Game machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine capable of providing novel game contents.SOLUTION: With entry of a game ball B1 into a first through gate 35 as an opportunity, an ordinary electric open lottery is executed. In a game board 24, an adjustment mechanism 180 for discharging the game ball B1 toward and into the first through gate 35 is provided at an upper portion of the first through gate 35. In a Pachinko game machine 10, a low-frequency support mode, and a high-frequency support mode for more easily causing ordinary electric open winning than the low-frequency support mode are set. A main-side ROM stores a winning determination value table for the low-frequency support mode and a winning determination value table for the high-frequency support mode. In the low-frequency support mode, a winning continuous period occurs. During the winning continuous period, ball entry timing of the game ball B1 discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 and entering the first through gate 35 corresponds to a target period of the ordinary electric open winning.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a gaming machine.

Background Art

[0002] Pachinko gaming machines and slot machines are known as gaming machines. For example, in a pachinko gaming machine, a dish storage unit for storing game balls given to a player is provided on the front surface of the gaming machine, and the game balls stored in the dish storage unit are guided to a game ball launching device and launched toward a game area in response to the player's launching operation. Then, for example, when a game ball enters a ball entry unit provided in the game area, game balls are paid out from a payout device to the dish storage unit. Further, in a pachinko gaming machine, a configuration including an upper dish storage unit and a lower dish storage unit as dish storage units is also known. In this case, the game balls stored in the upper dish storage unit are guided to the game ball launching device, and the surplus game balls in the upper dish storage unit are discharged to the lower dish storage unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, in a gaming machine such as the above example, it is necessary to appropriately manage the gaming machine, and there is still room for improvement in this regard.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-exemplified circumstances and the like, and an object thereof is to provide a gaming machine capable of appropriately managing the gaming machine.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is to execute a predetermined storage process for causing a predetermined storage means to store information corresponding to a predetermined event when the predetermined event occurs as a result of a game, so that predetermined information is stored in the predetermined storage means. The predetermined storage execution means, Each time a predetermined calculation trigger occurs, information calculation means for calculating mode information corresponding to the result of a game in a predetermined period by using the predetermined information; Result storage execution means for sequentially storing the mode information obtained by the calculation by the information calculation means in a calculation result storage means; Comprising The result storage execution means includes means for causing the mode information to be stored in the calculation result storage means to be in a state where the mode information to be stored among the mode information obtained by the calculation by the information calculation means is stored; Among the mode information obtained by the calculation by the information calculation means, the mode information that is not the storage target is not configured to be stored in the calculation result storage means; This gaming machine Predetermined control means capable of executing a predetermined process including a predetermined progress process for advancing the game and the predetermined storage process; Means for generating a specific advantageous period when a specific trigger occurs; Comprising In one process cycle of the predetermined process, the predetermined storage process is executed after the predetermined progress process is executed; When a specific event that stops the progress control of the game occurs, the predetermined storage process by the predetermined storage execution means is not executed; The information calculation means is characterized in that the mode information is calculated by using the predetermined information in the specific advantageous period as the mode information corresponding to the result of the game in the predetermined period.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to suitably manage a gaming machine.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Figure 24

Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27

Figure 28

Figure 29

Figure 30

Figure 31

Figure 32

Figure 33

Figure 34

Figure 35

Figure 36

Figure 37

Figure 38

Figure 39

Figure 40

Figure 41

Figure 42

Figure 43

Figure 44

Figure 45

Figure 46

Figure 47

Figure 48

Figure 49

Figure 50

Figure 51

Figure 52

Figure 53

Figure 54

Figure 55

Figure 56

Figure 57

Figure 58

Figure 59

Figure 60

Figure 61

Figure 62

Figure 63

Figure 64

Figure 65

Figure 66

Figure 67

Figure 68

Figure 69

Figure 70

Figure 71

Figure 72

Figure 73

Figure 74

Figure 75

Figure 76

Figure 77

Figure 78

Figure 79

Figure 80

Figure 81

Figure 82

Figure 83

Figure 84

Figure 85

Figure 86

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] <First Embodiment> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a pachinko gaming machine (hereinafter referred to as a "pachinko machine"), which is a type of gaming machine, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pachinko machine 10, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the main components of the pachinko machine 10 disassembled. In FIG. 2, for the sake of convenience, the configuration within the gaming area PA of the pachinko machine 10 is omitted.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1, the pachinko machine 10 has an outer frame 11 that forms the outer shell of the pachinko machine 10, and a gaming machine main body 12 that is rotatably attached to the front of the outer frame 11. The outer frame 11 is formed by connecting wooden plates on four sides and has a rectangular frame shape. The pachinko machine 10 is installed in a gaming hall by attaching and fixing the outer frame 11 to island equipment. Note that the outer frame 11 is not an essential component of the pachinko machine 10, and the outer frame 11 may be provided on the island equipment of the gaming hall.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 2, the gaming machine main body 12 includes an inner frame 13, a front door frame 14 disposed in front of the inner frame 13, and a back pack unit 15 disposed behind the inner frame 13. Among the gaming machine main body 12, the inner frame 13 is rotatably supported by the outer frame 11. Specifically, when viewed from the front, with the left side as the rotation base end side and the right side as the rotation tip end side, the inner frame 13 can rotate forward.

[0012] The front door frame 14 is rotatably supported by the inner frame 13 and can rotate forward with the left side as the rotation base end side and the right side as the rotation tip end side when viewed from the front. Also, the back pack unit 15 is rotatably supported by the inner frame 13 and can rotate backward with the left side as the rotation base end side and the right side as the rotation tip end side when viewed from the front.

[0013] In addition, a locking device is provided at the rotating tip of the gaming machine main body 12, which has a function of locking the gaming machine main body 12 in a non-openable state with respect to the outer frame 11, and also has a function of locking the front door frame 14 in a non-openable state with respect to the inner frame 13. Each of these locked states is released by performing an unlocking operation using an unlocking key on the cylinder lock 17 provided to be exposed on the front surface of the pachinko machine 10.

[0014] Next, the configuration on the front side of the gaming machine main body 12 will be described.

[0015] The inner frame 13 is mainly composed of a resin base 21 whose outer shape is substantially the same as that of the outer frame 11. A substantially elliptical window hole 23 is formed in the central portion of the resin base 21. A game board 24 is detachably attached to the resin base 21. The game board 24 is made of plywood, and the game area PA formed on the front surface of the game board 24 is exposed to the front side of the inner frame 13 through the window hole 23 of the resin base 21.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, a front door frame 14 is provided so as to cover the entire front side of the inner frame 13 to which the game board 24 having the above configuration is attached. As shown in FIG. 1, a window portion 51 is formed in the front door frame 14 so that substantially the entire game area PA can be visually recognized from the front. The window portion 51 has a substantially elliptical shape, and a window panel 52 is fitted therein. The window panel 52 is formed colorless and transparent by glass, but is not limited thereto and may be formed colorless and transparent by synthetic resin, or may be formed colored and transparent as long as the game area PA can be visually recognized through the window panel 52 from the front of the pachinko machine 10.

[0017] Here, the configuration of the game board 24 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a front view of the game board 24. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of large and small openings penetrating in the front-rear direction are formed in the game board 24. In each opening, a general winning opening 31, a special electric winning device 32, a first operation opening 33, a second operation opening 34, a first through gate 35, a second through gate 39, a variable display unit 36, a special figure unit 37, a general figure unit 38, and the like are respectively provided. A total of four general winning openings 31 are provided, and the others are provided one by one.

[0018] The variable display unit 36 is provided with a symbol display device 41 that variably displays symbols (or variably displays or switches the display). The symbol display device 41 includes a display surface 41a for displaying effects, and is arranged in an opening 24c provided in the game board 24 so that the display surface 41a can be visually recognized from the front of the pachinko machine 10. Further, a center frame 57 is disposed around the symbol display device 41 in the variable display unit 36. The upper part of this center frame 57 extends forward of the pachinko machine 10. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the game ball from falling in front of the display surface 41a of the symbol display device 41, and a configuration is provided in which an inconvenience such as a decrease in the visibility of the display screen due to the fall of the game ball B1 does not occur.

[0019] Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the center frame 57 includes a roof unit 58 provided so as to define the upper edge and the left and right side edges of the opening 24c. The game board 24 has game areas PA on both the left and right sides of the center frame 57.

[0020] An inner rail portion 25 and an outer rail portion 26 are attached to the game board 24 so as to partition a part of the outer edge of the game area PA, and a guiding rail for guiding the game ball B1 is formed by the inner rail portion 25 and the outer rail portion 26. The game ball B1 launched from the game ball launching mechanism 27 (see FIG. 2) attached below the window hole 23 in the resin base 21 is guided to the upper part of the game area PA by the guiding rail.

[0021] Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the game ball launching mechanism 27 includes a launching rail 27a extending toward the guiding rail, a ball feeding device 27b that supplies the game ball B1 stored in the upper tray 55a described later onto the launching rail 27a, and a solenoid 27c which is an electric actuator that launches the game ball B1 supplied onto the launching rail 27a toward the guiding rail. When the launching operation device (or operation handle) 28 provided on the front door frame 14 is rotationally operated, the solenoid 27c is driven and controlled, and the game ball B1 is launched. By adjusting the amount of rotation in the rotational operation, the player can launch the game ball B1 aiming at the game area PA on the left side of the center frame 57 and can also launch the game ball B1 aiming at the game area PA on the right side of the center frame 57.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, even if a ball entry into the first through gate 35 and the second through gate 39 occurs, the payout of the game ball B1 is not executed. On the other hand, when a ball entry into the general winning opening 31, the special electric winning device 32, the first operating opening 33, and the second operating opening 34 occurs, a payout of a predetermined number of game balls B1 is executed. Specifically regarding the number of prize balls, when one game ball B1 enters the first operating opening 33 or when one game ball B1 enters the second operating opening 34, a payout of one prize ball is executed. When one game ball B1 enters the general winning opening 31, a payout of 10 prize balls is executed. When one game ball B1 enters the special electric winning device 32, a payout of 15 prize balls is executed.

