JP5417592B2 - Bullet ball machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball game machine, and more particularly to a ball game machine equipped with a large-sized image display device that displays an image in a variable manner at substantially the center of a game board.

  Conventionally, a pachinko machine, which is a bullet ball game machine, has an image display device that displays an image by a liquid crystal display or the like approximately at the center of the game board. If the displayed symbols are variably displayed and the displayed symbols are preset, there is a game that shifts to a special game in which a large number of prize balls can be acquired if the symbol is a big hit. In this type of pachinko machine, a character or the like is displayed on the screen of the image display device, and a reach notice or a big hit notice that is likely to be a big hit is produced to increase the player's expectation. Recently, in order to differentiate from other gaming machines, the display contents such as the notice effect are complicated and diversified, and the image display device is enlarged to give an impact to the player.

  By the way, when the size of the image display device is increased, the proportion of the image display device in the game area of the game board is large, and the flow area of the game ball is reduced accordingly, and the movement of the game ball is restricted, and the feeling of dynamism is increased. The original taste of pachinko machines, such as enjoying the movement of a certain game ball, is halved. In general, when the winning opening such as the start opening is installed below the image display device and the image display apparatus is made large, there is a problem that the rate of entering the winning opening such as the starting opening is lowered.

  Therefore, as described in Patent Document 1 below, an introductory decoration portion including a guide passage for guiding a game ball to the front side of the image display device is provided at an upper position of the image display device, and the image display device A guide bar is provided at a lower position so that a game ball passing through the front side of the image display device is directed to the start port side, or a central device as an image display device as described in Patent Document 2 below And a variable winning device as a starting opening are integrally provided, and a plurality of warp bowl entrances into which game balls can be placed on the outer peripheral portion of the central device, and the game balls that have entered these are placed on the variable winning device side Several warp kits have been proposed to guide you.

JP-A-9-313689 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-272229

  However, in the conventional structure described in Patent Document 1 described above, the flow area of the game ball expands to ensure a certain degree of freedom of movement of the game ball, but the game ball passing through the front side of the image display device is When it hits, it is easy to jump greatly and it does not necessarily go to the start opening side, and it is difficult to improve the rate of entering the winning opening such as the starting opening. Further, in the conventional structure described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, the game ball is surely guided to the variable winning device side by the warp kit, so that the winning rate to the variable winning device is improved. Because it passes through, you can not enjoy the dynamic movement of the game ball.

  Therefore, even if the image display device is enlarged, the present invention does not restrict the movement of the game ball with a feeling of movement, and can enjoy the original taste of the ball game machine and is installed below the image display device. An object of the present invention is to provide a ball game machine with a good entrance rate to an entrance or the like.

A starting port located on the surface of the game board;
In a ball game machine equipped with an image display device that displays a symbol in a variable manner by entering a game ball at the start opening in the center of the game board.
A frame-like case member surrounding the outer periphery of the image display surface is provided on the front surface of the image display device, and a ball entrance and a game ball that has entered the ball entrance are provided on the upper frame portion of the case member. A ball passage that leads to the inside of the case member, a ball sensor that detects that a game ball has entered the entrance, and a ball exit of the ball passage are arranged above the image display surface to Let the sphere pass through the front of the image display surface from the above sphere exit and drop it linearly,
Due to the fact that the game ball is detected by the ball sensor while the symbol is changing, the character is displayed on the image display surface on the fall path of the game ball,
When the game ball falling in front of the image display surface reaches the displayed character when the symbol that is changing on the image display device is a big hit change, the fall The game ball falling in front of the image display surface in the case where the effect of the character during the variation of the symbol performed behind the game ball being played and the variation of the variation is a deviation variation is In accordance with the timing of reaching the displayed character, the effect of the character during the change of the symbol performed behind the falling game ball is made different.
The front of the image display surface of the image display device can be effectively used as a passing area for the game ball, and the game ball passing in front of the image display surface is dropped linearly, so there is a sense of speed, giving the player a novel impression give.

  According to the present invention, the front of the image display surface of the image display device is effectively utilized as a game ball passage area, so even if the image display device is enlarged, the movement of the game ball with a sense of movement is restricted. The original taste of the ball game machine can be enjoyed. In addition, since the display effect of the character displayed on the image display surface is changed in accordance with the falling game ball, a novel display effect can be achieved, and the entertainment of the game can be enriched.

