HK1164198A - Game system - Google Patents

Description

Game system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a game system including a plurality of game devices that execute independent games played independently of each other.

Background

Conventionally, as such a game system, for example, a game system for amusement composed of a plurality of single-player game machines (game devices) installed in a game facility such as a game center or a casino, or a large-sized game machine for amusement having a plurality of console sections (game devices) and capable of playing a game by a plurality of players at the same time is known (for example, patent document 1). Among game apparatuses used in such a game system, there are game apparatuses (hereinafter referred to as "amusement game apparatuses") that repeat the following game: the game is started on condition that chips such as medals and coins or money (a payout object) are received from the player, and a predetermined amount of chips or money (a payout object) is paid out to the player in accordance with the result of the game.

Among such game systems, a game system using a drawing device shared by a plurality of game devices is known. For example, in a game system using a jackpot (jackpot) drawing apparatus as the drawing apparatus, the number of tokens corresponding to a part of the number of tokens (objects to be thrown) received by each game apparatus from a player is added up in a cumulative manner and stored as payout amount data in a payout amount storage unit of the jackpot drawing apparatus. Then, whenever any one of the game devices satisfies a predetermined drawing start condition, a drawing is performed by the jackpot drawing apparatus, and it is determined whether the game device or a player playing the game device wins or loses (winning-drop) the jackpot prize. When the jackpot prize is won in the drawing, the number of tokens corresponding to at least a part of the payout amount data is paid out to the player of the game machine satisfying the predetermined drawing start condition, and the payout amount data is returned to the initial value.

Patent document 2 discloses a comparator for stopping rotation of a plurality of reels (reels) (pattern display units) each having a plurality of patterns and for oligomerizing a pattern related to a predetermined function on a winning line. In this comparison machine, in a comparison game repeatedly performed, the following processing is performed: each time a reserve symbol (specific pattern) associated with a reserve (stock) prize is short-circuited on a winning line, the count value of the counter is incremented by one, and a number of lamps corresponding to the count value are lit. In this comparison machine, when the count value becomes the same number as the number of lights and all the lights are turned on, the game is switched to a special game mode in which the player plays the game so that the player can obtain more medals than in the normal game mode. Therefore, the player expects that all the lights are lit to play the game in order to shift to a special game mode more advantageous than the normal game mode. In addition, with such a structure, the following effects are obtained: even if the player who wants to finish the game is in the case that the player goes to the special game mode if 1-2 lights are lighted again, the player can play the game in the special game mode for a while, and the player who wants to finish the game can be saved.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2007-215650;

patent document 2: japanese patent application laid-open No. 2005-472.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In some game systems using a drawing machine shared by a plurality of game devices, as in the game system described in patent document 1, when the progress result of an independent game repeatedly played in each game device satisfies a specific condition such as winning a predetermined prize, it is considered that the game device satisfies a drawing start condition, and the drawing is started in the drawing machine. Usually, whether or not the starting condition of the jackpot drawing is satisfied is determined based on the progress result of one independent game. In such a game system, a player cannot guess how long the player plays the game after that until the start condition of the jackpot drawing is satisfied. Therefore, it is impossible to have an effect of retaining a player who wants to end the game as in the comparison machine described in patent document 2.

In view of this, as the drawing start condition in the drawing device shared by a plurality of game devices, it is conceivable to adopt a condition in which the count value increased in accordance with the progress result of the game repeatedly played in each game device reaches a predetermined value, as with the transition condition to the special game mode in the comparison machine described in patent document 2. In this case, it becomes easy for the player to estimate how long the starting condition of the jackpot drawing can be satisfied later. Therefore, even if a player who wants to end the game is presumed to be able to satisfy the starting condition of the jackpot drawing for a while, the player can be expected to continue playing the game.

However, in a conventional game system using a drawing machine shared by a plurality of game devices, it is determined for each game device whether or not a drawing start condition is satisfied, and bonus that can be won by winning in the drawing by the drawing machine is paid out only to a player who plays a game in the game device that satisfies the drawing start condition. Therefore, the drawing in the drawing device is a drawing in which each player who plays the game in each game device individually enjoys his or her enjoyment.

The present invention realizes a game system capable of providing a new game performance as follows: a plurality of players who play a game in a plurality of game devices can enjoy a lottery performed by a lottery device shared by the game devices.

Means for solving the problems

As one aspect of the present invention, a game system includes a plurality of game devices, each of the plurality of game devices including: an operation receiving unit that receives a game operation of a player; a delivery object acceptance unit for performing a delivery acceptance process for accepting a delivery object; a game progress control unit that executes a predetermined game progress program to control a progress of a game repeatedly played by the bet target reception unit as a game start condition in accordance with the game operation received by the operation reception unit; and a payment processing unit that performs the following payment processing: paying out a payout object corresponding to the amount of the thrown object received by the thrown object receiving unit to the player according to the progress result of the game controlled by the game progress control unit; each game progress control unit of the plurality of game devices controls the progress of an independent game that is played independently of each other, and the game system includes: a drawing condition counting unit that counts a common drawing condition count value according to a progress result of each of the independent games controlled by the game progress control units of the plurality of game devices; and a drawing unit that executes a drawing for determining whether or not a predetermined prize is won by the common drawing condition count value satisfying a predetermined drawing start condition; if the predetermined prize is won by the drawing unit, each payout processing unit of the plurality of game devices performs payout processing for paying out a predetermined amount of a payout target.

In this game system, a common drawing condition count value relating to a drawing start condition is counted in accordance with a progress result of each independent game independently played in a plurality of game devices as entertainment game devices. Then, if the drawing by the drawing unit is executed while the drawing start condition is satisfied and a predetermined prize is won, a predetermined amount of payout objects are paid out to each of the players who play the game in the plurality of game devices. With this configuration, the players who play the game in the plurality of game devices cooperate with each other to seek a chance to win the predetermined prize with the goal of satisfying the drawing start condition. Therefore, according to the present game system, it is possible to provide a game which has not been provided so far, in which a plurality of players who play a game in a plurality of game devices can enjoy a lottery performed by a lottery section shared by these game devices.

Further, the game system may include a common score data storage unit that stores common score data indicating amounts of the points that are the bet target and the payout target used in the plurality of game devices, wherein each of the bet target reception units of the plurality of game devices may perform, as the bet reception processing, processing for reducing the amount of the score of the common score data stored in the common score data storage unit, and each of the payout processing units of the plurality of game devices may perform, as the payout processing, processing for increasing the amount of the score of the common score data stored in the common score data storage unit.

In general, in an amusement game apparatus using point data as a target of delivery and a target of payout, each player plays an independent game using dedicated point data. In the present game system, common point data is used as a target for launching and a target for paying out in an independent game played in a plurality of amusement game devices. Thus, among the respective players, although independent games which are played independently of each other are played, a relationship is produced in which mutual cooperation is made to increase the common point data. Therefore, a stronger cooperative relationship can be established among the players, and the game performance described above, in which a plurality of players enjoy the lottery performed by the lottery section, can be further improved.

In the game system, each of the bet target reception units of the plurality of game devices performs the following bet reception process: the game system includes a betting accumulation amount storage unit that stores an accumulation amount of betting objects betted in an independent game when the drawing condition counter counts a common drawing condition counter value, and each of the payout processing units of the plurality of game devices performs the following payout processing if the predetermined prize is won by the drawing unit: a payout target that pays out an amount corresponding to the accumulated amount of the thrown objects stored in the throw-accumulation-amount storage unit.

Generally, it is preferable to make the amount of the object to be placed in the independent game of each game machine variable in order to satisfy the desire of the player who desires a high-risk and high-return game and the player who desires a low-risk and low-return game. However, it is not possible to simply combine a configuration in which the amount of the object to be placed is variable and a configuration in which the common drawing condition count value relating to the drawing start condition of the drawing section is counted in accordance with the progress result of the independent game. This is because: in the case of combining the two configurations, since the amount of payout objects to be paid out by the drawing of the drawing section in winning the predetermined prize is changed according to the amount of the bet objects to be bet in each individual game, it is necessary to make a contrivance to realize that the payout rate is substantially constant even if the amount of the bet objects is changed by the expected value of the payout rate. This is because: if the expected value of the payout rate greatly differs depending on the amount of the drop object, the drop object is dropped only by the amount with the highest expected value of the payout rate, and therefore, the meaning of making the amount of the drop object variable is lost.

According to the present game system, the following can be eliminated: even if the amount of the object to be thrown changes, the expected value of the payout rate of the payout object to be paid out when the predetermined award is won by the drawing section does not change significantly.

Further, the configuration in which the expected value of the payout rate of the thrown-in object paid out when the predetermined prize is won by the drawing section is made substantially constant even if the amount of the thrown-in object is changed is not limited to the configuration of the present game system. For example, even in a configuration in which the probability that the drawing start condition is satisfied is changed or the probability that the drawing reserved prize is won by the drawing unit is changed according to the amount of the object to be thrown, the expected value of the payout rate can be made substantially constant. However, if the game system is configured to change the amount of the payout object to be paid out in accordance with the amount of the target to be thrown, there is an advantage that the expected value of the payout rate becomes substantially constant, which is easy for the player to understand.

In the game system, a second lottery condition counting unit that counts a second common lottery condition count value different from the common lottery condition count value in accordance with a result of progress of each of the individual games controlled by the game progress control units of the plurality of game devices is provided, the lottery unit executes a lottery for determining whether or not a predetermined prize is won by one of the common lottery condition count value counted by the lottery condition counting unit and the second common lottery condition count value counted by the second lottery condition counting unit satisfying a predetermined lottery start condition, and performs a process of resetting the common lottery condition count value while maintaining the second common lottery condition count value when the common lottery condition count value satisfies the predetermined lottery start condition, a process of maintaining the common decimation condition count value and resetting the second common decimation condition count value is performed.

In the case where there is only one common lottery condition count value relating to the lottery start condition, when the lottery start condition is satisfied and the common lottery condition count value is reset, the common lottery condition count value needs to be counted from the beginning before the lottery start condition is satisfied again. Therefore, since the player presumes that it is necessary to repeat the independent game a plurality of times before the drawing start condition is satisfied again, the player often ends the game at a timing when the drawing start condition is satisfied. In contrast, in the present game system, even if one of the common drawing condition count value and the second common drawing condition count value satisfies the predetermined drawing start condition, the other count value is maintained. This can be expected to save the player who finishes the game at the timing when the drawing start condition is satisfied.

In the game system, the plurality of game devices have a single display unit used in common with each other, and the game system has a mode switching unit configured to switch a multiplayer game mode and a single player game mode by receiving a game screen switching operation by an operation receiving unit of one of the game devices, the multiplayer game mode causing the single display unit to display each game screen, the game progress control unit controlling the progress of the independent game, the single player game mode causing the single display unit to display a game screen of one of the game devices, the game progress control unit of one of the game devices controlling the progress of the independent game, and the game progress control unit of another of the game devices not controlling the progress of the independent game.

In this game system, when a player plays each of the plurality of game devices, the mode is switched to the multiplayer game mode, so that the single display unit displays each game screen, and the plurality of players can play each of the independent games. On the other hand, when one player plays only one of the plurality of game devices, the single display unit can display the game screen of the game device and the player can play the game by switching to the single player mode. Thus, when only one game device is played among the plurality of game devices, the screen area of the single display unit can be effectively used.

In the game system, the game system may be configured to: the common sampling condition count value is maintained before and after the mode switching section performs switching.

According to this game system, even if a second player participates in one player during the game play in the single player mode, for example, the common drawing condition count value can be maintained, and therefore, compared with the case where the common drawing condition count value is reset at the time of switching the game mode, an effect of prompting the second player to participate in the middle can be expected.

