JP4747136B2 - Gaming machines and winning lottery devices for gaming machines - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a winning lottery system of the gaming machine and this game machine pachinko machine.

As a kind of pachinko machine, a movable winning device called a so-called blade is released a predetermined number of times when winning at the start winning opening, and during this time, a game ball is placed inside the central player device provided in the approximate center of the game board Is known to compete to win a jackpot winning opening provided in the central office device. The game balls that have entered the central bonus apparatus are subject to a big win lottery, and are distributed to either the big win winning opening or the off-season by a distribution mechanism provided inside the central bonus apparatus. The distribution mechanism has various aspects such as a moving mechanism such as a rotating body, a stage mechanism, and the like, but in general, the probability of winning the jackpot winning prize is lower than the probability of winning the winning prize. In this way, the structure is designed so that it is not easy to win the jackpot. When winning the jackpot winning slot, the gaming state shifts to a predetermined jackpot gaming state, and during the jackpot gaming period, the player is given an opportunity to acquire a large number of gaming balls.
JP 2003-250993 A

  When the jackpot winning is extremely difficult due to the structure of the distribution mechanism, the chance of shifting to the jackpot game is reduced, which may impair the fun of the game. Therefore, by making the structure of the distribution mechanism easy to win a jackpot winning opening, the jackpot winning probability is increased and the player's expectation and excitement can be increased. However, if the structure of the distribution mechanism is simply a structure that makes it easy to win a jackpot winning opening, the jackpot winning probability increases to an inappropriate level. Therefore, in this case, some mechanism for keeping the jackpot winning probability below a certain value is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and even when the structure of the lottery mechanism (distribution mechanism) of the gaming machine is a structure that makes it easy to win a jackpot winning opening, the degree of jackpot winning probability is inappropriate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine and a winning ball lottery device for the gaming machine that prevent the number from increasing.

A winning ball lottery device for a gaming machine according to the present invention is a winning ball lottery device for a gaming machine, which introduces a gaming ball launched on the gaming board surface of the gaming machine and makes a winning state, and a supply A lottery unit for lottery of game balls to be played and a game ball put in a winning state by the introduction unit are stored, and game balls excluding the game ball at the head position among the stored game balls are supplied to the lottery unit And a storage groove for arranging and storing a plurality of game balls, and a game ball that is inclined from the outlet of the storage groove toward the lottery section and is output from the lottery section. An inclined surface that guides the game ball toward the lottery unit, a discharge port that is provided on the outlet side of the storage groove and from which the game ball at the leading position among the game balls stored in the storage unit is discharged, and the storage An adsorbing position for adsorbing the game ball from the exit of the groove by magnetic force; Retracted from the suction position to and having a a freely magnet pieces infested and retracted position for moving the adsorbed game balls above the outlet.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings shown below, substantially the same or equivalent components and parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a pachinko machine 10 equipped with a winning ball lottery device 100 of the present invention. The pachinko machine 10 includes a main body frame 11 serving as a main body base, a game board 12 disposed inside the main body frame 11, and a front frame 13 provided in front of the game board 12 and freely openable and closable with respect to the main body frame 11. And having. The game board 12 includes a game area 12a surrounded by guide rails 14 on the board surface, and a game ball is launched toward the game area 12a.

  A lower door frame 15 is provided below the front frame 13. The lower door frame 15 is provided with a receiving tray 15a for accommodating a game ball held by the player, and an operation handle 16 for controlling the launch of the game ball and the firing strength. The operation handle 16 is disposed on the right side of the pachinko machine 10 and protrudes from the surface height of the lower door frame 15 so that the player can easily grasp it. The operation handle 16 is provided with a contact detection sensor (not shown) that generates a contact signal in response to a human touch. The contact signal output from the contact detection sensor is input to a control device (not shown) provided on the back side of the pachinko machine 10.

