JP7470338B1 - Amusement Park Production System - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To reduce the need for customizing the control unit, and to enable notification of specific events for each gaming machine island with a simple configuration. [Solution] The system comprises an island equipment 100 of gaming machines 11, 12, ... 1N, a performance control unit 21, 22, ... which generates a status signal according to the state of the gaming machine from the game signal of the gaming machine, a hall general control device 5 which manages the gaming state in the hall based on the status signal, and a performance device 3 which performs a specific event performance according to the gaming state. A linkage control unit is provided for each island equipment and generates a performance control signal which instructs the performance device 3 to perform an event performance based on the status signal, and the performance control unit is cascaded for each island equipment, and is configured to receive the game signal from the corresponding gaming machine, transmit the status signal from one control unit to the linkage control unit via another control unit, and transmit the performance control signal from the linkage control unit via one control unit to the other control unit. The performance device 3 performs an event performance for each island equipment in response to the performance control signal. [Selected Figure] Fig. 1

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act From December 20, 2023 to January 23, 2024, an amusement park presentation system was installed at Marumitsu Nagayo store and operated as a field test during normal business hours when general customers were admitted.

The present invention relates to a presentation system for an amusement center where multiple gaming machines are arranged in rows or groups to form islands.

Amusement halls, or parlors where numerous gaming machines are installed that allow users to play using gaming media such as pachinko balls, medals, or coins, are subject to various legal restrictions. For example, the appearance of excessive accumulation of gaming media provided by gaming machines and acquired by users is restricted by law. For this reason, the mainstream system stores the number of gaming media acquired and available for loan on the user's gaming card, and allows the user to loan out the number of gaming media stored therein again.

With this system, the number of gaming media that can be loaned out can be managed for each user using a gaming card, eliminating the need to physically provide all gaming media provided for play outside the gaming machine, and preventing excessive accumulation of actual gaming media in appearance. It also reduces the number of gaming media that need to be handled throughout the hall, and eliminates the need for personnel and media counting equipment to count accumulated gaming media all at once, resulting in reduced hall maintenance costs.

However, even if a user wins a large number of gaming media as a result of a specific gaming event, such as a jackpot, and can confirm this by checking the numbers stored on their gaming card, they cannot get a sense of the jackpot with the actual gaming media themselves, and so the user cannot enjoy the feeling of superiority that comes with winning over others. Also, even if a spectacular jackpot display is displayed on the gaming machine and its surrounding areas to notify the user of the jackpot, it is not very effective in drawing attention to the gaming machine and location where the jackpot occurred from outside the hall or from places far away from the gaming machine that won. As a result, the hall as a whole tends to lack vitality and become less appealing as an entertainment facility.

As a technology for notifying an arcade that a jackpot has been hit on a certain gaming machine, Patent Document 1 discloses an amusement arcade system in which a relay device is installed for every two gaming machines on an amusement machine island formed by lining up gaming machines facing an aisle, and a management device that manages the amusement arcade is installed in a management space within the arcade, and the management device centrally manages the operating status of the equipment within the arcade, such as the gaming machines, corresponding gaming devices (which lend out and count gaming media), and gaming information display devices (which display various gaming information, guidance information, etc.) corresponding to the gaming machines.

In this system, the gaming information display device corresponding to the gaming machine where a jackpot has occurred outputs a jackpot signal (effect signal) to the gaming information display devices on either side, which in turn output effect signals to their neighboring gaming information display devices, so that all gaming information display devices on the gaming machine island input effect signals. Other alternative examples include a configuration in which the gaming information display device where the jackpot state occurred outputs an effect signal directly to the other gaming information display devices on the gaming machine island, and a configuration in which a management device that receives an effect signal outputs an effect signal to the other gaming information display devices.

JP 2017-176239 A

However, this type of configuration requires customizing the management device that manages the system for the entire hall and the control units of each gaming machine when notifying each island of jackpot gaming machines, which is time-consuming and costly, and has little ability to handle replacement work for each island or part of an island of gaming machines in the hall.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and its purpose is to provide an amusement center presentation system that has a simple configuration that can notify specific events of each gaming machine on each island of gaming machines, while reducing the need to customize the control unit that manages the entire hall and the control units of each gaming machine.

