JP5570036B2 - Bullet ball machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball game machine such as a pachinko game machine, and more particularly to a technique for controlling screen display contents in a ball game machine.

  Conventionally, among the various ball game machines, a so-called first type pachinko game machine is used while changing a plurality of symbols in a display area such as a liquid crystal display provided substantially at the center of the game board. Display (hereinafter, such display is referred to as “symbol change” or “change display”). This gaming machine shifts to a special game called so-called jackpot where more prize balls can be obtained than a normal game when a combination of symbols when a plurality of rows of symbol variations are stopped becomes a specific mode. It is known as a thing (for example, refer patent document 1). The variable display of symbols in the display area is not only a variable display of multiple symbols, but the time of variable display is usually reduced in a state where it is a big hit if one more symbols are aligned, as in the so-called reach screen. For example, an effect is made to increase the player's expectation, such as making it longer. In addition, the player's expectation is enhanced by controlling the specific game such as the probability variation that changes the probability of transition to special games by giving the story to the variation display using characters on the image such as symbols Yes.

  In recent years, high-performance display devices and arithmetic processing units have been provided at relatively low cost as video display hardware, and such high-performance hardware is gradually being used for effect display in ball game machines. It became so. For this reason, the display screen size is becoming larger across the board. Conventionally, a board for processing a basic operation as a game in a gaming machine (hereinafter appropriately referred to as “main control device”, “main board”, etc.) and a board or device for processing a display system such as effect display. (Hereinafter referred to as “sub-control device”, “sub-board”, etc., as appropriate), the process has been efficiently separated. However, as display processing has become more sophisticated and complicated, it has been sub-compared to the main board. Only the load on the board side has increased dramatically.

JP 2003-230714 A

  Here, as a general specification of a ball game machine, it is required to shorten the time from power-on to completion of startup within a predetermined standard. This is because even if the power is cut off due to a sudden power failure or instantaneous interruption, it is required to consider that the game can be resumed immediately after the power is restored. Therefore, the main board is usually designed so that the game can be started immediately after the start-up is completed immediately after the power is turned on. On the other hand, with regard to sub-boards and display-related devices, the processing content itself is not necessarily essential for the operation of the gaming machine or the progress of the game. Even if it is, it is allowed in the specification. However, if the main board starts up too early than other boards and devices, the game premised on the presence of display processing may progress without display, causing inconvenience on display, and hardware. In terms of hardware, there is a risk of inconvenience due to advancing display processing before completion of activation.

  The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent problems in display processing in a ball game machine.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a ball game machine according to an aspect of the present invention is provided with a game board on which a game area is formed, and a predetermined position in the game area. A winning lottery for executing a winning lottery for determining whether or not to shift to a special game that is more advantageous to the player than a normal game, triggered by entering the starting prize port A display device in which the design for displaying the result is displayed in a variable manner, a display control device for executing a processing command for displaying an image on the display device, and an image on the display device according to the result of the lottery Result control means for outputting a processing instruction to display to the display control device, and a result indicating that the success / failure lottery can be transferred to the special game, and the variable display of the symbols is stopped in a predetermined stop mode. Special games that sometimes run special games And a control means. The production control means suspends the output of the processing command when the activation of the display control device is not completed, and based on the processing command that suspends the state of the display content that should be displayed on the display device when the activation is completed Build and determine a processing instruction after the start of the display control device is completed.

  The “processing instruction” here is an instruction for displaying some object on the screen of the display device, and may include data such as image data and parameters necessary for the display. For example, in addition to symbol variation display, background display, and notice effect display on the display device, for display processing such as a mark indicating that the game is in a variation time reduction game or a probability variation game, or a mark indicating the number of held balls Instructions and data may be used. “Construction” is a process for determining the content to be displayed on the display device when the display control device is completely activated, and the display image in the latest state using the image data designated by the suspended processing instruction. And a process of processing and generating an image by simulating a change in display contents in accordance with a pending processing command. Further, it may include a process of selecting only the latest parameter from the suspended processing instructions and discarding the previous parameter.

  According to this aspect, when the activation time of the display control device is later than that of the other configurations and the incomplete activation state occurs for a predetermined period, other configurations, for example, right / no-go lottery means without waiting for the completion of the activation. Even if the process proceeds, the output of the display process command to the display control device is restricted. As a result, it is possible to avoid display content defects caused by processing display processing commands sent so far at the time of completion of startup of the display control device at once, and to maintain display content consistency in an appropriate state. it can. Even if the display control device has a function of sequentially executing processing instructions after queuing, since the output of the processing instructions itself is restricted, the instructions are not queued. Consistency is maintained.

  The success / failure lottery means is provided in the main control device that controls the progress of the game, and the time required for starting the main control device is shorter than the time required for starting the display control device. Provided in a sub-control device that receives data indicating a gaming state to be referred to in order to determine the display content on the display device, determines a processing command based on the data, and controls a stunning operation in the game, The time required for starting the sub-control device is shorter than the time required for starting the display control device.