  In addition, the operation handle 16 is provided with a launch adjustment portion 17 that is rotatable within a predetermined angle range. The launch adjusting unit 17 is an operation switch for driving a game ball launching device (not shown) provided on the back side of the pachinko machine 10, and the launch adjusting unit 17 is rotated clockwise from the reference position. The launching device is activated by damaging. The launch adjusting unit 17 is applied with an urging force in the counterclockwise direction by an elastic body such as a spring, and is positioned at the reference position in the standby state. The reference position is a position where the amount of rotation of the launch adjusting unit 17 is zero. When the launch adjusting unit 17 is located at the reference position, the game ball is not launched.

  The game board 12 is provided with a large number of game nails 23 for changing the flow direction of the game ball, and further, an obstacle such as a windmill 24 is provided. In addition, an out port (not shown) for collecting game balls that have not won a prize is provided at the bottom of the game board 12.

  A concave space 25 is formed substantially at the center of the game board 12, and the winning ball lottery device 100 of the present invention is provided in the concave space 25. The winning ball lottery device 100 distributes the movable wing 20 that distributes permission / inhibition of game balls to the inside and the lottery unit 30 that distributes the supplied game balls to a plurality of paths and changes the game state according to the distribution result. And a storage unit 40 that temporarily stores the game balls that have passed through the movable blades 20 and entered the winning ball lottery device 100, and supplies a part of the stored game balls to the lottery unit 30. .

  A start winning opening 21 is provided below the game board 12, and a start winning opening passing sensor (not shown) is provided therein. When the game ball wins the start winning opening 21, it is detected by the start winning opening passing sensor that a predetermined number of winning balls are paid out from the pachinko machine 10 and the movable blade 20 opens and closes a predetermined number of times. The game ball can enter the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 only during the opening period of the movable blade 20.

  Next, the configuration of the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 of the present invention will be described in detail below. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the winning ball lottery apparatus 100. The movable blade 20 as an introduction part for introducing the game ball into the winning ball lottery device 100 is provided to be rotatable about the shaft part 20a and is positioned at the open position or the closed position. The movable blade 20 may be driven by a solenoid (not shown), for example. When the movable blade 20 is in the open position, the introduction path into the winning ball lottery device 100 is in an open state, and the game balls flowing down on the game board enter the inside of the winning ball lottery device 100 only during this open period. Is possible. A game ball that has entered the winning ball lottery device 100 during a period when the movable blade 20 is open is detected by a movable blade passage sensor (not shown), and a detection signal is supplied to a main controller described later. It has become. A game ball that has passed through the movable blade 20 and is introduced into the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 is placed in a winning state. Since the opening period of the movable blade 20 is as short as about 1 second, the number of game balls that enter the winning ball lottery device 100 by one opening of the movable blade 20 is approximately three or less.

  The game ball that has passed through the movable blade 20 and has been introduced into the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 is guided upstream of the guide passage 50. The guide passage 50 is provided between the movable blade 20 and the storage portion 40 and guides the game ball introduced from the movable blade 20 to the storage portion 40 provided downstream thereof. The guide passage 50 may have any form as long as it guides the game ball that has passed through the movable blade 20 to the storage unit 40. For example, the guide passage 50 is formed in a bowl shape so that the game ball does not fall off. The path for guiding the game ball may be meandered or bent.