[0023] Note that the number of the above-mentioned prize balls is arbitrary. For example, the second operating opening 34 may be configured to have a smaller number of prize balls than the first operating opening 33, or the second operating opening 34 may be configured to have a larger number of prize balls than the first operating opening 33.

[0024] In addition, an out port 24a is provided at the lowermost part of the game board 24, and the game balls B1 that do not enter various winning ports and the like are discharged from the game area PA through the out port 24a. Further, a large number of pins 24b are implanted in the game board 24 to appropriately disperse and adjust the falling direction of the game balls B1, and various members such as windmills are arranged.

[0025] Here, "entering the ball" means that the game ball B1 passes through a predetermined opening, and it includes not only the mode of being discharged from the game area PA after passing through the opening, but also the mode of continuing to flow down in the game area PA without being discharged from the game area PA after passing through the opening. However, in the following description, in order to clearly distinguish from the entry of the game ball B1 into the out port 24a, the entry of the game ball B1 into the general winning port 31, the special electric winning device 32, the first operating port 33, the second operating port 34, the first through gate 35, and the second through gate 39 is also expressed as "winning".

[0026] As shown in FIG. 3, the first operating port 33 and the second operating port 34 are unitized as an operating port device and installed on the game board 24. Both the first operating port 33 and the second operating port 34 are open upward. Also, the two operating ports 33, 34 are arranged in the vertical direction with the first operating port 33 above. A general electric accessory 34a as a guide piece composed of a pair of left and right movable pieces is provided at the second operating port 34. In the closed state of the general electric accessory 34a, the game ball B1 cannot win at the second operating port 34, and when the general electric accessory 34a is in the open state, winning at the second operating port 34 becomes possible.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, in the game area PA on the left side of the center frame 57, a first through gate 35 is provided on the upstream side in the flowing direction of the game ball B1 from the second operating port 34. The first through gate 35 has a through hole (not shown) penetrating in the vertical direction, and the game ball B1 that wins at the first through gate 35 flows down in the game area PA after winning. For this reason, the game ball B1 that wins at the first through gate 35 can reach the area where the first operating port 33 and the second operating port 34 are provided and win at either the first operating port 33 or the second operating port 34.

[0028] Also, as shown in FIG. 3, in the game area PA on the right side of the center frame 57, a second through gate 39 is provided on the upstream side in the flowing-down direction of the game ball B1 with respect to the second operation port 34. The second through gate 39 has a through hole (not shown) penetrating in the vertical direction, and the game ball B1 that wins the second through gate 39 flows down the game area PA after winning. For this reason, the game ball B1 that wins the second through gate 39 can reach the area where the first operation port 33 and the second operation port 34 are provided and win either the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34.

[0029] Based on winning the through gates 35 and 39, the general electric accessory 34a of the second operation port 34 is switched from the closed state to the open state. Specifically, a general electric opening lottery, which is a lottery, is performed triggered by winning the through gates 35 and 39, and a pattern change display is performed on the general pattern display unit 38a of the general pattern unit 38 provided at the lower left corner, which is an area where the game ball B1 does not pass through in the game area PA. Then, when the result of the general electric opening lottery is a general electric opening win, the stop result corresponding to the result is displayed, and the change display of the general pattern display unit 38a ends, it shifts to the general electric open state. In the general electric open state, the general electric accessory 34a is in the open state in a predetermined manner.

[0030] In the pachinko machine 10 of this embodiment, there are a low-frequency support mode in which when winning the through gates 35 and 39, the general electric accessory 34a is intermittently in the open state to support winning the second operation port 34, and a high-frequency support mode in which the general electric accessory 34a is in the open state in a manner that makes it easier for the game ball B1 to win the second operation port 34 than in the low-frequency support mode.

[0031] In the present pachinko machine 10, in the low frequency support mode in which the transition to the high frequency support mode has not been made, the performance is performed in such a manner that the player aims at the left side play area PA where the first through gate 35 is provided. Then, when the mode is transitioned to the high frequency support mode, the performance is performed in such a manner that the player aims at the right side play area PA where the second through gate 39 is provided. The details of the low frequency support mode and the high frequency support mode will be described later.

[0032] The map display unit 38a is composed of a segment display in which a plurality of segment light-emitting parts are arranged in a predetermined manner, but is not limited thereto, and may be composed of other types of display devices such as a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, a CRT, or a dot matrix display device. As for the pattern displayed variably on the map display unit 38a, a configuration in which a plurality of characters are displayed variably, a configuration in which a plurality of symbols are displayed variably, a configuration in which a plurality of characters are displayed variably, or a configuration in which a plurality of colors are displayed in a switched manner may be considered.

[0033] In the normal map unit 38, a normal map reserve display section 38b is provided adjacent to the normal map display section 38a. The number of game balls B1 that enter the through gates 35 and 39 is reserved up to a maximum of four, and the number of reserved balls is displayed by lighting up the normal map reserve display section 38b.

[0034] A winning lottery is held by triggering a winning entry into the first operating port 33 or the second operating port 34. The lottery result is then displayed clearly through the display effects on the special symbol unit 37 and the symbol display device 41 of the variable display unit 36.

[0035] Regarding the special figure unit 37 in detail, the special figure unit 37 is provided with a special figure display section 37a. The display area of the special figure display section 37a is narrower than the display surface 41a of the symbol display device 41. In the special figure display section 37a, a winning lottery is conducted triggered by winning at the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34, and thus a variable display of the pattern or a predetermined display is performed. Then, a result corresponding to the lottery result is displayed. Note that the special figure display section 37a is constituted by a segment display device in which a plurality of segment light emitting sections are arranged in a predetermined manner, but it is not limited thereto, and it may be constituted by other types of display devices such as a liquid crystal display device, an organic EL display device, a CRT, or a dot matrix display device. Further, as the pattern displayed in the special figure display section 37a, a configuration in which a plurality of types of characters are displayed, a configuration in which a plurality of types of symbols are displayed, a configuration in which a plurality of types of characters are displayed, or a configuration in which a plurality of types of colors are displayed, etc. are conceivable.

[0036] In the special figure unit 37, a special figure hold display section 37b is provided at a position adjacent to the special figure display section 37a. The number of game balls B1 that have won at the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34 is held up to a maximum of 4, and the held number is displayed by lighting the special figure hold display section 37b.

[0037] Regarding the symbol display device 41 in detail, the symbol display device 41 is configured as a liquid crystal display device equipped with a liquid crystal display, and the display content is controlled by a display control device described later. Note that the symbol display device 41 is not limited to a liquid crystal display device, and it may be another display device having a display screen such as a plasma display device, an organic EL display device, or a CRT, or it may be a dot matrix display device.

[0038] In the symbol display device 41, when a winning occurs at the first operation port 33 or a winning occurs at the second operation port 34, and a variable display or a predetermined display of the symbol is performed by the special symbol display unit 37a, a variable display or a predetermined display of the symbol is performed accordingly. For example, on the display surface 41a of the symbol display device 41, three symbol rows in the upper, middle, and lower stages are set as a plurality of display areas, and main symbols with numbers from "1" to "9" are arranged in ascending or descending order in each symbol row and are scrolled and displayed. In this scroll display, first, the scroll display in all the symbol rows is started, and the scroll display is switched to the standby display in the order of the upper symbol row → the lower symbol row → the middle symbol row, and finally, it ends with a predetermined symbol being statically displayed in each symbol row. And, for example, in a game round where the game result is a big win result, symbols of a predetermined combination are stopped and displayed on an effective line preset on the display surface 41a of the symbol display device 41.

[0039] Note that in the symbol display device 41, not only a display effect triggered by a winning at the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34, but also a display effect during the opening and closing execution mode that shifts after a winning or winning is achieved is performed. Also, based on a winning at any of the operation ports 33, 34, the display is started by the special symbol display unit 37a and the symbol display device 41, and one game round corresponds to the period from when the display starts until a predetermined result is displayed and ends. Also, the mode of the variable display of the symbol in the symbol display device 41 is not limited to the above and is arbitrary, and the number of symbol rows, the direction of the variable display of the symbol in the symbol row, the number of symbols in each symbol row, etc. can be changed as appropriate. Also, the symbol that is variably displayed by the symbol display device 41 is not limited to the symbol as described above, and for example, a configuration in which only numbers are variably displayed as the symbol may be used.