The game center presentation system according to the present invention is a game center presentation system having a plurality of island facilities each having at least two game machines, a presentation control unit provided for each of the game machines and generating a game status signal corresponding to the game state or operation of the game machine based on a game signal from the game machine, a hall general control device that manages the game state or operation of the game machines in the hall based on the game status signal, and a presentation device that performs at least a visual event presentation for the game machine in a specific event according to the game state or operation of the game machine. The game center presentation system has a linkage control unit provided for each of the island facilities and generates and transmits a presentation control signal for instructing the presentation device to perform the event presentation based on the game status signal, and the presentation control units are connected in series for each island facility, each of which receives the game signal from the corresponding game machine, and is configured to be able to transmit the game status signal from one presentation control unit to the linkage control unit via another presentation control unit and to transmit the presentation control signal from the linkage control unit to the other presentation control unit via one presentation control unit, and the presentation device performs the event presentation for each island facility in response to the presentation control signal.

This feature reduces the need to customize existing equipment, such as the control unit that manages the entire hall and the control units of each gaming machine, while allowing notification of specific events on gaming machines on each island with a simple configuration.

The above-mentioned amusement park presentation system according to the present invention may have the following additional features:

In other words, the presentation device may be characterized in that it includes a notification means for notifying the occurrence of the specific event in the island equipment in response to the presentation control signal. This feature reduces the need to customize existing equipment, and allows the notification means to notify the specific event of the gaming machine for each island equipment with a simple configuration.

The notification means may be an island-by-island display means. The island-by-island display means may be installed at a predetermined position on the island equipment, and the predetermined position may be one or both ends of the top surface of the island equipment, a central position, or a specific position that can be used to visually confirm the location of the island equipment within the hall. According to this feature, it is possible to notify specific events of gaming machines on an island-by-island basis with a simple configuration while reducing the need to customize existing equipment.

The notification means may be a notice panel that is provided in the island equipment corresponding to the gaming machine and appears from above the gaming machine during the specific event. The notice panel may also include an advertising section and/or a display that notifies of the specific event. The notification means may be an arm with an illumination device that is provided in the island equipment corresponding to the gaming machine and that protrudes from above the gaming machine during the specific event and illuminates the front of the gaming machine. This feature allows the notification of specific events for gaming machines on each island equipment to be made on a notice panel with a simple configuration, while reducing the need to customize existing equipment.

The notification means may be a chair accessory that is provided in correspondence with a chair attached to the gaming machine in the island equipment and that emits light or displays an indication of the specific event, or displays the game status or data of the gaming machine. The notification means may include a vibration means that is provided in correspondence with a chair attached to the gaming machine in the island equipment and that vibrates the chair in response to the specific event. A specific event of the gaming machine for each island equipment can be notified by the chair with a simple configuration, while reducing the need to customize existing equipment.

The interlocking control unit may be characterized in that it receives a general control signal from the hall general control device and generates the performance control signal in response to the received signal.

The system may further include an in-hall island status notification unit provided at a position in the hall different from the island equipment, the interlocking control unit generates an island status signal corresponding to the operating status of the island equipment based on the game status signal and transmits the island status signal to the hall general control device, and the hall general control device controls the in-hall island status notification unit to notify the operating status of the island equipment based on the island status signal.

The specific event may be characterized as being equivalent to a jackpot mode in which a large number of gaming media can be provided from the gaming machine.

The island-by-island display means may be characterized as including a three-dimensional image display device.

These additional features can further enhance the intended effects of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a game center presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of an island facility in an amusement park presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a bulletin board panel provided in an island facility in an amusement park presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the appearance and operation of the bulletin board panel of FIG. 3 . 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of an arm with an illumination device provided on an island facility in an amusement park presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the appearance and operation of the arm with the illuminator in FIG. 5 . 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a chair presentation device provided on a chair attached to an island facility in an amusement park presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 13 is a side view showing another example of a chair presentation device provided on a chair attached to an island facility in an amusement park presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Below, an amusement park presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the main components of an amusement park presentation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, in an amusement facility, such as a pachinko/pachislot hall, multiple gaming machines 11, 12, ..., 1N (N is an integer of 3 or more) are installed in a line or in a group, and these multiple gaming machines are gathered together to form an island facility 100 that occupies a portion of the area of the hall. Although only one island facility 100 is shown here, many halls have multiple island facilities arranged along and between the aisles.

