JP2008301964A - Accessory of game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an accessory of a game machine capable of facilitating a big winning entry without damaging a game property and presenting a visual performance effect as well by performing a relatively complicated operation. <P>SOLUTION: The accessory of the game machine for guiding a game ball arriving through an introducing path to a big winning port has: a storage tray which is arranged on the downstream side of the introducing path and the upstream side of the big winning port, and provided with a receiving part for storing the game balls; a support mechanism for lowering the storage tray according to gravity by the prescribed number of the game balls stored in the storage tray; and a falling mechanism for making the storage tray fall to the big winning port when the storage tray is lowered. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball game machine such as a pachinko machine, and more particularly to an accessory of a game machine that forms a passage for guiding a game ball to a jackpot winning opening.

  In a ball game machine typified by a pachinko machine, a movable winning device called a so-called blade is opened a predetermined number of times when a prize is received at the start winning opening, and a central role provided in the approximate center of the game board during this period. There is known a game in which a game ball is intruded into a physical device and competes for winning in a jackpot winning opening provided inside the central bonus device. In addition to the jackpot winning opening, a so-called breakout opening is provided inside the central bonus apparatus, and game balls that do not win the jackpot winning opening enter the breakout opening. A game ball that has entered the central equipment device is not easily won a big hit by a distribution device that distributes the structure of the passage route to the jackpot winning opening and the course of the game ball. If the probability of jackpot winning is significantly limited by the mechanism or structure that restricts winning to the jackpot winning opening, it may impair the fun of the game. On the other hand, even if the jackpot is generated very easily, the game lacks game characteristics. There is a risk that people will soon get bored.

In the pachinko gaming machine described in Patent Document 1, a storage member is provided so that the game ball is stored inside the central player device, and the storage of the game ball is released by the player's operation, The game balls are released all at once to increase the probability of winning the jackpot and improve the player's intervention in the game. In addition, when a predetermined condition is established while the game is continuing, the player's intervention is controlled by releasing the storage regardless of the player's operation, and the difficulty of winning the big hit prize is also secured. .
JP 2004-337389 A

  According to the gaming machine described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is possible to appropriately maintain the degree of difficulty with which a game ball wins a big hit while providing the player with the ability to intervene in the game. However, the storage state and the open state of the game ball are demarcated only by the vertical movement of the storage gate that stops the flow of the game ball, and the operation of the accessory itself is very monotonous and lacks interest. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and can easily make a big win without losing game performance, and can also achieve a visual effect by performing relatively complicated operations. The purpose is to provide the equipment.

  An accessory of the present invention is an accessory of a gaming machine that guides a game ball arriving via an introduction path to a jackpot winning opening, and is disposed downstream of the introduction path and upstream of the jackpot winning opening, A storage tray having a receiving portion for storing game balls; a support mechanism for lowering the storage tray according to the gravity of a predetermined number of game balls stored in the storage tray; and when the storage tray is lowered, An overturning mechanism for overturning the storage tray toward the jackpot winning opening.

  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 an accessory of the present invention. The pachinko machine 10 is provided with a main frame 11 and a window frame (not shown) including a transparent window made of glass or the like on the front surface of the main frame 11 so that the player can visually recognize the game board 12. In addition, the game board 12 is protected from the outside. An operation handle 13 is attached to the lower side of the game board 12, and when the player puts his hand on the operation handle 13 and rotates it to the right, the launching device is operated, and the game balls stored in the tray 14 are It is guided to the launching device and fired one by one. A guide rail 15 for guiding the launched game ball to the game board 12 is planted on the game board 12, and an area defined by the guide rail 15 constitutes a game area 16. On the game board 12, a plurality of game nails 23 are planted over substantially the entire game area 16, and the game balls launched into the game area 16 flow down each time they repeatedly collide with the game nails 23. By changing the route, the player can enjoy various ways of flowing the game balls. In addition to the game nails, the game area 16 is provided with a windmill 24 as an obstacle that changes the flow path of the game balls.

