JPH0633962Y2 - Slot machine - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial field of application> The present invention relates to a slot machine that determines the outcome of a game according to the combination of the symbols of the reels lined up on a stop line when a plurality of rotating reels stop. Especially, the present invention relates to a slot machine capable of collectively inserting a player's medals into a machine body prior to a game.

<Prior Art> A conventional slot machine has a medal insertion slot provided on the front surface of the machine, and a player inserts one to three medals into this medal insertion slot for each game, and then operates a start lever. It is operated to rotate all three reels at the same time to start the game.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, in the conventional slot machine of this type, since the medal insertion slot has a structure for accepting the insertion of medals one by one, it takes a lot of time to insert the medals. In this case, the operation of inserting the medal does not proceed smoothly, and the medal is dropped, so that the progress of the game tends to be delayed. Further, since each hand touches each medal, there is a problem that the hands are easily soiled and the player feels uncomfortable.

In order to solve the above problem, a slot machine of a type in which a large number of medals required by a player are loaded into a machine and stored prior to the game has been proposed (actual exploitation 63-7709).
No. 1). However, with this method, the player cannot grasp the remaining amount of medals owned by the player as the game progresses, and there is a fear that the inserted medals are suspicious about whether they are properly stored in the machine body.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problem. By making it possible to confirm the storage state of the collectively inserted medals from the outside, the storage state of the possessed medals and the amount thereof are clearly shown to the player. The purpose is to

<Means for Solving Problems> The present invention is a slot machine provided with a collective insertion slot for receiving a collective insertion of medals owned by a player, and a medal storage section communicating with the collective insertion slot inside the machine body. There
The medal storage unit operates in response to a medal discharge command from a control circuit unit and a transparent resin hopper that stores a large number of medals that have been collectively inserted, and sequentially discharges the stored medals in the hopper one by one. A transparent window is formed on the front surface of the machine body at the same height position as the storage section and at a position facing the hopper.

<Operation> When a large number of medals in the medal box are collectively inserted into the collective insertion slot as they are, these medals are sent to the medal storage unit communicating with the collective insertion slot and stored in the hopper. afterwards,
When a medal ejection command is issued from the control circuit unit, the medal ejection mechanism is activated to eject the stored medals one by one.

The storage state and the amount of owned medals that have been thrown in at once are
Since it can be confirmed through the see-through window, the player can easily grasp the amount of possessed medals and can confirm that the inserted possessed medals are properly stored.

<Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows a slot machine having three reels 1a, 1b, 1c, and a symbol display section 3, a collective insertion slot for medals 4, a transparent window 50, the number of medals deposited on the front of the machine body 2. Indicator 5, medal slot
6, registration button 7, start handle 8, three stop buttons 9, automatic medal insertion switch 10, changeover switch 11, medal discharge port 1
2, a medal tray 13 etc. are provided.

The symbol display portion 3 is a part for displaying the symbols around each reel 1a, 1b, 1c in line along the _five stop lines L _{1 to} L ₅ , and when the reels are operating, each reel 1a, 1b, 1c Of the reels, and when the reels are stopped, the symbols of three reels can be respectively confirmed. If the number of inserted medals is one, the number of stop lines L _{1 in the} center is two, and if the number of stop lines L ₂ , L ₁ and L ₃ are three, respectively. Upper, middle and lower,
Each diagonal stop line L ₄ , L ₂ , L ₁ , L ₃ , L ₅ becomes valid, and when a predetermined symbol combination is established on these valid stop lines, a medal of a predetermined payout number. Are discharged from the medal discharge port 12 to the medal tray 13.

Here, the “inserted medal” does not simply mean a medal that has been inserted into the machine body 2, but means a medal that has been inserted into the machine body 2 and has been consumed for executing the game. Therefore, medals that have been collectively inserted through the collective insertion port 4 described later do not correspond to "inserted medals" here.

Next, the medal insertion slot 6 is a portion for accepting the insertion of medals one by one, the starting handle 8 is for simultaneously starting the reels 1a, 1b, 1c, and the three stop buttons 9 are for each rotating reel. It is for stopping individually.