The gaming machines 11, 12, ..., 1N are exemplified by pachinko and pachislot machines, and the gaming media are pachinko balls and medals. A user, who is a player, plays the gaming machine of his/her choice using gaming media loaned from the hall. However, these gaming machines may be managed gaming machines. In the case of pachinko machines, managed gaming machines circulate enclosed gaming media for playing. In the case of pachislot machines, managed gaming machines do not use gaming media for playing. In particular, the amusement hall presentation system described here is particularly suitable for island equipment 100 using managed gaming machines.

In FIG. 1, the components of the island equipment 100 that are externally visible to the user are indicated by the reference numeral 100' and are enclosed in a dashed line.

The game center presentation system 1 has presentation control units 21, 22, ..., 2N provided corresponding to each of the game machines 11, 12, ..., 1N. The presentation control units 21, 22, ..., 2N are additionally installed externally to the island equipment. Each presentation control unit receives a game signal p from the corresponding game machine. The game signal p is a signal indicating the game state or operation of the game machine, and more specifically, is a signal indicating the game status of the game machine, such as whether the operation mode of the game machine is normal mode or jackpot mode, whether the game medium is being lent to the game machine, or whether the winning lottery process is being performed, and is transmitted individually from the game machine. In other words, when providing a presentation control unit, it is sufficient to be able to receive the game signal p, and there is almost no need to customize the island equipment.

In the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N, in the respective controllers 21x, 22x, ..., 2Nx consisting of a CPU or the like, a game status signal s to be output to the outside according to the game state or operation of the game machine is generated based on the game signal p from the corresponding game machine. In the performance control unit 21, the generated game status signal s is input to the output side three-state buffer 21y, and the output end of the three-state buffer 21y is connected to the bidirectional transmission line 21L. A switching signal from the controller 21x is supplied to the control end of the three-state buffer 21y. Similarly, in the performance control unit 22, the game status signal s is input to the three-state buffer 22y, and the output end of the three-state buffer 22y is connected to the bidirectional transmission line 22L, and the three-state buffer 22y is switched by the controller 21x. In addition, in the performance control unit 2N, the game status signal s is input to a three-state buffer 2Ny, the output terminal of the three-state buffer 2Ny is connected to a bidirectional transmission line 2NL, and the three-state buffer 2Ny is switched by the controller 2Nx.

By controlling the state switching of the three-state buffers 21y, 22y, ..., 2Ny using the controllers 21x, 22x, ..., 2Nx, the game status signal s can be supplied to the transmission lines 21L, 22L, ..., 2NL at any time as needed.

The performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N also have input-side three-state buffers 21z, 22z, ..., 2Nz whose input terminals are connected to the transmission lines 21L, 22L, ..., 2NL, and whose output terminals and control terminals are connected to the controllers 21x, 22x, ..., 2Nx. With this configuration, the performance control signal e described below, which is transmitted to the transmission lines 21L, 22L, ..., 2NL, can be received at a timing controlled by the controllers 21x, 22x, ..., 2Nx. This enables the controllers 21x, 22x, ..., 2Nx to control the performance equipment, including the notification means described below, based on the received performance control signal e.

The transmission lines 21L, 22L, ..., 2NL are connected in series in a cascade connection configuration of the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N in the island equipment 100. More specifically, one end of the transmission line 21L of the performance control unit 21 is connected to one end of the transmission line 22L of the performance control unit 22 of the adjacent gaming machine 12, and the other end of the transmission line 22L of the performance control unit 22 is connected to one end of the transmission line of the performance control unit of the adjacent gaming machine, in such a manner that the transmission lines of the performance control units of the adjacent gaming machines in the island equipment 100 are connected to one end of the transmission line of the performance control unit of the adjacent gaming machine.