  The lottery unit 30 is configured by, for example, a mortar-shaped recess 31 provided on the bottom surface in the recess space 25 and a plurality of winning holes 32 to 34 formed on the bottom surface. When a game ball is supplied from the storage unit 40 to the lottery unit 30, the game ball turns along the wall surface of the recess 31 and is guided to the bottom surface to win one of the winning ports 32-34. . For example, any one of these winning openings 32 to 34 is a jackpot winning opening, and the other two are outliers. When the game ball wins a jackpot winning opening, a winning detection sensor (not shown) provided therein detects the winning, and the gaming state shifts to a jackpot state advantageous to the player. The jackpot game continues until a predetermined end condition is satisfied, and the player is given an opportunity to acquire a large number of game balls during the jackpot game period. On the other hand, when a game ball wins a winning slot, only a predetermined number of game balls are paid out, and the jackpot game is not executed. In other words, the lottery unit 30 distributes the supplied game balls to either the big win winning opening or the outlier, and causes a change in the gaming state according to the distribution result. In other words, it can be said that the jackpot lottery is made by the game ball sorting action provided by the lottery unit 30. Note that the configuration of the lottery unit 30 described above is merely an example, and is not limited to a configuration in which game balls are distributed to either the jackpot winning opening or the off-out opening, but a mechanism for performing lottery on whether or not to change the gaming state. Any configuration may be used as long as is configured.

  The storage unit 40 primarily stores the game balls that have been awarded through the movable blades 20 and the guide passage 50, supplies a part of the stored game balls to the lottery unit 30, Other storage balls that are not supplied are discharged to the discharge port 41. That is, only a part of the game balls introduced into the winning ball lottery device 100 and placed in the winning state are subject to the jackpot lottery by the lottery unit 30, and other game balls are accommodated in the discharge port 41 and are not subject to the jackpot lottery It is said.

  The game ball guided to the storage groove 42 via the guide passage 50 is stored in the storage groove 42. The storage groove 42 is provided with wall portions 43 and 44 on both sides thereof, so that a game ball in a storage state in the storage groove 42 does not fall off. The storage groove 42 has a downward slope toward the front, and the game ball guided to the storage groove 42 rolls forward. The storage groove 42 is formed with a width that allows one game ball to pass. As shown in FIG. 2, the game balls are arranged in the storage groove 42 in the state of being arranged in the order of introduction into the winning ball lottery apparatus 100. Stored.

  An inclined surface 46 is formed at the foremost position of the storage groove 42 in the direction intersecting with the extension direction of the storage groove 42 and in the downward direction toward the lottery unit 30. That is, the game ball guided to the storage groove 42 rolls the storage groove 42 forward and is guided to the lottery unit 30 along the inclined surface 46. A discharge port 41 is provided at a position on the top of the inclined surface 46 and slightly shifted laterally from the extending direction of the storage groove 42. Above the discharge port 41, a magnet piece 45b that moves across the discharge port 41 and is provided so as to be able to protrude and retract with respect to the storage groove 42, and a sheath portion 45a having a cylindrical structure that accommodates the magnet piece 45b. A discharge control mechanism 45 is provided. That is, the magnet piece 45b slides linearly in the direction intersecting with the extending direction of the storage groove 42 across the discharge groove 41, and the distal end of the magnet piece 45b is stored in the sheath 45a or in the storage groove 42. It is positioned at the protruding position that appears in The sheath portion 45 a is fixed so that the tip end portion is located above the discharge port 41.

  3A and 3B show structural examples including the drive unit of the discharge control mechanism 45. FIG. The discharge control mechanism 45 is connected to the solenoid 60. The solenoid 60 includes a bobbin 61, a mover 62 made of a ferromagnetic material, a stator 63 disposed to face the mover 62, and is wound around the mover 62 and the stator 63 around the bobbin 61. The coil 64, the shaft 65 penetrating through the central portion of the mover 62, and the shaft 65 are penetrated and contracted between the mover 62 and the stator 63 so that the mover 62 is fixed. A spring 66 that gives a repulsive force in a direction away from 63, and a frame 67 made of a ferromagnetic material that constitutes a magnetic circuit that efficiently passes the magnetism generated by the coil 64. The magnet piece 45 b of the discharge control mechanism 45 is connected to the tip of the mover 62. The solenoid 60 pushes or attracts the mover 62 against the stator 63, thereby moving the magnet piece 45b linearly with respect to the fixed sheath 45a.