  Here, the “display control device” may be mounted on the substrate of the “sub control device”. In this case, the “activation time of the sub-control device” may indicate a time during which a component other than the display control device in the sub-control device, mainly the CPU of the sub-control device reads the program for the control. Alternatively, the “display control device” may be configured integrally with the “display device”. The “main control device” and the “sub control device” may be a “main board” and a “sub board” in the present specification. In this way, even if the activation time of the main control device and the sub control device is shorter than the activation time of the display control device and a relatively large gap occurs in the activation timing, the output of display processing instructions generated during that time is restricted. The Therefore, it is possible to avoid a problem in the display contents when the display control device is completely started up, and to maintain the consistency of the display contents appropriately.

  The effect control means may output a signal for confirming the activation state of the display control device to the display control device, and confirm the activation state of the display control device based on a response to the signal. A signal for confirmation may be periodically sent to the display control device. It may be sent periodically until the response to the signal indicates that the display control device has been activated. When the response indicating activation completion is obtained, the processing instruction is released and the processing instruction after completion of activation is sent. It is done. Thereby, the starting state of a display control apparatus can be recognized reliably, and the consistency of the display content in a display apparatus can be maintained appropriately.

  The effect control means may determine, based on the latest gaming state, as a processing command to be output after the start of the display control device when the pending processing command includes a command related to display of the gaming state. In this way, when a parameter indicating the gaming state is included in the pending processing instruction, only the parameter indicating the latest state is selected and the old parameter is discarded, so that the old gaming state is obtained when the display control device is started up. The display content based on the display content can be avoided, and the consistency of the display content can be maintained appropriately.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements, or the constituent elements and expressions of the present invention may be mutually replaced between methods, apparatuses, systems, computer programs, recording media storing computer programs, data structures, etc. This is effective as an embodiment of the present invention.

  According to the bullet ball gaming machine of the present invention, it is possible to prevent problems in display processing in the gaming machine.

It is a figure which shows the basic structure in the front side of a pachinko game machine. It is a figure which shows the basic structure in the back side of a pachinko game machine. It is a figure which shows the functional block of the pachinko game machine in a present Example. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen displayed on an effect display apparatus until starting of a display control apparatus is completed. The screen example of the content of the effect which a display control apparatus displays on an effect display device is shown typically. It is a flowchart which shows the basic operation | movement process in a pachinko game machine. It is a flowchart which shows the normal game control process of S14 in FIG. 6 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the success / failure determination process of S34 in FIG. 7 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows S16 in FIG. 6 in detail. It is a flowchart which shows the control which withholds the process command to a display control apparatus at the time of starting of a pachinko game machine.

  FIG. 1 shows a basic structure on the front side of a pachinko gaming machine. Hereinafter, a so-called first type pachinko gaming machine, which is conventionally known as a bullet ball gaming machine, is described as an example. The pachinko gaming machine 10 is mainly composed of a gaming machine frame and a gaming board. The gaming machine frame of the pachinko gaming machine 10 includes an outer frame 11, a front frame 12, a transparent plate 13, a door 14, an upper ball dish 15, a lower ball dish 16, and a launch handle 17. The outer frame 11 has an opening and is a frame for fixing the pachinko gaming machine 10 to a position where it should be installed. The front frame 12 is a frame body that aligns with the opening portion of the outer frame 11, and is attached to the outer frame 11 so as to be opened and closed by a hinge mechanism (not shown). The front frame 12 includes a mechanism for launching a game ball, a mechanism for detachably storing a game board, a mechanism for guiding or collecting the game ball, and the like.

  The transparent plate 13 is made of glass or the like and is supported by the door 14. The door 14 is attached to the front frame 12 so as to be openable and closable by a hinge mechanism (not shown). The upper ball tray 15 has a mechanism for storing game balls, sending out the game balls to the launch rail, and extracting the game balls to the lower ball tray 16. The lower ball tray 16 has a mechanism for storing and extracting game balls. A speaker 18 is provided between the upper ball tray 15 and the lower ball tray 16, and a sound effect corresponding to the gaming state is output.

  The game board 50 has an out port 58, a special symbol display device 61, an effect display device 60, and a start winning port (hereinafter referred to as “start port”) 62 on a game area 52 defined by the outer rail 54 and the inner rail 56. , A center ornament 64, a grand prize opening 66, an operation opening 68, and a general prize opening 72. Furthermore, in the game area 52, a plurality of mechanisms such as a game nail and a windmill (not shown) are installed. The start port 62 includes a start winning detection device 74 for detecting the entrance of a game ball and a normal electric accessory solenoid 76 for expanding the expanding mechanism of the start port 62. When the expansion mechanism of the start port 62 is expanded, the opening width of the start port 62 is expanded and the ease of entering the ball is improved. The start winning detection device 74 is a sensor that detects the entry of a game ball into the start port 62, and generates start win information indicating the winning at the time of entering. The general winning opening 72 includes a general winning detecting device 73 for detecting the entering of a game ball. The general winning detection device 73 is a sensor that detects the entry of a game ball into the general winning opening 72, and generates general winning information indicating the winning at the time of winning. The special winning opening 66 includes a winning detection device 78 for detecting the entry of a game ball and a special winning opening solenoid 80 for expanding the special winning opening 66. The winning detection device 78 is a sensor that detects the entry of a game ball into the big winning opening 66, and generates big winning opening winning information indicating the winning at the time of winning.

