JPH0673563B2 - Slot machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a slot machine for deciding whether a game is won or lost according to a combination of symbols of reels arranged on a stop line when a plurality of rotating reels are stopped. More particularly, the present invention relates to a medal storage type slot machine for depositing a large number of medals in a machine body and playing a game.

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

In addition, in recent slot machines, in order to speed up the progress of the game, a large number of medals are previously inserted into the machine body from the medal slot and stored, and the stored medals can be consumed to execute the game. I have to.

<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, especially for beginners. 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.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and after a large number of medals held by a player in a medal box are put into the machine as they are and stored in the machine body, they are stored by a switch operation. By inserting a medal to be deposited in the aircraft from the medal, without touching the medal,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a slot machine that allows a game to proceed smoothly and quickly.

<Means for Solving Problems> The present invention is a slot machine for storing a large number of medals as deposit medals for executing a game in a machine body,
A batch insertion port that opens in a suitable place on the outer surface of the machine and accepts a large number of medals held by the player into the machine at once,
A hopper provided with a medal storage unit for storing the medals held by the player, which is connected to the collective insertion slot, and a medal discharging mechanism for sequentially discharging the medals of the player stored in the medal storage unit one by one. A device, a switch provided on the front surface of the machine and a switch for instructing to insert the player's medals stored in the medal storage unit of the hopper device into the machine as a deposit medal for executing the game, and the switch. Control means for outputting a medal release command to the hopper device based on the operation of, a medal detection sensor for detecting a medal ejected from the hopper device, and the number of deposited medals in response to a detection signal from the medal detection sensor. And counting means for counting.

<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 and stored in the medal storage unit communicating with the collective insertion slot. After that, when the control means outputs a medal ejection command by a switch operation, the medal ejection mechanism of the hopper device is driven in response to this command to eject the medals held by the player stored in the medal storage portion one by one. The medals released at this time are detected by the medal detection sensor, and the counting means counts the medals released based on this detection signal as medals deposited in the machine body.

In this way, after inserting a large number of medals possessed by the player all at once and storing them in the machine body, a predetermined number of medals are automatically inserted as deposit medals on the machine side by switch operation. The operation is effortless, and even a beginner can smoothly insert medals and can progress the game quickly. In addition, since the medals can be inserted all at once without touching the medals, the hands are not dirty and the player does not feel uncomfortable.

<Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows a slot machine having three reels 1a, 1b, 1c, and a symbol display unit 3, a collective insertion slot 4 for medals, an indicator 5 for the number of deposited medals, on the front of the machine body 2. Medal slot 6, registration button 7, starter lever 8, 3 stop buttons 9, automatic medal slot switch 10, changeover switch 11, medal slot 12, medal tray 1
There are 3 etc.

The symbol display portion 3 is a portion for displaying the symbols on the peripheral surface of 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, You can check the rotation status of 1c, and the symbols for 3 reels on each reel when the reels are stopped. If the number of the inserted medals is one, the number of the stop lines L _{1 in the} center is two, and if the number of the stop lines L ₂ , L ₁ , and L ₃ are three, respectively. Each of the upper, middle, lower, and diagonal stop lines L ₄ , L ₂ , L ₁ , L ₃ , L ₅ becomes valid, and when a predetermined symbol combination is established on these validated stop lines, A predetermined number of medals are ejected from the medal insertion slot 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, the medals just inserted from the batch insertion port 4 described later do not correspond to the "insertion medals" here.

Next, the medal insertion slot 6 is a portion for accepting the insertion of medals one by one, the starting lever 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 the medals is a portion for accepting the insertion of a large number of medals held by the player in a lump, and as shown in FIG. 2, the handle 16 is inserted into the opening 14 provided on the front surface of the machine body 2. It has a structure in which an opening / closing door 15 having an opening and closing is attached by a hinge mechanism 17 so as to be openable and closable, and a medal passage 18 is formed inside the collective insertion port 4 to communicate with a medal storage portion 19 of the hopper device HP _1. is there. The medal storage unit 19 is for storing medals that have not yet been consumed for executing the game, that is, medals owned by the player.