  A start winning opening 17 is provided below the game area 16, and a start winning opening passing sensor 120 (see FIG. 8) is provided therein. When the game ball wins the start winning port 17, it is detected by the start winning port passing sensor 120 (see FIG. 8) that a predetermined number of winning balls are paid out from the pachinko machine 10 and the movable blade 20 is moved a predetermined number of times. Open and close. The movable blade 20 acts as an introduction path for the game ball, and the game ball can enter the central accessory device 19 only during the period when the movable blade 20 is open. A game ball that has entered the inside of the central accessory device 19 while the movable blade 20 is open is detected by the movable blade passage sensor 121. Inside the central accessory device 19, a jackpot winning port 21, a detaching port 22, an out port (not shown) and an accessory 30 of the present invention are provided. The bonus item 30 is disposed upstream of the prize winning holes such as the jackpot winning hole 21 and the off-off opening 22, and the game ball that has entered the central bonus device 19 via the movable blade 20 is operated according to an operation mode described later. , Lead to either the outlet 22 or the outlet. When a game ball wins the jackpot winning opening 21, the gaming state shifts to a jackpot state that is 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.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the accessory 30 of the present invention. The accessory 30 is supported by a support portion 32 fixed on a stage 31 that forms the bottom surface of the inner space of the central accessory device 19, and a shaft portion 32a of the support portion 32, and the game board has the shaft portion 32a as a fulcrum. 12, a lever 33 swingably provided in a plane parallel to 12, a storage tray 34 provided at one free end of the lever 33, and a weight placed on the other free end of the lever 33. 35 and a movable body 37 housed in an opening 38 provided in the stage 31 below the weight body 35 and provided so as to be movable up and down. The stage 31 located in the lower front side of the storage tray 34 is provided with a jackpot winning port 21 and a slip port 22 inside a substantially cylindrical recess 25.

  The storage tray 34 temporarily stores one or a plurality of game balls that have entered the central bonus device 19 when the movable blade 20 is in an open state, before guiding the game balls to the jackpot winning hole 21 and the outlet 22. It is comprised by the plate-shaped member which has an opening in the upper surface. The storage tray 34 has an appropriate volume so that a plurality of game balls can be stored, and has a side wall portion so that the stored game balls do not easily fall. The storage tray 34 may have any shape as long as it can store a plurality of game balls. For example, the storage tray 34 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a cylindrical shape, a bowl shape, or the like. As a means for guiding the game ball to the storage tray 34, the game ball that has passed through the movable blade 20 may be dropped directly onto the storage tray 34, or between the movable blade 20 and the storage tray 34. It is good also as forming a guide path.

  The lever 33 swings around the shaft portion 32a at the central portion thereof, so that the storage tray 34 is raised and lowered. The lever 33 has a weight 35 placed on the end opposite to the end where the storage tray 34 is provided, and in an initial state where a predetermined number of game balls are not stored in the storage tray 34. In other words, the lever 33 is maintained in an inclined state so that the storage tray 34 side is upward and the weight body 35 side is downward, depending on the weight of the weight body 35.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls are stored in the storage tray, the total weight of the storage tray including the game balls exceeds the weight of the weight body 35, and the lever 33 is pivoted by the gravity. It swings like a so-called seesaw with the portion 32a as a fulcrum, the tilted state reverses from the initial state, and the storage tray descends. That is, the lever 33 functions as a support mechanism of the present invention that lowers the storage tray in accordance with the gravity due to a predetermined number of game balls stored in the storage tray. The weight of the weight body 35 can be determined as appropriate depending on how many game balls are stored so that the storage tray starts to descend. The shape of the weight 35 may be any shape, such as a pachinko machine. It is good also as imitating the character used for production.

  4 (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4a-4a in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4b-4b in FIG. 2, both of which show the structure of the connecting portion between the lever 33 and the storage tray 34. Yes. The storage tray 34 is pivotally supported on the lever 33 by inserting the shaft member 33 b into the joining member 34 a provided on the bottom surface and the coupling member 33 a provided on the lever 33. That is, the storage tray 34 is rotatably supported in a plane intersecting the longitudinal direction of the lever 33 with the shaft member 33b as a rotation axis. Further, the storage tray 34 is applied with a biasing force by a coil spring (not shown) provided on the shaft member 33 b so that the bottom surface thereof is parallel to the top surface of the lever 33. In other words, the bottom surface of the storage tray 34 is kept parallel to the upper surface of the lever 33 unless a resistance against the biasing force is applied to the storage tray 34, and as shown in FIG. Is preserved. Thereby, even when the storage tray 34 is lowered as shown in FIG. 3, the stored game balls are prevented from falling toward the jackpot winning opening 21 and the offcoming opening 22 provided in front of the storage balls 34.