In addition, for example, in the case where two players end the game in the middle of the play of the multiplayer game mode and switch to the single player game mode, if the common drawing condition count value is reset at the time of the switch, the common drawing condition count value is reset for the remaining players when one player ends the game in the middle. This may become a cause of the player hesitation to utilize the multiplayer game mode. In the present game system, if the common drawing condition count value can be maintained at the time of the switching, an effect of urging the player to use the multiplayer game mode can be expected.

In the game system, the drawing unit may execute the drawing by a physical drawing using a drawing object.

In this game system, since the drawing of the drawing section can be performed by the physical drawing which is easier for the player to trust than the computer drawing, the reliability of the drawing by the drawing section can be improved.

In addition, although a drawing unit for performing physical drawing is generally desired to be a large-sized device, it is difficult to provide a drawing unit for each game device in terms of cost and space. Therefore, the drawing unit for performing the physical drawing is generally shared by a plurality of game devices. Therefore, if the drawing unit is configured by a plurality of game devices in common as in the present game system, the effect of extremely high space efficiency can be exerted even when a device for performing physical drawing is used as the drawing unit.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, the following game performances which have not been available so far can be provided: a plurality of players who play a game in a plurality of game devices can enjoy a lottery performed by a lottery unit shared by the game devices.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view showing an overall configuration of a token-operated game machine according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of a console section in the token-operated game machine.

Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a game screen in the two-player game mode displayed on the touch panel of the console section.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a console control device that controls the console section.

Fig. 5 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the console section and the center lottery device.

Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a game screen in the single player game mode displayed on the touch panel of the console section.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of a one-time comparison game executed in the console section.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a center drawing device in the token game machine.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the center lottery device viewed from a different angle from fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a ball is released from a shutter in a ball drop standby portion 83 of an inclined ring lottery device provided in the center lottery device.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of a central control device that controls the center lottery device.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of the ball carrying device in the center drawing device.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view for explaining the ball conveying device and its peripheral structure.

Fig. 14 is a side view for explaining the ball carrying device and its peripheral structure.

Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the shutter provided in the first ball discharge portion of the vertical ring lottery machine is located at the ball passing position.

Fig. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the shutter is located at the ball discharge position.

Fig. 17 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the shutter provided at the drop port in the middle of the first conveying rail is located at the closed position.

Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the shutter is located at the open position.

Fig. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a conveyance path switching device in a standby state in the ball conveyance device.

Fig. 20 is an explanatory view showing the conveying path switching device when the drawing ball is sent to the first outlet.

Fig. 21 is an explanatory view showing the conveying path switching device when the drawing ball is sent to the second outlet.

Fig. 22 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a second pattern sensor provided in the sloped ring decimator.

Fig. 23 is a flowchart showing a flow of the first-center decimation.

Fig. 24 is a flowchart showing a flow of the first second-center decimation.

Fig. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a game screen in an example of another game that can be executed by the console unit.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a token-operated game machine (Arcade gamemachine) as a game system will be described with reference to the drawings.

In addition, since the drawings only schematically show the shape, size, and positional relationship to the extent that the contents of the present invention can be understood, the present invention is not limited to the shape, size, and positional relationship illustrated in the drawings. In each drawing, a part of a hatching in the cross section is omitted for clarity of the structure. The numerical values shown in the following description are merely preferred examples of the present invention, and thus the present invention is not limited to the numerical values shown in the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view showing the entire configuration of a token-operated game machine 1 according to the present embodiment.

The token game machine 1 is provided with 8 station units 2 so as to surround a center drawing device 3, and the center drawing device 3 is a physical drawing device serving as a drawing unit functioning as a drawing means. In the present embodiment, two independent games that are played independently of each other can be executed in one console section 2, and a maximum of 16 players can play the games at the same time.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of the console section 2 in the token gaming machine 1.

The upper part of the housing of the console section 2 is provided with: a touch panel 11 serving as a display unit and an operation receiving unit that function as display means and operation receiving means, two start buttons 12 and a throw-in mode selection button 13 serving as an operation receiving unit that functions as operation receiving means, a medal slot 14, and the like. As shown in fig. 3, two game screens of two independent games that are played independently of each other are displayed in parallel in the horizontal direction on the touch panel 11, and two players play the games by operating the touch panel 11 and the various buttons 12 and 13 while viewing the display of the respective game screens. In the present embodiment, a case where two independent games executed by the console section 2 are a comparison game (pattern matching game) is described as an example, but the type of the independent game executed by the console section 2 is not limited to this. In addition, the comparative game refers to the following game: a plurality of kinds of symbols (patterns) are displayed in a fluctuating manner, and then if a symbol stopped from being displayed when the display of the fluctuation is stopped or a combination of a plurality of symbols stopped from being displayed corresponds to a predetermined prize, a predetermined prize is awarded to the player.

Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of two game screens displayed on the touch panel 11 of the console section 2.

In two game screens displayed on the touch panel 11, a plurality of 2 or more symbols arranged in a predetermined order are displayed in the 3 symbol display regions 11a to 11c and 11d to 11f, respectively. Further, on the touch panel 11, a display unit 11g that displays various information necessary for the game, such as a credit display unit that indicates the amount of credits (credits) corresponding to the number of tokens inserted by the player from the token insertion slot 5a, is displayed in addition to the lower portion of the game screen. In the present embodiment, as described later, two players who play the game on one console section 2 use the common tally to play the game, and therefore, there is only one tally display section displayed on the display section 11 g. However, since the comparative games played by the respective players are independent games played independently, a BET amount display unit for displaying a BET amount, a credit acquisition amount display unit for displaying a payout amount at the time of winning, and the like are provided separately.

In the present embodiment, a part or all of the operations other than the operations of the mechanical buttons 12 and 13 are performed by touching various operation images displayed on the touch panel 11, and the mechanical buttons may be provided instead of the operation images, or conversely, the mechanical buttons 12 and 13 may be replaced with the operation images of the touch panel 11.

Although not shown, the console unit 2 further includes, inside the console unit: a console control device including a CPU, a ROM, and an electronic circuit formed using various electronic devices; checking means for confirming whether the received medal is an improper medal; a medal return device capable of storing a plurality of medals and discharging the number of medals instructed from the console control device to the outside; and a speaker as an audio output unit functioning as an audio output means.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the console control device 20 that controls the console section 2.

The console control device 20 includes a CPU21, an input/output port 21a, a ROM22, a RAM23, a random number generation circuit 24, a display control unit 25, an audio control unit 26, a return control unit 27, and the like. The input/output port 21a is used for data communication with a central control device 30 described later. The ROM22 stores and outputs data of various programs and various databases and the like used by the CPU21 to the CPU 21. The RAM23 temporarily stores variable data and the like calculated by the CPU21, and stores various kinds of fluctuation data such as integral data. The random number generation circuit 24 generates a random number at a predetermined timing and outputs the data to the CPU 21. The display control unit 25 constitutes a display unit together with the touch panel 11, and the display control unit 25 controls the display of the touch panel 11 on which a game screen or the like is displayed under the control of the CPU 21. The acoustic control unit 26 controls notification or rendering sound by the sound output from the speaker 15 under the control of the CPU 21. The refund control section 27 controls the medal refund device 16 to refund the medals under the control of the CPU 21. The CPU21 is also connected to a token counter, not shown, that counts the number of tokens inserted into the token insertion slot, an illumination control unit that controls illumination such as an LED, and the like.

Fig. 5 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the console section 2 and the center lottery device 3 relating to the characteristic part of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, one console section 2 includes a game section a and a game section B that execute two independent games that are played independently of each other. These game units A, B include game progress control units 101A and 101B, and these game progress control units 101A and 101B function as game progress control means for controlling the progress of each individual game. The two game progress control units 101A and 101B may be configured by physically separating hardware such as a game board from each other, or may be configured virtually by two pieces of software that operate independently on the same hardware. Alternatively, the two game progress control units 101A and 101B may be virtually configured by a single piece of software operating on the same hardware. The game units A, B have the same configuration.

Each of the game units A, B mainly includes: game progress control units 101A and 101B as game progress control units that function as game progress control means; operation receiving units 102A and 102B as operation receiving units that function as operation receiving means; drop acceptance units 103A and 103B as drop acceptance units that function as drop acceptance means; and a delivery processing unit 104A, 104B as a delivery unit functioning as a delivery means. The common score data storage unit 105 as a common score data storage unit that functions as common score data storage means for storing score data indicating the amounts of the scores used as the target of delivery and the target of payout in the respective game units A, B and the common display unit 106 as a display unit that functions as display means for displaying the game screen are configured to be shared by the two game units A, B.

The game progress control units 101A and 101B are configured by the CPU21, the ROM22, the RAM23, the random number generation circuit 24, and the like, and execute a game program in the ROM22 by the CPU21, thereby independently performing game progress control in accordance with the game operation received by each of the operation receiving units 102A and 102B, and changing the progress status of the game based on the executing game program. Further, the game progress control units 101A and 101B perform the following control: the touch panel 11 of the common display unit 106 displays a game screen according to the progress status of each game, or outputs sound such as dramatic sound from the speaker 15.

The independent games that the game progress control units 101A and 101B of the present embodiment control the progress are contrast games. Specifically, when the operation reception units 102A and 102B receive the putting operation, the putting reception units 103A and 103B start the comparison game by subtracting the putting amount corresponding to the putting operation from the point amount indicated by the common point data stored in the common point data storage unit 105. Further, progress control of the comparison game is performed, and the progress control of the comparison game includes control for determining a payout point in accordance with a result of the comparison game. The game progress control units 101A and 101B in the present embodiment control the progress of the game so that the first drawing condition counting unit 108 and the second drawing condition counting unit 110 sequentially record a plurality of (5 in the present embodiment) common drawing condition flags as common drawing condition count values one by one in accordance with the progress of the game.

In the present embodiment, the common sampling condition count value is counted by recording 5 sampling condition flags, but a configuration of simply counting up (count up) one count value data may be employed. However, if a configuration is adopted in which 5 sampling condition flags are recorded as in the present embodiment, the start condition of the first center sampling described later may be made to include the array or combination of the flags. For example, in a configuration in which 5 drawing condition flags are randomly recorded according to the progress result of the game, a condition in which three flags adjacent to each other are recorded may be used as the starting condition of the first center drawing.

The operation receiving units 102A and 102B are configured by a touch panel 11, two start buttons 12, a launch mode selection button 13, and the like, and when each player operates the operation receiving unit 102A or 102B, the operation signal is transmitted to the CPU21 of the console control device 20.

The shot reception units 103A and 103B are configured by the CPU21, ROM22, RAM23, and the like, and perform the following shot reception processing: when the corresponding operation receiving units 102A and 102B receive a dispensing operation (dispensing amount operation), the dispensing amount corresponding to the dispensing operation is subtracted from the integral amount indicated by the common integral data stored in the common integral data storage unit 105.

The payment processing units 104A and 104B are configured by a CPU21, a ROM22, a RAM23, and the like, and perform the following payment processing: based on the progress result of the game controlled by the corresponding game progress control units 101A and 101B, the points corresponding to the amounts of the points received by the corresponding payout receiving units 103A and 103B are added to the amount of points indicated by the common point data stored in the common point data storage unit 105.

The common score data storage unit 105 is configured by a RAM23 or the like, and stores, in a common score storage area of the RAM23, score data indicating the amount of a score used in common by players playing the game in each game unit A, B.

The common display unit 106 is configured by the display control unit 25, the touch panel 11, and the like, and displays two game screens corresponding to the respective independent game progresses controlled by the respective game progress control units 101A and 101B. The two game screens are displayed in the respective screen areas by dividing the screen area on the touch panel 11 into left and right parts. When the mode is switched to the single-player game mode by the mode switching unit 107 described later, only one game screen corresponding to the progress of the independent game controlled by one of the game progress control units 101A and 101B is displayed as shown in fig. 6. In this case, the game screen is displayed by the entire screen area on the touch panel 11.