The hopper device HP ₁ is provided with a known medal ejection mechanism 20, and the medal ejection mechanism 20 receives a medal ejection command 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 to the medal passage 22 one by one. 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 communicated 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 part 2
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 there is a medal release command from 40, the stored medals 1 in the medal containing portion 25 are released one by one to the medal passage 28 by the designated number.

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. The medal sorter 31 sends the medals determined to be appropriate to the medal accommodating portion 25 of the hopper layer HP ₂ through the medal passage 32, and returns the medals determined to be incorrect to the medal outlet 12 via the medal passage 33.

Returning to FIG. 1, this slot machine has a mechanism in which a player can deposit a desired number of medals on the machine and execute a game using the deposited medals. , A register button 7 for directing the deposited medals to the execution of the game, and a changeover switch 11 for executing the game with the deposited medals and the game with medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 6. The method is for choosing between one and the other. In order to deposit medals in the machine, either set the changeover switch 11 to the former method and continuously insert medals from the medal insertion slot 6 or press the automatic medal insertion switch 10 to operate the hopper device HP ₁ inside. This is realized by releasing the player-owned medals stored in, 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 controller 34 controls the operation of each stepping motor for driving each reel, and the hopper motor rear part 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 37 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 section 34. FIG. 4 shows the circuit configuration of one reel (the other reels are the same) with respect to the control circuit section 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 lever 8 is operated, and the motor control circuit 44
Operate. 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. The operation of the slot machine according to the present invention 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 50 into the batch insertion slot 4 as they are. These medals 51 are guided to the hopper device HP ₁ through the medal passage 18 and stored in the medal storage unit 19 as medals owned by the player.

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 ejection command is issued, and in the next step 9, the medal ejection mechanism 20 of the hopper device HP ₁ is turned on, and the medal storage unit 19
The stored medals 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. If the number of ejected coins, or more than 3 coins, is allocated to the medals for executing the next game, the remaining coins are stored in the memory as deposit medals, and the total number of deposited medals is displayed. Display on the vessel 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. This is 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 becomes "YES", the medal ejection command is issued, and in the next step 8, the medal ejection mechanism 2 of the hopper device HP ₁
When 0 is turned on, the stored medals in the medal storage unit 19 are released one by one, and in step 9, the timer having the control circuit unit 40 starts time counting.

This timer is for determining whether or not the medal storage unit 19 has become empty, and the ejected medal has passed the position of the medal detection sensor 21, and the step of FIG.
Each time the medal detection sensor 21 outputs a medal detection signal at 19, the timed content of the timer is cleared at the next step 20, and the process proceeds to the next medal processing (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 the time in step 14.

The step 15 in FIG. 6 (2) is the medal detection sensor 21.
Of the hopper device in step 17, after confirming 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 18.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the present invention inserts a large number of medals held by the player into the batch insertion slot as they are and stores them in the hopper device in the machine body. Since a predetermined number of medals are automatically inserted as deposit medals for game execution, it does not take time to insert medals, and even beginners can smoothly insert medals and play games quickly. You can proceed.
Further, since the medals can be collectively inserted without touching the medals, the hands are not soiled and the player does not feel uncomfortable.

[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 an example of a circuit configuration 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, 19 …… Medal storage section 20 …… Medal ejection mechanism, 21 …… Medal detection sensor 40 …… Control circuit section

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A slot machine for storing a large number of medals as deposit medals for playing a game in a machine body, wherein a large number of medals held by a player are opened in proper places on the outer surface of the machine body. A batch insertion slot for accepting a batch insertion, a medal storage section for storing the player-owned medals inserted in communication with the batch insertion slot, and a player-owned medal stored in the medal storage section one by one A hopper device provided with a medal discharging mechanism for discharging, and a player's medals stored in a medal storage section of the hopper device provided on the front surface of the machine are thrown into the machine side as deposit medals for game execution. A switch for instructing, a control means for outputting a medal discharge command to the hopper device based on an operation of the switch, and a medal discharged from the hopper device. A medal detection sensor for knowledge, the slot machine comprising a counting means for counting the number of medals deposited in response to the detection signal from the medal sensor.