  The game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are released by applying a resistance against the biasing force of the coil spring to the storage tray 34 and causing the storage tray 34 to fall (turn). The storage tray 34 is turned over (turned) by a storage tray driving solenoid 111 disposed behind the storage tray 34. FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) both show a state in which the storage tray 34 falls (rotates) toward the front of the pachinko machine, and FIG. 5 (a) has the same cross section as FIG. 4 (b). FIG. 5B shows a perspective view of the entire accessory. A storage tray drive solenoid 111 provided behind the storage tray 34 projects a plunger 111a in response to a drive signal supplied from a main controller 100 described below, and the plunger 111a allows the bottom surface of the rear portion of the storage tray 34 to be projected. By pushing up, the storage tray 34 is caused to fall (turn) toward the front of the pachinko machine. As a result, the game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are released toward the jackpot winning port 21 and the off-going port 22 and roll on the stage 31.

  The jackpot winning opening 21 and the offcoming opening 22 are provided in a substantially cylindrical recess 25 provided on the rolling path of the game ball dropped from the storage tray 34, and the game ball released from the storage tray 34 is , Either one of these winning prizes is won, or it is confiscated in an out opening (not shown). In the present embodiment, the number of jackpot winning holes is one and the number of outliers is two. However, the number is not limited to this, and the number is appropriately increased or decreased according to the setting of the degree of difficulty of the jackpot winning prize, etc. It is possible.

  Further, the accessory 30 of the present invention has a shutter 26 that constitutes a winning prevention body that prevents winning in the jackpot winning opening. The shutter 26 is constituted by a flat plate member, and is provided on the upper surface of the recess 25 so as to be able to appear and retract. 6A to 6C are diagrams illustrating the opening / closing operation of the shutter 26 that slides the upper surface of the recess 25 in the horizontal direction. When the shutter 26 is driven to the closed state, the upper surface of the concave portion 25 is blocked (FIG. 6C), and winning to the big winning winning opening 21 and the offcoming opening is prevented. The shutter 26 is driven by a shutter drive solenoid 112 (see FIG. 8) that operates according to a drive signal from the main controller 100 described later.

  As described above, when the number of stored game balls reaches a predetermined number, the storage tray 34 descends due to its weight, and releases the stored game balls toward the jackpot winning port 21 and the offcoming port 22. In addition to such cases, the movable body 37 constituting the forced lowering means of the present invention is driven to forcibly lower the storage tray 34 before the game balls stored in the storage tray 34 reach a predetermined number. The game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are discharged. The movable body 37 is accommodated in an opening 38 located below the weight body 35 provided at the end of the lever 33, and is connected to a movable body driving solenoid 113 (see FIG. 8) to move up and down in the vertical direction. It is possible. The movable body drive solenoid 113 raises and lowers the movable body 37 in accordance with a drive signal supplied from the main controller 100 described later. As shown in FIG. 7, when the movable body 37 moves in the upward direction, it emerges from the inside of the opening 38, pushes up the end of the lever 33 from below the weight body 35, and forcibly lowers the storage tray 34. Further, in conjunction with the forced lowering operation by the movable body 37, the storage tray driving solenoid 111 and the shutter driving solenoid 112 are driven to drive the shutter 26 in the closed state, and the storage tray 34 to the front of the pachinko machine 10. The game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are dropped toward the front of the pachinko machine 10. Since the jackpot winning port 21 and the offending port 22 are blocked by the shutter 26, the game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are not won in these winning ports and are confiscated in the out ports. . In other words, the movable body 37, the storage tray 34, and the shutter 26 are interlocked so that the game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are released in a state in which winning to the big win winning opening 21 is prevented before reaching a predetermined number. Therefore, the storage of the game ball is reset. In addition, the shape of the movable body 37 may be any shape, and for example, it may be formed by imitating a character used for production of a pachinko machine.

  FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a control system for controlling the operation of the accessory of the present invention. The main controller 100 is a part that controls the operation of the accessory of the present invention, a CPU that performs high-speed arithmetic processing, a ROM that stores a game program executed by the CPU, and a RAM that temporarily stores processing items of the CPU Consists of. The main controller 100 is supplied with detection signals from the start winning port passing sensor 120, the movable blade passing sensor 121, the big hit winning port passing sensor 122, and the offcoming port passing sensor 123. The main controller 100 supplies drive signals to the movable blade driving solenoid 110, the reservoir driving solenoid 111, the shutter driving solenoid 112, and the movable body driving solenoid 113 based on these detection signals. Each drive unit connected to the is driven.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the operation program in the normal gaming state executed by the main controller 100. Hereinafter, the operation in the normal gaming state of the pachinko machine 10 will be described with reference to this flowchart. The normal gaming state refers to a gaming state other than the jackpot gaming state.