The batch insertion slot 4 for medals is a portion for receiving a large number of medals at once, and as shown in FIG. 2, an opening / closing door 15 having a handle 16 to an opening 14 provided on the front surface of the machine body 2. Is attached by a hinge mechanism 17 so as to be openable and closable, and this collective insertion port 4 is communicated with a hopper device HP ₁ which constitutes a medal storage unit. This hopper device HP ₁
Is equipped with a hopper 18 for storing medals before being consumed for the execution of the game, that is, medals owned by the player, and by forming this hopper 18 with a transparent synthetic resin material, The amount can be confirmed from the outside.

This hopper device HP ₁ is provided with a known medal ejection mechanism 19, and this medal ejection mechanism 19 is stored in the hopper 18 every time a medal ejection command is issued from a control circuit section 40 (see FIG. 3) described later. The stored medals are sequentially released one by one to the medal passage 22. The medals released from the hopper device HP ₁ are either consumed for the execution of the game as they are, or temporarily deposited in the machine, and these electrical processes are executed by the control circuit unit 40 described later. To be done. A medal detection sensor 21 is provided at the medal ejection port of the hopper device HP ₁ , detects passage of the ejected medal, and outputs a medal detection signal. The end of the medal passage 22 is in communication with a medal sorter 23 for selecting the quality of medals, and this medal sorter 23 passes the medals judged to be appropriate through the medal passage 24 to another hopper device HP ₂ The medal storage section 25
The medal judged to be inappropriate is returned to the medal discharge port 12 through the medal passages 27 and 28. The medal accommodating portion 25 is for accommodating medals consumed for executing the game and medals deposited in the machine, that is, medals handed over to the machine.

The hopper device HP ₂ also includes a known medal ejection mechanism 26, and the medal ejection mechanism 26 is a control circuit unit.
When a medal release command is issued from 40, the designated medals in the medal accommodating portion 25 are ejected one by one to the medal passage 28.

In this embodiment, in addition to using the collective insertion slot 4 to insert medals in a lump, it has a structure in which medals can be inserted one by one from the medal insertion slot 6 as in the conventional case. A medal passage 29 is provided in the medal detection sensor 30 for detecting passage of medals along the passage.
However, at the end of the passage, a medal selecting machine 31 for selecting whether the medal is good or bad is provided. Medal sorter
The numeral 31 sends the medals determined to be appropriate to the medal storage portion 25 of the hopper device HP ₂ through the medal passage 32, and returns the medals determined to be incorrect to the medal discharge port 12 via the medal passage 33.

Returning to FIG. 1, the see-through window 50 shows the state and the amount of medals stored in the hopper 18 of the hopper device HP _{1 in} the body 2
It is to be confirmed from the outside, and is formed by providing an opening at substantially the same height as the hopper device HP ₁ and disposing a transparent plate in the opening.

This slot machine has a mechanism that allows a player to deposit a desired number of medals on the machine and to execute a game using the deposited medals. The deposited number display 5 is a portion for digitally displaying the deposited number of medals. , Registration button 7
Is for allocating the deposited medals to the execution of the game, and the changeover switch 11 is for selecting either the method of executing the game with the deposited medals or the method of executing the game with the medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 6. Is. Note that deposit medal machine, upon setting the changeover switch 11 to the former method, or a medal from medal insertion slot 6 is continuously charged, or the automatic medal insertion switch 10 by pressing the operation from the hopper device HP ₁ This is realized by releasing the stored medals, and the number of medals that can be stored may be unlimited or may be limited to a predetermined number.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit configuration example of the slot machine.

In the figure, the two medal detection sensors 21, 30, the stop button 9, the starting lever 8, the automatic medal insertion switch 10, the changeover switch 11, the registration button 7, and the deposit number display 5 have the respective functions of the first and the first. As described with reference to FIG. 2, the description will not be repeated here. The reel motor control unit 34 controls the operation of each stepping motor for driving each reel, and the hopper motor control unit 35 controls the operation of each motor for driving the hopper devices HP ₁ and HP ₂ . The sound generation unit 36 generates a sound effect of the game, and the lamp control unit 18 controls the lighting operation of various display lamps.