The hall is also provided with a hall general control device 5 that manages the entire hall, including all of the target gaming machines. In the amusement hall performance system 1 of this embodiment, the hall general control device 5 is responsible for collecting information on the game status or operating status of the gaming machines in the hall based on the game status signal s from each performance control unit in at least all of the target island equipment. The hall general control device 5 may also be responsible for additionally or selectively performing performance for each island equipment, which will be described later. The game status signal s transmitted from the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N is supplied to the hall general control device 5 via the system bus line SBL. Based on the transmission of the status signal via this bus line SBL, the hall general control device 5 can perform overall management as before.

Each of the gaming machines 11, 12, ..., 1N has a presentation device, i.e., a machine presentation device 110, 120, ..., 1N0, provided on the upper front of each machine. This machine presentation device is, for example, a call lamp with a data display function, and in response to a presentation control signal e described below, during a specific event such as a big win mode, it is possible to emit and display a generally patterned light that produces a spectacular presentation that is different from the normal mode and attracts attention.

In addition, the island equipment 100 is provided with presentation equipment corresponding to the island, i.e., island presentation equipment 3. The island presentation equipment 3 constitutes an island-based display means, and in the island equipment 100, performs at least a visual event presentation for the gaming machines in response to the gaming status or operation of the gaming machines 11, 12, ..., 1N in a specific event. Specifically, the island presentation equipment 3 clearly notifies the outside of the island of the occurrence of the specific event in response to a presentation control signal e described below, thereby achieving the effect of appealing to people inside and outside the hall other than the users of the gaming machines about the specific event.

The end of the transmission line 21L of the performance control unit 21 of the gaming machine 11 at one end of the island equipment 100 is connected to the end of the internal transmission line 4L of the interlocking control unit 400. The interlocking control unit 400 is provided for each island equipment 100, and in the game center performance system 1 in this embodiment, it plays a role in controlling the performance on an island basis. The internal transmission line 4L of the interlocking control unit 400 is connected to the input end of the input side three-state buffer 4y, and the output of the three-state buffer 4y is supplied to a controller 4x consisting of a CPU or the like. The three-state buffer 4y is controlled by a switching signal from the controller 4x, and the signal transmitted on the transmission line 4L is relayed to the controller 4x only when this switching signal becomes significant.

In response to this relay operation, the interlocking control unit 400 generates a performance control signal e for instructing the island performance device 3 and the machine performance devices 110, 120, ..., 1N0 to perform an event performance operation corresponding to a specific event based on the game status signal s received by the controller 4x. More specifically, the controller 4x of the interlocking control unit 400 identifies the occurrence of a specific event, such as a big win mode, and the gaming machine that has won the big win, based on the received game status signal s, and supplies a performance control signal e indicating the event performance operation corresponding to the specific event and the gaming machine to the transmission line 4L via the output side three-state buffer 4z. The controller 4x controls the on/off timing of the transmission of the performance control signal e to the transmission line 4L by a switching signal supplied to the three-state buffer 4z. When the three-state buffer 4z is switched to the on state, the performance control signal e is output to the transmission line 4L through the three-state buffer 4z and transmitted to the island performance device 3 connected to the transmission line 4L. In response to this, the island performance device 3 performs an event performance operation according to the performance control signal e.

The performance control signal e is also transmitted to the transmission lines 4L, 21L, 22L, ..., 2NL through the three-state buffer 4z, and is received via the three-state buffers 21z, 22z, ..., 2Nz of the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N. Based on this, each performance control unit generates and transmits an external performance control signal e for the external performance equipment. In response, the stand performance equipment 110, 120, ..., 1N will perform performance operations according to this external performance control signal e.

In this way, the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N are connected in cascade for each island equipment, each of which receives a game signal p from a corresponding gaming machine, and is capable of transmitting a game status signal s based on this from one performance control unit to the interlocking control unit 400 via the other performance control units. Furthermore, the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N are capable of transmitting a performance control signal e from the interlocking control unit 400 from one performance control unit to the other performance control units 400, and then from the interlocking control unit 400.

With this configuration, the island presentation device 3 and the machine presentation devices 110, 120, ..., 1N0 can perform presentations corresponding to specific events of the gaming machine for each island equipment, i.e., event presentations, in response to the presentation control signal e from the interlocking control unit 400.