  The main controller 100 first determines whether or not the game ball has won the start winning opening 17 (step S1). When a game ball wins the start winning opening 17, a detection signal is supplied from the start winning opening passing sensor 120 toward the main controller 100. The main controller 100 recognizes the winning of the game ball to the start winning opening 17 based on the detection signal.

  When the main controller 100 recognizes that the game ball has won the start winning opening 17, it supplies a drive signal to the movable blade driving solenoid 110 to drive the movable blade 20 to the open state for a predetermined number of times. (Step S2). During the period in which the movable blade 20 is driven to the open state, the game ball can enter the central accessory device 19. When the game ball passes through the movable blade 20 and enters the central accessory device 19, a detection signal is supplied from the movable blade passage sensor 121 toward the main controller 100. Thereafter, the game ball is guided to the storage tray 34 through the introduction passage and stored on the storage tray 34. Based on the detection signal supplied from the movable blade passage sensor 121, the main controller 100 counts and holds the number of game balls currently stored in the storage tray.

  Next, the main controller 100 determines whether or not to execute a storage reset operation (step S3). The determination of whether or not the storage reset operation can be performed is performed, for example, by random number lottery performed by the main controller 100. When the main controller 100 determines that the storage reset operation is to be executed as a result of the random number lottery, the main body 100 forcibly lowers the storage tray 34 by the forced lowering means of the present invention, and the game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are removed. discharge. That is, when the main controller 100 determines to execute the storage reset operation, the main controller 100 supplies a drive signal to the movable body drive solenoid 113. The movable body drive solenoid 113 moves the movable body 37 in the upward direction in response to the drive signal. Thereby, the movable body 37 appears from the inside of the opening 38, pushes up the end of the lever 33 on the side where the weight body 35 is provided, and forcibly lowers the storage tray 34 (step S4).

  Subsequently, the main controller 100 supplies a drive signal to the shutter drive solenoid 112. The shutter drive solenoid 112 drives the shutter 26 in a closed state in response to the drive signal and seals the upper surface of the concave portion 25, thereby preventing winning in the big win winning hole 21 and the outlier 22 (step S5).

  Subsequently, the main controller 100 supplies a drive signal to the storage tray drive solenoid 111. The storage tray drive solenoid 111 pushes up the bottom surface of the rear portion of the storage tray 34 by positioning the plunger 111a in the protruding position in response to the drive signal, and falls down toward the front of the pachinko machine 10 ( The game ball stored in the storage tray 34 is dropped toward the front of the pachinko machine 10 (step S6). As a result, the game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are confiscated in the out-ports without winning in the jackpot winning port 21 and the offending port 22. As described above, when it is determined in step S3 that the storage reset operation should be executed, the game balls stored in the storage tray 34 are forcibly released from the storage tray 34 before reaching the predetermined number, that is, stored. Is reset, and the process returns to step S1.

  On the other hand, when determining that the storage reset operation is not executed in step S3, the main controller 100 determines whether or not the number of game balls currently stored in the storage tray 34 has reached a predetermined number (step). S7). The number of game balls stored at the current time is recognized by the main controller 100 based on a detection signal supplied from the movable blade passage sensor 121. If the number of game balls stored in the storage tray 34 is less than the predetermined number, the process returns to step S1.

  When the number of game balls stored in the storage tray 34 reaches a predetermined number, the total weight of the storage tray including the stored game balls exceeds the weight of the weight body 35, and the inclination direction of the lever 33 changes due to gravity. That is, the lever 33 that is inclined so that the storage tray 34 side is upward and the weight body 35 side is downward swings like a seesaw so that the storage tray 34 side is downward and the weight body 35 side is upward, and the inclination direction is The storage tray 34 is lowered by changing.

  When the main controller 100 determines in step S7 that the number of game balls stored in the storage tray 34 has reached a predetermined number, the main controller 100 supplies a drive signal to the shutter driving solenoid 112. The shutter drive solenoid 112 slides the shutter 26 in response to the drive signal, and drives the upper surface of the recess 25 from the closed state to the open state (step S8). As a result, it is possible to win the jackpot winning hole 21 and the losing hole 22 blocked by the shutter 26.