  The big winning opening 66 is a horizontal rectangular winning opening that is opened as a “big hit” when the special symbol 192 stops in a predetermined manner. The big winning opening 66 is provided above the out opening 58 and the like. The winning detection device 78 of the big winning opening 66 includes a sensor that detects the passage of a game ball.

  The special symbol display device 61 provided on the left side of the game area 52 and the effect display device 60 provided in the approximate center of the game area 52 have a variation of the special symbol 192 on each screen and a decoration linked to the special symbol 192. The variation of the effect image including the symbol 190 is displayed (hereinafter, such display is referred to as “symbol variation” or “variation display”). Here, the special symbol 192 is a symbol corresponding to the result of the lottery performed when the game ball is dropped into the start port 62, and the symbol mode when the change display is stopped is determined to be the winning symbol. When the symbol is a symbol, the timing at which the stop symbol is displayed is the jackpot occurrence timing. The special symbol display device 61 is display means composed of, for example, 7 segment LEDs. The effect display device 60 is a liquid crystal display that variably displays the decorative symbol 190 in a manner interlocked with the variation display of the special symbol 192. The decorative symbol 190 is a symbol for visually rendering the lottery result display indicated by the special symbol 192. The effect display device 60 displays, as the decorative symbol 190, for example, a plurality of rows of moving images of symbol variation simulating a slot machine game in the central area of the screen. As the effect display device 60, a relatively high-definition liquid crystal panel is employed, and various effect displays using moving images and three-dimensional images are performed. The operation port 68 is provided at the left side position of the game board 50. The operation port 68 includes a passage detection device 69. The passage detection device 69 is a sensor that detects the passage of the game ball to the operation port 68, and generates passage information indicating the passage at the time of passage. The passage of the game ball to the operation port 68 triggers an open lottery for determining whether or not to expand the expansion mechanism of the start port 62. When the game ball passes through the operation port 68, a normal symbol, which is a symbol indicating the result of the open lottery, is variably displayed on the normal symbol display device 59. The normal symbol display device 59 is provided on the lower right side of the effect display device 60. When the normal symbol variation display is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed, the start port 62 is normally expanded for a predetermined time with a probability of about 50% to 80%.

  A center ornament 64 is provided around the effect display device 60. The center decoration 64 has functions such as a flow path of the game ball, protection of the special symbol display device 61 and the effect display device 60, and decoration. A lottery hold lamp 20 is provided below the effect display device 60, and an operation hold lamp 22 is provided below the normal symbol display device 59 at the lower right of the game area 52, which is a symmetrical position. . The lottery hold lamp 20 is composed of four lamps, and displays the number of lottery holds depending on the number of lights. The number of lottery holds is the number of lottery results won to the start port 62 during symbol variation or special game, and indicates the number of winning balls for which symbol variation has not yet been executed. The operation hold lamp 22 is also composed of four lamps, and displays the number of hold of normal symbol fluctuations depending on the number of lights. The number of normal symbol fluctuations held is the number of game balls that have passed through the operating port 68 during the normal symbol fluctuation, and indicates the number of normal symbol lotteries for which the normal symbol fluctuation has not yet been executed. Furthermore, game effect lamps 90 are respectively provided above and below the effect display device 60. The operation button 82 is a button that the player operates to input a predetermined instruction to the gaming machine. The operation button 82 is provided on the outer wall surface near the upper ball tray 15.

  When the player turns the launch handle 17 by hand, the game balls stored in the upper ball tray 15 are guided one by one to the inner rail 56 and the outer rail 54 with a strength corresponding to the turning angle, thereby playing the game area. To 52. When the player fixes the rotation position of the firing handle 17 by hand, the game ball is repeatedly fired at regular time intervals. The game ball launched to the upper part of the game area 52 falls in a direction according to the way of hitting while hitting a plurality of game nails and windmills. When a game ball is dropped into each of the general winning port 72, the start port 62, and the big winning port 66, the winning ball corresponding to the type of the winning port is paid out to the upper ball plate 15 or the lower ball plate 16. A game ball dropped into each winning hole such as the general winning hole 72 is processed as a safe ball, and a game ball dropped into the out hole 58 is processed as an out ball. Each winning opening includes a gate type through which a game ball passes. In this application, “incoming”, “entering”, and “winning” include “passing”.