[0040] When winning the jackpot in the jackpot lottery based on winning the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34, it shifts to the opening / closing execution mode in which winning the special electric winning device 32 becomes possible. The special electric winning device 32 is provided with a large winning port (not shown) that leads to the back side of the game board 24, and is provided with an opening / closing door 32a that opens and closes the large winning port. The opening / closing door 32a is arranged in either a closed state or an open state. Specifically, the opening / closing door 32a is normally in a closed state where the game ball B1 cannot win, and is switched to an open state where the game ball B1 can win when winning the shift to the opening / closing execution mode in the lottery. Incidentally, the opening / closing execution mode is a mode that will shift when a winning result occurs. Note that, in the closed state, winning is not impossible, but it may be configured such that winning is less likely to occur than in the open state.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 3, above the first through gate 35, an adjustment mechanism 180 for adjusting the timing at which the game ball B1 is supplied toward the first through gate 35 is provided. The adjustment mechanism 180 supplies the game ball B1 to the first through gate 35 by discharging the game ball B1 toward the lower first through gate 35. The distance between the adjustment mechanism 180 and the first through gate 35 is such that the game ball B1 discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 reaches the first through gate 35 after flowing down a distance equal to or greater than the diameter of the game ball B1. The adjustment mechanism 180 will be described below.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a front view of the game board 24 showing an enlarged view of the configuration above the first through gate 35 and the first through gate 35. As shown in FIG. 4, the adjustment mechanism 180 includes a rotating body 183 that takes in the game ball B1 at the upper part of the adjustment mechanism 180 and conveys it to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180, an adjustment drive unit 184 that rotates the rotating body 183 clockwise, and a housing unit 181 that houses the rotating body 183 and prevents the game ball B1 taken into the rotating body 183 by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation from being released before the discharge position.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 4, the rotating body 183 is provided at the center of the adjustment mechanism 180. The rotating body 183 is formed by providing four recessed portions 183b to 183e capable of taking in the game ball B1 in a substantially disk-shaped transparent resin member whose diameter is reduced toward the rear. FIG. 5(a) is a front view and a right side view of the rotating body 183, and FIG. 5(b) is a front view and a plan view of the rotating body 183. As shown in FIG. 5(a), the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 are formed so as to be recessed from the outer edge portion of the rotating body 183 toward the axis side. The recessed portions 183b to 183e are formed such that their centers are equally spaced in the circumferential direction, and in the rotational direction, they are in the order of the first recessed portion 183b → the second recessed portion 183c → the third recessed portion 183d → the fourth recessed portion 183e.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5(a), none of the recessed portions 183b to 183e reach the position of the axis of the rotating body 183 and are discontinuous from each other. Each of the recessed portions 183b to 183e has a shape and size that allows the entire game ball B1 to enter. In each of the recessed portions 183b to 183e, the inner wall near the outer edge of the rotating body 183 has an inclination such that the recessed portions 183b to 183e become wider toward the outer edge, and the width of each of the recessed portions 183b to 183e near the outer edge is set wider than the diameter of the game ball B1.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 5(a), the rotating body 183 includes a first blade portion 188 sandwiched between the fourth recessed portion 183e and the first recessed portion 183b, a second blade portion 189 sandwiched between the first recessed portion 183b and the second recessed portion 183c, a third blade portion 190 sandwiched between the second recessed portion 183c and the third recessed portion 183d, and a fourth blade portion 191 sandwiched between the third recessed portion 183d and the fourth recessed portion 183e.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 4, in the adjustment mechanism 180, the accommodating portion 181 that accommodates the rotating body 183 includes a base body 181a that prevents the game balls B1 taken into the respective recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 from moving rearward from the front surface of the game board 24 during conveyance. The base body 181a includes a fixing flange 181b formed to project radially from the outer periphery of the base body 181a.

[0047] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the window panel 52 and the game board 24 when cutting directly above the take-in port 185 in a plane perpendicular to the front surface of the game board 24. In order to explain the configuration of the accommodating portion 181, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the rotating body 183 is removed. As shown in FIG. 6, on the front surface of the game board 24, a fixing recess 24d capable of accommodating the base body 181a and the fixing flange 181b is formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the accommodating portion 181 is fixed to the game board 24 by screwing the fixing flange 181b in a state where the base body 181a and the fixing flange 181b are accommodated in the fixing recess 24d (FIG. 6). The base body 181a is located behind the rotating body 183, and the front surface of the base body 181a exists on the same plane as the front surface of the game board 24.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 4, an accommodation space for accommodating the rotating body 183 is formed in front of the base body 181a, and the rotating body 183 is accommodated in the accommodation space. An adjustment drive portion 184 is disposed behind the rotating body 183. The adjustment drive portion 184 includes an output shaft 184a that extends in a manner perpendicular to the front surface of the game board 24 from the front surface of the adjustment drive portion 184 forward. The rotating body 183 is connected to the output shaft 184a such that the axis of the rotating body 183 is located on the same straight line as the output shaft 184a of the adjustment drive portion 184.

[0049] The adjustment drive unit 184 is connected to the output port of the MPU62 (see FIG. 12) described later. When a drive signal is supplied and the adjustment drive unit 184 is in a driving state, the rotating body 183 rotates clockwise at an angular velocity of 90° per second. A stepping motor is used as the adjustment drive unit 184, and specifically, 1-2 phase excitation drive that alternately performs single-phase excitation and two-phase excitation is adopted. Note that the phase excitation method is not limited to this, and other phase excitation methods may be adopted. The adjustment drive unit 184 is configured such that when 500 pulses of an excitation signal are transmitted from the main control device 60, the output shaft makes one full rotation, and the angle change based on one pulse of the excitation signal, that is, the angle change per step, is 0.72°.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 4, the housing portion 181 includes standing walls 181c and 181d for partitioning the housing space. The housing space is partitioned by the standing walls 181c and 181d to be one size larger than the rotating body 183. The distance from the center of the rotating body 183 to the standing walls 181c and 181d of the housing portion 181 is longer than the distance from the center of the rotating body 183 to the circumferential surfaces 188a to 191a of each blade portion 188 to 191, and the difference between these two distances is shorter than the radius of the game ball B1. For this reason, the possibility that the game ball B1 enters between the circumferential surfaces 188a to 191a of each blade portion 188 to 191 and the standing walls 181c and 181d is eliminated.

[0051] The standing walls 181c and 181d protrude forward from the front surface of the base body 181a and are formed in a plurality at intervals in the circumferential direction of the base body 181a. Among the plurality of standing walls 181c and 181d, the left standing wall 181c existing on the left side and the right standing wall 181d existing on the right side are laterally spaced apart, so that an intake port 185 exists in the upper part of the housing portion 181.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 4, the shape and size of the intake port 185 are set such that one game ball B1 can pass through the intake port 185, and a plurality of game balls B1 cannot pass through the intake port 185 simultaneously. Therefore, the adjustment mechanism 180 can take in the game balls B1 one by one from the intake port 185.

[0053] The left standing wall 181c prevents the game ball B1 flowing down from the upper left of the intake port 185 from entering the inside of the adjustment mechanism 180. For this reason, the game ball B1 is taken into the recessed portions 183b to 183e that open toward the left, and the game ball B1 will not be discharged after being transported for a long time in the order of the upper part → the right part → the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180. Further, the right standing wall 181d prevents the game ball B1 taken into the adjustment mechanism 180 from being thrown outward of the adjustment mechanism 180 by the centrifugal force of the rotating body 183 before the game ball B1 is transported to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 and reaches the discharge timing.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 4, since the left standing wall 181c and the right standing wall 181d are separated in the horizontal direction, the accommodating portion 181 is open downward. For this reason, the game ball B1 taken into any of the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 and transported to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 is discharged toward the first through gate 35 located below.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 4, the accommodating portion 181 is provided with a discharge protruding portion 181e for discharging the game ball B1 taken into the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 at a predetermined discharge position. The discharge protruding portion 181e is provided near the lower part of the center of the base body 181a. As shown in FIG. 6, the discharge protruding portion 181e protrudes from the front surface of the base body 181a forward to a position in the middle of the game area PA so that the protruding dimension is 9 mm.

[0056] As described above, the length dimension in the front-rear direction of the gaming area PA (FIG. 3) sandwiched between the front surface of the game board 24 and the rear surface of the window panel 52 (FIG. 1) is 18 mm, and the diameter of the game ball B1 is 11 mm. For this reason, the discharge protrusion 181e has a length dimension in the front-rear direction that can contact both the game ball B1 located on the back side (the game board 24 side) of the gaming area PA and the game ball B1 located on the front side (the window panel 52 side) of the gaming area PA. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the discharge protrusion 181e is formed to extend downward from the vicinity below the center of the base body 181a.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 4, the distance from the center of the rotating body 183 to the lower end of the discharge protrusion 181e is shorter than the distance from the center of the rotating body 183 to the circumferential surfaces 188a to 191a (FIG. 5(a)) of the blade parts 188 to 191. Further, as shown in FIG. 5(a), collision avoidance grooves 192 for avoiding collision with the discharge protrusion 181e are provided in the first blade part 188 and the third blade part 190 of the rotating body 183, and as shown in FIG. 5(b), collision avoidance grooves 192 for avoiding collision with the discharge protrusion 181e are also provided in the second blade part 189 and the fourth blade part 191.

[0058] The collision avoidance groove 192 is provided to be larger than the protruding dimension of the discharge protrusion 181e, and does not contact the rotating body 183 no matter what rotational state the discharge protrusion 181e is in. For this reason, the discharge protrusion 181e does not interfere with the rotation of the rotating body 183.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge protrusion 181e includes a discharge right side surface 181g that is inclined leftward downward as the right side surface. The discharge right side surface 181g contacts the game ball B1 present in the recessed parts 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 at the discharge position of the game ball B1 taken into the adjustment mechanism 180. After the game ball B1 is transported to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 by the rotation of the rotating body 183, it is discharged toward the lower first through gate 35 triggered by contacting the discharge right side surface 181g.

[0060] When the game ball B1 is discharged downward from directly below the adjustment mechanism 180, it enters the first through gate 35 located below without colliding with an obstacle on the way. As already described, the game ball B1 discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 reaches the first through gate 35 after flowing down a distance greater than or equal to the diameter of the game ball B1. Specifically, the game ball B1 discharged from the discharge position reaches the first through gate 35 after flowing down a distance approximately 1.5 times the diameter of the game ball B1. Since the distance from the discharge position to the first through gate 35 is greater than or equal to the diameter of the game ball B1, depending on the discharge direction and discharge speed of the game ball B1 at the discharge position, there is a possibility that the discharged game ball B1 may deviate from the first through gate 35. The discharge position of the game ball B1 in the adjustment mechanism 180 is fixed by the discharge protrusion 181e, and the distance from the discharge position to the first through gate 35 is short. Therefore, when the discharged game ball B1 enters the first through gate 35, the time from when the game ball B1 is discharged in the adjustment mechanism 180 until the game ball B1 enters the first through gate 35 falls within a predetermined range.