By connecting the performance control units in series as described above and configuring the interlocking control unit 400 connected to them, a common transmission path for controlling the performance on each island is formed simply by connecting the transmission lines of each control unit along the gaming machine, forming a bidirectional transmission path, which reduces the need to customize the hall general control device 5 and each performance control unit, and makes it easy to respond to things like changing machines, expanding or partially replacing island equipment, etc.

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the appearance of the island equipment 100 in the amusement park presentation system 1.

In FIG. 2, the island performance device 3 as an island unit display means is composed of a three-dimensional image display device capable of producing a visual performance effect of a stereoscopic image display in which characters such as "jackpot" or an alternative picture are displayed by swaying, like a flag, and is installed at a predetermined position in the island equipment 100. As a three-dimensional image display device, for example, a so-called 3D hologram fan can be used, which displays an image by synchronizing the turning on and off of LEDs attached to a rod-shaped body in a row with the rotational movement of the rod-shaped body, making use of an afterimage, etc.

This predetermined position can be one or both ends or the center of the top surface of the island equipment 100. In the illustrated embodiment, one corner of a rectangular area on the top surface of the island equipment 100, which has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape (i.e., above the gaming machine 11 at the end of the island), is selected as one end of the island equipment, and the island presentation device 3 is provided here. In addition, an island presentation device 3 is also provided at a diagonal position of the rectangular area (i.e., behind the gaming machine 1N at the opposite end of the island). Therefore, in this embodiment, the island presentation devices 3 are installed at both ends of the island equipment 100, and can be made to correspond to the islands on the front and back of the island equipment, respectively.

The island performance device 3 may also be installed in the center of the top surface of the island equipment 100. Alternatively, the island performance device 3 may be installed, for example, on the ceiling of the hall directly above the island equipment 100. Even in this type of installation, the island performance device 3 can notify the occurrence of a specific event in the island equipment 100. In other words, the island performance device 3 may be installed in a specific position that is highly visible while clearly indicating the corresponding island in the hall.

On the other hand, in addition to the island performance device 3, a notification means for notifying the occurrence of a specific event on the island equipment can be configured. For example, the notification means may be configured by a notice panel 3A that is provided above each of the gaming machines 11, 12, ..., 1N in the island equipment 100 and displays information corresponding to the specific event. The notice panel 3A may also be given additional movement.

Figure 3 shows the main configuration when motion is imparted to the bulletin board panel 3A, and Figure 4 shows an aspect for explaining the more detailed appearance and operation of the bulletin board panel 3A.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bulletin board 3A has an advertising section 3ad at its tip for displaying advertisements to announce specific events. In this embodiment, the advertising section 3ad is composed of a circular bulletin board with the words "Watch Out!" written on it.

The notice panel 3A also has a display 31 as shown in FIG. 4, and the display 31 is attached to the advertising section 3ad side of the longitudinal bulletin board 3A0, which protrudes from the top of the island equipment 100, bends, and extends to the advertising section 3ad. The longitudinal bulletin board 3A0 and the advertising section 3ad may be formed integrally, or the advertising section 3ad at the tip may be configured to be detachable from the longitudinal bulletin board 3A0.

The configuration of the display panel 3A is shown in FIG. 3, including functional blocks that are not visible from the outside. In FIG. 3, the display panel 3A has a panel controller 30 that includes a CPU and receives a performance control signal e, and the panel controller 30 generates a display control signal according to the received performance control signal e and outputs this to the display 31. The display 31 performs a display operation according to the display control signal. This allows the display 31 to display, for example, a blinking sequence of numbers that indicates a jackpot in response to a specific event, or to display information about the balls dispensed.

The notice panel 3A also has an actuator 32 that rotates the longitudinal bulletin board 3A0 back and forth. The panel controller 30 generates a rotation control signal for driving the actuator 32 in response to the performance control signal e, and outputs it to the actuator 32. In normal mode, the actuator 32 rotates the longitudinal bulletin board 3A0 in response to the rotation control signal from the panel controller 30, as shown by the arrow α1 in FIG. 4, to maintain the state of being tilted behind the island equipment 100, and in specific events such as the big win mode, the actuator 32 rotates the longitudinal bulletin board 3A0 in response to the rotation control signal from the panel controller 30, as shown by the arrow α2 in FIG. 4, to enable the operation of tilting the longitudinal bulletin board 3A0 in front of the gaming machine.

