JPH0422599B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a device for monitoring game balls on a game machine board.

(Prior art) For example, a game machine such as a pachinko game machine generally has a ball storage section on the back side of the game machine that stores a certain number of prize balls for prizes, and a player places game balls into a certain lucky hole. When a game ball is hit, a number of prize balls equal to the product of a constant determined by the lucky hole and the number of game balls hit will be released by the ball reservoir into a saucer on the surface of the game machine. ing.

In this case, the game ball that entered the rat key hole is called a safe ball, and the ball that did not enter is called an out ball.
On the other hand, all game balls that are hit onto the board through the ball launch path are referred to as pull balls, regardless of whether they are out or safe. Usually, pachinko game machines are provided with a winning ball counting device for counting the above winning balls.

As an example, the number of game balls passing through a ball launch path in the forward direction and the number in the reverse direction (return balls) are counted using predetermined electronic counting means, and finally the number is counted from the counted value in the reverse direction. There is a method that calculates by subtracting the count value of the direction (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 13893/1983).

Therefore, when monitoring the number of balls existing on the board, a counting device such as the one described above is combined with a means for counting the balls collected from the out exit and the safe exit, and the actual number of balls entered is calculated from the actual number of balls entering the board. By subtracting , it is possible to know the instantaneous total number of balls existing on the board.

However, with this method, if all the incoming balls are collected after a certain period of time, they can be counted accurately and a reliable monitoring function can be achieved. The staying time of balls that have entered the board more than once is not constant and varies, so it is difficult to accurately count when balls are continuously entering and being retrieved. It is impossible to detect or monitor abnormal conditions such as stagnation in a certain part of the board surface.
Moreover, the condition of the above-mentioned variations is even more serious because each board has unique characteristics and also varies from day to day due to the condition of the nails, differences in humidity, etc.

(Objective of the Invention) The present invention was made to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and even when game balls are continuously fired onto the board, it is possible to calculate the number of balls existing on the board. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for monitoring game balls on a game machine board that can count the balls and detect that some of the balls are stagnant on the board.

(Means for achieving the object) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is based on the number of game balls that enter the board of a gaming machine and the number of game balls that are collected outside the board after passing through the board. a counting means for counting the actual number of game balls existing on the board surface; a first calculation means for calculating the average value of the number of game balls existing on the board surface within a predetermined time from the count value of the counting means; and the above-mentioned counting means. a second calculation means for calculating an average value within a time longer than the average value calculation time of the first calculation means from the counted value of the means;
Comparing means compares the calculated value of the calculating means with reference to the calculated value of the second calculating means, and determines an abnormal state of the number of balls existing in the board based on the comparison value. That is.

(Function) Therefore, according to the above configuration, the calculated value of the first calculation means indicates the current number of game balls existing on the surface of the game board at the present time within a relatively short period of time. At the same time, the calculated value of the second calculating means indicates the number of balls existing in the original normal state within a long period of time on the same board surface, and both values are calculated using the calculated value of the calculating means in Fig. 2 as a reference value. The comparison output of the comparing means that compares the numbers indicates either normal or abnormal state with respect to the number of balls existing in the original normal state.

(Example) FIG. 1 is a front view showing the external configuration of a pachinko game machine itself as a gaming machine which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a monitoring device.

First, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is the main body of a pachinko game machine, with a game board 2 provided on the front side and an operating mechanism (not shown) on the back side.
is provided. A ball launch passage 3 is formed on the game board 2 and communicates with a built-in ball launch mechanism, and the balls fired by the ball launch mechanism enter the board surface 4 through the ball launch passage 3. death,
It falls while twisting and turning along a falling route regulated by nails or other installed objects, and is finally collected through the out port 5 or the safe port 6. For example, at the end of the ball launching passage 3, there is provided an incoming ball detecting section 7, which will be described in detail later, and on the back side of the board (not shown), out balls and safe balls, which will also be described later, are provided. A collection detection section 8 is provided for detecting the so-called collected balls included in the ball.