[0061] When the discharge timing of the game ball B1 in the adjustment mechanism 180 occurs at a 1-second interval, the entry of the game ball B1 into the first through gate 35 also occurs at approximately 1-second intervals. Details of the flow of the game ball B1 discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 will be described later.

[0062] The rotating body 183 rotates clockwise with the game ball B1 taken in from the intake port 185 existing in the recesses 183b to 183e, thereby conveying the game ball B1 toward the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180.

[0063] When any of the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 is open upward, the adjustment mechanism 180 can take in the game balls B1 flowing down from above. By configuring the inner walls of the recessed portions 183b to 183e near the outer edge of the rotating body 183 to be wider toward the outer edge, the period during which the adjustment mechanism 180 can take in the game balls B1 at the intake port 185 can be extended. Thereby, the number of game balls B1 taken into the adjustment mechanism 180 can be increased, and the number of game balls B1 discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 can also be increased.

[0064] Also, by configuring the rotating body 183 to be provided with a plurality of recessed portions 183b to 183e, the rotational speed of the rotating body 183 required to discharge the game balls B1 from the adjustment mechanism 180 at a cycle of 1 second can be reduced. In this way, by rotating the rotating body 183 slowly, the probability that the game balls B1 flowing down to the upper part of the adjustment mechanism 180 are taken into the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 can be increased.

[0065] Here, the configuration around the adjustment mechanism 180 on the game board 24 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, above the intake port 185, a plurality of pins 24b are arranged to collect the game balls B1 flowing down in the game area PA upstream of the intake port 185 toward the intake port 185. In the upper left region of the intake port 185, a plurality of pins 24b are arranged to change the path of the game balls B1 flowing down in the region to the right and direct the game balls B1 toward the intake port 185. In the upper right region of the intake port 185, a plurality of pins 24b are arranged to change the path of the game balls B1 flowing down in the region to the left and direct the game balls B1 toward the intake port 185.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of pins 24b arranged in the vicinity above the intake port 185 are provided such that the distance from the pin 24b to the left standing wall 181c and the distance from the pin 24b to the right standing wall 181d are more than one round longer than the diameter of the game ball B1. Also, on the left and right sides of the adjustment mechanism 180, spaces are provided for allowing the game ball B1 that has flowed down toward the intake port 185 and has not been taken into the intake port 185 to escape downstream. No pins 24b are arranged in the space. For this reason, the game ball B1 that has flowed down near the intake port 185 and has not been taken into the adjustment mechanism 180 can be discharged into the left and right spaces of the adjustment mechanism 180 from between the pin 24b and the left standing wall 181c or between the pin 24b and the right standing wall 181d. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the game ball B1 from staying around the intake port 185.

[0067] Next, the detailed configuration of the adjustment mechanism 180 will be described. First, the configuration for taking in the game ball B1 will be described.

[0068] As already described, the diameter of the game ball B1 is 11 mm, and the length dimension in the front-rear direction of the game area PA (FIG. 3) is 18 mm, which is larger than the diameter of the game ball B1. Thus, in the game area PA, there is a gap that allows the game ball B1 flowing down in the game area PA to move in the front-rear direction.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 5, each of the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 is inclined toward the axial center in the forward direction. For this reason, each of the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 is in a state of inclining downward in the forward direction when the recessed portions 183b to 183e are in a rotating state where they are open upward. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in the state where the first recessed portion 183b is open upward, the first recessed portion 183b is in a state of inclining downward in the forward direction.

[0070] The game ball B1 taken into the adjustment mechanism 180 from the intake port 185 fits into any of the recessed portions 183b to 183e that are open upward at the upper part of the adjustment mechanism 180. As described above, the recessed portions 183b to 183e that are open upward at the upper part of the adjustment mechanism 180 are in a state of inclining downward toward the front. For this reason, while the game ball B1 is being conveyed toward the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 due to the rotation of the rotating body 183, the game ball B1 is located on the front side (window panel 52 side) in the game area PA having a thickness in the front-rear direction.

[0071] Next, the timing at which the adjustment mechanism 180 takes in the game ball B1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the intake port 185 is open upward. When a state where any of the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 is located below the intake port 185 is defined as an intake permission state, in this intake permission state, the game ball B1 that has entered the inside of the adjustment mechanism 180 from the intake port 185 can fit into the recessed portions 183b to 183e.

[0072] On the other hand, when the rotating body 183 rotates from the state of FIG. 4 and a state where any of the blade portions 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 is located below the intake port 185 is defined as an intake prohibition state, in this intake prohibition state, the game ball B1 that attempts to enter the inside of the adjustment mechanism 180 from the intake port 185 collides with the peripheral surfaces 188a to 191a of the blade portions 188 to 191. In this case, the game ball B1 is not taken into the inside of the adjustment mechanism 180.

[0073] At the intake port 185 of the adjustment mechanism 180, both a state where the game ball B1 can be taken in (intake permission state) and a state where the game ball B1 cannot be taken in (intake prohibition state) are alternately repeated as the rotating body 183 rotates.

[0074] First, the case where the ball entry port 185 is in a ball entry permitted state will be described. FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are front views of the game board 24 showing an enlarged view of the vicinity of the adjustment mechanism 180. The rotating body 183 in FIG. 7(a) is in a rotating state with the first recess 183b positioned upward, and the rotating body 183 in FIG. 7(b) is in a rotating state where the rotating body 183 in FIG. 7(a) has rotated 90° clockwise.

[0075] The game ball B1 that has entered the ball entry port 185 in the ball entry permitted state is taken into the recesses 183b to 183e located above. For example, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the game ball B1 that has entered the ball entry port 185 with the first recess 183b positioned upward is taken into the first recess 183b.

[0076] The game ball B1 taken into any of the recesses 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 at the upper part of the adjustment mechanism 180 is conveyed toward the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 as the rotating body 183 rotates. At this time, the right upright wall 181d prevents the game ball B1 taken into the adjustment mechanism 180 from being discharged outward of the adjustment mechanism 180 before the discharge timing.

[0077] For example, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the game ball B1 taken into the first recess 183b is first in a state where a force is applied from the first blade part 188 toward the front in the rotation direction (right direction in FIG. 7(a)). Next, the game ball B1 that is about to fall due to its own weight is in a state of being supported by the second blade part 189.

[0078] Then, as shown in FIG. 7(b), a resistance force is applied to the game ball B1 that is about to fall downward to the lower right by its own weight and the force applied from the second blade part 189 from the right upright wall 181d, and the fall of the game ball B1 to the lower right is blocked. In this state, as the rotating body 183 rotates, the game ball B1 taken into the upper part of the adjustment mechanism 180 is conveyed toward the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180.

[0079] The game ball B1 that has been taken into any of the recessed portions 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 and conveyed to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 is discharged in a certain direction by coming into contact with the discharge right side surface 181g (FIG. 4) of the discharge protrusion 181e (FIG. 4).

[0080] Here, as shown in FIG. 5(b), when the side surface of the first blade root portion 188 located on the front side in the rotation direction is defined as the first front surface 188b, and the side surface of the second blade root portion 189 located on the front side in the rotation direction is defined as the second front surface 189b. Also, when the side surface of the third blade root portion 190 located on the front side in the rotation direction is defined as the third front surface 190b, and the side surface of the fourth blade root portion 191 located on the front side in the rotation direction is defined as the fourth front surface 191b. The front surfaces 188b to 191b of the respective blade root portions 188 to 191 are surfaces extending in the radial direction of the rotating body 183.

[0081] When the game ball B1 taken into any of the recessed portions 183b to 183e (FIG. 5(b)) in the rotating body 183 comes into contact with the discharge right side surface 181g and reaches the discharge timing, the game ball B1 is in a state of being in contact with the front surfaces 188b to 191b on the rear side in the rotation direction and the discharge right side surface 181g in the recessed portions 183b to 183e where the game ball B1 exists.

[0082] As shown in FIG. 5(a), the first recessed portion 183b, the second recessed portion 183c, and the third recessed portion 183d have the same shape and size as each other. For this reason, the discharge mode of the game ball B1 taken into the second recessed portion 183c and conveyed to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180, and the discharge mode of the game ball B1 taken into the third recessed portion 183d and conveyed to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 are the same as the discharge mode of the game ball B1 taken into the first recessed portion 183b and conveyed to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180.

[0083] On the other hand, the fourth recessed portion 183e has the same shape as the first recessed portion 183b, the second recessed portion 183c, and the third recessed portion 183d, and has a size slightly smaller than those of the three recessed portions 183b to 183d. For this reason, the discharge mode of the game ball B1 taken into the fourth recessed portion 183e and conveyed to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 may be different from the discharge mode of the game ball B1 taken into the first recessed portion 183b to the third recessed portion 183d and conveyed to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180. When the discharge modes of the game balls B1 discharged from all the recessed portions 183b to 183e are the same, the movement of the game ball B1 after discharge becomes monotonous. On the contrary, by changing the discharge mode of the game ball B1 discharged from the fourth recessed portion 183e, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the player's interest in the movement of the game ball B1 after discharge.

[0084] First, regarding the discharge mode of the game ball B1 taken into any one of the first recessed portion 183b to the third recessed portion 183d and conveyed to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180, the case of the first recessed portion 183b will be exemplified and described.

[0085] Figs. 8(a) and (b) are front views of the game board 24 showing an enlarged view of the vicinity of the adjustment mechanism 180. Fig. 8(a) shows the state immediately before the game ball B1 taken into the first recessed portion 183b reaches the discharge timing, and Fig. 8(b) shows the state where the game ball B1 has reached the discharge timing.

