past one second. Has 30 storage areas TBL (1) to TBL (30).

  FIG. 6E specifically illustrates the processing in step ST13, and shows that the center coordinate values are sequentially written at the storage table position indicated by the pointer PT. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the value of the pointer PT that is initially set to PT = 0 matches the maximum value 30, and if PT <30, it is incremented (ST31).

  On the other hand, if PT = 30, all 29 stored data TBL (2) to TBL (30) are moved to one higher position (ST32). As a result, the data TBL (1) at the head position of the storage table TBL, that is, data one second before, is sequentially erased every time new data is acquired.

In any case, following the process of step ST31 or ST32, the latest acquired data (center coordinate value) is stored in the storage position indicated by the pointer PT, and the subroutine process of step ST13 is completed (ST33). As is apparent from the above processing, the storage table TBL stores a total of 30 pieces of central coordinate position data from the oldest data (X ₁ , Y ₁ ) to the latest data (X ₃₀ , Y ₃₀ ). (See FIG. 6 (d)).

  Subsequently, the 30 data are analyzed to identify the moving direction and moving speed of the player's hand (ST14). FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of this analysis process. Such an analysis process is necessary because the player's hand usually reciprocates as shown in FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (i), so the current moving direction is specified. This is because only the most recent movement needs to be specifically extracted.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8D, when the player's hand is moved horizontally or vertically, only the X coordinate value or only the Y coordinate value repeatedly increases and decreases. It is necessary to identify the turning point indicated by the mark and identify the player's movement based on the most recent data thereafter. In addition, even when the movement trajectory is shown in FIGS. 8E to 8H, it is necessary to identify the turning point indicated by a circle and identify the player's movement based on the subsequent data. is there.

  Therefore, in the process of step ST14, the storage table TBL is checked from the latest data TBL (30) to the oldest data TBL (1), and the X coordinate value and the Y coordinate value increase monotonously with time. The point at which the increase / decrease direction has been switched is identified as the turning point. Steps ST41 to ST50 are processing for specifying a turning point for the X coordinate, and subsequent steps ST51 to ST60 are processing for specifying a turning point for the Y coordinate.

  First, a process for specifying a turning point for the X coordinate will be described. Here, the variable i is used as the pointer of the storage table TBL, and the determination flag Fx indicating the increase / decrease direction is used. The determination flag Fx is Fx = 1, depending on whether it is significantly monotonically increasing, significantly monotonically decreasing, or not significantly increasing or decreasing in time (increase direction of the pointer variable i), respectively. Fx = 2 and Fx = 0.

Therefore, first, the determination flag Fx is initialized to 0 (ST41), and the pointer variable i is initialized to 30 (ST42). Then, in order to determine whether or not a significant increase / decrease is recognized in time, the deviation X _i −X _i−1 of the X coordinate value is compared with the lowest reference value δ (ST43).

If X _i −X _i−1 > δ and the X coordinate value has increased significantly in time, then the value of the determination flag Fx at that time is determined (ST44). Here, if the value of the determination flag Fx is Fx = 2 indicating that it has been monotonically decreasing until then, it is determined that the coordinate value Xi has changed from monotonic decreasing to increasing, and the process proceeds to step ST50. That is, the coordinate value X _i at this time is determined to be the X coordinate value of the turning point.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that Fx ≠ 2 in the process of step ST44, it is determined that the X coordinate value is significantly monotonically increasing, and after setting the determination flag Fx to 1 (ST45), the pointer variable i Is decremented (ST48).

By the way, when it is determined in the comparison process of step ST43 that −δ ≦ X _i −X _i−1 ≦ + δ, the pointer variable i is decremented without doing anything (ST48). On the other hand, if δ <−X _i + X _i−1 in the comparison process in step ST43 and the X coordinate value is significantly decreased in time, the value of the determination flag Fx at that time is determined (ST46). ). Here, if the value of the determination flag Fx is Fx = 1 indicating that it has been monotonically increasing, it is determined that the coordinate value X _i has changed from monotonic increase to decrease, and the process proceeds to step ST50.