These displays and operations of the notice panel 3A, including the longitudinal notice board 3A0, notify the presence of the gaming machine on which a specific event has occurred, and thus the island equipment, and in addition to the effects of the island performance device 3, can appeal to the outside world about the lively entertainment scene on the island.

As an additional notification means, a spotlight, so to speak, may be shone in front of the gaming machine on which a specific event has occurred to attract even more attention.

Figure 5 shows the main configuration of the arm 3B with an illumination device as a notification means provided in the island equipment 100 in the amusement park presentation system 1, and Figure 6 shows the general appearance and operation of the arm 3B with an illumination device.

The arm 3B with illumination is composed of an arm section 3B0, one end of which is attached to the top of the island equipment 100, an illumination base 3B1 provided at the other end of the arm section 3B0, and an LED illumination device 3L fitted into the illumination base 3B1. As shown in FIG. 5, the arm 3B with illumination has an arm controller 33 which includes a CPU and receives a performance control signal e, and in response to the received performance control signal e, the arm controller 33 generates an illumination control signal for turning on the LED illumination device 3L in a specific event and supplies this to the LED illumination device 3L. This allows the LED illumination device 3L to emit light in response to the illumination control signal and illuminate the area in front of the gaming machine.

In this way, the illuminator-equipped arms 3B are provided in the island equipment 100 corresponding to the gaming machines 11, 12, ..., 1N, and protrude from above the gaming machines during specific events to illuminate the area in front of the gaming machines, thereby announcing the presence of the gaming machines on which the specific events have occurred and, by extension, the island equipment, and appealing to the outside world of the island with a lively entertainment scene in addition to the effects of the island performance device 3. Also, by lighting up the LED illuminators 3L, it is possible to notify players who are gazing at devices other than the gaming machines, such as mobile devices, that a specific event has occurred.

The notification means may also be provided in a chair that is attached to the gaming machine and in which the user sits. In this case, a chair performance device 3C is additionally provided in a normal gaming machine chair, and the chair performance device 3C plays a role in performing the event performance for a specific event.

Referring again to FIG. 2, an LED tape 3t formed of, for example, a row of LEDs that can emit light during a specific event is attached to the backrest of the chairs 11C, 12C, ..., 1NC. More specifically, the LED tape 3t is attached so as to extend along the outer edge of the backrest of the chair 11C. The chair performance device 3C also includes an LED display 3d that can display dots, for example, on the back of the backrest of the chair 11C. In addition, the chairs 11C, 12C, ..., 1NC are equipped with a vibration motor 3m as a vibration means for the chair body, which allows the chair to vibrate during a specific event, thereby enhancing the entertainment effect for the user. The user can feel the occurrence of a specific event more strongly through such vibration. The LED tape 3t and the LED display 3d may be other light-emitting devices or other display devices as long as they are capable of performing a highly visible performance.

Figure 7 shows a block diagram of the main components of the chair performance device 3C.

7, the chair performance device 3C has a controlled side BT interface (I/F) (hereinafter referred to as BT-I/F) 35 that wirelessly receives a BT (Bluetooth (registered trademark)) performance control signal e' and converts it into an electrical signal. The BT performance control signal e' is transmitted to each gaming machine from the control side BT-I/F 21f, 22f, ..., 2Nf provided in each of the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N shown in FIG. 1. The control side BT-I/F 21f converts the wired performance control signal e of the controller 21x into a wireless BT performance control signal e' in accordance with the BT standard, and wirelessly transmits the BT performance control signal e' to the BT-I/F 35 of the chair performance device 3C of the corresponding chair 11C. The BT-I/F 35 converts the BT performance control signal e' into a wired performance control signal e. The other control side BT-I/Fs and the controlled side BT-I/Fs of the corresponding chair performance equipment are similar to BT-I/Fs 21f and 35.