  When the game ball falls into the start port 62, the special symbol 192 and the decorative symbol 190 are variably displayed on the special symbol display device 61 and the effect display device 60. The variable display of the special symbol 192 and the decorative symbol 190 is stopped after the elapse of the display time determined prior to the display. When the special symbol 192 and the decorative symbol 190 at the time of the stop are symbols indicating a big hit, the game shifts to a special game that is more advantageous to the player than the normal game, and the opening / closing operation of the big prize opening 66 is started. At this time, the decorative pattern 190 simulating the game of the slot machine takes a display mode in which the three patterns are matched. In the special game, the grand prize winning slot 66 is temporarily closed after being opened for about 30 seconds or after nine or more game balls are dropped. Such opening / closing of the big prize opening 66 is repeated a predetermined number of times, for example, 15 times.

  In the normal game after the end of the special game, a variable time shortening game (hereinafter referred to as “time reduction” as appropriate) that is one of the specific games is started. In the variation time shortening game, the variation time of the special symbol and the decorative symbol is shortened from the normal time. The variation time of the special symbol and the decorative symbol is returned to the original variation time after the variation display of a predetermined variation number is performed. When a special game occurs and the winning stop pattern at that time is in a specific mode, a probability variation game (hereinafter referred to as “probability change” as appropriate) that is one of the specific games after the special game ends Be started. In the probability variation game, a lottery with a higher win probability than the normal probability state is performed, and a new special game is generated relatively early.

  FIG. 2 shows a basic structure on the back side of the pachinko gaming machine. The power switch 40 is a switch for turning on / off the power of the pachinko gaming machine 10. The main board 102 controls the overall operation of the pachinko gaming machine 10 and processes all game operations such as a lottery when a winning is made to the start port 62. The sub board 104 includes the liquid crystal unit 42 and controls display contents on the effect display device 60, operations of the plurality of movable objects 140, and lighting of the game effect lamp 90, and in particular, display contents according to the lottery result by the main board 102. And the lighting of the movable accessory 140 and the game effect lamp 90 is activated along with the progress of the production. The main board 102 and the sub board 104 constitute a game control device 100. The set base 39 includes a prize ball tank 44, a flow path for prize balls, a payout unit 43 for delivering prize balls. The payout unit 43 pays out the game balls supplied from the winning ball tank 44 to the upper ball tray 15 in accordance with winning in each winning opening. The payout control board 45 controls the payout operation by the payout unit 43. The launching device 46 launches the stored balls in the upper ball tray 15 to the game area 52 one by one. The launch control board 47 controls the launch operation of the launch device 46. The power supply unit 48 supplies power to each part of the pachinko gaming machine 10.

  FIG. 3 shows functional blocks of the pachinko gaming machine 10 in this embodiment. In the pachinko gaming machine 10, the game control device 100 includes a start port 62, a big winning port 66, a general winning port 72, an operating port 68, a special symbol display device 61, an effect display device 60, a normal symbol display device 59, and operation buttons 82. The speaker 18, the game effect lamp 90, and the movable accessory 140 are electrically connected to each other, and can transmit and receive various control signals. The game control apparatus 100 controls not only the basic operation of the game but also the staging operations such as the symbol variation display, the movable accessory 140, and the electric decoration. The game control device 100 controls the main board 102 that controls the overall operation of the pachinko gaming machine 10 including the basic operation of the game, the sub board 104 that controls the design effects, and the screen display on the effect display device 60. The display control device 138 is configured to share functions. The game control device 100 is configured by hardware including elements such as a ROM and a RAM for storing data and programs, and a CPU used for arithmetic processing.

  In the present embodiment, the main board 102 is a ball determination unit 110, a winning / failing lottery unit 112, a symbol determination unit 114, a hold control unit 116, a main display control unit 118, a special game control unit 120, a specific game execution unit 122, and an opening / closing control. Means 124 are provided. The sub-board 104 in this embodiment includes a pattern storage unit 130, an effect determination unit 132, an effect control unit 134, and an accessory control unit 136. Signal transmission / reception between the main board 102 and the sub board 104 is only in the direction from the main board 102 to the sub board 104, and no signal is transmitted / received in the direction from the sub board 104 to the main board 102. As a result, external signals other than predetermined signals such as winning information are not input to the main board 102 that controls the progress of the game, and the game progress control process in the main board 102 is performed within the main board 102. Completion is guaranteed, and illegal game operation intervention is regulated. Each functional block included in the main board 102 may be configured such that any one of the functional blocks is mounted on the sub board 104 instead of the main board 102. Similarly, each functional block included in the sub-board 104 may be configured such that any one of them is mounted on the main board 102 instead of the sub-board 104. Further, the display control device 138 in the present embodiment is described as a configuration independent of the sub-board 104, but may be configured to be included in the sub-board 104, or may be integrated with the effect display device 60. You may comprise in the form contained in the liquid crystal unit 42. FIG.