The console unit 2 of the present embodiment includes: a mode switching unit 107 serving as a mode switching unit functioning as mode switching means, a first drawing condition counting unit 108 serving as a drawing condition counting unit functioning as drawing condition counting means, a first dropping amount storage unit 109 serving as a dropping amount storage unit functioning as dropping amount storage means, a second drawing condition counting unit 110 serving as a second drawing condition counting unit functioning as second drawing condition counting means, and a second dropping amount storage unit 111 serving as a second dropping amount storage unit functioning as second dropping amount storage means. These components are shared by the two game units A, B.

The mode switching unit 107 is configured by the CPU21, the ROM22, the RAM23, and the like, and switches between a two-player game mode in which two players can play a game simultaneously by causing the common display unit 106 to display two game screens and the respective game progress control units 101A and 101B to control the progress of the independent game and a single-player game mode in which only one player plays a game by causing the common display unit 106 to display one game screen and controlling the progress of the independent game by only one game unit A, B when the operation reception units 102A and 102B of one game unit A, B receive a predetermined game screen switching operation. As a specific example, for example, when the progress of each independent game independently played in each game unit A, B is controlled by a single game progress program operating on the same hardware, the operation mode of the single game progress program is switched when any one of the operation receiving units 102A and 102B receives a predetermined game screen switching operation. In this case, if the operation mode of the single game progress program is operated in the two-player game mode, the progress of the two independent games is controlled so that the common display unit 106 displays the two game screens, whereby the two players can play the games at the same time. On the other hand, when the single game progress program is operated in the single player game mode, only one player can play the game by controlling the progress of one independent game and displaying one game screen on the common display unit 106.

Although a game can be played by one player in the two-player game mode, in this case, another game screen that is not the game screen of the player occupies the screen area of the touch panel 11 in a state where it is not used. Since the screen area of the touch panel 11 is limited, in the two-player game mode using a game screen in which the limited screen area is divided into two, there may be a problem that the game screen is too narrow, and the performance realized by the image display lacks dynamics. In contrast, by providing the single-player game mode as described above, it is possible to exclude a game screen that is not used when one player plays a game from the screen area of the touch panel 11, and to effectively display a game screen used by the player using a limited screen area. This enables a more dynamic performance.

The first drawing condition counting unit 108 and the second drawing condition counting unit 110 are constituted by the CPU21, the ROM22, the RAM23, and the like, and sequentially record 5 common drawing condition flags one by one in accordance with the result of progress of two independent games in which the game progress control units 101A and 101B perform progress control. That is, in any of the independent games, if a predetermined game progress result for counting up the first drawing condition counting section 108 is obtained, the first drawing condition counting section 108 sequentially records 5 common drawing condition flags one by one. The same applies to the second decimation condition counting section 110. In addition, although the present embodiment has been described with an example in which 5 common drawing condition flags are sequentially recorded one by one for convenience of explanation, the method of counting the count value of the common drawing condition (the method of recording the 5 common drawing condition flags) is not limited to this, and a plurality of common drawing condition flags may be recorded at once according to the result of one game progress or the common drawing condition flags may be erased according to the result of the game progress.

Even when the mode switching unit 107 switches from the two-player game mode to the single-player game mode or from the single-player game mode to the two-player game mode, the drawing condition flag is not reset but is maintained. This can be expected to provide an effect of prompting a second player to participate in the game while one player plays the game in the single player game mode. Further, for example, even when two players end the game in the middle of the two-player game mode and one player switches to the single-player game mode, the remaining players are not affected, and therefore, an effect of urging the players to use the two-player game mode can be expected.

The first betting accumulation amount storage unit 109 and the second betting accumulation amount storage unit 111 are constituted by a RAM23 or the like, and store the accumulation amounts of points betted in the independent game when the common lottery condition flags are recorded in the corresponding lottery condition counting units 108 and 110, respectively. However, in the present embodiment, a payout history indicating the amount of credits paid out in the independent game when the common drawing condition flag is recorded is stored in association with each common drawing condition flag. Even if the common lottery condition flags are stored in this form, the accumulated amount can be obtained by cumulatively adding the betting histories associated with the respective common lottery condition flags, and therefore, it can be said that the accumulated amount of the bets betted in the independent game when the corresponding lottery condition counting units 108 and 110 record the common lottery condition flags is stored.

Next, the operations of the respective sections will be described along the flow of a comparison game, which is an independent game executed in the respective game sections A, B of the console section 2. Since the contents of the respective comparison games executed by the respective game units A, B are the same, the description below will be made of the comparison game progress of the game unit a.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a one-time comparison game flow.

When one of two players who play the game on the console section 2 inserts a medal, not shown, into the medal insertion slot 5a, the medal and the like are counted by the medal counter. Then, the medal counter outputs the inserted medal data to the CPU21 of the console control device 20. The CPU21 that has received the bet token data performs a process of adding the credit amount corresponding to the bet token data to the common credit data of the common credit data storage unit 105. In addition, when the points registered in advance in the game facility are extracted and used by performing the point extraction process, the common point data of the extracted amount is stored in the common point data storage unit 105.

After determining the desired number of winning lines and the amount of credits paid out, the player touches one of the two game screens displayed on the touch panel 11 to select a winning line, and presses one of the mode selection buttons 13 to select a payout mode, thereby determining how many credits are paid out for each winning line (S1). The operation content is transmitted as a launch operation signal to the CPU21 of the console control device 20. The CPU21 that has received the set operation signal is in a state capable of receiving an operation signal from the start button 12. This enables the player to effectively operate the start button 12.

When the player operates the start button 12 (S2), the bet acceptance unit 103A of the game unit a on which the player plays the game performs the following bet acceptance processing: the integral amount corresponding to the dispensing operation signal, that is, the integral amount corresponding to the selected dispensing mode and the selected number of paylines are multiplied and subtracted from the common integral data stored in the common integral data storage unit 105 (S3). Then, the CPU21, which is a start signal generation unit constituting the game progress control unit 101A, functions as a start signal generation means, generates a start signal, and transmits the start signal to the display control unit 25 of the common display unit 106. The display control unit 25 receives the start signal, and performs the following variable display control: the symbols in the symbol display areas 11a to 11c of the game screen image of the game unit a displayed on the touch panel 11 are sequentially switched (S4).

The CPU21 constituting the game progress control unit 101A also transmits the generated start signal to the random number generation circuit 24. The random number generating circuit 24 that has received the start signal generates 3 random numbers (S5), and sequentially transfers the random numbers to the CPU 21. Each random number corresponds to each of the symbol display areas 11a to 11c displayed on the touch panel 11. The CPU21 as the stop sign determining section functions as stop sign determining means together with the random number generating circuit 24, and when 3 random numbers transmitted from the random number generating circuit 24 are received, each random number is collated with the stop position table stored in the ROM 22. The stop position table is prepared for each of the symbol display areas 11a to 11 c. Then, the stop positions for the variable display in the symbol display areas 11a to 11c are determined based on the random numbers and the stop position tables. Therefore, the symbol to be stopped from being displayed in each of the symbol display areas 11a to 11c is determined based on the 3 random numbers transmitted from the random number generation circuit 24.

The CPU21, which is a winning determination unit constituting the game progress control unit 101A, functions as winning determination means together with the random number generation circuit 24, and performs the following drawing process: when the 3 random numbers transmitted from the random number generation circuit 24 are received, a combination of these random numbers is collated with a prize winning determination table stored in the ROM22, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined prize is won (S6). In the present embodiment, the general distinction is that the awards are: payout of a bonus award (bonus payout) in which an amount of credit corresponding to the award is paid out to the player; a first up-count award and a second up-count award for performing a first center lottery in the center lottery device 3 described later; and a second drawing award for performing a second drawing of the center in the center drawing device 3 to be described later. Then, the CPU21 determines the prize to be won in the current game or determines whether any prize is won or won and dropped based on the combination of random numbers and the prize winning determination table. Further, the ROM22 stores at least two types of winning determination tables, that is, a winning determination table used in a normal game and a winning determination table used in a free game described later. In the former winning-prize decision table, a dedicated winning-prize decision table is prepared for each possible number of winning-prize lines to be selected.

After the lottery process is completed, the CPU21 controls the display control unit 25 to stop the display of the fluctuation in each of the symbol display areas 11a to 11c at the determined stop position (S7). As a result, the display is stopped in the symbol display regions 11a to 11c of the touch panel 11 at the determined stop positions, and the symbols corresponding to the 3 random numbers are stopped from being displayed in the respective symbol display regions 11a to 11 c.

If it is determined that the bonus payout is won in the lottery process (yes in S8, yes in S9), the CPU21 of the console control device 20 outputs predetermined rendering signals to the illumination control unit and the sound control unit 26 after the varied display of the symbol display regions 11a to 11c is stopped. Thus, the illumination control unit performs control for causing illumination of the LED or the like to emit light in a pattern corresponding to the entertainment signal. The acoustic control unit 26 performs control to cause the speaker 15 to output an effect sound corresponding to the rendering signal. Then, the CPU21 constituting the payment processing unit 104A performs the following payment processing: the common score data stored in the common score data storage unit 105 is added with a score amount corresponding to the obtained prize (S10).

In addition, if it is determined that the first up-count prize is obtained in the drawing process (yes in S11), the CPU21 of the console control device 20 outputs a predetermined rendering signal to the illumination control unit and the sound control unit 26, respectively, after the display of the variation display stop in each of the symbol display regions 11a to 11c, and performs a predetermined rendering. Then, the CPU21 constituting the first decimation condition counting section 108 records one of the 5 first decimation condition flags stored in the RAM23 (S12). At this time, the CPU21 also stores the award amounts to be awarded to the winning line on which the first up-count award is obtained in the present comparison game, as the award history associated with the first drawing condition flag recorded this time, among the 5 award histories stored in the first award accumulation amount storage unit 109. Then, the CPU21 transmits the information on which the first drawing condition flag is recorded and the impression history to the display control unit 25, and the display control unit 25 updates the display of the first sticker image display unit 11h (see fig. 3) corresponding to the first drawing condition flag in accordance therewith. Specifically, when the first drawing condition flag recorded this time corresponds to the third sticker image from the left side of the first sticker image display unit 11h shown in fig. 3, the sticker image is displayed in the third sticker image area that was originally blank. At this time, the integration amount indicated by the corresponding impression history is displayed in the displayed image of the patch. That is, the amount of credit (play history) played on the winning line when the first up-count prize corresponding to the sticker image is obtained is displayed in the sticker image. Therefore, for example, it is understood that the placement history is 5 for the third sticker image from the left side of the first sticker image display unit 11h in fig. 3.

In addition, the CPU21 determines whether all of the 5 first lottery condition flags stored in the RAM23 are recorded (S13). If it is determined in this determination that all of the 5 first drawing condition flags are recorded, the CPU21 outputs a predetermined rendering signal to the illumination control unit and the sound control unit 26, respectively, and performs a predetermined rendering. After a part or all of the 5 first drawing condition flags stored in the RAM23 are reset (all the first drawing condition flags are reset in the present embodiment), the CPU21 constituting the first drawing condition counting section 108 transfers the information to the display control section 25, and the display control section 25 updates the display so as to erase all the 5 sticker images corresponding to the first drawing condition flags in the first sticker image display section 11h and blank the sticker image areas. Then, the CPU21 transmits a first center lottery start request from the input/output port 21a to the central control apparatus (S14). Thereby, in the center drawing device 3, a first center drawing described later is performed.