It is a perspective view of a ball game machine to which the present invention is applied. It is a schematic front view of the game board of the said ball game machine. FIGS. 3A and 3B show a center case of an image display device used in the present invention, in which FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the center case as viewed from diagonally below, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the center case as viewed from diagonally above. . It is sectional drawing which follows the IV-IV line of FIG. 3 (A). FIG. 5 (A) is a schematic front view showing another embodiment in which the rate of entering a game ball falling in front of the image display device of the present invention into the winning opening below the image display device is improved. FIGS. 5B and 5C are explanatory views of the process of guiding the game ball to the winning opening. It is a schematic front view which shows other embodiment which improved the entrance rate to the winning opening of this invention. It is a schematic front view which shows other embodiment which improved the said entrance rate. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of effects during display of a demonstration screen, showing an embodiment in which a game ball falling in front of the image display device of the present invention and an image on the image display surface are produced according to the game ball. It is explanatory drawing of the effect content of the jackpot notice which combined the said game ball and image of an image display surface.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the gaming machine has a rectangular outer frame 111 and a front frame 112, and the front frame 112 is attached to the outer frame 111 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction by a hinge 116 at the upper left and lower ends. Thus, each part integrated with the front frame 112 can be opened to the front side during maintenance or the like. The gaming machines are attached to the gaming machine installation island, which is normally laid out in a plurality of rows, with an outer frame 111, and are alternately arranged with prepaid card units.

  Inside the front frame 112, a metal frame 113 that covers the size of about 2/3 of the front frame 112 in the height direction is attached, and the inner periphery of the metal frame 113 with the left side of the metal frame 113 as a support shaft. A glass frame 114 bordering the frame is hinged so as to be openable and closable. The glass frame 114 is loaded with double glass plates 115. A game board 21 is housed inside the front frame 112 on the back side of the glass plate 115 and faces the player with the glass plate 115 interposed therebetween.

  Inside the front frame 112, a bathtub-shaped upper plate 121 and a lower plate 124 are provided below the metal frame 113 so as to protrude toward the front side. The main body of the upper plate 121 is made of a material that does not easily get dirty, such as ebonide. On the side surface of the upper plate 121, a ball exit 122 for paying out a prize ball is opened.

  The upper plate 121 has a bulging portion that bulges to the left and right, and a balance display portion 133 that displays the balance of the prepaid card inserted in the prepaid card unit on the top of the left bulging portion, a game ball A ball lending button 131 to be pressed when receiving the lending and a settlement button 132 for the settlement are provided.

  The lower plate 124 has an overflow ball discharge outlet 125 opened on the side surface, and serves as a ball exit for a return ball that fails to fire as the overflow ball flows when the upper plate 121 is full. Further, when the player operates the upper plate ball removal lever 123, the player communicates with the upper plate 121 through the overflow ball discharge outlet 125, and the game ball on the upper plate 121 is moved to the lower plate 124. Is possible. Further, when the lower plate 124 is filled with game balls, the bottom plate 124 can be opened and discharged below the lower plate 124 by operating the lower plate ball removal lever 126, so that the game balls are put in a separate box. Can be moved.

  A firing handle 141 is provided on the right side of the lower plate 124. The firing handle 141 is provided with a ring-shaped rotation ring 143 coaxially on the outer periphery of the grip portion 142 that protrudes and is attached to the front side. When the player rotates the rotation ring 143 in the clockwise direction, A game ball supplied from the dish 121 can be launched onto the surface of the game board 21.

  As shown in FIG. 2, on the board surface of the game board 21, strip-like rails 22 and 23 are provided perpendicular to the board surface so as to border the board surface in a substantially circular shape. The rails 22 and 23 are partially doubled on the left side in the figure, and a game ball is launched along the outer rail 23 by the operation of the launch handle 141, and a substantially circular area of the board surface surrounded by the rails 22 and 23. Get inside. A large image display device 4 is provided at the center of the substantially circular area, and various winning holes 31, 35, a large winning hole 32, a large number of game nails, a windmill, and the like are provided around the large image display device 4.

  A winning opening 31 is provided below the image display device 4, and the winning opening 31 is an electric tulip operated by a solenoid. The winning opening 31 is a start opening of the image display device 4. When a game ball enters the winning opening 31, the design of the image display surface 410 of the image display device 4 changes. Normal winning openings 35 are provided on the left and right sides of the winning opening 31.