Further, below the game board 2 of the game machine main body 1, an upper tray 9 for supplying balls to the ball firing mechanism;
An operating section 10 for operating the ball firing mechanism and a lower tray 11 for storing prize balls are provided.

Next, FIG. 2 will be explained. In the figure, code 7
is an incoming ball detection unit, which is provided, for example, at the end of the ball launching passage 3 as described above, and detects an incoming ball that actually enters the board 4 through the ball launching passage 3, and detects the ball. Generates a number of pulse signals according to the number of pulses. Moreover, the code|symbol 8 is a collected ball detection part,
As mentioned above, it is provided, for example, on the back side of the board surface 6, and detects the collected balls that enter the board surface 4 and are collected from the out exit 5 or the safe exit 6 via the above-mentioned predetermined route, and adjusts the number of balls according to the number of balls. generates several pulse signals.

The detection outputs of these detection units 7 and 8 are as follows:
Each is input to the counting means 12.

The counting means 12 is composed of, for example, an addition/subtraction counter or a device having a similar function, and performs addition/subtraction operations using the output of the incoming ball detection section 7 as an addition input and the output of the recovered ball detection section 8 as a subtraction input. , the number of balls existing on the board 4 at that time is counted and output. This output is then supplied to the gate means 13.

The gate means 13 opens the gate in synchronization with a timing pulse of a constant period supplied from the timing pulse generation means 14, for example, and stores the particular output (instantaneous value) of the counting means 12 in the first storage means 15 and the second storage means 16 respectively.

First storage means 15 and second storage means 16
are each composed of, for example, a ring counter or something with a similar function. For example, the first storage means 15 stores N (stages) of storage sections,
The second storage means 16 has N×M storage units (stages). These first and second storage means 15 or 16 receive the count value data of the counting means 12 indicated by the gate output, and each time the input is supplied, 1 to N or 1 to
The stored data is sequentially shifted up to (N×M) (during which time, the output is zero), and when the data is finally shifted up, the data is output as is. Therefore, in this case, the output of the first storage means 15 indicates old data from N×T time ago, where T is the period of the timing pulse generation means 14, and the output of the second storage means 16 is as follows. (N×M)×T
It will show older data from the previous hour. This operation is performed for each of the above times N×T or (N×M)×T
Each time is repeated, and new data is taken in at the corresponding time period.

On the other hand, reference numeral 17 indicates a first calculation means, and reference numeral 21
is the second calculation means, and the first calculation means 17
are the first addition/subtraction means 18 and the first division means 19
Therefore, the second calculation means 21 is composed of a second addition/subtraction means 22 and a second division means 23, respectively. Then, the first calculation means 17
The output of the gate means 13 is inputted as an addition input and the output of the first storage means 15 is inputted as a subtraction input to the addition/subtraction means 18 every T period up to N×T time, and all the additions or The subtraction output is supplied to division means 19. Division means 19
divides the output of the addition/subtraction means 18 by 1/N, and calculates the average value of each cycle within the NXT time. Similarly, the second calculation means 21 also operates the first
The output of the gate means 13 is added to the addition/subtraction means 22 as an addition input, and the second storage means 16
The output of is subtracted from the input and each T period by (N×M)×
Up to time T is input, their cumulative values are added or subtracted, and the output is supplied to the dividing means 23. The dividing means 23 divides this output into 1/(N/M)
The average value of each cycle within (N×M)×T time is calculated. The outputs of the first and second dividing means 17 and 21 are determined by comparing means, with the output of the second dividing means 21 serving as a reference input, and the output of the first dividing means 17 serving as a comparison input. 20
supplied to

The comparison means 20 compares the output of the first division means 19 with the output of the second division means 23 as a reference, and the output of the first division means 19 is the output of the second division means 23. If the value is greater than , an output is generated to operate a predetermined drive means 24. This driving means 2
4 is equipped with, for example, an alarm unit 25 and a display unit 26, and when the alarm unit 25 is activated, an alarm is generated to notify the operator of an abnormal state, and the display unit 26 indicates the presence of stagnant balls in an abnormal state. Display the number of pieces numerically.