Further, if it is determined that the second up-count award is obtained in the drawing process (yes in S15), the CPU21 of the console control device 20 outputs a predetermined rendering signal to the lighting control unit and the sound control unit 26, respectively, after the display of the variation display stop in each of the symbol display regions 11a to 11c, and performs a predetermined rendering. Then, the CPU21 constituting the second decimation condition counting section 110 records one of the 5 second decimation condition flags stored in the RAM23 (S16). At this time, the CPU21 also stores the award amounts to be awarded to the winning line on which the second up-count award is obtained in the present comparison game, as the award history associated with the second lottery condition flag recorded this time, among the 5 award histories stored in the second award amount storage unit 111. Then, the CPU21 transmits the information on which the second drawing condition flag is recorded and the impression history to the display control unit 25, and the display control unit 25 updates the display of the second sticker image display unit 11i (see fig. 3) corresponding to the second drawing condition flag in accordance therewith. Specifically, when the second drawing condition flag recorded at this time corresponds to the second sticker image from the right side of the second sticker image display unit 11i shown in fig. 3, the second sticker image is displayed in the second sticker image area that was originally blank. At this time, the integration amount indicated by the corresponding impression history is displayed in the displayed image of the patch. That is, the amount of credit (play history) played on the winning line when the second upward count prize corresponding to the sticker image is obtained is displayed on the sticker image. Therefore, for example, it is known that the placement history is 2 for the second sticker image from the right side of the second sticker image display unit 11i in fig. 3.

In addition, the CPU21 determines whether all of the 5 second lottery condition flags stored in the RAM23 are recorded (S17). If it is determined in this determination that all of the 5 second drawing condition flags are recorded, the CPU21 outputs a predetermined rendering signal to the illumination control unit and the sound control unit 26, respectively, and performs a predetermined rendering. After a part or all of the 5 second drawing condition flags stored in the RAM23 are reset (all the second drawing condition flags are reset in the present embodiment), the CPU21 constituting the second drawing condition counting section 110 transfers the information to the display control section 25, and the display control section 25 updates the display so as to erase all the 5 sticker images corresponding to the second drawing condition flags in the second sticker image display section 11i and blank the sticker image areas. Then, the CPU21 transmits a first center lottery start request from the input/output port 21a to the central control apparatus (S18). Thereby, in the center drawing device 3, a first center drawing described later is performed.

In the present embodiment, since there are two types of flags that become the starting conditions of the first center lottery as described above, for example, after all the first lottery condition flags are recorded and the first center lottery is performed, the first lottery condition flag is reset, but the second lottery condition flag is not reset and remains as it is. If there is only one type of flag which becomes a starting condition of the first center drawing, since the flag is reset after the first center drawing is performed and the flag must be stored from the beginning in order to perform the first center drawing next time, it is easy for the player to end the game at the timing of performing the first center drawing. However, according to the present embodiment, even after the first center drawing is performed, one of the flags is not reset but remains as it is, and therefore, the player can be saved.

In addition, if it is determined that the second-center drawing award is obtained in the drawing process (yes in S19), the CPU21 of the station controller 20 outputs a predetermined rendering signal to the illumination control unit and the sound control unit 26 after the display of the variation display stop in each of the symbol display regions 11a to 11c, and performs a predetermined rendering. Then, the CPU21 transmits a second center lottery start request from the input/output port 21a to the central control apparatus (S20). Thereby, in the center drawing device 3, a second center drawing, which will be described later, is performed.

Next, the configuration of the center lottery device 3 will be described.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the center lottery device 3.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the center lottery device 3 viewed from a different angle from fig. 8.

The center lottery device 3 of the present embodiment mainly includes: a vertical ring-shaped decimator 40 as a first decimating mechanism; an inclined ring-shaped decimator 50 as a second decimating mechanism; a device support table 60 for supporting the decimators 40 and 50 from the lower side in the vertical direction; 2 display devices 71, 72; and a ball conveying device 80 for inputting the lottery balls 73 as the rolling bodies for lottery into each of the lottery devices 40 and 50 and collecting the lottery balls from each of the lottery devices 40 and 50. The first display device 71 is disposed so that a player can visually confirm through the hollow region of the vertical ring lottery machine 40, and a part of the second display device 72 is disposed in the hollow region of the inclined ring lottery machine 50.

The apparatus support table 60 is provided with: a vertical ring-shaped decimator 40; a sloped ring decimator 50; 2 display devices 71, 72; a rotary table 64 carrying a ball conveyor 80 or the like. The rotary table 64 can be rotated about a rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction by a table driving device, not shown. Thereby, the front surfaces of the vertical ring decimator 40 and the inclined ring decimator 50 can be directed to the respective station sections 2.

As shown in fig. 8, the vertical ring-shaped decimator 40 has a main structure portion in the shape of a doughnut-shaped doughnut, and is disposed so that the rotation axis thereof is parallel to the horizontal direction, and the main structure portion is configured to surround a hollow region in a state where a part of the hollow region is exposed to the outside. A plurality of drawing pockets 41 having an inner space capable of accommodating substantially only one drawing ball 73 are formed in the circumferential direction on the inner circumferential surface of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40. In the present embodiment, 10 drawing pockets 41 are provided at equal intervals on the inner peripheral surface of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40. In the vertical ring-shaped decimator 40, an inner peripheral surface member 43 is attached to the annular inner peripheral surface side of the frame base 42, and the inner peripheral surface member 43 is formed with an opening as an inlet of each extraction pocket 41. Further, on the annular outer peripheral surface side of the frame base 42, an outer peripheral surface member 44 fixed to the device support table 60 is disposed to face each other. The frame base 42 and the inner peripheral member 43 of the vertical ring decimator 40 are rotationally driven counterclockwise in fig. 8 by a driving device 61 provided on a device support table 60. Thereby, the drawing pockets 41 of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 perform the turning movement. When the lottery ball 73 enters one of the lottery pockets 41 in the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40, the lottery ball 73 moves together with the lottery pocket 41 while being accommodated in the lottery pocket 41.

In the case of performing the physical lottery by the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40, the lottery balls 73 are thrown from the ball throwing port 86a onto the inner peripheral surface of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40. In the present embodiment, the inner circumferential surface of the vertical ring decimator 40 can be roughly divided into 2 regions in the rotation axis direction. That is, a pocket region (a region on the anterior side of the eye in fig. 8) where the extraction pocket 41 is provided and a non-pocket region (a region on the posterior side in fig. 8) where the extraction pocket 41 is not provided. The pocket region and the non-pocket region are divided by a plurality of protrusion walls 43a intermittently arranged over the entire circumference. The gap formed between the respective projecting walls 43a has a width through which substantially one drawing ball 73 can pass.

The drawing ball 73 is thrown from the ball inlet 86a onto the non-pocket region of the inner peripheral surface of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40. The non-pocket region is formed to be inclined toward the pocket region at a position below the vertical ring-shaped decimator 40. Thus, the drawing ball 73 on the non-pocket region receives a force moving toward the pocket region due to gravity. The drawing ball 73 just after the drawing is restricted by the projection walls 43a because of the high relative movement speed with respect to the plurality of projection walls 43a, and reciprocates like a pendulum in the non-pocket region in the circumferential direction of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 in a state where the ball cannot pass through the gap between the projection walls 43 a. Then, when the momentum of the drawing ball 73 gradually decreases and the relative movement speed with respect to the plurality of projection walls 43a decreases, the drawing ball 73 can pass through the gap between the projection walls 43a due to the inclination of the non-pocket region and move toward the pocket region side. The pocket region is provided with a plurality of protrusions 43b for preventing the entry of the drawing balls 73 into the drawing pockets 41. The lottery ball 73 moved to the pocket region side floats on the pocket region while being bumped by the plurality of protrusions 43b, and finally enters one of the lottery pockets 41.

In the present embodiment, the peripheral portion of each extraction pocket 41 in the pocket region is an inclined surface inclined toward each extraction pocket 41. Thus, the drawing balls 73 rolling on the pocket area easily enter the drawing pockets 41, and therefore, the physical drawing time of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 (the time from when the drawing balls are thrown into the drawing pockets) can be shortened, and the control of the physical drawing time by adjusting the rotation speed of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 becomes easy.

The lottery balls 73 entered into the lottery pocket 41 at the lower portion of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 are carried to the upper portion of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 along with the rotation movement of the lottery pocket 41 by the rotational driving. Since the inner peripheral surface of the drawing pocket 41 is provided above the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 so as to face downward in the vertical direction, the drawing ball 73 falls from the drawing pocket 41 by its own weight if it is. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 8, in order to prevent the falling, fall prevention rails 47a and 47b (see fig. 13) as support members are provided in an upper portion of the vertical ring-shaped decimator 40 so as to face the inner peripheral surface. Thereby, the following structure is formed: the lottery balls 73 carried to the upper side of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 can be rotated and moved along the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 by the rotation driving in a state of being supported by the falling prevention rails 47a, 47 b. Specifically, the edge portions of the opening of the drawing pocket located rearward in the carrying direction function as the pressing members and press the portions of the drawing balls 73 located rearward in the carrying direction, whereby the drawing balls 73 are carried while rolling or sliding the drawing balls 73 on the fall preventing rails 47a, 47b while the movement of the drawing balls 73 in the direction (lateral direction) perpendicular to the carrying direction is restricted by the edge portions located on both sides of the opening functioning as the restricting members in the carrying direction.

On the other hand, the structure of the inclined ring-shaped decimator 50 is different from the above-described vertical ring-shaped decimator 40 in the following respects: the rotation axis is inclined to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and the inlet of the bag 51 for drawing is opened on the outer peripheral surface side; as shown in fig. 8 and 9, the structure of the inclined ring decimator 50 is the same as that of the vertical ring decimator 40 in the following respects: the food container has a main structure portion in the shape of a doughnut, and the main structure portion is configured to surround a hollow region in a state where a part of the hollow region is exposed to the outside. Specifically, a plurality of drawing pockets 51 having an inner space capable of accommodating substantially only one drawing ball 73 are formed in the outer peripheral surface of the inclined ring-shaped lottery device 50 in the circumferential direction thereof. In the present embodiment, 20 drawing pockets 51 are provided at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50. In the inclined ring decimator 50, a spacer member 52 for spacing the extraction pockets 51 from each other is provided on a base 54 fixed to a device support table 60. The spacer member 52 of the inclined ring decimator 50 is driven by a not-shown driving device provided on the device support base 60 to rotate counterclockwise in the drawing on the base 54. Thereby, the drawing pocket 51 of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50 performs the turning movement.

As shown in fig. 9, the drawing ball 73 is retained by the shutter 83a in the ball drop standby portion 83 and temporarily stored, and then dropped onto the inclined surface 54a of the inclined ring-shaped drawing device 50 by the movement of the shutter 83a as shown in fig. 10. The inclined surface 54a is disposed adjacent to the spacer member 52 at a position below the inclined ring-shaped decimator 50, and is formed to be inclined toward the spacer member 52. Thereby, the drawing ball 73 on the inclined surface 54a receives a force of moving toward the spacer member 52 due to gravity. The drawing ball 73 just after the plunging is reciprocated on the inclined surface 54a in the circumferential direction of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50 like a pendulum in a state where it cannot enter the drawing pocket 51 because the relative movement speed of the drawing pocket 51 with respect to the spacer member 52 is large. Then, when the momentum of the lottery balls 73 gradually decreases and the relative movement speed with respect to the lottery pockets 51 decreases, the lottery balls 73 can enter the lottery pockets 51 and finally enter one of the lottery pockets 51.

In the present embodiment, the vertical ring decimator 40 and the inclined ring decimator 50 are arranged such that a part of one decimator is located in the hollow region of the other decimator. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the decimators 40 and 50 are arranged such that 2 decimators 40 and 50 are connected to each other in a locked manner. In general, in a configuration having a hollow region such as the vertical ring decimator 40 or the inclined ring decimator 50, the hollow region is likely to become a dead space, and a physical lottery device having such a configuration is likely to be large-sized. In particular, when there are 2 or more lottery devices having a hollow region as in the present embodiment, since there are many dead spaces, the physical lottery device is more likely to be increased in size. In the present embodiment, the dead space of each decimator 40, 50 is eliminated by placing the main structure of the other decimator in the dead space. Thus, even when there are 2 or more lottery devices having hollow regions, it is possible to suppress the physical lottery device (central lottery device 3) from being unnecessarily large, and it is possible to realize a physical lottery device having a compact structure.