  A big prize opening 32 is provided below the prize opening 31. The grand prize winning opening 32 opens and closes a wide ball opening by the electric operation of the attacker door, and can expect many prizes when it is “open”.

  Further, normal symbol operation gates 34 are provided on both the left and right sides of the image display device 4, and when the game ball passes through the gates, the normal symbol of the normal symbol display portion changes.

  The details of the image display device 4 to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to FIGS. A frame-shaped center case 40 surrounding the front outer periphery of the image display surface 410 is provided on the front surface of the image display device 4. The center case 40 has a circular shallow container shape that opens forward, and is fitted and fixed to a mounting opening formed at the center of the board surface of the game board 21. A square display window 42 is formed at the center of the back surface of the center case 40, and the image display surface 410 of the image display device main body 41 installed on the back side of the center case 40 faces the display window 42. . Note that a protective plate 420 made of a transparent reinforced synthetic resin plate or the like is fitted in the display window 42.

  At the center position of the upper edge of the center case 40, a ball entrance 43 is formed that opens upward toward the surface of the game board 21. A ball passage 44 that guides the entered game ball to the inside of the center case 40 is continuously provided at the entrance 43. The outer surface of the ball passage 44 is transparent or translucent so that a game ball passing through the passage can be seen. A partition wall 431 that extends in an arc shape along the outer periphery of the upper half of the center case 40 is formed on both the left and right sides of the entrance opening 43. The game ball cannot enter inside.

  A branching portion 440 is provided in the ball passage 44 to branch the game ball flowing down from the entrance 43 into a fork or a fork. A protrusion having an approximately mountain shape in cross section is formed on the bottom surface of the branch portion 440 so that the game ball that has flowed down hits the top of the protrusion and naturally branches to the front side or the rear side.

  A front-facing first ball outlet 441 is provided at the front end of the front passage that branches off from the branch portion 440 to allow the game ball to drop downward on the front side of the center case 40. The first ball outlet 441 is provided at an upper position in the vertical direction of the winning opening 31 installed on the game board 21 below the image display device 4.

  A downward second ball outlet 442 is provided at the rear end of the rear passage extending rearward from the branch portion 440 to allow the game ball to drop downward in the center case 40. On the other hand, a horizontal shelf 45 is formed along the lower edge of the display window 42 at the inner lower portion of the center case 40, and the shelf 45 has a center facing the second ball outlet 442. The ball receiving portion 46 for receiving the game ball falling from the second ball outlet 442 is provided in the portion. The ball receiving portion 46 is formed of an impact absorbing member such as urethane foam that absorbs the drop impact of the game ball. A guide groove for guiding the received game ball toward the back side of the shelf 45 is formed on the surface of the ball receiving portion 46.

  On the upper surface of the shelf portion 45, a take-in port 47 for taking in a game ball from the ball receiving portion 46 is formed at the back side position of the ball receiving portion 46. A lower ball passage 48 for guiding the taken game ball to the front side of the lower end of the center case 40 is connected to the take-in port 47. A ball outlet 481 is formed at the front end of the lower ball passage 48 to penetrate the lower edge surface of the center case 40 and send the game ball to the lower side of the center case 40. The ball outlet 481 is provided at a position substantially directly above the winning opening 31 in the vertical direction.

According to the gaming machine of the present embodiment, when a game ball enters the entrance opening 43 at the upper end of the center case 40, it flows down the upper ball passage 44, and the branching portion 440 determines whether the flow path is on the near side of the center case 40. Or it distributes to the back side direction. The game balls distributed to the front side are sent out from the first ball outlet 441 and fall downward in front of the center case 40. In this case, since the first ball outlet 441 is provided above the winning opening 31 in the vertical direction, the game ball falls linearly toward the winning opening 31.

  On the other hand, the game balls distributed to the back side by the branching unit 440 are sent out from the second ball outlet 442 and fall linearly downward on the front side of the image display surface 410 in the center case 40. The game ball falling from the second ball outlet 442 is received by the ball receiving portion 46 of the shelf 45 at the lower part of the center case 40. At this time, the ball receiving portion 46 made of an impact absorbing member absorbs the impact of the fall of the game ball and prevents the game ball from rebounding. The game ball received by the ball receiving portion 46 passes through the lower ball passage 48 from the intake 47 of the shelf portion 45 and is sent out below the center case 40 from the ball outlet 481 of the lower ball passage 48. Also in this case, since the ball exit 481 is provided at a position almost directly above the winning opening 31, the game ball falls toward the winning opening 31.