  While decrementing the pointer variable i as described above, the processes in steps ST43 to ST48 are repeated, and when the decremented pointer variable i reaches 1, the process proceeds to step ST50.

At a timing when the process of step ST50 is executed, If the determination flag Fx is a Fx = 1, X _i denotes the X-coordinate value of the folding points which begin to increase in the X-direction. Specifically, for example, the X coordinates of turning points (circles) shown on the right side of FIG. 8A, FIG. 8E, the left side of FIG. 8F, and the upper left and lower sides of FIG. 8H. A value has been detected.

Further, at a timing when the process of step ST50 is executed, if the determination flag Fx is if Fx = 2, X _i denotes the X-coordinate value of the folding point begins to decrease in the X direction. Specifically, for example, the X coordinates of turning points (circles) shown on the left side of FIG. 8B, FIG. 8E, the right side of FIG. 8F, and the upper right side of FIG. 8H. A value has been detected.

  On the other hand, if the determination flag Fx is Fx = 0 at the timing when the process of step ST50 is executed, the moving direction of the player is the vertical direction shown in FIG. 8 (c) or FIG. 8 (d). This means that the X coordinate value of the turning point could not be detected.

In any case, in step ST50, the deviation ΔX = X ₃₀ −X _i between the detected X coordinate value X _i and the X coordinate value X ₃₀ of the latest data is obtained, and the temporal deviation Tx = 30−i is calculated. To do.

  Subsequently, the same processing as described above is executed for the Y coordinate value. For the Y coordinate, the variable j is used as the pointer of the storage table TBL, and the determination flag Fy indicating the increase / decrease direction is used. The determination flag Fy has Fy = 1, Fy = 2, respectively, depending on whether the pointer variable j is increasing significantly monotonously, significantly monotonically decreasing, or not significantly increasing or decreasing. Fy = 0.

First, after the initial setting of the determination flag Fy and pointer variable j (ST51, ST52), the deviation _Y j _{-Y j-1} of the Y-coordinate value is compared with a minimum reference value [delta] (ST53). If Y _j −Y _j−1 > δ and the Y coordinate value has increased significantly in time, the value of the determination flag Fy at that time is determined (ST54). If the determination flag Fy = 2, it is determined that the coordinate value Y _j has changed from monotonous decrease to increase, and the process proceeds to step ST60.

On the other hand, if it is determined that Fy ≠ 2 in the process of step ST54, it is determined that the Y coordinate value is significantly monotonically increasing, and after setting the determination flag Fy to 1 (ST55), the pointer variable j Is decremented (ST58). If it is determined in the comparison process in step ST53 that −δ ≦ Y _j −Y _j−1 ≦ + δ, the pointer variable j is decremented without doing anything (ST58).

On the other hand, if δ <−Y _j + Y _j−1 in the comparison process in step ST53 and the Y coordinate value is significantly decreased in time, the value of the determination flag Fy at that time is determined (ST56). ). Here, if the value of the determination flag Fy is Fy = 1 indicating that it has been monotonically increasing until then, it is determined that the coordinate value Y _j has changed from monotonic increase to decrease, and the process proceeds to step ST60.

  While decrementing the pointer variable j as described above, the processes in steps ST53 to 58 are repeated, and when the decremented pointer variable j reaches 1, the process proceeds to step ST60.

If the determination flag Fy is Fy = 1 at the timing when the process of step ST60 is executed, _Yj means the Y coordinate value of the turning point that starts to increase in the Y direction. Specifically, for example, the Y coordinates of the turning points (circles) shown on the right side of FIG. 8D, FIG. 8E, the right side of FIG. 8F, and the upper left and right sides of FIG. A value has been detected.

If the determination flag Fy is Fy = 2 at the timing when the process of step ST60 is executed, _Yj means the Y coordinate value of the turning point that starts to decrease in the Y direction. Specifically, for example, Y at the turning points (circles) shown on the left side of FIG. 8C, FIG. 8E, the left side of FIG. 8F, and the lower left and right sides of FIG. Coordinate values are detected.