In the present embodiment, the vertical ring decimator 40 and the inclined ring decimator 50 are each a doughnut-shaped device having a closed ring of a main body structure portion, but may be a U-shaped or C-shaped device having a ring of a main body structure portion with a part thereof opened.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the central control device 30 of the center lottery device 3.

The central control device 30 includes: a CPU 31; the input/output port 31 a; a ROM 32; RAM 33; a first rotation control unit 34 a; a second rotation control unit 34 b; a table drive control unit 35; a display control unit 36; a conveyance control unit 37; a first sensor control unit 38 a; the second sensor control unit 38b, and the like. The input/output port 31a is used for data communication between the central control apparatus 30 and each of the console control apparatuses 20. The ROM32 stores and outputs data of various programs and various databases and the like used by the CPU31 to the CPU 31. The RAM33 temporarily stores variable data and the like calculated by the CPU31, and various kinds of fluctuation data such as the cumulative prize storage number. The first rotation control section 34a controls the first driving device 61 for rotationally driving the vertical ring decimator 40 under the control of the CPU 31. The second rotation control section 34b controls the second driving device 62 for rotationally driving the inclined ring decimator 50 under the control of the CPU 31. The table drive control unit 35 controls the table drive device 63 for rotationally driving the rotary table 64 under the control of the CPU 31. The display control unit 36 constitutes a display unit together with the first display device 71 for the vertical ring decimator 40 and the second display device 72 for the inclined ring decimator 50, and controls the display devices 71 and 72 to display a description of the decimation, a screen for the presentation, and the like under the control of the CPU 31. The conveyance control unit 37 controls various driving devices such as a conveyance path switching device included in the ball conveyance device 80 under the control of the CPU 31. The first sensor control section 38a outputs a winning pocket signal corresponding to the drawing pocket 41 into which the drawing ball 73 enters, to the CPU31 in accordance with output signals from a first ball sensor 45 and a first pattern sensor 46, which will be described later, provided in the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40. The second sensor control section 38b outputs a winning pocket signal corresponding to the drawing pocket 51 into which the drawing ball 73 enters, to the CPU31 in accordance with output signals from a second ball sensor 55 and a second pattern sensor 56, which will be described later, provided in the inclined ring lottery device 50.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the entire configuration of the ball carrying device 80 connected to the ball discharging portion provided in each of the vertical ring lottery device 40 and the inclined ring lottery device 50.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view for explaining the ball conveying device 80 and its peripheral structure.

Fig. 14 is a side view for explaining the ball carrying device 80 and its peripheral structure.

First, the structure of the ball carrying device 80 will be described along the carrying path of the lottery ball 73 discharged from the ball discharge portion of the vertical ring-shaped lottery machine 40.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the fall-off prevention rails 47a and 47b for preventing the lottery balls 73 that have been rotated while entering the lottery pockets 41 from falling off from the lottery pockets 41 are provided in the upper portion of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40. As shown in fig. 13, the drop-preventing rails 47a and 47b are divided into two parts in the circumferential direction, and a gap through which the drawing ball 73 can pass is formed therebetween. This gap functions as a ball discharge portion (hereinafter referred to as "first ball discharge portion") 48 of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40. That is, when the drawing ball 73 conveyed by the rotational drive of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 reaches a position facing the first ball discharge portion 48, it falls downward by its own weight through the first ball discharge portion 48.

The first ball discharging unit 48 is provided with a shutter 47c as a discharge switching unit that functions as a discharge switching means for switching between a discharge state in which the selection ball 73 is discharged from the first ball discharging unit 48 and a non-discharge state in which the selection ball is not discharged. The shutter 47c is movable by a driving device 47d controlled by the conveyance control unit 37 of the central control device 30 to a ball passage position shown in fig. 15 for closing the first ball discharge unit 48 and a ball discharge position shown in fig. 16 for opening the first ball discharge unit 48. When the drawing ball 73 passes through the first ball discharging portion 48 when the shutter 47c is located at the ball passing position as shown in fig. 15, the drawing ball 73 does not fall from the first ball discharging portion 48, and turns around the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 one more time in a state of entering the drawing pocket 41. On the other hand, when the drawing ball 73 passes through the first ball discharging unit 48 when the shutter 47c is located at the ball discharging position as shown in fig. 16, the drawing ball 73 falls from the first ball discharging unit 48. As described above, in the present embodiment, by controlling the operation of the shutter 47c, it is possible to selectively execute: the drawing ball 73 that has entered the drawing pocket 41 is discharged from the first ball discharge portion 48; or passes through the first ball discharge portion 48 without being discharged and makes one more rotation around the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40.

An upper end portion of the first conveying rail 82 of the ball conveying device 80 is disposed below the first ball discharge portion 48. The first conveying rail 82 is gently inclined as shown in fig. 14, and its lower end is open. Below the lower end of the first conveying rail 82, a second conveying rail 84 inclined toward the ball drop standby portion 83 is disposed in order to convey the drawing ball 73 by its own weight from the conveying path switching device 81 described later to the ball drop standby portion 83 of the inclined ring lottery device 50. Therefore, the drawing ball 73 conveyed in the first conveying rail 82 is received by the second conveying rail 84 when falling from the lower end of the first conveying rail 82, and is conveyed along the second conveying rail 84 to the ball drop standby portion 83 of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50.

As shown in fig. 17 and 18, a drop port 82a through which the drawing ball 73 can pass is formed in the middle of the first conveying rail 82. The drop port 82a is provided with a shutter 82b that forms a discharge state in which the selection ball 73 is discharged from the drop port 82a or a non-discharge state in which the selection ball is not discharged. The shutter 82b is movable by a driving device 82c controlled by the conveyance control unit 37 of the central control device 30 to a closing position shown in fig. 17 for closing the drop port 82a and an opening position shown in fig. 18 for opening the drop port 82 a. When the drawing ball 73 passes through the drop port 82a when the shutter 82b is located at the close position as shown in fig. 17, the drawing ball 73 is conveyed to the lower end portion of the first conveying rail 82 without dropping from the drop port 82 a. On the other hand, when the drawing ball 73 passes through the drop port 82a when the shutter 82b is in the open position as shown in fig. 18, the drawing ball 73 falls from the drop port 82 a.

An upper end portion of the third conveying rail 85 of the ball conveying device 80 is disposed below the drop port 82a of the first conveying rail 82. The third conveying rail 85 is gently inclined as shown in fig. 14, and a lower end portion thereof is connected to an entrance of the conveying path switching device 81. Here, in the present embodiment, by controlling the driving of the conveyance path switching device 81 as described later, the drawing ball 73 is supplied to the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 or the inclined ring-shaped lottery device 50, and thus the physical drawing can be performed using the drawing ball 73 in the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 or the inclined ring-shaped lottery device 50. The lottery balls 73 supplied to the vertical ring lottery device 40 or the inclined ring lottery device 50 are accumulated in an aligned state on the lower end side portion of the third carrying rail 85 connected to the entrance side of the carrying path switching device 81. That is, in the present embodiment, the ball storage portion is constituted by the lower end portion of the third conveying rail 85 and the conveying path switching device 81.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, by controlling the operation of the shutter 82b, it is possible to selectively execute: a ball drop standby part 83 for sending the drawing ball 73 discharged from the first ball discharge part 48 to the inclined annular drawing device 50; alternatively, the drawing ball 73 is sent to the ball storage unit.

Next, the structure of the ball carrying device 80 will be described along the carrying path of the lottery ball 73 discharged from the ball discharge portion of the inclined ring lottery machine 50.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the cutout portion through which the drawing ball 73 can pass is formed in the revolving movement path of the drawing pocket 51 in the base 54 of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50. This notch portion functions as a ball discharge portion (hereinafter referred to as "second ball discharge portion") 58 of the inclined ring lottery machine 50. That is, when the drawing ball 73 conveyed by the rotational drive of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50 reaches a position facing the second ball discharge portion 58, it is discharged by its own weight through the second ball discharge portion 58 as shown in fig. 12.

In the second ball discharging portion 58, similarly to the first ball discharging portion 48 of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40, a shutter 57 is provided as a discharge switching portion which functions as a discharge switching means for establishing a discharge state in which the picked ball 73 is discharged from the second ball discharging portion 58 or a non-discharge state in which the picked ball is not discharged. The shutter 57 is driven by the driving device 47d to be movable integrally with the shutter 47c of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40, and moves to a ball passing position shown in fig. 15 for closing the second ball discharge portion 58 and a ball discharge position shown in fig. 16 for opening the second ball discharge portion 58. When the drawing ball 73 passes through the second ball discharging portion 58 when the shutter 57 is located at the ball passing position as shown in fig. 15, the drawing ball 73 does not fall from the second ball discharging portion 58, and turns around the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50 one more time while entering the drawing pocket 51. On the other hand, when the drawing ball 73 passes through the second ball discharging unit 58 when the shutter 57 is located at the ball discharging position as shown in fig. 16, the drawing ball 73 falls from the second ball discharging unit 58. As described above, in the present embodiment, by controlling the operation of the shutter 57, it is possible to selectively execute: the drawing balls 73 that have entered the drawing pockets 51 are discharged from the second ball discharge portion 58; or passes through the second ball discharging part 58 without being discharged and makes one more rotation around the inclined ring lottery device 50.

The picked-up balls 73 discharged from the second ball discharge portion 58 of the second ball discharge portion 58 are guided to the upper end portion of the third conveying rail 85 of the ball conveying device 80 by the discharge slope 58 a. Therefore, the drawing balls 73 discharged from the second ball discharge portion 58 are conveyed to the ball storage portion, which is the entrance of the conveying path switching device 81, by the third conveying rail 85.

Fig. 19, 20, and 21 are explanatory diagrams for explaining a schematic configuration and operation of the conveyance path switching device 81.

The conveying path switching device 81 mainly includes an eccentric rotating member 81a and a drive motor, not shown, that rotates the eccentric rotating member 81 a. The eccentric rotary member 81a is formed of a disk-shaped member, and a drive motor is connected to a rotary shaft of the eccentric rotary member 81a provided at an eccentric position from the disk center. The rotational direction and rotational angle of the drive motor are controlled by the conveyance control unit 37 of the central control device 30. In the present embodiment, the eccentric rotary member 81a is stopped in a standby state in a state in which the long-radius-side end portion farthest from the rotation axis of the eccentric rotary member 81a is directed vertically downward as shown in fig. 19. In this standby state, of the plurality of drawing balls 73 arrayed and stored on the lower end side portion of the third conveying rail 85 connected to the entrance of the conveying path switching device 81, the drawing ball 73 located on the most downstream side enters the conveying path switching device 81 as shown in fig. 19. At this time, the drawing ball 73 on the most downstream side is positioned vertically above the eccentric rotary member 81 a.

The conveyance path switching device 81 is provided with two outlets, i.e., a first outlet connected to the upper end of the fourth conveyance rail 86 inclined toward the ball drop position of the vertical ring lottery device 40 and a second outlet connected to the upper end of the second conveyance rail 84 inclined toward the ball drop standby portion 83 of the inclined ring lottery device 50. The bottom surfaces of these outlets are located higher than the lower position of the drawing ball 73 located in the conveyance path switching device 81 in the standby state. Therefore, when the drawing ball 73 enters the conveying path switching device 81 in the standby state, the member 81c forming the bottom of the entrance, the members 81d and 81e forming the bottom surfaces of the first and second exits, and the wall surface member 81f provided on the side portion opposite to the entrance abut against the side portions of the drawing ball 73 in the four directions, and the drawing ball 73 is placed in a state where the rolling thereof is restricted, and is held so as not to slip out from the exit of the conveying path switching device 81.