  The time required for activation of the main board 102 and the sub board 104 is short, and the activation is completed in about 1 second after the power is turned on. Accordingly, the game can be resumed immediately even when the power is restored from a power failure or a momentary interruption, so that the data indicating the game status from the main board 102 to the sub board 104 and the data indicating the pattern variation pattern are also output after the power is restored. Resume immediately.

  The entrance determination means 110 determines whether or not a game ball has entered each winning opening. When receiving the start winning information, the winning determination means 110 determines that the game ball has won the start opening 62, and when receiving the big winning opening winning information, determines that the game ball has won the big winning opening 66, and the general winning is obtained. When the information is received, it is determined that the game ball has won the general winning opening 72. When receiving the passage information, the ball entering determination unit 110 determines that the game ball has passed through the operation port 68.

  The success / failure lottery means 112 accepts a random number value to determine whether or not to shift to a special game that is more advantageous to the player than the normal game when the game ball enters the start port 62. Get as a value. For example, the success / failure lottery value is acquired from a value range from “0” to “65535”. The “random number” in the present application may not be a mathematically generated random number, but may be a pseudo-random number generated by a hardware random number, a software random number, or the like. The success / failure lottery means 112 holds a plurality of success / failure tables to be referred to in the success / failure determination. In the plurality of success / failure tables, the determination result of winning or losing is associated with the winning / losing lottery value, and the success / failure probability is determined according to the associated winning range setting. The success / failure lottery means 112 refers to a success / failure table for determination of success / failure based on a normal probability in normal times, and refers to a success / failure table in which the winning probability is higher than the normal probability when the probability changes. The success / failure lottery means 112 refers to any of the plurality of success / failure tables and determines whether or not the success / failure lottery value is a win. The determination result by the success / failure lottery means 112 is variably displayed in a special symbol form on the special symbol display device 61. In addition, a decorative symbol that shows the determination result by the success / failure lottery means 112 in an effect manner is variably displayed on the effect display device 60.

  The symbol determination unit 114 determines the stop symbol and the variation pattern of the special symbol to be displayed on the special symbol display device 61 according to the lottery result by the success / failure lottery unit 112. Moreover, the symbol determination means 114 determines the stop symbol of the normal symbol displayed on the normal symbol display device 59 by lottery. The stop symbol is a symbol to be displayed at the end of symbol variation. The symbol determination means 114 holds a symbol range table to be referred to in order to determine a special symbol or a normal symbol stop symbol, or a pattern determination table to be referred to in order to determine a variation pattern.

  The symbol determination means 114 acquires a symbol determination lottery value for determining a special symbol, and determines the stop symbol of the special symbol according to the determination result of the success / failure lottery means 112 and the symbol determination lottery value. The symbol determination unit 114 selects one of a plurality of variation patterns in accordance with the determination result of the success / failure lottery unit 112. The symbol determination unit 114 sends data indicating the determined stop symbol and variation pattern to the main display control unit 118 and the effect determination unit 132.

  The symbol determination means 114 stores a plurality of types of variation patterns in which variation modes from the variation start to the stop when the special symbol is variably displayed are defined. Multiple types of variation patterns have various variation times. That is, for each variation pattern, a variation display time is defined for each pattern as an end condition of the symbol variation, and the variation of the special symbol is stopped when the variation display time elapses.

  The symbol determining means 114 acquires a lottery random number for determining a normal symbol when the game ball passes through the operation port 68, and determines a stop symbol of the normal symbol according to the lottery random number. When the stop symbol of the normal symbol is a specific symbol, the opening / closing control means 124 expands the normal electric accessory at the start port 62 for a predetermined time.

  The hold control means 116 holds the winning / losing lottery value acquired by the winning / failing lottery means 112 as a holding ball. The success / failure lottery value is accumulated until the number of holds reaches a predetermined upper limit. The upper limit of the number of holds is 4.

  The main display control means 118 causes the special symbol display device 61 to display the lottery result by the success / failure lottery means 112 as a special symbol variation display according to the variation pattern determined by the symbol determination unit 114. The main display control means 118 transmits the change start command and the change stop command to the effect control means 134 at the timing of starting and stopping the change display of the special symbol, and thereby the main display control means 118 and the effect control means. The fluctuation display by 134 is synchronized, and interlocking is maintained. The main display control means 118 displays the normal symbol variation on the normal symbol display device 59.

  The special game control means 120 controls the execution process of the special game when the result of the lottery determination by the success / failure lottery means 112 is a win. The special game is a game in which the opening / closing operation of the special winning opening 66 is continuously continued a plurality of times, and is constituted by one or a plurality of unit games with one opening / closing as a unit. The unit game is repeated up to 15 times, for example, and the grand prize opening 66 is opened for about 30 seconds in one unit game. If the number of continuations of the unit game has not reached the upper limit number, the special game control means 120 starts the next unit game after the end of the current unit game. When the upper limit number of unit games is exhausted, the special game is terminated.