The chair performance device 3C has a chair performance controller 36 that receives a performance control signal e from the BT-I/F 35, and the chair performance controller 36 generates a light emission control signal for illuminating the LED tape 3t and a display control signal for controlling the display of the LED display 3d in response to the performance control signal e. This allows the LED tape 3t to perform a light emission operation (e.g., light emission in a predetermined blinking pattern) to notify the occurrence of a specific event in response to the light emission control signal from the chair performance controller 36. The LED display 3d can also perform a display operation (e.g., displaying highlighted characters such as "Big Win!") to notify the occurrence of a specific event in response to the display control signal from the chair performance controller 36. This display operation may also include an operation to change the display content depending on the level of the big win, or to display data such as the number of game media actually provided by the gaming machine and acquired by the user in the big win mode.

In this way, the chair performance device 3C as a notification means is provided in correspondence with the chairs 11C, 12C, ..., 1NC attached to the gaming machines 11, 12, ..., 1N in the island equipment 100, and emits light or displays a specific event, or displays the game status or data of the gaming machine. It is preferable that the chair performance device 3C be in the form of a chair accessory that can be selectively attached to an existing gaming machine chair so that it can be replaced according to the wishes of the hall manager.

The chair performance controller 36 also generates a drive control signal for driving the vibration motor 3m in response to the performance control signal e from the BT-I/F 35. This allows the vibration motor 3m to perform a vibration operation on the chair to notify the occurrence of a specific event in response to the drive control signal from the chair performance controller 36 (for example, continuous vibration for two minutes from the start of the specific event).

Figure 8 shows the configuration of side LED displays 3ds provided on chairs 11C, 12C, ..., 1NC as another embodiment for chair performance equipment 3C.

In FIG. 8, a dot LED display 3ds capable of displaying text is attached to the side of the chair. This side dot LED display 3ds can also be configured to perform display operations under the control of the chair performance controller 36, similar to the contents described for the rear LED display 3d. In this embodiment, the LED display 3ds can effectively display highlighting such as "recommended" as shown in FIG. 8 to people passing by in the corridor facing the island facility 100 or outside the island facility 100 by displaying from the side of the chair.

Although not shown in the figure, the power supply for the chair performance device 3C is installed, for example, in the island equipment, and can supply voltage through wiring laid on or under the floor. Separate power supplies are installed to supply voltage to the light-emitting/display devices such as the LED tape 3t and the LED display 3d and the chair performance controller 36, and to supply voltage to the vibration motor 3m, and can supply the corresponding voltage to each. It is also preferable that the power supply be battery-powered so that wiring can be omitted. It is also preferable that these batteries, wiring, and electrical components such as the chair performance controller 36 are consolidated into one as much as possible and housed in an insulating cover, and placed on the back or rear side of the seat so that they cannot be touched by the player.

In the above explanation, the interlocking control unit 400 has been described as generating a performance control signal e for the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N based on the game status signal s from these performance control units, but this operation is not exclusive. In other words, the interlocking control unit 400 can also receive a general control signal g from the hall general control device 5 (see Figure 1) and generate a performance control signal e in response to this received signal. This is realized based on the configuration of the hall general control device 5 and the interlocking control unit 400, which are connected to the system bus line SBL. The interlocking control unit 400 receives the general control signal g from the hall general control device 5 via the system bus line SBL at a predetermined timing.

The game center production system 1 may also have an in-hall island status notification unit 7 at a location in the hall different from the island equipment 100. For example, the island status notification unit 7 may be installed in a rest area in the hall. The interlocking control unit 400 generates an island status signal i according to the operating status of the island equipment 100 based on the game status signal s, and transmits this island status signal i to the hall general control device 5 via the system bus line SBL. This allows the hall general control device 5 to control the in-hall island status notification unit 7 to notify the operating status of the island equipment 100 based on the island status signal i. The island status notification unit 7 can display the operating status including the ball output information of each island equipment on a large screen display monitor installed on a specific wall in the rest area, for example, to inform people in the rest area.

In the above embodiment, the common bidirectional transmission path formed by the cascade connection of the performance control units 21, 22, ..., 2N and the interlocking control unit 400 is realized by a configuration based on the use of output and input three-state buffers as a specific example, but is not necessarily limited to such a configuration. Any device/wiring pattern may be used as long as the configuration forms a common bidirectional transmission path by the cascade connection of these control units along the gaming machine.