When the drive motor is driven to rotate counterclockwise in the drawing, the long-radius side end of the eccentric rotary member 81a rotates upward in the vertical direction as shown in fig. 20. Thereby, the peripheral edge portion of the eccentric rotating member 81a facing the rotating direction gently pushes up the drawing ball 73 from below the drawing ball 73 toward the first outlet side connected to the upper end portion of the fourth conveying rail 86. When the long-radius side end of the eccentric rotary member 81a is directed vertically upward, the drawing ball 73 is lifted up to the height of the first outlet by the peripheral edge portion of the eccentric rotary member 81a and pushed out toward the fourth conveying rail 86 side, and the drawing ball 73 is conveyed from the first outlet to the ball drop position of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 via the fourth conveying rail 86.

Similarly, when the drive motor is driven to rotate clockwise in the figure by the control of the conveyance control unit 37, the long-radius-side end of the eccentric rotary member 81a rotates upward in the vertical direction as shown in fig. 21. Thereby, the peripheral edge portion of the eccentric rotating member 81a facing the rotating direction gently pushes up the drawing ball 73 from below the drawing ball 73 toward the second outlet side connected to the upper end portion of the second conveying rail 84. When the long-radius side end of the eccentric rotary member 81a is directed vertically upward, the drawing ball 73 is lifted up to the height of the second outlet by the peripheral edge portion of the eccentric rotary member 81a and pushed out toward the second conveying rail 84, and the drawing ball 73 is conveyed from the second outlet to the ball drop standby portion 83 of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50 via the second conveying rail 84.

Next, a structure and an operation for detecting which of the drawing pockets 41, 51 the drawing ball 73 has entered will be described.

In the present embodiment, since the configuration and operation related to the detection are substantially the same for the vertical ring decimator 40 and the inclined ring decimator 50, the inclined ring decimator 50 will be described as an example in the following description, and the description of the vertical ring decimator 40 will be omitted.

Fig. 22 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the second pattern sensor 56 provided in the inclined ring decimator 50.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the spacer member 52 forming the drawing pockets 51 is driven to perform the turning movement in order to perform the turning movement of the drawing pockets 51. On the other hand, the central control device 30 is fixedly disposed inside the device support table 60. Therefore, if the sensors for detecting that the lottery balls 73 have entered the respective lottery pockets 51 are provided on the spacer member 52 and are rotated together with the lottery pockets 51, it is difficult to stably transmit the output signals of the sensors to the central control device 30.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the entry of the drawing ball 73 into the drawing pocket that performs the circling movement is detected only by a sensor fixedly arranged.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 9, a second ball sensor 55 is fixedly disposed on a part of a base 54 through which the drawing pocket 51 passes, which is a lower part of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50. In the present embodiment, a total of 7 second ball sensors 55 are disposed at intervals equal to the circumferential intervals between the drawing pockets 51, 1 of the second ball sensors 55 is disposed at the lowermost part of the revolving movement path of the drawing pocket 51, and 3 second ball sensors 55 are disposed at both sides in the circumferential direction. Each of the 7 second ball sensors 55 is a sensor including a mechanical switch, and the lottery ball 73 entered into one of the lottery pockets 51 is detected by the second ball sensor 55 when the switch piece of the second ball sensor 55 is pushed down by its own weight, that is, when the lottery ball 73 first passes.

Here, it cannot be determined which of the drawing pockets 51 the drawing ball 73 has entered, only from the output signal (ball detection signal) of the second ball sensor 55. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ball detection signal of the second ball sensor 55 is used in combination with the output signal (pattern signal) of the second pattern sensor 56 shown in fig. 22, thereby determining which of the sampling pockets 51 the ball 73 has entered.

The second pattern sensor 56 is fixedly arranged at a portion (a portion indicated by a symbol a in fig. 9) facing the ball drop standby portion 83 on the inner peripheral surface side of the inclined ring decimator 50. The second pattern sensor 56 reads the pattern of the marks of the mark plates 52a, and the same number of the mark plates 52a as the number of the extraction pockets 51 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the spacer member 52 at equal intervals. Each of the marking plates 52a has 1 trigger piece 52b and at most 5 marking pieces 52c, and different marking patterns are formed by the combination of the presence and absence of the marking pieces 52 c. The second pattern sensor 56 includes 5 mark sensors 56a for detecting the mark piece 52c of the mark plate 52a, and 1 trigger sensor 56b for detecting the trigger piece 52b of the mark plate 52 a. The mark sensor 56a and the trigger sensor 56b are both transmission type optical sensors, and detect whether or not the optical path is blocked by the mark sheet 52c or the trigger sheet 52 b.

Each time the trigger piece 52b is detected by the trigger sensor 56b, the second pattern sensor 56 outputs a pattern signal indicating a combination of output signals of the 5 mark sensors 56a at the time of the detection to the second sensor control section 38b of the central control device 30. Then, assuming that the drawing ball 73 enters the drawing pocket 51, the second ball sensor 55 located at the lowermost portion (the second ball sensor 55 at the circumferential center) among the 7 second ball sensors 55, for example, detects this. In this case, a ball detection signal is output from the second ball sensor 55, and the ball detection signal is input to the second sensor control unit 38b of the central control device 30. The second sensor control portion 38b that has received the ball detection signal receives an input of the pattern signal from the second pattern sensor 56 simultaneously with or immediately after the reception, thereby specifying the drawing pocket 51 corresponding to the pattern signal as a drawing pocket into which the drawing ball 73 has entered.

That is, the positional relationship between the second pattern sensor 56 and the second ball sensor 55 located at the lowermost portion is fixed. Specifically, when the drawing pockets 51 into which the drawing balls enter are positioned to face the lowermost second ball sensor 55, the mark patterns of the mark plates 52a provided on the inner peripheral surface side of the drawing pockets shifted by 5 to the downstream side in the direction of the turning movement of the drawing pockets with respect to the drawing pockets 51 are detected by the second pattern sensor 56. Therefore, when the drawing ball 73 is detected by the second ball sensor 55 located at the lowermost portion, the mark pattern of the mark plate 52a detected by the second pattern sensor 56 corresponds to the drawing pockets shifted by 5 toward the upstream side in the revolving movement direction of the drawing pockets with respect to the drawing pockets 51 arranged at the relative positions of the mark plate 52 a. Therefore, the second sensor control unit 38b that has received the ball detection signal from the lowermost second ball sensor 55 can identify the drawing pocket into which the drawing ball 73 has entered, for example, by receiving the pattern signal from the second pattern sensor 56 simultaneously with or immediately after the reception thereof, with reference to the data table showing the correspondence relationship. Then, the second sensor control unit 38b outputs a winning pocket signal indicating the determined drawing pocket to the CPU 31.

Here, in the present embodiment, there are 7 second ball sensors 55, and the positional relationship between each second ball sensor 55 and the second pattern sensor 56 is different from each other. Therefore, the correspondence between the pattern signal from the second pattern sensor 56 and the drawing pocket into which the drawing ball 73 enters differs for each second ball sensor 55 that detects the drawing ball 73. Specifically, for example, when the drawing ball 73 is detected by the second ball sensor 55 disposed on the most upstream side in the revolving movement direction of the drawing pockets, the mark pattern read by the second pattern sensor 56 corresponds to the drawing pockets shifted by 8 pockets on the upstream side in the revolving movement direction of the drawing pockets with respect to the drawing pockets 51 disposed at the relative position of the mark plate 52 a. For example, when the drawing ball 73 is detected by the second ball sensor 55 disposed on the most downstream side in the revolving movement direction of the drawing pockets, the mark pattern read by the second pattern sensor 56 corresponds to the drawing pockets shifted by 2 toward the upstream side in the revolving movement direction of the drawing pockets with respect to the drawing pockets 51 disposed on the opposite position of the mark plate 52 a.

Although at least 1 second ball sensor 55 may be provided, the reason why a plurality of second ball sensors are provided in the present embodiment is as follows.

First, this is to identify the drawing pockets 51 at a timing as early as possible from the time when the drawing ball 73 enters the drawing pocket 51. That is, in the present embodiment, the drawing ball 73 does not necessarily enter the drawing pocket at the lowermost portion, and may enter one of the drawing pockets 51 within a range of 2 drawing pockets on both sides of the drawing pocket at the lowermost portion, or 5 drawing pockets in total. In this case, by providing only 1 second ball sensor 55 in the vicinity of the most downstream side in the rotation movement direction of the drawing pockets in this range, it is possible to specify the drawing pocket into which the drawing ball 73 has entered. However, in this case, after the drawing ball 73 enters the drawing pocket 51, the drawing pocket 51 cannot be identified until the drawing pocket 51 moves to the position of the second ball sensor 55. Therefore, there is a case where the drawing pockets 51 cannot be identified within a certain period of time after the drawing balls 73 enter the drawing pockets 51, and there is a problem that a delay in rendering occurs. In contrast, by providing a plurality of second ball sensors 55 as in the present embodiment, the longest delay time from when the drawing ball 73 enters the drawing pocket 51 to when it is detected can be shortened. This allows the drawing pockets 51 to be identified as soon as possible after the time when the drawing balls 73 enter the drawing pockets 51, thereby reducing disadvantages such as delay in performance.

Secondly, this is to enable the game (physical drawing) to be continued without generating the down time even when the detection becomes unstable due to, for example, a failure of the second ball sensor 55 or a change over time in the depression of the switch piece of the second ball sensor 55 caused by the ball 73 being drawn. That is, by providing a plurality of second ball sensors 55 as in the present embodiment, even when ball detection cannot be performed by the second ball sensor 55 that arrives immediately after the drawing ball 73 enters the drawing pocket 51, ball detection can be performed by the next second ball sensor 55, and the game (physical drawing) can be continued without a break time.

In the present embodiment, the case where the second sensor control unit 38b that has received the ball detection signal identifies the drawing pocket into which the drawing ball 73 has entered based on the pattern signal received simultaneously with or immediately after the reception has been described, but other methods may be employed. For example, the following method may be employed: the second sensor control unit 38b always stores the latest pattern signal, and specifies the drawing pocket into which the drawing ball 73 has entered, based on the latest pattern signal stored when the ball detection signal is received. This method has the advantage that the extraction bag 51 can be determined at an earlier stage.

Next, a flow of the first center decimation (physical decimation) using the vertical ring decimator 40 performed in the center decimation device 3 will be described.

Fig. 23 is a flowchart showing a flow of the first-center decimation.

When the CPU31 of the central control apparatus 30 receives a first center lottery start request from any one of the station sections 2 via the input/output port 31a (S21), the CPU31 registers an station ID for specifying the station section 2 in the to-be-lottery database of the RAM33 (S22). Then, the first center drawing is sequentially performed for the two players of the station section 2 in the order in which the first center drawing start request is received. When the first center drawing is started, first, the CPU31 outputs a drive command to the table drive control section 35 to direct the front of the vertical ring lottery device 40 toward the station sections 2 of the two players who perform the first center drawing. Thereby, the table drive control section 35 rotationally drives the rotary table 64 so that the front surface of the vertical ring decimator 40 faces the table section 2. Then, the CPU31 outputs a command to the conveyance controller 37 to convey the drawing ball 73 to the ball inlet 86 a. Upon receiving the command, the conveyance control unit 37 rotates the drive motor 81b of the conveyance path switching device 81, and rotates the eccentric cam 81a as shown in fig. 20. Thereby, the drawing ball 73 is thrown from the ball inlet 86a into the non-pocket region on the inner peripheral surface of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 via the fourth conveying rail 86 (S23).

The drawing ball 73 put into the non-pocket region is restricted by the projection wall 43a and moves back and forth in the circumferential direction of the vertical ring-shaped drawing machine 40 in the non-pocket region like a pendulum, and the momentum is gradually reduced. Then, when the relative movement speed with respect to the plurality of projection walls 43a becomes sufficiently small, the picking ball 73 passes through the gap between the projection walls 43a due to the inclination of the non-pocket region and moves to the pocket region side. Then, the lottery ball 73 moved to the pocket area floats on the pocket area while receiving a certain external force from the surface of the moved pocket area, and enters the lottery pocket 41 when passing through any of the lottery pockets 41.