[0086] As shown in Fig. 8(a), immediately before reaching the discharge timing, the contact state between the game ball B1 taken into the first recessed portion 183b and the right standing wall 181d is released. As a result, the game ball B1 that has lost its support becomes in a state where it can fall downward to the right. However, since the rotating body 183 rotates at an angular velocity of 90° per second, the game ball B1 is pushed from the first blade portion 188 in the rotation direction (left direction in Fig. 8) and continues to move in the rotation direction (left direction in Fig. 8).

[0087] As shown in FIG. 8(b), at the discharge timing, the game ball B1 is in a state of being in contact with the right discharge side surface 181g and the first front surface 188b. The distance between the two surfaces 181g and 188b sandwiching the game ball B1 gradually widens from the upper side to the lower side.

[0088] As the rotation of the rotating body 183 progresses, in the region sandwiched between the two surfaces 181g and 188b, the region having a width larger than the diameter of the game ball B1 gradually disappears from the upper side. At this time, both the force applied to the game ball B1 from the right discharge side surface 181g and the force applied to the game ball B1 from the first front surface 188b have components that push the game ball B1 downward. For this reason, the game ball B1 taken into the first recess 183b is pushed downward as the rotating body 183 rotates. Then, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the game ball B1 is discharged downward from the first recess 183b and wins the first through gate 35 with a high probability.

[0089] At the discharge timing shown in FIG. 8(b), for the game ball B1 that was originally trying to fall downward due to its own weight, the right discharge side surface 181g and the first front surface 188b apply a force in the same downward direction to cause the game ball B1 to fall. At this time, the leftward movement of the game ball B1 is restricted by the right discharge side surface 181g. For this reason, the discharge direction of the game ball B1 is limited to one direction, and the probability of winning the first through gate 35 increases.

[0090] As already described, at the outer edge of the rotating body 183, the widths of the recesses 183b to 183e are wider than the diameter of the game ball B1. For this reason, immediately before the discharge timing, the position of the game ball B1 in the recesses 183b to 183e is not the same every time. Depending on the position of the game ball B1 immediately before the discharge timing in the recesses 183b to 183e, the discharge direction of the game ball B1 will be different.

[0091] In the design stage, the position of the discharge protrusion 181e and the inclination of the discharge right side surface 181g are adjusted so that most of the game balls B1 taken into the first recess 183b, the game balls B1 taken into the second recess 183c, and the game balls B1 taken into the third recess 183d enter the first through gate 35. However, as already described, the distance between the discharge position in the adjustment mechanism 180 and the first through gate 35 is set to approximately 1.5 times the diameter of the game ball B1. For this reason, when the game ball B1 discharged from the first recess 183b catches on the first front surface 188b and is pushed to the left, when the game ball B1 discharged from the second recess 183c catches on the second front surface 189b and is pushed to the left, and when the game ball B1 discharged from the third recess 183d catches on the third front surface 190b and is pushed to the left, the game ball B1 after discharge may deviate to the left of the first through gate 35.

[0092] Here, the discharge mode of the game ball B1 taken into the fourth recess 183e and conveyed to the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 will be described. FIG. 9 is a front view of the game board 24 showing an enlarged view of the adjustment mechanism 180 to explain the case where the game ball B1 discharged from the fourth recess 183e deviates from the first through gate 35.

[0093] As already described, the fourth recess 183e is formed to be slightly smaller than the first recess 183b, the second recess 183c, and the third recess 183d. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, the game ball B1 discharged from the fourth recess 183e is likely to catch on the fourth front surface 191b and be pushed to the left, and is likely to deviate to the left of the first through gate 35.

[0094] In the design stage, the position of the discharge protrusion 181e and the inclination of the discharge right side surface 181g are adjusted so that the winning probability of the game ball B1 discharged from the fourth recess 183e to the first through gate 35 is lower than the winning probability of the game ball B1 discharged from the other three recesses 183b to 183d to the first through gate 35.

[0095] By adopting a configuration in which a part of the game balls B1 discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 comes off from the first through gate 35, it is intended to prevent the player's attention from being concentrated only on the intake of the game balls B1 in the adjustment mechanism 180, and to make the player interested in the discharge of the game balls B1 in the adjustment mechanism 180 as well.

[0096] As already described, the discharge protrusion 181e is located below the center of the rotating body 183. For this reason, as shown in Fig. 8(b), at the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180, the center of the game ball B1 in contact with the discharge protrusion 181e is located to the right of the center of the rotating body 183. The game ball B1 taken into the rotating body 183 at the upper part of the adjustment mechanism 180 is discharged in contact with the discharge protrusion 181e at a timing earlier than rotating 180° around the center of the rotating body 183.

[0097] By adopting a configuration in which the game ball B1 taken into the upper part of the adjustment mechanism 180 is discharged before starting to rotate more than 180° around the center of the rotating body 183 and rise, it is possible to prevent the game ball B1 from rising at the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180. Further, by setting the time from when the game ball B1 is taken into the adjustment mechanism 180 until it is discharged to be short, the time required for the series of processes of intake, conveyance, and discharge of the game ball B1 by the adjustment mechanism 180 is shortened, and the possibility that the player's attention shifts to other things during the series of processes can be suppressed.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 8(b), when the game ball B1 is in contact with both the discharge protrusion 181e and the rotating body 183 at the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180, the region sandwiched between the right discharge surface 181g in contact with the left side of the game ball B1 and the front surfaces 188b to 191b in contact with the right side of the game ball B1 has a shape that gradually widens from the upper part to the lower part. Then, as the rotation of the rotating body 183 progresses clockwise, the width of the region sandwiched between the right discharge surface 181g and the front surfaces 188b to 191b gradually becomes narrower. For this reason, within the region sandwiched between the right discharge surface 181g and the front surfaces 188b to 191b, the portion having a width where the game ball B1 can exist is limited to the lower part.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 8(b), the right discharge surface 181g is inclined leftward downward. For this reason, when a leftward force is applied to the game ball B1 in contact with the right discharge surface 181g from the rotating body 183 during rotation, the game ball B1 moves leftward along the inclination of the right discharge surface 181g and also moves downward. The game ball B1 that is in contact with both the discharge protrusion 181e and the rotating body 183 at the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180 is pushed downward and discharged as the rotating body 183 rotates. Since the right discharge surface 181g is inclined leftward downward, it is prevented that the game ball B1 rises and stays without being discharged at the lower part of the adjustment mechanism 180.

[0100] Next, a configuration for allowing the game ball B1 that tried to enter the intake port 185 of the adjustment mechanism 180 but was not taken into the inside of the adjustment mechanism 180 to escape to the rear of the game board 24 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, a escape passage 172 is provided behind the game board 24 as a passage for allowing the game ball B1 that was not taken in at the intake port 185 to escape. The passage inlet 171, which is the inlet of the escape passage 172, is provided on the front surface of the game board 24. The passage inlet 171 is located behind the intake port 185. By allowing the game ball B1 that was not taken in at the intake port 185 to escape to the passage inlet 171, it is possible to prevent the game ball B1 that was not taken in from staying around the intake port 185.

[0101] First, the game ball B1 that has flowed down to the intake port 185 in the intake prohibited state and has not been taken into the intake port 185 will be described.

[0102] FIG. 10(a) is a cross-sectional view of the window panel 52 and the game board 24 when cutting directly above the intake port 185 in a plane perpendicular to the front surface of the game board 24, and FIG. 10(b) is a longitudinal sectional view of the first blade root 188 when cutting in a plane perpendicular to the front surface of the game board 24. In FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b), the rotating body 183 is in a rotating state where the first blade root 188 is positioned upward.

[0103] As shown in FIG. 10(a), when the game ball B1 flows down to the intake port 185 in the intake prohibited state, the game ball B1 contacts the peripheral surfaces 188a to 191a (FIG. 5(b)) of any of the blade roots 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 located below the intake port 185.

[0104] As shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the peripheral surfaces 188a to 191a of each of the blade roots 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 have an inclination that becomes the axial side toward the rear. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5(a), in a state where the first blade root 188 faces upward, the peripheral surface 188a of the first blade root 188 is inclined downward toward the rear. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the game ball B1 that has contacted the peripheral surface 188a of the first blade root 188 is guided rearward.

[0105] In the intake prohibited state where the second blade root 189 faces upward, the peripheral surface 189a of the second blade root 189 is inclined downward toward the rear, and in the intake prohibited state where the third blade root 190 faces upward, the peripheral surface 190a of the third blade root 190 is inclined downward toward the rear. Also, in the intake prohibited state where the fourth blade root 191 faces upward, the peripheral surface 191a of the fourth blade root 191 is inclined downward toward the rear.

[0106] Although not shown in the drawings, the game ball B1 that contacts any one of the circumferential surfaces 189a of the second blade root 189 facing upward, the circumferential surface 190a of the third blade root 190, and the circumferential surface 191a of the fourth blade root 191 in the take-in prohibited state is guided backward in the same manner as the game ball B1 that contacts the circumferential surface 188a of the first blade root 188 shown in FIG. 10(a).

[0107] As shown in FIG. 4, the passage entrance 171 is an opening provided on the front surface of the game board 24 and is located behind the take-in port 185. The passage entrance 171 is formed from the left end of the take-in port 185 to the right end of the take-in port 185 on the front surface of the game board 24.

[0108] The upper end of the passage entrance 171 is set to be approximately half a game ball B1 higher than the upper end of the game ball B1 that contacts the circumferential surfaces 188a to 191a of the blade roots 188 to 191 in a state where any one of the blade roots 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 faces upward. For this reason, the game ball B1 that flows down from above the game area PA and collides with the circumferential surfaces 188a to 191a of the blade roots 188 to 191 that are inclined downward toward the rear can be made to enter the passage entrance 171 and bounce obliquely backward.