  On the other hand, if the determination flag Fy is Fy = 0 at the timing when the process of step ST60 is executed, the moving direction of the player is the left-right direction shown in FIG. 8 (a) or FIG. 8 (b). This means that the Y coordinate value of the turning point could not be detected.

In any of the above cases, in step ST60, the deviation ΔY = Y ₃₀ −Y _j between the detected Y coordinate value Y _j and the Y coordinate value Y ₃₀ of the latest data is obtained, and the temporal deviation Ty = 30−j is calculated. To do.

  As is clear from the above processing, when the X coordinate value and the Y coordinate value are detected for the turning point (see FIGS. 8E and 8F), only the X coordinate value is detected ( 8 (a), FIG. 8 (b), and FIG. 8 (h)), and when only the Y coordinate value is detected (see FIG. 8 (c), FIG. 8 (d), and FIG. 8 (g)). ) Exists. As shown in FIG. 8 (i), when there is no turning point in the first place and when no turning point is detected for the X coordinate or the Y coordinate, the coordinate value of the oldest data is extracted.

  When the process of step ST14 in FIG. 6A is completed as described above, the movement direction of the movement of the player's hand is next based on the calculated position deviations ΔX, ΔY and time deviations Tx, Ty. And the moving speed are finally determined (ST15).

FIG. 9A is a flowchart showing the specific method. As described above, in the process of step ST14, the X coordinate value and the Y coordinate value of the turning point are not necessarily detected. The coordinate values not identify the turning point is not other X-coordinate value X ₁ or Y-coordinate value Y ₁ of the oldest data, in such a case, when processing the end of step ST14, the pointer variable i and j are i = 0 or j = 0. Further, when the player does not move his / her hand, the determination flag Fx and the determination flag Fy remain at the initial state of zero.

  Therefore, in the process of step ST15 following step ST14, first, the values of the determination flag Fx and the determination flag Fy are determined (ST70 in FIG. 9). If both the determination flag Fx and the determination flag Fy are zero, it is determined that the player has not moved the hand yet, and the process of step ST15 is terminated without doing anything.

On the other hand, if either one of the determination flag Fx and the determination flag Fy is not 0, then the magnitude relationship between the pointer variables i and j is compared (ST71), and if i <j, the turning point only for the Y coordinate. Is detected, and the positional deviation ΔX in the X direction is corrected to ΔX = X ₃₀ −X _j (ST72). Further, the time deviation Ty is adopted as the time deviation T (ST72).

Conversely, if it is determined in the process of step ST15 that i> j, it is determined that the turning point is detected only for the X coordinate, and the position deviation ΔY in the Y direction is set to ΔY = Y ₃₀ −Y _i . Correct (ST73). Further, the time deviation Tx is adopted as the time deviation T (ST73). If i = j, nothing is done and the process proceeds to step ST74.

  In the subsequent process of step ST74, the moving direction of the player's hand is specified based on the positional deviations ΔX and ΔY corrected as necessary and the determination table JDG shown in FIG. 9B. As shown in FIG. 9C, in this embodiment, the movement direction is divided into eight sections (0 to 7), and the movement direction is specified based on the position deviations ΔX and ΔY indicating positive and negative values. Yes. When the position deviations ΔX and ΔY are both small values, the moving direction does not need to be a problem (see ST70), so the stop state NG is set.

  In FIG. 9C, the positive direction of X is the right direction, the negative direction is the left direction, the positive direction of Y is the downward direction, and the negative direction is the upward direction. It is assumed that the left and right direction and the up and down direction of the hand image acquired by 51 match the actual movement direction of the player's hand. For example, when the player moves his / her hand in the right direction, the hand image acquired by the camera unit 51 also moves in the positive direction of the X axis.

In this way, when the moving direction is specified with reference to the determination table JDG shown in FIG. 9B, the moving speed is specified based on the position deviations ΔX and ΔY and the time deviation T. Here, the moving speed is divided into four stages (00 to 11), and is specified by, for example, a calculation formula of {SQR (ΔX ² + ΔY ² )} / ΔT. For simplicity, the moving speed is specified by the ratio between the time deviation T and the value of the larger one of the two position deviations ΔX and ΔY.