  The specific game execution means 122 executes control for shifting the game state from the normal state to the specific game state, and control for returning the specific game state to the normal state. The specific game in the present embodiment has a probability change in which the winning probability of the winning / failing lottery is switched from a normal probability state to a high probability state, and a short time in which the symbol variation time is switched from a normal time to a short time.

  The specific game executing means 122 shifts the gaming state after the special game to the probability changing state when the winning / failing lottery value is a value to be shifted to the probability changing state. The probability variation state is continued until the next jackpot is generated in principle, and during that time, the probability of the hit determination by the success / failure lottery means 112 is maintained at a high value. In addition, the specific game executing means 122 shifts the game state to the time-shortened state after the special game regardless of the winning lottery value. The short time is continued until the number of changes in the special symbol after the special game reaches a predetermined number, for example, 100 times.

  The opening / closing control means 124 controls the opening / closing of the ordinary electric accessory at the start opening 62 and the special winning opening 66. When the normal symbol is stopped at a specific symbol, the opening / closing control unit 124 sends an opening instruction to the ordinary electric accessory solenoid 76 to open the start port 62. Further, the opening / closing control means 124 sends an opening instruction to the special winning opening solenoid 80 during the special game, and opens the special winning opening 66.

  The display control device 138 executes a processing command for displaying an image on the effect display device 60. The display control device 138 includes a video chip or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) that performs complex arithmetic processing for moving image display and three-dimensional graphics display. The display control device 138 executes the processing command received from the effect control means 134 and displays an image on the effect display device 60 based on the execution result. In recent years, the display control device 138 may be equipped with a high-performance video chip or GPU. Due to its high performance, the control program is enlarged and the reading time becomes longer, and the time required for starting becomes longer. It has become to. When the display control device 138 is activated, the display control device 138 outputs a display screen indicating that it is activated. Here, since the time required for activation of the main board 102 and the sub board 104 is short, there occurs a period in which the activation of the display control device 138 is not completed even if the activation of the main board 102 and the sub board 104 is completed first. In the meantime, a display screen indicating that the system is being activated is displayed.

  The pattern storage unit 130 holds a plurality of variation pattern data in which a variation process from variation start to stop in variation display is defined as a variation pattern of the effect image including the decorative design. The fluctuation pattern displays a pattern for displaying a normal out symbol, a pattern for displaying a symbol out of reach after reaching a big win if one more symbols are aligned, and a jackpot symbol through a reach state. When the pattern is included. In particular, the pattern that passes through the reach state includes patterns having various fluctuation times. Each variation pattern has a variation time for each pattern as an end condition of the symbol variation, and the symbol variation is stopped when the variation time elapses. The effect determining means 132 selects the variation pattern of the effect image having the same variation time as that of the special symbol according to the variation pattern of the special symbol.

  The effect determining means 132 determines the combination of the stop symbols of the decorative symbols and their arrangement and variation pattern according to the result of the lottery by the success / failure lottery means 112, according to the stop symbol of the special symbol and the variation pattern of the special symbol. The effect determining unit 132 holds a symbol range table to be referred to in order to determine a stop symbol of a decorative symbol and a pattern table to be referred to in order to determine a variation pattern.

  The stop symbol of the decorative symbol is formed as a combination of three symbols. For example, when the determination result by the success / failure lottery means 112 indicates a shift to a special game, three symbols such as “777” and “111” are arranged. A combination is selected. In this case, it is preferable that the same numbers as the special symbols are selected as the numbers arranged as the decorative symbols. For example, when the special symbol is “3”, the decorative symbol is “333”. In the case where the determination result by the success / failure lottery means 112 indicates that the game does not shift to the special game, a combination that does not have three symbols such as “312” and “946” is selected. However, if the determination result is that the game does not shift to a special game, and a variation pattern of a special symbol indicating a loss with reach is selected, only one such as “191” or “727” is selected. Select a combination that does not have the same pattern. The effect determining unit 132 sends information about the stop symbol of the decorative symbol and the variation pattern of the effect image to the effect control unit 134.

  The effect control means 134 outputs a processing command for displaying an image on the effect display device 60 to the display control device 138 in accordance with the result of the lottery. Specifically, the effect control unit 134 outputs, to the display control device 138, a processing command for variably displaying the effect image on the effect display device 60 according to the selected variation pattern data as a result of the success / failure lottery by the success / failure lottery unit 112. To do. The effect control means 134 further controls effect processing such as lighting and extinguishing of the game effect lamp 90 and sound output from the speaker 18.

  The effect control means 134 receives data indicating the gaming state to be referred to in order to determine the display content on the effect display device 60 from the main board 102, and further determines a processing command based on the received data. The effect control means 134 receives, for example, data indicating whether or not the gaming state is a short-time state, data indicating whether or not the gaming state is a probable change state, and data indicating the number of reserved balls, and displays the state on the screen. The processing command to be output is output to the display control device 138.