  Subsequently, the main controller 100 supplies a drive signal to the reservoir driving solenoid 111. The storage tray driving solenoid 111 pushes up the rear partial bottom surface of the lowered storage tray 34 by positioning the plunger 111a at the protruding position in response to the drive signal. As a result, the storage tray 34 falls (rotates) toward the front of the pachinko machine 10 with the shaft member 33b as the rotation axis, and the game balls stored in the storage tray 34 fall toward the front of the pachinko machine 10. (Step S9). The plurality of game balls released from the storage tray 34 roll on the stage 31 toward the jackpot winning port 21 and the off-going port 22. At this time, when at least one game ball wins the jackpot winning opening, a detection signal is supplied from the jackpot winning hole passing sensor 122 toward the main controller 100. Based on the detection signal, the main controller 100 determines whether or not there is a winning at the jackpot winning opening 22 (step S10). When the main controller 100 recognizes winning in the jackpot winning opening 22, the game state is shifted to the jackpot gaming state. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S9 that there is no winning in the jackpot winning opening 22, the process returns to step S1.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the gaming machine accessory of the present invention, the game balls are stored until reaching a predetermined number before the game balls are led to the jackpot winning opening and the offcoming opening, and the stored game balls are stored. Are simultaneously released toward the jackpot winning prize opening and the extra winning prize opening, so that it is possible to improve the jackpot winning probability. In addition, since it has a mechanism that releases the game balls that are forcibly stored before the number of stored game balls reaches the predetermined number, the game does not become monotonous, and the difficulty level of the big win prize is appropriately secured, Gameability as a gaming machine can also be secured. In addition, since each component of the accessory according to the present invention performs a relatively complicated operation involving the game ball, the visual effect is high and the entertainment of the game can be further improved.

(Modification)
In the above-described embodiment, the storage tray provided at the end of the lever 33 is lowered by an operation like a so-called seesaw that swings around the central portion of the lever 33. However, as shown in FIG. It is good also as a cantilever structure which fixes the end of the lever 33a which consists of a member, and provides the storage tray 34 in a free end part. According to such a configuration, when the game ball is stored in the storage tray 34, the lever 33a made of an elastic member is bent by its weight, and the storage tray 34 is lowered, and the same effects as the above-described embodiment are achieved.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 11, the storage tray 34 is connected to one end of the rope 51 hung so as to be distributed to the fixed pulley 50 fixed to the ceiling inside the central accessory device 19, and the weight body 35 is connected to the other end. It is good also as a structure. According to this configuration, when a predetermined number of game balls are stored in the storage tray 34, the weight 35 rises due to its weight, and the storage tray 34 descends, and the same effects as the above-described embodiment are achieved.

It is a front view which shows the whole structure of the pachinko machine equipped with the accessory of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the accessory which is an Example of this invention. It is a perspective view when the storage tray of the accessory which is an Example of this invention exists in a lowered position. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4 (a) -4 (a) in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4 (b) -4 (b) in FIG. It is a figure which shows the time of the fall of the storage tray of the accessory which is an Example of this invention, (a) is sectional drawing, (b) is a perspective view. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows operation | movement of the shutter as a prize prevention body of this invention. It is a perspective view at the time of the raising of the movable body as a forced descent means of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the accessory which is an Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement in the normal game state of the accessory of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the accessory of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the accessory of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Pachinko machine 12 Game board 17 Start winning opening 19 Central reward apparatus 20 Movable blade 21 Big hit winning opening 22 Outgoing opening 26 Shutter 30 Charging 33 Lever 34 Storage tray 35 Weight body 37 Movable body

Claims (6)

A game machine that guides the game balls coming through the introduction path to the jackpot winning opening,
A storage tray having a receiving portion that is disposed downstream of the introduction path and upstream of the jackpot winning opening and stores the game ball;
A support mechanism for lowering the storage tray according to the gravity due to a predetermined number of game balls stored in the storage tray;
A gaming machine accessory comprising: an overturning mechanism for causing the storage tray to fall toward the jackpot winning opening when the storage tray descends.   2. The gaming machine accessory according to claim 1, wherein the support mechanism includes forced lowering means for lowering the storage tray before the number of game balls stored in the storage tray reaches a predetermined number. The support mechanism includes a lever that can swing in a plane parallel to the game board of the gaming machine,
The storage tray is rotatably supported at a free end portion of the lever in a plane intersecting the longitudinal direction of the lever, and is biased toward a horizontal position in the rotating direction. The game machine according to claim 1 or 2. The lever is swingable with its central part as a fulcrum,
The said support mechanism has the weight body mounted in the free end part of the side which does not support the said storage tray of the said lever, The accessory of the game machine of Claim 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The role of the gaming machine according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the forcible lowering means includes a movable body that can be moved up and down to push up a free end portion of the lever that does not support the storage tray from below. object.   The gaming machine accessory according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a prize prevention body that can freely move between the storage tray and the jackpot prize winning opening.

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