  As described above, since the game ball can pass to the front position of the image display device 4 in the center of the game board 21, even if the image display device 4 is enlarged, the flow area of the game ball is not restricted, and the game ball You can play games with a sense of movement. In addition, since a plurality of flow paths for the game balls on the front side of the image display device 4 are provided, the movement of the game balls does not become monotonous. Since any of the flow paths causes the game ball to fall linearly, the movement of the game ball has a sense of speed and gives a novel impression to the player. In addition, since the falling speed of the game ball is high, the image display on the image display surface 410 is not disturbed.

  Furthermore, since the game ball falling from the first ball outlet 441 falls linearly toward the winning opening 31, the probability of entering the winning opening 31 is high. In addition, the game ball falling from the second ball outlet 442 passes through the lower ball passage 48 of the shelf 45 and is sent out from the ball outlet 481 toward the winning port 31, so there is a high probability of entering the winning port 31. In the first ball outlet 441 and the ball outlet 481 of the lower ball passage 48, the ball outlet 481 is slightly shifted from the position directly above the winning opening 31, and the game falls from the first ball outlet 441. It is desirable that the ball is easier to enter the winning opening 31 than the game ball falling from the ball outlet 481, and the unexpectedness is improved. In this case, the winning opening 31 that directly receives a game ball falling from the first ball outlet 441 is provided with an impact absorbing member such as rubber inside, or the winning opening 31 itself is configured by a member that is resistant to impact. Whether or not the game ball falling from the first ball outlet 441 or the ball outlet 481 of the lower ball passage 48 is easy to enter the winning opening 31 when the player selects a gaming machine base. A measuring instrument such as a level that allows the user to know the installation state (installation angle) at a glance may be installed in the gaming machine so that it can be used as a guide. That is, it can be determined that the game ball that falls as the installation state of the gaming machine is closer to the vertical is easier to enter the winning opening 31.

5 and 7 show another embodiment for improving the probability of entering the winning hole 31. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a pair of left and right game nail rows 51 in which a plurality of game nails are arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction are provided between the image display device 4 and the winning a prize port 31, and left and right games. A game ball passage for guiding a game ball falling from the first ball outlet 441 and a game ball sent out from the ball outlet 481 of the lower ball passage 48 to the winning opening 31 is formed by the nail row 51. The game ball passage is formed in a taper shape in which the passage shape is narrowed by gradually narrowing the interval between the game nails facing each game nail row 51 in the lateral direction from the image display device 4 side to the winning port 31 side. It is. Further, the space between the upper and lower game nails of each game nail row 51 is an interval through which game balls can pass, and in addition to the game balls falling from the ball outlets 441 and 481 in the game ball passage, A ball can enter.

According to this, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), even if the falling path of the game balls falling from the respective ball outlets 441 and 481 is shifted with respect to the winning opening 31, the respective games that form the game ball passages. Nail row 5
One game nail is hit and guided to the winning opening 31. Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, even if the game ball hitting the game nail of the game nail row 51 bounces back, it hits the game nail of the opposite game nail row 51 and does not jump out of the passage. Therefore, the rebounded game ball does not hit other parts (for example, the center case 40) on the game board, and the other parts are prevented from being damaged.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, even if a game ball hits and rebounds between a plurality of guide game nails 52 arranged between the image display device 4 and the winning opening 31 and directly above the winning opening 31, A pair of game nails 53 that suppress the rebound of the game balls so as not to be greatly dislocated are provided on the left and right diagonally upper positions of the winning opening 31 so as to incline toward the outside and diagonally downward from the center side of the game board. is there. The interval between the game nails of each game nail row 53 is set to a dimension that the game ball cannot pass.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, a pair of entrance holes 37 are provided at the diagonally upper left and right positions of the winning opening 31 between the image display device 4 and the winning opening 31, and the upper positions of the both entering entrances 37. In addition, a plurality of game nail rows 54 are provided for guiding the game balls bounced back upon hitting the guide game nails 52 immediately above the winning opening 31 to both the entrance holes 37. Only the game balls bounced back by hitting the guide game nails 52 of the winning entrance 31 enter the both entrances 37. When winning at each entrance 37, it is desirable to give added value such as paying out more prize balls than normal prize balls, making certain changes, shortening the time, or making a big hit. This increases the player's expectation.