Here, if the rotation speed of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 is always fixed, the surface movement speed of the pocket region is also fixed, and the external force received by the lottery ball 73 from the surface of the pocket region is also fixed. Therefore, the following situation may occur: the drawing balls 73 in the pocket area enter the track of the drawing pockets 41 and continue to roll, and the drawing balls 73 do not enter the drawing pockets 41 for as long as they pass. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a configuration is provided in which the elapsed time after the drawing ball 73 is thrown into the vertical ring-shaped drawing device 40 is measured by a not-shown time measuring unit. The CPU31 determines whether or not a predetermined time period has elapsed based on the elapsed time measured by the timer unit (S25). The predetermined time can be set arbitrarily. In the present embodiment, the predetermined time is set to a period of about: if the drawing ball 73 that does not fall into the pocket area enters a situation where it is not caught in the track of the drawing pocket 41 and continues to roll (in a normal case), it is possible to secure a sufficient time required until the drawing ball enters the drawing pocket 41. Therefore, in a normal state, the drawing ball 73 enters any one of the drawing pockets 41 before the predetermined time elapses, and a winning pocket signal corresponding to the drawing pocket 41 is output from the first sensor control unit 38a to the CPU31 (S24).

On the other hand, if the prescribed time has elapsed in a state where the CPU31 has not received the bag selection signal (yes in S25), the CPU31 first performs the deceleration advance notice notification process (S26). The deceleration advance notice notification process is a process for causing the first display device 71 to display a count down image and notifying the player in advance when the rotation speed of the vertical ring decimator 40 is decelerated. Specifically, the CPU31 that has determined that the predetermined time has elapsed transmits a count-down rendering command to the display control unit 36. Upon receiving the count-down rendering command, the display control unit 36 performs display control for displaying the count-down image on the first display device 71. At substantially the same timing as when the countdown image becomes an image indicating the deceleration timing, the first rotation control unit 34a performs a process of decelerating the rotation speed of the vertical ring decimator 40 (S27).

Further, it is assumed that, when the predetermined time has elapsed and the winning pocket signal is received by the CPU31 after the drawing ball 73 has entered any one of the drawing pockets 41 before the rotational speed of the vertical ring decimator 40 is reduced, the countdown rendering is cancelled at that time, and the processing for reducing the rotational speed of the vertical ring decimator 40 is not performed (S27).

In addition, the following structure may be adopted: if it is assumed that the lottery ball 73 does not enter the lottery pocket 41 but enters another track avoiding the lottery pocket 41 after the rotational speed of the vertical ring lottery device 40 is reduced, for example, the elapsed time after the reduction is counted by the timer unit, and when the elapsed time reaches a predetermined time (which may be set to a period different from the predetermined time), the rotational speed of the vertical ring lottery device 40 is further reduced or conversely increased after the reduction advance notice process is performed.

When the rotation speed of the vertical ring decimator 40 is reduced as in the present embodiment, the surface movement speed of the pocket region fluctuates, and therefore, the external force received by the lottery ball 73 from the surface (rolling surface) of the moving pocket region can be changed. Thus, even when the drawing ball 73 rolling on the pocket area enters the track avoiding the drawing pockets 41, the drawing ball 73 can be separated from the track. As a result, it is possible to prevent the lottery balls 73 rolling on the pocket area from entering the lottery pockets 41 for as long as time passes.

When the inserted drawing ball 73 enters one of the drawing pockets 41 and the winning pocket signal corresponding to the drawing pocket 41 is received from the first sensor control unit 38a (yes in S24), the CPU31 refers to the first prize determination table stored in the RAM33 to determine the prize corresponding to the winning pocket signal. In the present embodiment, the prizes that may be won in the first center drawing are roughly distinguished by: payout of a bonus award (bonus payout) in which an amount of credit corresponding to the award is paid out to the player; a free game award for starting a free game as a special game in the comparison game executed by the console section 2; and a second center lottery for performing a second center lottery using the sloped ring lottery 50. Then, the CPU31 specifies the prize winning in the current first center drawing based on the winning pocket signal received from the first sensor control unit 38a and the first prize determination table.

When it is determined that the bonus payout is awarded (yes in S28), the CPU31 controls the first display device 71 and other performance units (such as an illumination unit and an audio output unit) to perform a predetermined performance. Then, the CPU31 transmits a bonus payout command corresponding to the bonus magnification of the winning bonus payout prize to the console control device 20 of the console section 2 from the input/output port 31a (S29). That is, in the present embodiment, there are a plurality of types of bonus awards having different bonus magnifications. For example, there are bonus awards with a bonus magnification of 20 times, bonus awards with a bonus magnification of 30 times, and bonus awards with a bonus magnification of 50 times, and they are assigned to different drawing pockets 41. When the drawing ball 73 enters the drawing pocket 41 for bonus payout, a bonus payout command including the bonus magnification assigned to the drawing pocket 41 is transmitted to the station control device 20 of the station unit 2.

When the station controller 20 receives such a bonus payout command, if the start condition of the current first center drawing is satisfied because all the first drawing condition flags are recorded, for example, the CPU21 constituting the payout processing unit 104A reads out the 5 betting histories stored in the first betting accumulation amount storage unit 109 corresponding to the first drawing condition flag. Then, the following payout processing is performed: the total value of the release history is multiplied by the bonus magnification included in the bonus payout command of this time, and the obtained total amount is added to the common total data stored in the common total data storage unit 105. Then, the CPU21 resets the 5 dropping histories stored in the first dropping accumulation amount storage unit 109.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the free game award is won (yes in S30), the CPU31 controls the first display device 71 and other performance units (such as an illumination unit and an audio output unit) to perform a predetermined performance. Then, the CPU31 transmits a free game start command from the input/output port 31a to the console control device 20 of the console section 2 (S31). The CPU21 of the console control device 20 that has received the free game start command executes a free game program and controls the progress of the free game until a predetermined free game end condition is satisfied. The free game according to the present embodiment is a comparison game that can be played without betting, and the content of the comparison game may be the same as or different from that of a normal comparison game. Instead of the free game award, an incentive game award for starting an incentive game as a special game (a game other than the comparison game may be used), or the like may be employed.

When it is determined that the second jackpot award is won (no in S30), the CPU31 controls the first display device 71 and other performance units (such as an illumination unit and a sound output unit) to perform a predetermined performance. Then, the CPU31 shifts to the operation mode for performing the second center lottery (S40).

Next, a flow of the second center decimation (physical decimation) performed using the inclined ring decimator 50 in the center decimation device 3 will be described.

Fig. 24 is a flowchart showing a flow of the first second-center decimation.

When the CPU31 of the central control apparatus 30 receives a second center drawing start request from any one of the station units 2 via the input/output port 31a or when a second center drawing start condition that the winning of the second center drawing award is determined in the first center drawing is satisfied (S41), the CPU31 performs a second center drawing with respect to the player of the station unit 2. In the case of starting the second center lottery, the CPU31 outputs a drive command to the table drive control section 35 to direct the front of the inclined ring lottery device 50 toward the station section 2 of the player who performs the second center lottery. Thereby, the table drive control section 35 rotationally drives the rotary table 64 so that the front surface of the inclined ring decimator 50 faces the table section 2.

Then, the CPU31 outputs a command to the conveyance control unit 37 to convey the drawing ball 73 to the ball drop standby unit 83. Here, the conveyance control unit 37 performs different operations depending on the second center drawing start condition that is satisfied. Specifically, when the second center drawing start condition is satisfied by receiving the second center drawing start request from the station portion 2, the drive motor 81b of the conveyance path switching device 81 is driven to rotate, and the eccentric cam 81a is rotated as shown in fig. 21. Thereby, the drawing ball 73 is conveyed to the ball drop standby portion 83 by the second conveying rail 84 (S42). On the other hand, when the second center drawing start condition is satisfied by the winning of the second center drawing award determined in the first center drawing, the shutter 47c provided in the first ball discharging portion 48 of the vertical ring-shaped lottery device 40 is moved to the ball discharging position as shown in fig. 16, and the shutter 82b provided at the drop port 82a of the first carrying rail 82 is moved to the close position as shown in fig. 17. Thereby, the lottery balls 73 entered into the lottery pocket 41 corresponding to the second center lottery of the first center lottery are conveyed from the first ball discharge portion 48 to the ball drop standby portion 83 via the first conveying rail 82 (S42).

Then, the CPU31 outputs an input command of the drawing ball 73 to the conveyance control unit 37. The conveyance control unit 37 that has received the drop command performs drive control to move the shutter 83a that blocks the drawing ball 73 in the ball drop standby unit 83 as shown in fig. 10. Thereby, the drawing ball 73 caught by the shutter 83a is thrown onto the inclined surface 54a of the inclined ring-shaped drawing machine 50 (S43).

Here, if the rotational speed of the inclined ring lottery device 50 is always fixed, the relative movement speed of the lottery pocket 51 with respect to the inclined surface 54a is also fixed, and therefore, for example, even in a state where the momentum of the lottery ball 73 is sufficiently weak, there is a case where the lottery ball 73 is similarly bounced by the opening edge portion (the spacer member 52) of the lottery pocket 51 every time. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a configuration is provided in which the elapsed time after the drawing ball 73 is thrown into the inclined ring lottery device 50 is measured by a not-shown time measuring unit. The CPU31 determines whether or not a predetermined time period has elapsed based on the elapsed time measured by the timer unit (S45). The predetermined time can be set arbitrarily. In the present embodiment, the predetermined time is set to a period of about: as long as the drawing ball 73 on the inclined surface 54a does not get caught in the above-described situation (in a normal case), it is possible to sufficiently secure a time required until the drawing ball enters the drawing pocket 51. Therefore, in a normal state, the drawing ball 73 enters any one of the drawing pockets 51 before the predetermined time elapses, and a winning pocket signal corresponding to the drawing pocket 51 is output from the second sensor control unit 38b to the CPU31 (S44).

On the other hand, if the prescribed time has elapsed in a state where the CPU31 has not received the bag selection signal (yes in S45), the CPU31 first performs the deceleration advance notice notification process (S46). The deceleration advance notice notification process is a process for causing the second display device 72 to display a countdown image and notifying the player in advance when the rotational speed of the sloped ring decimator 50 is decelerated. Specifically, the CPU31 that has determined that the predetermined time has elapsed transmits a count-down rendering command to the display control unit 36. Upon receiving the count-down rendering command, the display control unit 36 performs display control to cause the second display device 72 to display a count-down image. At substantially the same timing as when the count-down image becomes an image indicating the deceleration timing, the second rotation control unit 34b performs a process of decelerating the rotation speed of the inclined ring decimator 50 (S47).

Further, it is assumed that, when the CPU31 receives a winning pocket signal after a predetermined time has elapsed and before the rotational speed of the inclined ring lottery device 50 is reduced, the countdown rendering is cancelled and the processing for reducing the rotational speed of the inclined ring lottery device 50 is not performed (S47).

In addition, the following structure may be adopted: in a case where it is assumed that the lottery ball 73 does not enter the lottery pocket 51 and falls into the above-described state after the rotational speed of the inclined ring lottery machine 50 is reduced, for example, a time counting unit counts an elapsed time after the reduction, and when the elapsed time reaches a predetermined time (which may be set to a period different from the predetermined time), the rotational speed of the inclined ring lottery machine 50 is further reduced or conversely increased after the reduction advance notice processing is performed.

When the rotation speed of the inclined ring decimator 50 is reduced as in the present embodiment, the relative movement speed of the sampling pocket 51 with respect to the inclined surface 54a varies, and therefore, the above-described situation can be changed. As a result, the drawing ball 73 rolling on the inclined surface 54a can be prevented from entering the drawing pocket 51 for as long as it passes.