[0109] On the other hand, the upper area of the passage entrance 171 is set to the minimum area that can prevent the game ball B1 that has not been taken into the take-in port 185 from staying and remaining, so that the game ball B1 that flows down the game area PA does not enter the passage entrance 171 before reaching the take-in port 185.

[0110] As shown in FIG. 4, the lower left end of the passage entrance 171 is located below the upper end of the back surface of any one of the blade roots 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 in a state where the blade roots 188 to 191 face upward. Also, the lower right end of the passage entrance 171 is located below the lower left end. Details of the lower right end of the passage entrance 171 will be described later.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 4, on the upper part of the base body 181a in the housing part 181, a recessed part 181f for the passage is formed so as not to obstruct the movement of the game ball B1 guided to the passage inlet 171 by the circumferential surfaces 188a to 191a (FIG. 5(a)) of any of the blade parts 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183.

[0112] The recessed part 181f for the passage is formed from the left end to the right end of the passage inlet 171. The left side of the recessed part 181f for the passage is formed such that the upper end of the base body 181a is positioned below the upper end of the back surface of the blade parts 188 to 191 in a state where any of the blade parts 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 faces upward.

[0113] On the left side of the recessed part 181f for the passage, the upper end of the base body 181a is positioned at the same position as the lower end of the passage inlet 171 or above the lower end of the passage inlet 171. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 10(b), the game ball B1 that has come into contact with the blade parts 188 to 191 and is trying to enter the intake port 185 in the intake prohibited state is guided by the circumferential surfaces 188a to 191a of the blade parts 188 to 191 and enters the passage inlet 171 without its path being obstructed by the base body 181a of the housing part 181.

[0114] As shown in FIG. 4, on the front surface of the game board 24, a escape passage 172 is formed as a recessed part that is recessed rearward. The escape passage 172 is formed as a recessed part having a depth dimension larger than the diameter of the game ball B1 in the front-rear direction and a width dimension larger than the diameter of the game ball B1 in the lateral direction. For this reason, the escape passage 172 has a passage cross-section through which the game ball B1 can pass by forming a single row.

[0115] The upstream side of the escape passage 172 is formed from the passage inlet 171 diagonally downward to the left, and the downstream side of the escape passage 172 is formed vertically downward. The escape passage 172 guides the game ball B1 that has entered from the passage inlet 171 to the lower left of the first through gate 35.

[0116] On the front surface of the game board 24, a step is provided at the edge of the recessed portion formed as the escape passage 172. The escape passage 172 is covered from the front by a transparent acrylic plate 172a formed in the same shape as the portion that does not overlap with the base body 181a of the accommodating portion 181 in the outer shape when the escape passage 172 is viewed from the front. The acrylic plate 172a is fixed to the stepped portion formed at the edge of the escape passage 172 by an adhesive.

[0117] The step formed at the edge of the escape passage 172 has the same depth as the thickness of the acrylic plate 172a in the front-rear direction, and the front surface of the acrylic plate 172a is located on the same plane as the front surface of the game board 24. The escape passage 172 is closed by the acrylic plate 172a and the base body 181a of the accommodating portion 181, and the places where the game ball B1 can enter and exit are limited to the passage inlet 171 and the passage outlet 173.

[0118] Since the acrylic plate 172a and the adjustment mechanism 180 fixed in front of the escape passage 172 are transparent, the movement of the game ball B1 passing through the escape passage 172 from the outside can be visually recognized. If the movement of the game ball B1 passing through the escape passage 172 cannot be grasped from the outside, after the game ball B1 enters the passage inlet 171, the player cannot follow the movement process of the game ball B1, and the flow of the game ball B1 will be interrupted in the middle. On the other hand, by making the game ball B1 passing through the escape passage 172 visible from the outside, the player can keep the flow of the game ball B1 that can be grasped continuous.

[0119] As shown in FIG. 4, in the game board 24, a passage outlet 173, which is the outlet of the escape passage 172, is provided at the lower left of the first through gate 35. The passage outlet 173 is formed as an opening facing forward on the front surface of the game board 24. The passage outlet 173 has a shape and size that can discharge the game balls B1 guided by the escape passage 172 one by one forward.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 4, in the vicinity above the passage exit 173, an exit roof 174 is provided to prevent the game ball B1 discharged from the passage exit 173 from colliding with the game ball B1 flowing downward in front of the front surface of the game board 24. The exit roof 174 is provided as a protruding portion protruding from the front surface of the game board 24 toward the window panel 52 (FIG. 1) side, and exists from the front surface of the game board 24 to the vicinity of the back surface of the window panel 52. Since the upper surface of the exit roof 174 is inclined downward toward the right, the game ball B1 flowing downward from above and contacting the exit roof 174 is guided to the right in a manner that does not collide with the game ball B1 discharged from the passage exit 173.

[0121] The game ball B1 that has passed through the escape passage 172 and is discharged from the passage exit 173 in front of the front surface of the game board 24 flows down the game area PA. As shown in FIG. 3, the passage exit 173 is located upstream of the first operation port 33 and the second operation port 34. Therefore, the game ball B1 discharged from the passage exit 173 can reach the area where the first operation port 33 and the second operation port 34 are provided and win in either the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34.

[0122] As already described, the game ball B1 that has won in the first through gate 35 can also flow down the game area PA and win in either the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34. The game ball B1 guided to the first through gate 35 by the adjustment mechanism 180 and the game ball B1 guided to the escape passage 172 by the adjustment mechanism 180 and discharged from the passage exit 173 can both flow down to the area where the first operation port 33 and the second operation port 34 are provided. Therefore, due to the provision of the adjustment mechanism 180, the number of game balls B1 reaching the area where the first operation port 33 and the second operation port 34 are provided does not decrease.

[0123] Returning to the description of the capture of the game ball B1 at the capture port 185, as shown in FIG. 4, in the transition process from the capture permission state to the capture prohibition state, when the game ball B1 flows down to the capture port 185 at the timing when the distance between the blade portions 188 to 191 and the right upright wall 181d changes from a state wider than the diameter of the game ball B1 to a narrow state, the game ball B1 may be sandwiched between the blade portions 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 and the right upright wall 181d. Hereinafter, the state of transitioning from the capture permission state to the capture prohibition state is referred to as an intermediate state. Further, the end face located at the upper part of the right upright wall 181d that defines the right end of the capture port 185 and sandwiches the game ball B1 together with the blade portions 188 to 191 in the intermediate state is defined as the upright wall side end face 182.

[0124] Here, a configuration for allowing the game ball B1 sandwiched between the blade portions 188 to 191 and the upright wall side end face 182 at the capture port 185 in the intermediate state to escape to the escape passage 172 will be described. First, the inclination of the front surfaces 188b to 191b, which are the side surfaces of the blade portions 188 to 191 and are located on the front side in the rotation direction of the rotating body 183, will be described with reference to FIG. 5(b).

[0125] As shown in FIG. 5(b), the front surfaces 188b to 191b of the respective blade portions 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 are inclined toward the rear side in the rotation direction. For this reason, in a state where the blade portions 188 to 191 face upward, the front surfaces 188b to 191b of the blade portions 188 to 191 are inclined leftward toward the rear.

[0126] Regardless of the rotational state of the rotating body 183, the front surfaces 188b to 191b of the upper blades 188 to 191 are inclined leftward toward the rear. For this reason, at the intake port 185 in the intermediate state, the game ball B1 sandwiched between the second front surface 189b of the second blade 189 and the upright wall side end surface 182, the game ball B1 sandwiched between the third front surface 190b of the third blade 190 and the upright wall side end surface 182, and the game ball B1 sandwiched between the fourth front surface 191b of the fourth blade 191 and the upright wall side end surface 182 move in the same direction as the game ball B1 sandwiched between the first front surface 188b of the first blade 188 and the upright wall side end surface 182. Hereinafter, taking the game ball B1 sandwiched between the first front surface 188b and the upright wall side end surface 182 as an example, the movement of the game ball B1 sandwiched at the intake port 185 in the intermediate state will be described.

[0127] As shown in FIG. 5(b), the first front surface 188b of the first blade 188 in the upward-facing state is inclined leftward toward the rear. FIG. 10(c) is a cross-sectional view of the window panel 52 and the game board 24 when the intake port 185 is cut directly above by a plane perpendicular to the front surface of the game board 24. As shown in FIG. 10(c), the upright wall side end surface 182 is inclined rightward toward the rear. For this reason, when the game ball B1 flows down to the intake port 185 in the intermediate state and is sandwiched between the first front surface 188b and the upright wall side end surface 182, the two surfaces 182, 188b sandwiching the game ball B1 form a "C" shape where the rear side (game board 24 side) is wider than the front side (window panel 52 side).

[0128] When the rotating body 183 rotates clockwise with the game ball B1 sandwiched between the two surfaces 182 and 188b, the distance between the two surfaces 182 and 188b gradually decreases from the front side. At this time, both the force applied to the game ball B1 from the first front surface 188b and the force applied to the game ball B1 from the end face 182 on the standing wall side have components that move the game ball B1 backward. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 10(c), the game ball B1 sandwiched between the two surfaces 182 and 188b is pushed toward the passage inlet 171 provided behind the take-in port 185 as the rotating body 183 rotates. Then, the pushed game ball B1 enters the escape passage 172 from the passage inlet 171 and is guided to the passage outlet 173.