  Then, 8-bit data (movement information DET) including 3 bits indicating the moving direction and 2 bits indicating the moving speed is output to the one-chip microcomputer 40 via the output port 67 and processed in step ST14. Is finished (ST75). At the timing of this step ST75, a strobe signal STB "serving as an interrupt signal for the one-chip microcomputer 40 is also output, and the one-chip microcomputer 40 performs the hand of the player in the interrupt process corresponding to the strobe signal STB". The movement information DET is acquired (see FIG. 5).

  When the process of step ST14 in FIG. 6A described above is completed, the CPU 64 then permits the update of the detection data prohibited in the process of step ST12 and clears the set state image recognition flag CMP. (ST15) The process proceeds to a process of waiting for the image recognition flag CMP to be set for the next frame (ST11).

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the one-chip microcomputer 40 of the effect control unit 22 that receives the movement information DET from the composite chip 52. As shown in the figure, the operation of the effect control unit 22 includes a main process (a) started after power-on, a timer interrupt process (b) started every 4 mS, and an SOC interrupt process started by a strobe signal STB ″. (C) and a reception interrupt process (not shown) activated by the strobe signal STB is executed, and the SOC interrupt is a maskable interrupt, and the SOC interrupt is permitted by the main process. Interrupt processing is started only when

  As shown in FIG. 10A, in the main process, after initial setting inside the one-chip microcomputer 40 is executed (SS1), necessary initial setting is executed for the audio reproduction output circuit 42 (SS2). Thereafter, the CPU of the one-chip microcomputer 40 is set to the interrupt permitting state (SS3), and a timer interrupt at an interval of 4 mS is waited (SS4).

  As shown in FIG. 10B, the interrupt flag INT is set every time a timer interrupt occurs at intervals of 4 ms (SS9). Therefore, in the process of step SS4 of the main process, the interrupt flag INT is repeatedly set to 1. Will be checked. When the interrupt flag INT = 1, the received command analysis process is executed (SS6) after resetting the interrupt flag (SS5).

  The received command includes a variation pattern command, a notice effect command, a notification control command, and the like. Therefore, in the received command analysis processing, as shown in FIG. 10D, first, it is determined whether or not a variation pattern command is newly received (SS12). An effect lottery that specifically specifies the contents is executed (SS14). Then, initial setting processing is executed for the production scenario to be executed (SS15). The production scenario includes a camera production in which a special symbol is moved in accordance with the movement of the player's hand.

  In addition, when a notice effect command is received, initial setting is made for the scenario of the notice effect (SS13, SS15). The effect scenario initially set in this manner is advanced at intervals of 4 mS in the main process together with other lamp effect processes (SS7 to SS8).

  If the strobe signal STB "is received from the composite chip 52 during the operation of the main process in a state where the SOC interrupt is permitted, the SOC interrupt process shown in FIG. 10C is executed. In the SOC interrupt process, the received data After the (movement information DET) is stored in the buffer area (SS10), the write flag WR indicating completion of the storage process is set to 1 and the process ends (SS11).

  The player movement information DET stored in the buffer area in this way is utilized in the effect scenario process (SS7) of the main process. FIG. 10E is a flowchart showing the processing contents.

  First, based on the effect scenario set in step SS15 and the elapsed time from the start of the effect, it is determined whether or not the camera effect is started (SS20). When the camera production start time is reached, the subsequent SOC interruption is permitted, the camera production flag CFL is set to 1, and the counter variable EN is initialized to zero (SS21). Note that whether or not to execute the camera effect is determined by the camera effect lottery, and therefore, if the effect is lost, the process of step SS21 is always skipped.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the camera effect has ended (SS22). Then, when the camera effect ends, the subsequent SOC interruption is prohibited and the camera effect flag CFL is returned to 0 (SS23). Of course, if the camera effect is not executed, the process of step SS23 is always skipped.

  Next, the values of the camera effect flag CFL and the write flag WR are checked in this order (SS24, SS25). If CFL = 1 and WR = 1, the write flag WR is cleared to 0 and the composite chip The movement information DET received from 52 is analyzed (SS26).

