JPH0528156B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a slot machine, and more particularly to a slot machine for business use in which a game is started after a coin is inserted.

[Prior Art] Recently, many slot machines have been installed in pachinko parlors and the like, and the number of slot machine enthusiasts is also increasing. Commercial slot machines used in such places are, like pachinko gaming machines, gaming machines for the so-called entertainment business, and it is desirable to avoid constructing them in a way that excessively encourages gambling. In this regard, due to the demands of the entertainment industry, pachinko gaming machines are limited in the number of pachinko balls that can be fired per certain period of time, such as within 100 balls per minute.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in conventional slot machines for business use, no effective measures have been taken to limit the number of coins (including medals and tokens) that can be inserted per unit time. For example, if you want to limit the number of coins that can be used in one minute to 24, after the number of coins reaches 24 within one minute, the number of coins that can be used in one minute will be limited to 24 coins. Regarding the remaining time, it is easiest to create a structure that prohibits the slot machine from operating at all. However, in this case, the player has to wait in vain for the remaining time after the slot machine is prohibited from operating, which may greatly reduce the interest of the game.

Furthermore, if the time required for each game is set longer, the above-mentioned disadvantages can be avoided, but when such measures are taken, the time required for each game becomes unnecessarily long, and the player's This is a negative factor in maintaining interest.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and it is possible to limit the number of coins that can be inserted per unit time to an appropriate number without unnecessarily extending the time required for one game. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a slot machine with the following features.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention sets a reference time for each number of coins to be inserted, and from the first time point after the start of the game to the second time point after all the slot machine reels have stopped. The time required for the game up to the point in time is measured.
When it is detected that the time required for the game is shorter than the reference time and that the game is progressing quickly, the delay means is activated to determine when the next game is allowed to start, or This is to delay the time when coins are allowed to be inserted to start the next game.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

〔Example〕

In FIG. 4, which shows the appearance of a slot machine using the present invention, three vertically elongated windows 3 are provided on the front panel 2 of the main body 1. Through this window 3, symbols on the first reel 5, second reel 6, and third reel 7 that are rotated within the main body 1 can be observed.

Before starting the game, insert coin slot 8.
By inserting 1 to 3 coins and operating the start lever 10, the first to third reels 5
~7 is rotated. After the reels 5 to 7 reach steady rotation, the rotation of each reel is stopped by pressing the stop buttons 11 to 13 provided for each reel. When each reel is stopped in this manner, winning is determined based on the combination of symbols stopped on the winning line displayed in the window 3. As a result of this winning determination, if a winning is obtained, the number of dividend coins will be paid out from the coin payout port 14 according to the type of winning.

As shown in the diagram, this slot machine has a total of 5 winning lines, 3 horizontal and 2 diagonal, and the number of winning lines that will be activated for the game will depend on the number of coins inserted. can be determined. In other words, when the number of coins inserted is one, there is one winning line horizontally in the center, when there are two coins, there are three horizontal winning lines, and when there are three coins, there are two more diagonal winning lines, for a total of five winning lines. is enabled.

In FIG. 1 showing the configuration for controlling the operation of the slot machine, the first to third reels 5 to
7 is a microprocessor unit 15 (hereinafter referred to as
It is rotated by stepping motors 17, 18, and 19 whose driving is controlled by an MPU 15). That is, the drivers 22, 23, and 24 are operated by the clock pulses supplied from the clock pulse generator 20 to the MPU 15, and each stepping motor 17-19 is rotated in accordance with the number of clock pulses.

The number of clock pulses for rotating the stepping motors 17 to 19 is determined by the counters 25 and 2.
6 and 27, respectively. Further, each reel 5-7 is provided with protrusions 5a, 6a, 7a for generating a reset signal, and their passage is detected by photo sensors 5b, 6b, 7b. A reset signal is obtained from the photosensors 5b, 6b, and 7b each time each reel rotates once, and thereby the counts of the counters 25 to 27 are reset to "0". Therefore, the count value at each counter 25 to 27 is
. . . 7, values corresponding to rotation angles within one rotation are shown. And reel 5~
Since the reference position of 7, the number of symbols arranged, and the arrangement pitch are known in advance, the counters 25 to 27
By referring to the count value, the symbols on each reel 5 to 7 on the winning line can be determined. In addition, the part A surrounded by the broken line in Figure 1
is configured as a microcomputer.