The production control means 134 suspends the output of the processing command when the display control device 138 has not been activated, and displays the state of the display content that should be displayed on the screen of the production display device 60 when the activation is completed. Construct based on pending processing instructions. The effect control unit 134 determines a processing command to start output after the start of the display control device 138 based on the constructed display content. Presentation control means 13 4, leave accumulates all the processing instructions pending output may be constructed the display contents of the boot completion by sequentially interpreting only the processing instructions required of those processing instructions . Alternatively, when the output of processing instructions is suspended, only necessary processing instructions are accumulated according to the contents, and the display contents at the time of completion of activation may be constructed by sequentially interpreting those processing instructions. When the pending processing command includes a command related to the display of the gaming state, the effect control unit 134 generates a new processing command based on the processing command reserved for the latest gaming status as a processing command output after the activation of the display control device 138. Determine processing instructions.

  The effect control means 134 outputs an activation confirmation signal for confirming the activation state of the display control device 138 to the display control device 138 at a predetermined polling interval, and activates the display control device 138 based on a response to the activation confirmation signal. Check the status. The effect control means 134 may be designed to always output and monitor a start confirmation signal to the display control device 138 while the sub substrate 104 is operating, or display only when the sub substrate 104 and the display control device 138 are activated. The specification may be such that an activation confirmation signal is output and monitored until activation of the control device 138 can be confirmed.

  In accordance with the instruction received from the effect control unit 134, the accessory control unit 136 causes the movable accessory 140 to operate in an effect manner in accordance with the effect contents in the effect display device 60 and the blinking process of the game effect lamp 90.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a screen displayed on the effect display device 60 until the start of the display control device 138 is completed. Until the activation of the display control device 138 is completed, the content in accordance with the processing command output from the effect control means 134 cannot be displayed on the effect display device 60, so the display control device 138 instead sends it to the effect display device 60. A startup screen 200 is displayed. On the startup screen 200, a character string such as “Now Loading ...” indicating that the startup is in progress is displayed.

  FIG. 5 schematically shows a screen example of effect contents displayed on the effect display device 60 by the display control device 138. The display control device 138 displays effect contents such as symbol variation of the decorative symbol 190 on the effect display device 60 in accordance with the processing command received from the effect control means 134. The display control device 138 further causes the effect display device 60 to display a probability change state display 202 indicating the probability change state and a hold ball display 204 indicating the number of the hold balls. In addition, although not shown, a moving image including a background image and stunning contents may be displayed, or a time-short state display indicating that the time is short.

  Here, the probability variation state display 202 and the time reduction state display are contrary to the fact if they are displayed when they are not in the probability variation state or the time reduction state. Therefore, even if the processing instruction for the probability change state display 202 or the time reduction state display is suspended during the start processing of the display control device 138, when the start of the display control device 138 is already completed, the probability change state or the time reduction state is no longer present. Processing instructions for the probability change state display 202 and the short time state display that have been put on hold are discarded. In addition, since the hold ball display 204 changes every moment according to the state of entering the starting port 62 and the progress of the pattern change, even if a processing instruction related to the display is held, the display contents immediately change due to the subsequent change in the situation. It will not match the situation. Therefore, the processing instruction of the holding ball display 204 may be a method of discarding together with output suspension, or a method of storing only the latest suspended command. Regarding the processing command for the symbol variation display of the decorative symbol 190, it is difficult to display the symbol variation display from the middle when the activation is completed even if the output is suspended. Therefore, when the output of the symbol change display processing command is suspended, the command may be immediately discarded.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a basic operation process in the pachinko gaming machine. First, processing is performed when a game ball has won the start port 62, the general winning port 72, the big winning port 66, or when the game ball has passed through the operation port 68 (S10). (N in S12), control processing for normal games such as winning / failing lottery is executed (S14), and if a special game is in progress (Y in S12), control processing for special game is executed (S16), from S10 to S16 In step S18, prize ball payout corresponding to various winnings is processed.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing in detail the normal game control process of S14 in FIG. In the normal game control process, if the winning / losing lottery value is on hold (Y in S30) and the symbol variation is not being displayed (N in S32), the winning / losing lottery means 112 executes the determining process. (S34). In accordance with the determination result, the main display control means 118 starts changing display, transmits a change start command to the effect control means 134, and the effect control means 134 that receives the command displays change display of the effect image according to the change pattern data. Is started (S36). If the winning or failing lottery value is not held in S30 (N in S30), the processing from S32 to S36 is skipped, and if the symbol variation is being displayed in S32 (Y in S32), S34 and S36 Is skipped. Subsequently, if the symbol variation display has already started (Y in S38), the symbol variation display process is executed (S40). If the symbol variation display has not started (N in S38), S40 is skipped. .