[0129] As already described with reference to FIG. 5(b), the front surfaces 188b to 191b of the respective blade portions 188 to 191 are surfaces extending in the radial direction of the rotating body 183. For this reason, when the game ball B1 is in contact with both one of the front surfaces 188b to 191b and the right standing wall 181d (FIG. 10(c)) at the take-in port 185, the front surfaces 188b to 191b in contact with the game ball B1 are inclined downward and leftward. For this reason, the force applied to the game ball B1 from the front surfaces 188b to 191b as the rotating body 183 rotates clockwise includes a downward component. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the game ball B1 from moving upward when the game ball B1 is pushed toward the passage inlet 171.

[0130] As shown in FIG. 10(c), by adopting a configuration in which the sandwiched game ball B1 is pushed out to the passage inlet 171 by utilizing the inclination of the front surfaces 188b to 191b and the standing wall side end face 182 and the rotation of the rotating body 183, it is possible to eliminate the state in which the game ball B1 is sandwiched while avoiding the game ball B1 from staying or rising.

[0131] As shown in FIG. 4, the right side of the passage inlet 171 and the right side of the passage recess 181f are formed so that the game ball B1 sandwiched between the blade portions 188 to 191 of the rotating body 183 and the right standing wall 181d in an intermediate state can enter the passage inlet 171.

[0132] The game ball B1 in the state of being sandwiched between the blade parts 188 to 191 and the right standing wall 181d is located below the game ball B1 that contacts the circumferential surfaces 188a to 191a of any of the blade parts 188 to 191 in the non-acceptance state. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower end on the right side of the passage inlet 171 is located below the lower end on the left side of the passage inlet 171, and the upper end of the base body 181a on the right side of the passage recess 181f is located below the upper end of the base body 181a on the left side of the passage recess 181f.

[0133] The upper end of the base body 181a on the right side of the passage recess 181f is located below the lower end of the game ball B1 that is sandwiched between the blade parts 188 to 191 and the right standing wall 181d in the intermediate state. Further, the lower end on the right side of the passage inlet 171 is formed to be at the same position as the upper end of the base body 181a on the right side of the passage recess 181f or below the upper end of the base body 181a.

[0134] However, in order to prevent the game ball B1 taken into any of the recesses 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 in the acceptance state from passing through the passage recess 181f formed at the rear and entering the passage inlet 171, the upper end of the base body 181a on the right side of the passage recess 181f is set to be slightly below the lower end of the game ball B1 that is sandwiched between the blade parts 188 to 191 and the right standing wall 181d in the intermediate state.

[0135] Also, as already described, since each of the recesses 183b to 183e of the rotating body 183 is inclined toward the axis side in the front direction, the game ball B1 taken into each of the recesses 183b to 183e is held on the front side of the game area PA. For this reason, the possibility that the game ball B1 taken into each of the recesses 183b to 183e passes through the passage recess 181f located at the rear (particularly the right side of the passage recess 181f) and enters the passage inlet 171 is reduced.

[0136] At the intake port 185, in a state where one game ball B1 has already been taken into the recessed portions 183b to 183e located above (Fig. 7(a)), it is conceivable that another game ball B1 reaches the intake port 185. In this case, the recessed portions 183b to 183e are already held on the window panel 52 side. For this reason, the center of the game ball B1 that later reaches the intake port 185 is likely to be located behind the center of the game ball B1 already taken into the recessed portions 183b to 183e. In this case, the game ball B1 that later reaches the intake port 185 contacts the game ball B1 taken into the recessed portions 183b to 183e and bounces back rearward, and enters the ball entrance 171.

[0137] Also, when the center of the game ball B1 that later reaches the intake port 185 is shifted to either the left or right of the center of the game ball B1 taken into the recessed portions 183b to 183e, the game ball B1 that later reaches the intake port 185 contacts the game ball B1 taken into the recessed portions 183b to 183e and bounces back to either the left or right, and flows downstream toward the game area PA on the side of the adjustment mechanism 180 without being taken into the adjustment mechanism 180. Thus, when a plurality of game balls B1 reach the intake port 185 in one intake permission state at the intake port 185, one game ball B1 is taken into one of the recessed portions 183b to 183e, and the remaining game balls B1 can flow downstream of the game area PA without staying near the intake port 185.

[0138] Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration regarding the discharge of the game ball B1 that has flowed down the game area PA.

[0139] As described above, the game ball B1 that has entered any one of the general winning opening 31, special electric winning device 32, first operation opening 33, second operation opening 34, and out opening 24a is discharged from the game area PA. In other words, the game ball B1 launched from the game ball launching mechanism 27 and flowing into the game area PA is discharged from the game area PA by entering any one of the general winning opening 31, special electric winning device 32, first operation opening 33, second operation opening 34, and out opening 24a. The game ball B1 that has entered any one of the general winning opening 31, special electric winning device 32, first operation opening 33, second operation opening 34, and out opening 24a is guided to the back side of the game board 24.

[0140] On the back of the game board 24, discharge passage portions 42 to 48 are formed corresponding to the general winning opening 31, special electric winning device 32, first operation opening 33, second operation opening 34, and out opening 24a, respectively. The game ball B1 that has flowed into the discharge passage portions 42 to 48 flows down the discharge passage portions 42 to 48 into which it has flowed, and thus is guided to the lower end portion of the game board 24 on the back side of the game board 24 and collected by a discharge ball collection portion (not shown). Then, the game ball B1 collected by the discharge ball collection portion is discharged to a ball circulation device of the island facility where the pachinko machine 10 is installed in the game hall.

[0141] Each of the discharge passage portions 42 to 48 is provided with various detection sensors 42a to 48a for detecting the game ball B1. These discharge passage portions 42 to 48 and the detection sensors 42a to 48a will be described below. Since four general winning openings 31 are provided as already described, discharge passage portions 42 to 44 exist corresponding to each of these four. In this case, one detection sensor 42a, 43a is provided for each of the first discharge passage portion 42 corresponding to the leftmost general winning opening 31 and the second discharge passage portion 43 corresponding to the general winning opening 31 adjacent to the right thereof. Specifically, the first winning opening detection sensor 42a is provided at an intermediate position in the first discharge passage portion 42 so that a detection range exists, and the second winning opening detection sensor 43a is provided at an intermediate position in the second discharge passage portion 43 so that a detection range exists. The game ball B1 that has entered the leftmost general winning opening 31 is detected by the first winning opening detection sensor 42a while passing through the first discharge passage portion 42, and the game ball B1 that has entered the general winning opening 31 adjacent to the right thereof is detected by the second winning opening detection sensor 43a while passing through the second discharge passage portion 43. Further, a third discharge passage portion 44 is provided so as to merge at an intermediate position with respect to the two general winning openings 31 on the right side. The third discharge passage portion 44 has an entrance-side region corresponding to each of the two general winning openings 31, and has one exit-side region by the merging of these entrance-side regions in the middle. The third winning opening detection sensor 44a is provided at an intermediate position in the exit-side region of the third discharge passage portion 44 so that a detection range exists. The game ball B1 that has entered any one of the two general winning openings 31 on the right side is detected by the third winning opening detection sensor 44a while passing through the third discharge passage portion 44.

[0142] There is a fourth discharge passage portion 45 corresponding to the special electric winning device 32. A special electric detection sensor 45a is provided so that a detection range exists at an intermediate position of the fourth discharge passage portion 45. The game ball B1 that has entered the special electric winning device 32 is detected by the special electric detection sensor 45a while passing through the fourth discharge passage portion 45. There is a fifth discharge passage portion 46 corresponding to the first activation port 33. A first activation port detection sensor 46a is provided so that a detection range exists at an intermediate position of the fifth discharge passage portion 46. The game ball B1 that has entered the first activation port 33 is detected by the first activation port detection sensor 46a while passing through the fifth discharge passage portion 46. There is a sixth discharge passage portion 47 corresponding to the second activation port 34. A second activation port detection sensor 47a is provided so that a detection range exists at an intermediate position of the sixth discharge passage portion 47. The game ball B1 that has entered the second activation port 34 is detected by the second activation port detection sensor 47a while passing through the sixth discharge passage portion 47. There is a seventh discharge passage portion 48 corresponding to the out port 24a. An out port detection sensor 48a is provided so that a detection range exists at an intermediate position of the seventh discharge passage portion 48. The game ball B1 that has entered the out port 24a is detected by the out port detection sensor 48a while passing through the seventh discharge passage portion 48.

[0143] Among the various detection sensors 42a to 48a, the game ball B1 detected by any one of the detection sensors 42a to 48a will not be detected by the other detection sensors 42a to 48a. In addition, a first gate detection sensor 49a is provided for the first through gate 35 and a second gate detection sensor 50a is provided for the second through gate 39. Therefore, the game ball B1 passing through the first through gate 35 while flowing down in the game area PA is detected by the first gate detection sensor 49a, and the game ball B1 passing through the second through gate 39 is detected by the second gate detection sensor 50a.

[0144] As the various detection sensors 42a to 50a, electromagnetic induction type proximity sensors are all used, but the sensor to be used is arbitrary as long as the game ball B1 can be individually detected. Also, the various detection sensors 42a to 50a are electrically connected to a main control device 60 described later, and the detection results of the various detection sensors 42a to 50a are output to the main control device 60. Specifically, the various detection sensors 42a to 50a output a LOW level signal in a situation where the game ball B1 is not detected, and output a HI level signal in a situation where the game ball B1 is detected. Note that it is not limited to this, and the relationship between HI and LOW may be reversed.

[0145] As shown in FIG. 2, a display light emitting part 53 is provided above the window part 51. Also, a pair of left and right speaker parts 54 for outputting an effect sound or the like according to the game state are provided. Also, below the window part 51, an upper bulging part 55 bulging forward and a lower bulging part 56 are arranged side by side vertically. An upper dish 55a opening upward is provided inside the upper bulging part 55, and a lower dish 56a also opening upward is provided inside the lower bulging part 56. The upper dish 55a has a function of temporarily storing the game ball B1 paid out from a payout device described later and guiding it to the game ball launching mechanism 27 side while aligning it in a row. Also, the lower dish 56a has a function of storing the game ball B1 that has become surplus in the upper dish 55a.