These input / output units are electrically connected to the control circuit unit 40 including a microcomputer via the interfaces 38 and 39.

The control circuit unit 40 mainly controls the CPU 41, ROM 42,
The RAM 41 is included in the memory, and the CPU 41 decodes and executes the program stored in the ROM 42, and also performs various calculations and processes related to the progress of the game while reading and writing data to and from the RAM 43.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the circuit configuration of the reel motor control unit 34. FIG. 4 shows the circuit configuration of one reel (the other reels are the same) with respect to the control circuit unit 40.

In the figure, a motor control circuit 44 receives a clock signal, generates a drive pulse p, supplies the drive pulse p to a drive circuit 45, and drives a stepping motor 46 for driving a reel. A start signal and a stop signal are given to the motor control circuit 44 from the control circuit section 40. The start signal is output from the CPU 41 of the control circuit unit 40 when the medal is inserted and the start handle 8 is operated, and the motor control circuit 4
Activate 4. The stop signal is output from the CPU 41 in response to the operation of the stop button 9 to stop the operation of the motor control circuit 44.

The drive pulse p is given to the counter section 47 of the control circuit section 40 to be counted, and the count value of the counter section 47 is reset by the reference signal given each time the reel makes one revolution. Thus, the pattern detection unit 48 is the counter unit 47
Which of the symbols on the reel is located on the activated line is detected from the count value of, and the detection result is output. The operations of the counter unit 47 and the symbol detection unit 48 are, of course, realized by the functions of the CPU 41.

FIG. 5 shows a control procedure by the control circuit section 40, and the operation of the slot machine will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, prior to the start of the game, the player opens the opening / closing door 15 in the batch insertion slot 4 and then inserts a large number of medals 51 contained in the medal box 52 into the batch insertion slot 4 as they are. These medals 51 are sent to the hopper device HP ₁ and stored in the hopper 18 as medals owned by the player. Since the hopper 18 is transparent and the transparent window 50 is formed on the front surface of the machine body 2, the storage state and the amount of the stored medals can be easily confirmed from the outside of the machine body 2.

Next, when the player pushes the automatic medal insertion switch 10, the control circuit unit 40 causes the step 1 in FIG. 5 (1).
In (indicated by "ST1" in the figure), when the switch signal input from the automatic medal shooting switch 10 is checked and the switch-on state is detected, the determination in step 2 becomes "YES", and the predetermined flag area in step 3 Set the auto-fill flag to. If the automatic medal insertion switch 10 has not been pressed or the player has stopped pressing the automatic medal insertion switch 10, the determination in step 2 is "NO" and the automatic insertion flag is reset in step 4. Will be done.

The control circuit unit 40, in step 5 of FIG.
It is constantly checked whether or not the automatic insertion flag has been set, and if the flag-on state is detected, the process proceeds from step 6 to step 7 to check whether or not the machine is in a standby state for accepting insertion of medals. The contents of the check here are, for example, whether the game is currently running, whether the limit value has not been reached when there is a limit on the number of medals deposited, and if it is in the standby state , The judgment in step 8 is "YES",
A medal releasing command is issued, and in the next step 9, the medal releasing mechanism 19 of the hopper device HP ₁ is turned on, and the stored medals in the hopper 18 are released one by one.

Each time the ejected medal passes the position of the medal detection sensor 21, the medal detection sensor 21 outputs a medal detection signal. In step 13 of FIG. 5 (3), when the CPU 41 of the control circuit unit 40 takes in the medal detection signal, the CPU 41 performs the medal processing of the next step 14, and if the total number of ejected medals is 3 or less. The number of discharged coins, if more than three, is allocated to the medals for executing the next game, and the remaining several medals are stored in the memory as deposited medals, and the total number of deposited medals is the number of coins. Display on the display unit 5.

In step 10 of FIG. 5 (2), the CPU 41 checks the signal output level of the medal detection sensor 21,
1 confirms that the signal output is not in the ON state in the next step 11, that is, confirms that the medal has completely passed the position of the medal detection sensor 21, and then stops driving the hopper device HP ₁ in the next step 12. ing.