  Here, Fig.3 (a) shows the state when the magnet piece 45 exists in a protrusion position, and FIG.3 (b) has shown the state when it exists in an accommodation position. A magnetic field is generated by applying an exciting current to the coil 64 from a drive circuit described later, and an attractive force is generated between the stator 63 and the mover 62. Due to this attractive force, the mover 62 is attracted to the stator 63 side against the repulsive force of the spring 66, and the magnet piece 45b connected to the mover 62 is positioned at the accommodation position (FIG. 3B). . On the other hand, when the supply of the excitation current to the coil 64 is stopped, no attracting force is generated, so that the movable element 62 protrudes away from the stator 63 by the repulsive force of the spring 66, and the magnet piece 45 is positioned at the protruding position. (FIG. 3A). Thus, the positioning of the magnet piece 45 b is controlled by controlling the exciting current supplied to the coil 64 of the solenoid 60.

  4A to 4C are perspective views showing the operation of the discharge control mechanism 45 and the operation of the game ball brought about by the operation of the discharge control mechanism 45 in stages. Hereinafter, the operation of the game ball stored in the storage unit 40 will be described with reference to FIG. In the discharge control mechanism 45, the magnet piece 45b is positioned at the protruding position in the initial state. That is, the positioning is performed so that the tip of the magnet piece 45b is positioned on the passing path of the game ball at the earliest position of the storage groove 42. The plurality of game balls that have passed through the movable blade 20 are sequentially guided to the storage groove 42 and roll forward in the storage groove 42 along the inclination. The storage ball at the head position is attracted to the magnet piece 45b by the magnetic force and stops rolling. Since the path of the subsequent game ball is blocked by the stored ball at the head position, the game ball stays in the storage groove 42 and is stored in the storage groove 42 (FIG. 4A).

  When the magnet piece 45b is positioned at the storage position from this state, the game ball attracted to the magnet piece 45b moves integrally with the magnet piece 45b while maintaining the attracted state. As a result, the stored ball at the head position is removed from the passing path of the game ball and the course is released, so that the subsequent game ball, that is, the second and subsequent stored balls are inclined at the earliest position of the storage groove 42. It rolls along the surface 46 and is led to the lottery unit 30 (FIG. 4B).

  When the magnet piece 45b is accommodated inside the sheath portion 45a, the game ball adsorbed to the magnet piece 45b interferes with the end surface of the sheath portion 45a and cannot move together with the magnet piece 45b. To do. A discharge port 41 is provided below the separation position of the game ball, and the game ball detached from the magnet piece 45b falls from the separation position and is accommodated in the discharge port 41 (FIG. 4C). )).

  In this way, among the game balls stored in the storage unit 40, only the storage ball at the head position is guided to the discharge port 41 by the discharge control mechanism 45, and the other subsequent storage balls are guided to the lottery unit 30 and the big hit lottery It is targeted. That is, the storage unit 40 supplies the lottery unit 30 with game balls excluding the game ball at the head position among the stored game balls.

  Next, FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a control system for controlling the operation of the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 of the present invention. The main controller 200 is a part that controls the operation of the winning ball lottery apparatus 100, and includes a CPU that performs high-speed arithmetic processing, a ROM that stores an operation program executed by the CPU, and a RAM that temporarily stores processing items of the CPU. Consists of. The main controller 200 is supplied with each detection signal from the start winning port passing sensor 201 and the movable blade passing sensor 202. Based on these detection signals, the main controller 200 supplies a drive circuit 203 for supplying a drive signal (excitation current) to the movable blade drive solenoid 205 or a solenoid 60 for driving the magnet piece 45b of the discharge control mechanism 45. A control signal is supplied to a drive circuit 204 that supplies a drive signal (excitation current), and operation control of the movable blade 20 and the discharge control mechanism 45 is performed. The drive circuits 203 and 204 supply a drive signal (excitation current) to each solenoid in response to the control signal, and drive the movable blade 20 and the discharge control mechanism 45.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the operation program of the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 performed by the main controller 200. Hereinafter, the operation of the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The main controller 200 supplies a control signal for setting the discharge control mechanism 45 to the initial position to the drive circuit 204 that drives the solenoid 60 when the pachinko machine 10 is activated. Thereby, the drive circuit 204 does not supply the exciting current to the solenoid 60, and the magnet piece 45b of the discharge control mechanism 45 is positioned at the protruding position which is the initial position (step S1).