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing in detail the success / failure determination process of S34 in FIG. First, the success / failure lottery means 112 reads the success / failure lottery value (S42), and determines the success / failure based on the success / failure lottery value (S44). The symbol determining means 114 determines a stop symbol of the special symbol based on the determination result (S46), and selects a variation pattern of the special symbol (S48). The effect determination means 132 determines the stop symbol combination of the decorative symbols based on the determination result and the special symbol (S50), and selects the variation pattern of the decorative symbol according to the variation pattern of the special symbol (S52).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing in detail S16 in FIG. First, if the special winning opening 66 has not been opened (N in S70), the production control means 134 starts the special game production process (S72), and the open / close control means 124 opens the special winning opening 66 (S74). . If the big winning opening 66 has been opened, S72 and S74 are skipped (Y in S70). When the predetermined opening time has elapsed since the grand prize opening 66 was opened (Y in S76), or the opening time has not elapsed (N in S76), there are nine or more game balls to the big winning opening 66 When the player has entered the ball (Y in S78), the opening / closing control means 124 closes the special winning opening 66 (S80). If the opening time has not elapsed (N in S76) and the number of balls entered into the grand prize winning opening 66 has not reached nine or more (N in S78), the processing after S80 is skipped and the flow of S16 Exit.

  If the number of rounds of the unit game has reached 15 after the closing of the special winning opening 66 in S80 (Y of S82), the effect control means 134 ends the effect processing of the special game (S84), and the special game control means 120 Ends the special game (S86). If the number of rounds has not reached 15 (N in S82), 1 is added to the number of rounds and the flow of S16 is terminated (S90).

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing control for holding a processing command to the display control device 138 when the pachinko gaming machine 10 is activated. The above flow from FIG. 6 to FIG. 9 mainly shows the processing process after the start-up of the pachinko gaming machine 10 is completed, but the flow of this figure is executed when the pachinko gaming machine 10 is turned on or returned after power interruption. Is done. When the start timing of the activation confirmation signal output to the display control device 138 at a predetermined polling interval is reached after the start of the flow of this figure (Y in S100), the effect control means 134 sends the activation confirmation signal to the display control device 138. When the output timing is not reached (N in S100), the processing in S102 is skipped. When it is confirmed that the activation of the display control device 138 is not completed based on the response to the activation confirmation signal (N in S104), the effect control means 134 suspends the output of the processing command to the display control device 138 ( S110). When the start completion of the display control device 138 is confirmed (Y in S104), the display content on the effect display device 60 at that time is constructed based on the processing command whose output has been suspended so far (S106). Then, output of a processing command to the display control device 138 after completion of activation is started (S108). The above flow is repeatedly executed until the start of the display control device 138 is completed and the output of the processing command is resumed.

  In the above, this invention was demonstrated based on the Example. This embodiment is merely an example, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the combination of each component and each processing process, and such modifications are within the scope of the present invention. is there.

  In the above-described embodiments, the present invention has been described with reference to a conventional type 1 pachinko gaming machine. As a modified example, a pachinko gaming machine that has an effect display function on a liquid crystal display and includes a display control device with a long activation time is not limited to the first type pachinko gaming machine. For example, the present invention may be realized in a conventional type 2 or type 3 pachinko gaming machine or a model in which the first type pachinko gaming machine is combined with another model.

  10 Pachinko machines, 42 Liquid crystal units, 50 Game boards, 52 Game areas, 60 Production display devices, 61 Special symbol display devices, 62 Start ports, 90 Game effect lamps, 100 Game control devices, 102 Main boards, 104 Sub boards, 112 winning / losing lottery means, 114 symbol determining means, 118 main display control means, 120 special game control means, 130 pattern storage means, 132 effect determining means, 134 effect control means, 138 display control device.

Claims (1)

A game board in which a game area is formed;
A start winning opening provided at a predetermined position in the game area, and a game ball entering is a lottery opportunity;
Triggering lottery means for executing a lottery for determining whether or not to shift to a special game that is more advantageous to the player than a normal game, triggered by entering the starting prize opening,
A display device in which a symbol for showing the result of the success / failure lottery is displayed in a staggering manner;
A display control device for executing processing instructions for displaying an image on the display device;
Production control means for outputting a processing command for displaying an image on the display device to the display control device according to the result of the success / failure lottery,
A special game control means for executing the special game when the winning / lottery lottery results in that the transition to the special game is possible, and the symbol display is stopped in a predetermined stop mode;
With
The presentation control means, said activation of the display control device said processing all stores pending output instruction in the case of incomplete, after activation completion before Symbol display control unit based on the previous SL accumulated processing instructions Decide which processing instruction to output ,
The success / failure lottery means is provided in the main control device that controls the progress of the game, and the time required for starting the main control device is shorter than the time required for starting the display control device,
The effect control means receives data indicating a gaming state to be referred to in order to determine the display content on the display device from the main control device, determines the processing instruction based on the data, and produces an effect in the game A ball game machine provided in a sub-control device for controlling a general operation, wherein a time required for starting the sub-control device is shorter than a time required for starting the display control device .

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