The game progression procedure of this slot machine is stored in the program ROM 28, and will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
The player first inserts 1 to 3 coins to start the game. When coin insertion is started, the counting counter 29 is activated and starts counting the time T. Note that when four or more coins are inserted, the amount exceeding three coins will be returned from the coin payout port 14.

When the start lever 10 is operated, the coin insertion prohibition device 32 is activated to prohibit further coin insertion, and the number of coins per game is determined, and the number of coins is stored in the one game coin counter 30. be done. The coin insertion prohibition device 32 is constituted by a pin or the like that is driven in and out near the entrance of the coin insertion slot 8 by a solenoid, as is well known. After this coin insertion prohibition device 32 is activated, the first to
The third reels 5 to 7 are rotated all at once. and,
The operation of the stop buttons 11 to 13 is disabled for about 1 to 2 seconds, for example, until a predetermined time has elapsed until the rotation of each reel reaches a steady state.

During this time, the random value sampling circuit 34 operates according to a command from the MPU 15, and an arbitrary random value is sampled from a random number sequence within a predetermined numerical value range. The random numbers sampled in this way are compared with the probability table 35, and it is determined whether the random number corresponds to a winning prize or a losing prize. That is, this probability table 35 divides the random number sequence within the predetermined numerical range in consideration of the winning rate or payout rate, and associates the sampled random number with either the winning type or the losing type. . The types of winnings include large, medium, and small wins in descending order of the number of dividend coins.

Once the winning type (including losing) is determined in this way, the stopped symbol determining circuit 36 determines a combination of symbols that satisfies the winning type. Thereafter, when the stop buttons 11-13 are operated, the stepping motors 17-19 are controlled to stop. This stop control is executed while referring to the symbol table 38 from the count values of the counters 25 to 27, and as described above, the stop symbol determining circuit 3
The stopping of the stepping motors 17 to 19 is controlled so that the combination of symbols determined in step 6 appears on the winning line. Of course, in this case, each activated pay line corresponding to the number of coins inserted will be taken into consideration.

When all the reels 5 to 7 are stopped in this way, the time counting operation of the time counter 29 is stopped. That is, the time counter 29 measures the time required from the time when coin insertion starts until the time when all the reels 5 to 7 are stopped. When the reels 5 to 7 are stopped, a winning determination is made with reference to the winning type determined by the probability table 35. As already mentioned, each reel 5-7
Since the stop is controlled so that the symbol determined by the stopped symbol determination circuit 36 appears, no inconvenience will occur even if the winning type is determined based on the winning type determined by the probability table 35. However, the operation timing of stop buttons 11 to 13 and the reel 5 to
When trying to keep the deviation from the stop timing of 7 within a predetermined range, the symbols may not necessarily be as determined by the stop symbol determination circuit 36. In this case, actually reels 5~
After 7 stops, the counters 25 to 2 at that time
It is necessary to make a winning determination by referring to the count value in step 7.

As a result of the winning determination, when a winning is obtained, the LED 41 is turned on via the display drive circuit 40, and a winning display is performed for about 1 second. This winning display is preferably performed by lighting or blinking a predetermined LED string from among a plurality of LED arrays arranged along each winning line so that the winning line on which a winning prize has been obtained can be recognized. In addition to the above-mentioned approximately 1 second, the winning display time can be further extended by the following delay processing program. That is, as will be described in detail later, the delay circuit 42 is activated based on the result of executing this delay program, and the winning display time is extended as necessary. Then, when the winning display ends, the coin payout device 43 is activated, and the number of dividend coins corresponding to the type of winning won is paid out. Furthermore, when this coin payout process is completed, the operation of the coin insertion prohibition device 32 is canceled, and coin insertion for starting the next game is permitted.

In addition, if a prize is not won as a result of the winning determination, a buzzer 44 is activated via the display drive circuit 40.
is activated, and a loss display for about 1 second is made by sound. Then, the delay program is executed even when this loss is displayed, and the delay circuit 42 is operated as necessary to extend the time of the loss display, as in the case of winning display.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 3 shows the processing flow of the aforementioned delay program. When this delay program is executed, the number of coins inserted is first referred to by the count value of the one-game coin counter 30. When the number of coins inserted is one, the time measured by the time counter 29, that is, the time T required from the start of coin insertion to the time when the reels 5 to 7 stop, is set in the first reference time storage section 46. It is compared with the remaining time of 2 seconds, and it is determined whether T≦2. and,
When the required time T is 2 seconds or less, the delay circuit 4
2 is activated to extend the winning or losing display time by 2 seconds, and when the required time T exceeds 2 seconds, the process is completed without activating the delay circuit 42.