That is, the instantaneous value indicated by the output of the counting means 12 supplied via the gate means 13 indicates the number of game balls existing on the game board, and is stored in N storage units at fixed time intervals T. If the oldest memory value of the first memory means 15 consisting of The value indicates the average characteristic of the number of existing pieces on the game board from N×T hours ago to the present. Similarly, if the number existing on the board is replaced with the oldest stored value of the second storage means 16, which is composed of storage units whose number is M times larger than N,
The average value of the memorized values indicates the characteristics of N×M×T times, and the abnormal state of the short time and characteristics indicated by the average value of N×M times is compared with the normal characteristics of the long time. By doing so, it can be detected reliably. Therefore, by using this long-time feature as a normal value for constant comparison with abnormal values, the unique comparison value of that board surface can be adjusted in response to changes in conditions and not caused by human intervention. This means that the settings can be set in a self-learning manner.

If, under the above conditions, one of the game balls that entered the board 4 is not collected, the value of the counting means 12 (the number of balls existing on the board) will be calculated until that one ball is collected. shows a value that is one more than usual, and if this state continues, the average value over the short time period will also show a value that is one more than normal. However, the average value over a long period of time is 1/M during that time.
For a while, the difference between the average value over a short time and the average value over a long time is
This shows the characteristics of an increase in the number of balls existing on the board that occurs when one game ball that has entered the board is not recovered. As a result, an abnormal state in which one of the game balls that entered the board has not been collected is determined and displayed externally.

It goes without saying that the above embodiments can be specifically implemented by either hardware or software methods, and are not limited to either method.

Further, in the above embodiments, the addition/subtraction means and the division means are used to calculate the average value, but this can also be done using an integrator.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, the present invention is based on the number of game balls that enter the board of a gaming machine and the number of game balls that are collected outside the board after passing through the board. a counting means for counting the actual number of game balls; a first calculating means for calculating the average value of the number of game balls existing on the board within a predetermined time from the counted value of the counting means; a second calculation means for calculating an average value within a time period longer than the average value calculation time of the first calculation means; and a calculation value of the first calculation means is based on the calculation value of the second calculation means. The present invention is characterized by comprising a comparison means for comparing the number of balls and determining an abnormal state of the number of balls existing on the board surface based on the comparison value.

Therefore, according to the present invention, an abnormality in the numerical value of the average value for a short period of time indicated by the output of the first calculation means can be compared and determined by the average value for a longer period of time, and it is possible to It becomes possible to easily know the number of game balls that are in a stagnant state, and a reliable monitoring function can be realized. This monitoring function can self-learn and respond to the characteristics shown even if the board surface is different, or even if the condition of the nails or other conditions of the board itself are different, so it can always be operated unconditionally. can.

Moreover, because of its configuration, it can be realized by either hardware or software means, so it is easy to design, and the accuracy of judgment can be improved only by increasing the ratio of short time to long time. It can be done easily.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of a pachinko game machine as a game machine to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a pachinko game machine. 2... Game board, 3... Ball launch passage, 4... Board surface, 7... Entry ball detection section, 8... Recovered ball detection section,
12... Counting means, 15... First storage means, 1
6...Second storage means, 17...First calculation means, 20...Comparison means, 21...Second calculation means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A counting means for counting the actual number of game balls existing on the board of a gaming machine from the number of game balls entering the board and the number of game balls collected outside the board after passing through the board, and a counting means for counting the actual number of game balls existing on the board, and a first calculating means for calculating an average value of the number of game balls existing on the board within a predetermined time from the counted value, and a time longer than the average value calculation time of the first calculating means from the counted value of the counting means; a second calculation means for calculating the average value of the
Comparing means for comparing the calculated value of the first calculating means with the calculated value of the second calculating means and determining an abnormal state of the number of balls existing in the board based on the comparison value. A gaming ball monitoring device on the gaming machine board.