  The movement information DET includes information indicating the movement of the player's hand. On the other hand, the production control unit 21 also grasps the contents of the reach production executed at this timing. For example, it is grasped whether the symbol effect being executed by the image control unit 23 is in a state as shown in FIG. 11A or in a state as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, the production control unit 21 can specify the expected player movement at this timing. In other words, the production control unit 21 can move the hand up and down during normal camera production. Whether to move left and right or to make other movements can be specified based on the production scenario being executed by itself.

  Therefore, it is analyzed whether or not the movement information DET corresponding to the expected normal movement of the player is received (SS26), and when the corresponding movement information is received, the counter variable EN is incremented (SS28). ). If the corresponding movement information DET has not been received, the subroutine processing is finished as it is.

  When the counter variable EN is incremented, it is determined whether or not the incremented counter variable EN has reached the reference value TH (SS29). If the counter variable EN has reached the reference value TH, an appropriate control command CMD 'is transmitted to the image control unit 23 to execute a symbol effect corresponding to the player's movement (SS30). Further, the counter variable EN is returned to 0 and the subroutine processing is finished (SS31).

  In the present embodiment, the processing of steps SS28 to SS29 is provided in the case of the camera production, where in the most frequent state, the SOC interruption is received every 1/30 seconds, and it is necessary to move the production symbol for each SOC interruption. Because there is no. Therefore, the reference value TH is selected as a value suitable as a time interval for moving the effect symbol. For example, if the reference value TH = 3 is set, the effect symbol can be moved every 0.1 seconds at the fastest. However, when the effect control unit 22 controls the effect symbol of the liquid crystal display, the effect symbol may be moved for each SOC interruption.

  In any case, according to the present embodiment, the symbol effect can be executed in accordance with the movement of the player's hand, and the effect contents can be enriched. In addition, in this embodiment, since the composite chip 52 for grasping the movement of the player's hand is separately provided, the control burden of the effect control unit 22 regarding the camera effect is extremely light, and there is a possibility that the original effect control may be hindered. Absent.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described in detail, the concrete description content does not specifically limit this invention. In particular, the method of using the camera is not limited to the camera effect described above, and appropriate use is possible.

  Moreover, the radiation | emission part 50 does not necessarily need to be single piece, for example, it is also suitable to arrange two or more centering on the camera part 51, for example. In this case, it is preferable to arrange them at an appropriate angle according to the imaging range of the camera.

  Although not particularly described in the embodiment, it is preferable that the effect control unit changes the sound effect and / or the lamp effect in accordance with the grasped movement of the player.

GM gaming machine LEN Wide-angle lens 51 Camera unit 22, 23

Claims (8)

A gaming machine that executes a lottery process based on a random number value when a predetermined switch signal is in an ON state, and determines whether or not to generate a gaming state advantageous to the player,
Whether or not to generate an advantageous gaming state is configured to be notified to the player by whether or not a specific symbol is aligned with the display device in a predetermined manner,
A camera unit that acquires an image of a subject located in front of the gaming machine through a wide-angle lens;
Providing an effect means for grasping the subject based on the output of the camera unit and executing a game effect corresponding to the movement;
The effect means is configured to execute an effect that functions in a gaming state that may lead to the advantageous gaming state and aligns the symbols in a predetermined manner in response to the movement of the subject. A gaming machine characterized by that.   The rendering means includes a dedicated chip for grasping the subject based on the output of the camera unit, and a general-purpose computer circuit that receives the data output from the dedicated chip and executes the rendering operation. The gaming machine according to claim 1.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein a radiation unit that emits invisible light is provided for the subject.   The gaming machine according to claim 3, wherein the camera unit is configured to receive a reflected wave from a subject via a visible region cutoff filter. The gaming machine according to claim 3 , wherein the radiating portion is disposed on a game board located inside the glass door. The gaming machine according to claim 2 , wherein the subject is a player's hand, and the dedicated chip is configured to specify a moving direction of a center position of the subject.   The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the effect means changes the sound effect and / or the lamp effect in response to the grasped movement of the subject.   The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the effect means is configured to function when an effect lottery is won.