When the inserted drawing ball 73 enters one of the drawing pockets 51 and the winning pocket signal corresponding to the drawing pocket 51 is received from the second sensor control unit 38b (S44), the CPU31 refers to the second prize determination table stored in the RAM33 to determine the prize corresponding to the winning pocket signal. In this embodiment, the second center drawing may be selected such that the winning prize is roughly divided into: payout of a bonus award (bonus payout) in which an amount of credit corresponding to the award is paid out to the player; for starting a free game award of a free game as a special game in the comparison game executed by the console section 2. Then, the CPU31 specifies the winning prize to be drawn in the current second center drawing based on the winning pocket signal received from the second sensor control unit 38b and the second prize determination table.

When it is determined that the bonus payout is awarded (yes in S48), the CPU31 controls the second display device 72 and other performance units (such as an illumination unit and an audio output unit) to perform a predetermined performance. Then, the CPU31 transmits a bonus payout command corresponding to the bonus magnification of the winning bonus payout prize to the console control device 20 of the console section 2 from the input/output port 31a (S49). That is, in the present embodiment, as in the case of the first drawing, there are also a plurality of types of bonus awards having different bonus magnifications in the bonus award in the second drawing. However, it is preferable that, among the bonus magnifications of the bonus payout in the second center drawing, even the lowest bonus magnification is set higher than the highest bonus magnification of the bonus payout in the first center drawing. For example, a bonus payout with a bonus magnification of 100 times, a bonus payout with a bonus magnification of 500 times, and a bonus payout with a bonus magnification of 1000 times are set and assigned to different drawing pockets 41. When the drawing ball 73 enters the drawing pocket 41 for bonus payout, a bonus payout command including the bonus magnification assigned to the drawing pocket 41 is transmitted to the station control device 20 of the station unit 2.

When the station controller 20 receives such a bonus payout command, if the start condition of the current second center drawing is satisfied because all the first drawing condition flags are recorded, for example, the CPU21 constituting the payout processing unit 104A reads out the 5 betting histories stored in the first betting amount storage unit 109 corresponding to the first drawing condition flags. Then, the following payout processing is performed: the total value of the release history is multiplied by the bonus magnification included in the bonus payout command of this time, and the obtained total amount is added to the common total data stored in the common total data storage unit 105. Then, the CPU21 resets the 5 dropping histories stored in the first dropping accumulation amount storage unit 109.

On the other hand, when the starting condition of the second center drawing at this time is satisfied because the second center drawing award is won by the comparison game, all the betting histories stored in both the first betting amount storage unit 109 and the second betting amount storage unit 111 are read out. Then, the following payout processing is performed: the total value of the release history is multiplied by the bonus magnification included in the bonus payout command of this time, and the obtained total amount is added to the common total data stored in the common total data storage unit 105. In this case, the CPU21 does not reset the 5 dropping histories stored in the first dropping accumulation amount storage unit 109 and the second dropping accumulation amount storage unit 111.

When it is determined that the free game award is won (no in S48), the CPU31 controls the second display device 72 and other performance units (such as an illumination unit and an audio output unit) to perform a predetermined performance. Then, the CPU31 transmits a free game start command from the input/output port 31a to the console control device 20 of the console section 2 (S50). The CPU21 of the console control device 20 that has received the free game start command executes a free game program and controls the progress of the free game as in the case of the free game award drawn by the first center until a predetermined free game end condition is satisfied. Of course, instead of the free game award, an incentive game award for starting an incentive game as a special game (a game other than the comparison game may be used), or the like may be used. In addition, the free game executed by winning the free game award selected by the second center is preferably set to a condition more favorable to the player, such as a predetermined free game ending condition being more moderate, than the free game executed by winning the free game award selected by the first center.

In the present embodiment, the case where the individual games played by the game units A, B of the console unit 2 are the comparative games has been described, but the games may be games with other game contents. For example, a rescue game having a game screen as shown in fig. 25 may be used. Fig. 25 shows a game screen in the single-player game mode, and two dedicated game screens 11j shown in fig. 25 are displayed in the two-player game mode. In this game, when the gate image displayed on the dedicated game screen 11j is touched, the process of subtracting one piece of the point from the common point data is performed, and the character of the type corresponding to the gate image is selected and the selected character is sequentially stored in a predetermined selected character storage area. The character image corresponding to the selected character is displayed on the character display unit 11k on the upper part of the screen. When the number of characters of the same type in the selected character storage area is three, data corresponding to the three characters is erased from the selected character storage area, images of the three characters are also erased from the character display unit 11k, and a predetermined count value is incremented by 3, and 3 is the number of characters to be erased. In this game, when the number of characters stored in the selected character storage area exceeds 7, the game is ended, the data in the selected character storage area is erased, and the predetermined count value is reset to zero. When the predetermined count value reaches a predetermined value, 1 or 2 or more first lottery condition flags or second lottery condition flags are recorded as a fast-pass. When all of the first drawing condition flags and the second drawing condition flags are recorded, the first center drawing is performed in the center drawing device 3, as in the above-described embodiment.

The individual games played by the game units A, B of the console units 2 of the token-operated game machine 1 according to the present embodiment are all the same games (comparative games), but a plurality of games may be mixed. For example, the comparison game may be executed in each game unit A, B of a certain console unit, and the rescue game may be executed in another console unit. Further, the comparison game may be executed in the game unit a of the console unit 2, and the rescue game may be executed in the game unit B of the console unit 2.

In the present embodiment, the description has been given taking as an example a token game machine that conditionally controls a game progress by receiving tokens (objects to be thrown) from a player, but the present invention can be similarly applied to a game system or the like provided in a casino or the like that conditionally controls a game progress by receiving chips or money (money) other than tokens.

In the present embodiment, the description has been given of the case where the point data used by the players who play the game in the game unit A, B of the same console unit 2 is common point data, but dedicated point data may be used. However, in the case of the configuration in which a plurality of players share point data as in the present embodiment, independent games that are played independently of each other are played among the players, but a relationship in which the common point data is increased in cooperation with each other is also generated. In general, in a conventional game device such as a token-operated game machine or a casino game machine that uses credit data as a drop target or a payout target, since each player plays an independent game using dedicated credit data, it is not considered to increase common credit data in cooperation with each other. Therefore, the configuration of the present embodiment in which a plurality of players share common point data can provide a game performance that has not been available in the amusement game apparatus.

In addition, the amusement game apparatus as described above can provide an effect of providing a game performance which has not been achieved so far, and is not limited to the configuration of the present embodiment, that is, the configuration in which the common drawing condition flag is recorded in accordance with the result of each individual game played by a plurality of players, as long as the common point data is shared by a plurality of players. That is, if the configuration is such that each of the bet target receiving units in a plurality of game machines that execute independent games that are played independently of each other using point data as a bet target or a payout target performs processing for reducing the amount of points of the common point data stored in the common point data storage unit as bet receiving processing, and each of the payout processing units in the plurality of game machines performs processing for increasing the amount of points of the common point data stored in the common point data storage unit as payout processing, a relationship is generated in which a plurality of players cooperate with each other to increase the common point data, and it is possible to provide game play that has not been provided in the game machines.

In the present embodiment, if the drawing ball 73 is dropped a plurality of times in a state where the shutter 47c provided in the first ball discharging unit 48 is moved to the ball passing position as shown in fig. 15, the drawing pocket 41 having entered the drawing ball 73 is blocked by the drawing ball 73, and the drawing ball thereafter enters any one of the remaining drawing pockets 41. With such a configuration, for example, when the game is set such that the winning second-center drawing prize is the maximum goal, the following game play can be provided: when the drawing ball 73 that is first inserted enters the drawing pocket 41 to which the prize other than the second-center drawing prize is assigned, the probability that the drawing ball 73 that is inserted next enters the drawing pocket 41 to which the second-center drawing prize is assigned increases. The description is directed to the case of a vertical ring decimator 40, but the same is true of the sloped ring decimator 50.

In the above embodiments, the means implemented by software such as a computer program may be implemented by hardware such as a circuit or a chip, or the means implemented by hardware such as a circuit or a chip may be implemented by software such as a computer program.

Description of the symbols of the drawings:

1 Game machine for medals

2 operating table part

3-center lottery device

11 touch panel

20 control device for operation table

30 central control device

101A, 101B game progress control unit

102A, 102B operation receiving unit

103A, 103B delivery receiving unit

104A, 104B payout processing unit

105 common integral data storage unit

106 common display part

107 mode switching part

108 first sampling condition counting part

109 first deposit accumulation storage unit

110 second sampling condition counting part

111 second cumulative amount of delivery storage unit

Claims (7)

1. A game system having a plurality of game devices, the plurality of game devices respectively comprising:

an operation receiving unit that receives a game operation of a player;

a delivery object acceptance unit for performing a delivery acceptance process for accepting a delivery object;

a game progress control unit that executes a predetermined game progress program to control a progress of a game repeatedly played by the bet target reception unit as a game start condition in accordance with the game operation received by the operation reception unit; and

a payment processing unit for performing the following payment processing: in accordance with the result of the progress of the game controlled by the game progress control unit, a payout object corresponding to the amount of the thrown object received by the thrown object receiving unit is paid out to the player,

each game progress control unit of the plurality of game devices controls the progress of an independent game that is played independently of each other, and the game system includes:

a drawing condition counting unit that counts a common drawing condition count value according to a progress result of each of the independent games controlled by the game progress control units of the plurality of game devices; and

a drawing unit for executing a drawing for determining whether or not a predetermined prize is won by the common drawing condition count value satisfying a predetermined drawing start condition,

if the predetermined prize is won by the drawing unit, each payout processing unit of the plurality of game devices performs payout processing for paying out a predetermined amount of a payout target.

2. The gaming system of claim 1,

a common score data storage unit for storing common score data indicating the amounts of the scores to be used for the game devices and the payout targets,

each of the bet target reception units of the plurality of game devices performs, as the bet reception process, a process of reducing an amount of integration of the common point data stored in the common integration data storage unit,

each of the payout processing units of the plurality of game devices performs processing for increasing the amount of credit of the common credit data stored in the common credit data storage unit as the payout processing.

3. The gaming system of claim 1,

each of the plurality of game devices executes a bet acceptance process of: receives a target to be thrown in an amount changeable in accordance with the throw-in amount operation received by the operation receiving unit of the game device,

the game system includes a betting accumulation amount storage unit that stores an accumulation amount of betting objects betted in the independent game when the lottery condition counter counts the common lottery condition counter,

each payout processing unit of the plurality of game devices performs the following payout processing if the predetermined prize is won by the drawing unit: a payout target that pays out an amount corresponding to the accumulated amount of the thrown objects stored in the throw-accumulation-amount storage unit.

4. The gaming system of claim 1,

a second drawing condition counting unit for counting a second common drawing condition count value different from the common drawing condition count value according to a progress result of each of the independent games controlled by the respective game progress control units of the plurality of game devices,

the drawing unit performs a drawing for determining whether or not a predetermined prize is won by satisfying a predetermined drawing start condition with one of a common drawing condition count value counted by the drawing condition counting unit and a second common drawing condition count value counted by the second drawing condition counting unit,

when the count value of the common decimation condition satisfies a predetermined decimation start condition, a process of maintaining the count value of the second common decimation condition and resetting the count value of the common decimation condition is performed,

when the second common decimation condition count value satisfies a predetermined decimation start condition, a process of resetting the second common decimation condition count value while maintaining the common decimation condition count value is performed.

5. The gaming system of claim 1,

the plurality of game devices have a single display portion commonly used with each other,

the game system includes a mode switching unit that switches a multiplayer game mode and a single player game mode by receiving a game screen switching operation by an operation receiving unit of one of the game devices, the multiplayer game mode causing the single display unit to display each game screen, each game progress control unit controlling a progress of the independent game, the single player game mode causing the single display unit to display a game screen of one of the game devices, the game progress control unit of one of the game devices controlling a progress of the independent game, and the game progress control units of the other game devices not controlling a progress of the independent game.

6. The gaming system of claim 5,

the game system is configured to: the common sampling condition count value is maintained before and after the mode switching section performs switching.

7. The gaming system of claim 1,

the decimation section performs the decimation by physical decimation using decimated objects.