Although the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this configuration, and a person skilled in the art can find various alternatives and modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention or the scope of the appended claims.

1 Game center performance system 100 Island equipment 11, 12, ..., 1N Gaming machine 110, 120, ..., 1N0 Unit performance device 11C, 12C, ..., 1NC Chair 21, 22, ..., 2N Performance control unit 21L, 22L, ..., 2NL, 4L Transmission line 21x, 22x, ..., 2Nx, 4x Controller 21y, 22y, ..., 2Ny, 4y Three-state buffer 21z, 22z, ..., 2Nz, 4z Three-state buffer 21f, 22f, ..., 2Nf BT-I/F
3 Island performance equipment 3A Display panel 3C Chair performance equipment 35 BT-I/F
3t LED tape 3d LED display 3m Vibration motor 400 Interlocking control unit 5 Hall general control device 7 Island status notification unit SBL System bus line

Claims (13)

An amusement hall presentation system comprising: a plurality of island facilities each having at least two gaming machines; a presentation control unit provided in correspondence with each of the gaming machines and generating a game status signal according to a game state or operation of the gaming machine based on a game signal from the gaming machine; a hall general control device that manages the game state or operation of the gaming machines in the hall based on the game status signal; and a presentation device that performs at least a visual event presentation for the gaming machine in a specific event according to the game state or operation of the gaming machine,
a linkage control unit provided in correspondence with each of the island facilities, which generates and transmits a performance control signal for instructing the performance device to perform the event performance based on the game status signal;
The performance control units are connected in series for each island equipment, each of which receives the game signal from a corresponding gaming machine, and is configured to be capable of transmitting the game status signal from one performance control unit to the interlocking control unit via another performance control unit, and to transmit the performance control signal from the interlocking control unit to the other performance control unit via one performance control unit,
The performance device performs the event performance for each island facility in response to the performance control signal.
A game center presentation system comprising: The amusement park presentation system according to claim 1, characterized in that the presentation device includes a notification means for notifying that the specific event has occurred in the island equipment in response to the presentation control signal. The game center presentation system according to claim 2, characterized in that the notification means is an island-by-island display means. The game center presentation system according to claim 3, characterized in that the island unit display means is installed at a predetermined position on the island equipment, and the predetermined position is one or both ends of the top surface of the island equipment, a central position, or a specific position that can be used to visually confirm the position of the island equipment within the hall. The game center presentation system according to claim 2, characterized in that the notification means is a display panel provided in the island facility in correspondence with the game machine and appears above the game machine during the specific event. The amusement park presentation system according to claim 5, characterized in that the display panel includes an advertising section and/or a display device that notifies the specific event. The amusement park presentation system according to claim 2, characterized in that the notification means is an arm with an illumination device that is provided in the island equipment in correspondence with the gaming machine, protrudes from above the gaming machine during the specific event, and illuminates the area in front of the gaming machine. The game center presentation system according to claim 2, characterized in that the notification means is a chair accessory provided in the island facility in correspondence with a chair attached to the game machine, and emits light or displays a message indicating the specific event, or displays the game status or data of the game machine. The game center presentation system according to claim 8, characterized in that the notification means includes vibration means provided in correspondence with chairs attached to the game machines in the island equipment, and vibrating the chairs during the specific event. The game center presentation system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the interlocking control unit receives a general control signal from the hall general control device and generates the presentation control signal in response to the received signal. The hall further includes an island status notification unit provided at a position in the hall different from the island equipment,
The interlocking control unit generates an island status signal corresponding to the operating status of the island equipment based on the game status signal and transmits this island status signal to the hall general control device, and the hall general control device controls the hall island status notification unit to notify the operating status of the island equipment based on the island status signal.A game hall presentation system as described in any one of claims 1 to 9. The game center presentation system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the specific event corresponds to a big win mode in which a large number of game media can be provided from the game machine. 5. The game arcade presentation system according to claim 3, wherein the island unit display means includes a three-dimensional image display device.

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