  As in these embodiments, by changing the arrangement of the game nails between the image display device 4 and the winning opening 31, the winning probability to the winning opening 31 is improved, and it is not necessary to enter the winning opening 31. The expectation that other added value is given, and the dynamic feeling of the game ball increase, and the entertainment of the game can be enriched. In addition, since a loud sound is generated when the rebounded game ball strikes the glass plate 115 vigorously, it is desirable to use a plate material made of a transparent synthetic resin or the like that does not produce a loud sound even when the game ball hits instead of the glass plate 115.

  Further, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a ball sensor 431 that detects that a game ball has entered is provided at the entrance 43 at the upper end of the image display device 4. You may make it perform the effect which changes the image of the image display surface 410 according to the game ball which falls ahead of the display surface 410. FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the gaming machine to which the present embodiment is applied is configured to display a demonstration screen on the image display surface 410 when a gaming ball does not enter the starting port (winning port 31) for a certain period of time. The demonstration screen is an effect that appeals that the gaming machine is interesting to the player by variably displaying characters and the like. Therefore, if a demonstration screen is displayed during the game and this continues, it means that it is difficult to enter the starting hole, which gives the player a sense of frustration and irritation. Therefore, when a game ball enters the entrance 43 at the upper end of the image display device 4 and the ball sensor 431 detects this while displaying the demo screen, a character (a bird in FIG. 8) is displayed at the center of the image display surface 410. C1 is displayed, and in accordance with the timing at which the game ball falls in front of the image display surface 410, a display effect is performed so that the character C1 falls as if the falling game ball hit the character C1. According to this, it is possible to eliminate the monotonous game during the display of the demonstration screen and to eliminate the feeling of frustration and irritation of the player during the display of the demonstration screen.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when a game ball enters the entrance 43 and the ball sensor 431 detects this while the design of the image display surface 410 is changing, a character (in FIG. (Monkey) C2 is displayed, and a display effect is produced so that the game ball passes through the cylinder of the character C2 in accordance with the falling game ball. If the currently changing symbol is a big hit, the big hit notice is given so that the character C2 passes the game ball well. On the other hand, if the currently changing symbol is out of change, the game ball is notified so that the game ball does not pass. By making a jackpot notice in accordance with the falling game ball in this way, a novel display effect can be achieved, and the entertainment of the game can be enriched. In addition, not only the jackpot notice but also a reach notice may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the first ball outlets 441 and 442 are provided in the upper ball passage 44 and a plurality of game ball flow paths are provided on the front side of the image display device 4. Only the first ball outlet 441 or only the second ball outlet 442 may be provided in the upper ball passage 44.

21 game board 31 winning entrance (entrance installed on the game board below the image display device)
4 Image display device 40 Center case (case member)
410 Image display surface 43 Entrance 44 Upper ball passage (ball passage)
441 First ball exit (ball exit)
442 Second ball exit (ball exit)
45 Shelf 46 Ball receiving part 47 Inlet 48 Lower ball passage (ball passage)
481 Ball exit

Claims (1)

A starting port located on the surface of the game board;
In a ball game machine equipped with an image display device that displays a symbol in a variable manner by entering a game ball at the start opening in the center of the game board.
A frame-like case member surrounding the outer periphery of the image display surface is provided on the front surface of the image display device, and a ball entrance and a game ball that has entered the ball entrance are provided on the upper frame portion of the case member. A ball passage that leads to the inside of the case member, a ball sensor that detects that a game ball has entered the entrance, and a ball exit of the ball passage are arranged above the image display surface to Let the sphere pass through the front of the image display surface from the above sphere exit and drop it linearly,
Due to the fact that the game ball is detected by the ball sensor while the symbol is changing, the character is displayed on the image display surface on the fall path of the game ball,
When the game ball falling in front of the image display surface reaches the displayed character when the symbol that is changing on the image display device is a big hit change, the fall The game ball falling in front of the image display surface in the case where the effect of the character during the variation of the symbol performed behind the game ball being played and the variation of the variation is a deviation variation is A bullet ball game characterized in that, in accordance with the timing of reaching the displayed character, the effect of the character during the change of the symbol performed behind the falling game ball is made different. Machine.

Images