  Next, the main controller 200 determines whether or not the game ball has won the start winning opening 21 (step S2). When a game ball wins the start winning opening 21, a detection signal is supplied from the start winning opening passing sensor 201 toward the main controller 200. The main controller 200 recognizes the winning of the game ball at the start winning opening 21 based on the detection signal.

  When the main controller 200 recognizes that the game ball has won the start winning opening 21, it supplies a control signal to the drive circuit 203. In response to this, the drive circuit 203 supplies a drive signal (excitation current) to a movable blade drive solenoid (not shown), and drives the movable blade 20 to the open state a predetermined number of times over a predetermined period (step S3). . When the game ball passes through the movable blade 20 and is introduced into the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 within the open period of the movable blade 20, a detection signal is supplied from the movable blade passage sensor 202 toward the main controller 200. The game ball that first passes through the movable blade 20 during the opening period is guided to the foremost position of the storage groove 42 via the guide passage 50 and is attracted to the magnet piece 45. When a plurality of game balls are introduced into the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 within the movable blade opening period, the game balls are stored in the storage groove 42 in an aligned state in the order of introduction.

  Next, the main controller 200 determines whether or not a predetermined period has elapsed since the detection signal was supplied from the movable blade passage sensor 202 (step S4). That is, time measurement starts from the time when the game ball passes through the movable blade during the opening period of the movable blade 20, and a predetermined period is counted. For example, the predetermined period is set to a time longer than the time required for the game ball to pass through the movable blade 20 and be stored in the storage groove 42 via the guide passage 50. That is, the time for storing the game balls introduced into the winning ball lottery apparatus 100 in the storage groove 42 is secured by this predetermined period. The starting point for the predetermined period may be the time when the game ball passes through the start winning opening.

  When the main controller 200 determines in step S4 that the predetermined period has elapsed, the main controller 200 supplies the drive circuit 204 with a control signal for positioning the magnet piece 45b of the discharge control mechanism 45 at the accommodation position. Based on the control signal, the drive circuit 204 supplies a drive signal (excitation current) to the coil 64 constituting the solenoid 60. Thereby, the mover 62 of the solenoid 60 is attracted to the stator 63, and the magnet piece 45b connected to the mover 62 is accommodated in the sheath portion 45a (step S5). The game ball attracted to the magnet piece 45b moves together with the magnet piece 45b while being attracted to the magnet piece 45b, and is detached from the magnet piece 45b by interference with the sheath 45a. The game ball detached from the magnet piece 45b falls from the separation position and is accommodated in the discharge port 41 located below the separation ball. On the other hand, the subsequent game ball rolls along the inclined surface 46 and is led to the lottery unit 30.