Thus, if the starter lever 8 is operated, the three reels 1a, 1
b and 1c rotate all at once to start the next game. Since the medals are deposited in the next and subsequent games, by pressing the register button 7, the number of deposited medals corresponding to the number of times of the operation is consumed, and the game is executed.

FIG. 6 shows another control method by the control circuit unit 40. In the control method shown in the figure, when the number of medal deposits of the machine is limited, when the deposited medal is consumed and the number of deposited medal decreases, the hopper device HP ₁ automatically ejects the medal to supplement the deposited medal. It is a thing. With this type of slot machine, the automatic medal insertion switch 10
May be installed inside the machine and set by an attendant to be turned on.

FIG. 6 (1) is for determining whether or not the automatic medal insertion switch 10 is in the switch-on state. If it is set to the on state, the automatic insertion flag is set in the first embodiment. Similar to the example. (Steps 1 to 3 in FIG. 6 (1)).

Next, the control circuit unit 40 checks the automatic insertion flag in step 4 of FIG. 6 (2), and if it detects that the flag is on, the process proceeds from step 5 to step 6 where the machine accepts insertion of medals. Check if it is in a standby state. The standby state here includes that the deposited medals have been consumed and the number of deposits has decreased, and as a result, if the standby state is reached,
Step 7 "YES", and the medal discharge mechanism 1 of medal discharge command is issued hopper device HP ₁ in step 8 following
9 is turned on, the storage hoppers in the hopper 18 are discharged one by one, and in step 9, the timer included in the control circuit unit 40 starts counting time.

This timer is for determining whether or not the inside of the hopper 18 has become empty, and the discharged medals have passed the position of the medal detection sensor 21, and the medal detection sensor 21 in step 19 of FIG. 6 (3). Each time the medal detection signal is output,
In the next step 20, the content measured by the timer is cleared and the process proceeds to the next medal process (step 21).

The control circuit unit 40 constantly checks the contents of the timer in step 10.If the medal is not released for a certain period of time even if the hopper equipped HP ₁ is turned on, the control circuit section 40 displays the time-out in step 11. The determination of “?” Becomes “YES”, the operation of the hopper device HP ₁ is stopped in step 12, the automatic feeding flag is reset in the following step 13, and the timer stops counting in step 14.

The step 15 in FIG. 6 (2) is the medal detection sensor 21.
Of the hopper device in step 12 after checking that the signal output is not in the ON state in the next step 16, that is, the medal has completely passed the position of the medal detection sensor 21. The drive of HP ₁ is stopped, and the time counting operation of the timer is stopped in step 13.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, this invention is a slot machine configured so that a large number of medals required by a player can be batch-loaded into the machine body through a batch loading slot, and a hopper for storing the loaded medals is transparent. Since it is made of resin and a transparent window is provided at the position facing the hopper on the front of the machine, it is possible to check the storage status of the medals that have been batch-loaded through the transparent window, so that the player can easily grasp the amount of medals held. In addition, it is possible to confirm that the inserted medals are properly stored, and the remarkable effect of achieving the object of the invention is achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing an internal configuration of the slot machine, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration example of the slot machine, and FIG. Is a block diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the reel motor controller, FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an operation procedure of the slot machine, and FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an operation procedure according to another embodiment. 4 …… Batch insertion slot, 18 …… Hopper 19 …… Medal ejection mechanism, 40 …… Control circuit section 50 …… Transparent window, HP ₁ …… Hopper device

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A slot machine comprising a collective insertion slot for accepting collective insertion of medals owned by a player, and a medal storage section communicating with the collective insertion slot inside the machine, wherein the medal storage section comprises: A hopper made of a transparent resin for storing a large number of medals thrown together and a medal emission for sequentially ejecting the medals stored in the hopper one by one by operating in accordance with a medal emission command from the control circuit section. A slot machine comprising a machine and a perspective window formed on the front surface of the machine body, the perspective window being opened at a position substantially at the same height as the storage section and facing the hopper.