By executing the above process, if you insert one coin and start the game, from the time you insert the coin until the winning display or loss display ends and coin insertion is allowed. The time required for one game is the start lever 10
The time from when the stop buttons 11 to 13 are allowed to be operated, and the time from when the stop buttons 1 to 13 are allowed to be operated.
If you add up the time required to operate all steps 1 to 13, and the time required to display the winning or losing results,
It will be at least 3 seconds. Therefore, games with one coin inserted can only be played a maximum of 20 times per minute, and the number of coins consumed per minute will also be restricted to 20 or less. .

When the number of coins inserted is two, the required time T measured by the time counter 29 is compared with 5 seconds set in the second reference time storage section 47, and it is determined whether T≦5. It will be judged. and,
When the required time T is 5 seconds or less, the delay circuit 4
2 is activated to extend the winning or losing display time by 2 seconds, and when the required time T exceeds 5 seconds, the process is completed without activating the delay circuit 42. Further, when the number of coins inserted is three, the required time T is compared with the time of 7 seconds in the third reference time storage section 48, and it is determined whether T≦7. If the required time T is 7 seconds or less, the delay circuit 42 is activated to extend the win display or loss display by 2 seconds.

According to the above process, after the time when two or three coins have been inserted, the start lever 1
Considering the time until 0 is operated, the time until the stop buttons 11 to 13 are allowed to be operated after the reels start, and the operation time of the stop buttons 11 to 13, etc., the time required for one game when two coins are inserted is The time required is at least 6 seconds, and when three coins are inserted, the time required for one game is at least 8 seconds. As a result, 2 or 3
Games in which 100 coins are inserted are limited to a maximum of 10 or 7 times per minute, respectively, and the number of coins that can be consumed during that time is 20 or 21.
It will be regulated to 1. Further, the delay circuit 42 calculates the required time T in the time counter 29.
However, since it is not activated when the standard time of 2, 5, or 7 seconds, which is set for each number of coins inserted, is exceeded, the inconvenience of unnecessarily extending the time required for one game is eliminated.

The present invention has been described above in accordance with the illustrated embodiment, but it is also possible to set the timing at which the time counter 29 starts counting at the time when the start lever 10 is operated instead of at the time when coin insertion begins. be. In addition, the time set in the first to third reference time storage units 46 to 48 used in the delay program, the delay time by the delay circuit 42, the maximum number of coins inserted per game, etc. are determined by the entertainment industry. It is also possible to make various changes according to requests. Further, a delay circuit having a different delay time may be selected and activated depending on the number of coins inserted. The present invention is a video type slot machine, that is, a slot machine using graphic data.
It is also possible to apply the present invention to a system in which symbols are displayed on a CRT screen.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the slot machine of the present invention, a reference time is set for each number of coins to be inserted, and the time required to complete the game within a predetermined period during the course of the game is determined by taking into account the number of coins to be inserted. The start of the next game is delayed by a predetermined time only when the game is progressing quickly, compared with the reference time. Therefore, it becomes possible to regulate the maximum number of games per unit time, that is, the number of coins consumed. Moreover, unnecessary delay processing is not performed when the game progresses slowly, so that the negative effect of unnecessarily reducing the player's interest is also eliminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration used in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing of one game performed by the slot machine of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the process of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a slot machine using the present invention. 5 to 7...First to third reels, 10...Start lever, 11 to 13...First to third stop buttons, 15...MPU, 17 to 19...Stepping motor, 42...Delay circuit, 46...First reference time storage unit, 47...Second reference time storage unit, 4
8...Third reference time storage section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a slot machine in which a game is started after one or more coins are inserted and the type of winning is determined based on a random value sampled after the start of the game, A timing means for counting the time required from the first point in time to a second point in time after all the slot machine reels are controlled to stop based on the sampled random value, and a coin counter for counting the number of coins inserted. means, a reference time storage means each setting a reference time corresponding to the number of coins to be inserted; and a reference time storage means for changing the game processing time from the second point onwards until the start of the next game is permitted or for coins to be inserted for that purpose. and a delay means for delaying the time until the time is allowed, and when the time measured by the timer is less than the reference time corresponding to the number of coins inserted counted by the coin counting means, the delay is delayed. A slot machine characterized in that the start of the next game is delayed by a predetermined period of time by activating a means.