  After positioning the magnet piece 45b at the accommodation position, the main controller 200 supplies the drive circuit 204 with a control signal for positioning the magnet piece 45b at the protruding position. In response to the control signal, the drive circuit 204 stops supplying the drive signal (excitation current) to the solenoid 60. As a result, no attractive force acts between the mover 62 and the stator 63, so that the mover 62 is separated from the stator 63 by the repulsive force of the spring 66 constituting the solenoid 60, and the magnet connected to the mover 42. The piece 45b is positioned again at the protruding position (step S6), and this routine is terminated.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the winning ball lottery apparatus of the present invention, the gaming balls that have passed through the movable blades and are in the winning state are stored in a state of being aligned with the storage unit, and the stored gaming balls Of these, only the one at the head position is discharged to the outlet and excluded from the jackpot lottery by the lottery part, and the game balls stored after the second are supplied to the lottery part and are subject to the lottery. Even when the structure is such that it is easy to win a jackpot winning opening, it is possible to prevent the winning probability of the winning game ball from increasing to an inappropriate level. In other words, among the game balls that have passed through the movable blades and are in a winning state, the game balls that are to be selected by the lottery unit are selected by the storage unit provided in the preceding stage, so that the winning probability is below a certain value. It is kept. In addition, since the game balls introduced into the winning ball lottery apparatus are temporarily stored in the storage unit, for example, even if the lottery unit is constituted by a rotating character and the jackpot winning port is rotating. Since it is difficult for the player to adjust the timing of the game balls to aim at the big hit prize, so-called aiming can be prevented, so that such a strategy can be prevented. That is, the technical intervention element by the player is eliminated, and unfairness such that the jackpot occurrence frequency varies depending on the difference in the skill of the player can be solved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the magnet piece 45b and the game ball adsorbed to the magnet piece 45b are separated by causing the sheath portion 45a and the game ball to interfere with each other. However, by configuring the magnet piece with an electromagnet. The generation of the magnetic force for attracting the game ball can be controlled electrically, and the generation of the magnetic force at the disengagement position is stopped, so that the game ball attracted to the magnet piece may be detached.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the winning ball lottery apparatus of the present invention is applied to a so-called feather-type game machine has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a so-called digipachi-type game machine. The Digi-Pachi type is equipped with a start winning opening, a symbol display device, and an attacker. A big win lottery is executed starting from winning at the starting winning opening, and when the big win is reached, the symbol display device is “777” or the like. A model that displays a predetermined big hit pattern and opens the attacker a specified number of times. When the winning ball lottery device of the present invention is applied to a digipachi type, for example, a game ball that has been put in a winning state through the introduction unit is stored in the storage unit, and only the storage ball at the head position among the stored game balls is started. It will be supplied to the winning prize and will be the target of the big hit lottery. That is, in the case of the digital patch type, the start winning opening may be configured as a lottery section. The winning ball lottery apparatus of the present invention can also be applied to a so-called mixed-type pachinko machine having both the digipachi type function and the feather type function.

It is a front view which shows the whole structure of the pachinko machine equipped with the winning ball lottery device of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the winning ball lottery apparatus which is an Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the drive part of the discharge control mechanism which is an Example of this invention. (A)-(c) is a perspective view which shows operation | movement of the winning ball lottery apparatus which is an Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the winning ball lottery apparatus which is an Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the control operation | movement of the winning ball lottery apparatus which is an Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pachinko machine 12 Game board 20 Movable blade 21 Start prize opening 30 Lottery part 40 Storage part 41 Discharge port 42 Storage groove 45 Discharge control mechanism 45a Sheath part 45b Magnet piece 60 Solenoid

Claims (2)

A winning ball lottery device for gaming machines,
An introduction unit that introduces a game ball launched on the game board surface of the gaming machine and makes a winning state;
A lottery section for drawing the supplied game balls;
A storage unit that stores game balls that have been won by the introduction unit, and that supplies game balls to the lottery unit excluding the game ball at the head position among the stored game balls ;
The storage section is a storage groove for storing a plurality of game balls in alignment,
An inclined surface that is inclined from the outlet of the storage groove toward the lottery unit and guides the game ball that has exited from the storage groove toward the lottery unit;
A discharge port that is provided on the outlet side of the storage groove and from which the game ball at the leading position among the game balls stored in the storage unit is discharged,
A magnet piece that can freely move in and out of an adsorption position for attracting the game ball that has exited from the outlet of the storage groove by a magnetic force and a retreat position that retreats from the adsorption position and moves the adsorbed game ball above the discharge port; winning ball drawing apparatus characterized by having a. In a gaming machine comprising a gaming board having a gaming board surface on which gaming balls are launched,
A gaming machine comprising the winning lottery device according to claim 1 .

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