[0146] Next, the configuration on the back side of the game machine main body 12 will be described.

[0147] As shown in FIG. 2, a main control device 60 that controls the main game is mounted on the back surface of the inner frame 13 (specifically, the game board 24). The main control device 60 is composed of a main control board 61 housed in a board box 60a. Note that a trace means for leaving a trace of its opening or a trace structure for leaving a trace of its opening may be provided on the board box 60a. As the trace means, a configuration of a coupling part that inseparably couples a plurality of case bodies constituting the board box 60a and requires destruction of a predetermined part when separated, or a seal sticker that leaves a trace of being peeled off by leaving an adhesive layer on the adhesion target when peeled off is considered to be pasted so as to straddle the boundary between the plurality of case bodies. As the trace structure, a configuration of applying an adhesive to the boundary between a plurality of case bodies constituting the board box 60a is considered.

[0148] A back pack unit 15 is installed so as to cover the back side of the inner frame 13 including the main control device 60. The back pack unit 15 includes a back pack 72 formed of a synthetic resin having transparency, and a payout mechanism unit 73 and a control device assembly unit 74 are attached to the back pack 72.

[0149] The payout mechanism unit 73 includes a tank 75 that is sequentially replenished with game balls B1 supplied from the island equipment in the game hall, and a payout device 76 for paying out the game balls B1 stored in the tank 75. The game balls B1 paid out from the payout device 76 are discharged to the upper tray 55a or the lower tray 56a through a payout passage provided on the downstream side of the payout device 76. Note that the payout mechanism unit 73 is supplied with a main power supply of, for example, 24 volts AC, and a back pack board having a power switch for performing ON and OFF operations of the power supply is mounted.

[0150] The control device set unit 74 includes a payout control device 77 having a function of controlling the payout device 76, and a power supply / launch control device 78 that generates and outputs predetermined power required by various control devices and the like, and controls the launch of the game ball B1 accompanying the operation of the launch operation device 28 by the player. These payout control device 77 and power supply / launch control device 78 are arranged one on top of the other in the front - rear direction so that the payout control device 77 is at the rear of the pachinko machine 10.

[0151] <Electrical Configuration of Pachinko Machine 10> FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 10.

[0152] The main control device 60 includes a main control board 61 that controls the main game and a power failure monitoring board 67 that monitors the power supply. The main control board 61 is equipped with an MPU 62. In the MPU 62, in addition to the main - side CPU 63 which is an arithmetic processing device including a control unit and an arithmetic unit, a main - side ROM 64, a main - side RAM 65, and a management IC 66 are built - in. In addition to the above - mentioned elements, the MPU 62 also has a built - in interrupt circuit, a timer circuit, a data input / output circuit, and various counter circuits as a random number generator.

[0153] The main - side ROM 64 is a memory (i.e., non - volatile storage means) such as a NOR - type flash memory and a NAND - type flash memory that does not require external power supply for memory retention, and is used as read - only. The main - side ROM 64 stores various control programs and fixed - value data executed by the main - side CPU 63. As shown in FIG. 12, the main - side ROM 64 stores a low - frequency winning determination value table T1 and a high - frequency winning determination value table T2 used in the general - power release lottery for determining whether or not to open the general - power accessory 34a. In the low - frequency winning determination value table T1 and the high - frequency winning determination value table T2, the determination values that are the winning targets in the general - power release lottery are recorded. The details of the low - frequency winning determination value table T1 and the high - frequency winning determination value table T2 will be described later.

[0154] The main-side RAM 65 is a memory that requires external power supply for memory retention, such as SRAM and DRAM (i.e., volatile memory means), and is used for both reading and writing. The main-side RAM 65 allows random access and has a shorter read time than the main-side ROM 64 when compared with the same data capacity. The main-side RAM 65 temporarily stores various data and the like for the execution of the control program stored in the main-side ROM 64.

[0155] The management IC 66 is a management device that manages the entry mode of the game ball B1 in the game area PA based on the information supplied from the main-side CPU 63. Although details will be described later, the management IC 66 grasps the entry history of the game ball B1 into the general winning port 31, the special electric winning device 32, the first operation port 33, the second operation port 34, and the out port 24a, and grasps the entry frequency into the general winning port 31, the special electric winning device 32, the first operation port 33, and the second operation port 34 according to the grasped entry history.

[0156] The MPU 62 is provided with an input port and an output port respectively. On the input side of the MPU 62, a power failure monitoring board 67 and a payout control device 77 provided in the main control device 60 are connected. A power supply / transmission control device 78 having a function of supplying operating power is connected to the power failure monitoring board 67, and operating power is supplied to the MPU 62 via the power failure monitoring board 67.

[0157] On the input side of the MPU62, various sensors such as various ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a are connected. As already explained, the various ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a are the first winning port detection sensor 42a, the second winning port detection sensor 43a, the third winning port detection sensor 44a, the special electricity detection sensor 45a, the first operation port detection sensor 46a, the second operation port detection sensor 47a, the out port detection sensor 48a, the first gate detection sensor 49a, and the second gate detection sensor 50a. Based on the detection results of these ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a, the main CPU63 performs ball entry determination for each ball entry section. Also, in the main CPU63, various lotteries are executed based on winning at the first operation port 33 and various lotteries are executed based on winning at the second operation port 34.

[0158] On the output side of the MPU62, a power failure monitoring board 67, a payout control device 77, and a sound and light control device 81 are connected. To the payout control device 77, for example, based on a game ball B1 entering the winning ball corresponding ball entry section among the above-mentioned ball entry sections where the occurrence of ball entry corresponds to the payout of the game ball B1, a bonus ball command is output. To the sound and light control device 81, various commands such as a variation command, a type command, and an opening command are output.

[0159] On the output side of the MPU62, a special electricity drive unit 32b for opening and closing the opening and closing door 32a of the special electricity winning device 32, a general electricity drive unit 34b for opening and closing the general electricity accessory 34a of the second operation port 34, a special diagram unit 37, a general diagram unit 38, and an adjustment drive unit 184 are connected. Incidentally, the special diagram unit 37 is provided with a special diagram display section 37a and a special diagram hold display section 37b, and all of these are connected to the output side of the MPU62. Similarly, the general diagram unit 38 is provided with a general diagram display section 38a and a general diagram hold display section 38b, and all of these are connected to the output side of the MPU62. The main control board 61 is provided with various driver circuits, and through the driver circuits, the MPU62 executes drive control of various drive units and various display sections.

[0160] That is, in the open / close execution mode, the main CPU 63 executes drive control of the special power drive unit 32b so that the special power winning device 32 is opened and closed. Also, when the open state of the normal power role 34a is won, the main CPU 63 executes drive control of the normal power drive unit 34b so that the normal power role 34a is opened and closed. Also, during each game, the main CPU 63 executes display control of the special chart display unit 37a. Also, when the lottery result of whether or not the normal power role 34a is opened is to be clearly indicated, the main CPU 63 executes display control of the normal chart display unit 38a. In addition, when a winning entry occurs at the first operating port 33 or the second operating port 34, or when a changing display starts in the special chart display unit 37a, the main CPU 63 executes display control of the special chart pending display unit 37b, and when a winning entry occurs at the through gates 35, 39, or when a changing display starts in the regular chart display unit 38a, the main CPU 63 executes display control of the regular chart pending display unit 38b.

[0161] The power failure monitoring board 67 relays between the main control board 61 and the power supply / launch control device 78, and monitors the voltage of 24 V DC stable, which is the maximum voltage output from the power supply / launch control device 78. The payout control device 77 controls the payout of prize balls and loan balls by the payout device 76 based on the prize ball command received from the main control device 60.

[0162] The power supply / launch control device 78 is connected to a commercial power supply (external power supply) in, for example, a game hall. Based on the external power supplied from the commercial power supply, the power supply / launch control device 78 generates the necessary operating power for each of the main control board 61, the payout control device 77, and the adjustment drive unit 184, and supplies the generated operating power. Incidentally, the power supply / launch control device 78 is provided with a power supply unit for power interruption such as a backup capacitor, and even when the power supply of the pachinko machine 10 is in an OFF state, power for memory retention is supplied from the power supply unit for power interruption to the main RAM 65 of the main control device 60 and the payout control device 77. The power supply / launch control device 78 is also responsible for the launch control of the game ball launching mechanism 27, and the game ball launching mechanism 27 is driven when a predetermined launch condition is met.

[0163] The sound and light control device 81 drives and controls the display light emitting unit 53 and the speaker unit 54 provided on the front door frame 14 based on various commands received from the main control device 60, and controls the display control device 82. The display control device 82 executes display control of the symbol display device 41 based on the commands received from the sound and light control device 81.

[0164] <Electrical configuration for performing various lotteries by the main CPU 63> Next, an electrical configuration for performing various lotteries by the main CPU 63 will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

[0165] During the game, the main CPU 63 uses various counter information to perform jackpot occurrence lottery, setting of the display of the special symbol display unit 37a, setting of the symbol display of the symbol display device 41, setting of the display of the normal symbol display unit 38a, etc. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, a jackpot random number counter C1 used for the lottery of jackpot occurrence, a jackpot type counter C2 used for determining the jackpot type, a reach random number counter C3 used for the reach occurrence lottery when the symbol display device 41 varies out of range, a random number initial value counter CINI used for setting the initial value of the jackpot random number counter C1, and a variation type counter CS for determining the display duration in the special symbol display unit 37a and the symbol display device 41 are used. Further, a normal electrical accessory opening counter C4 used for the lottery of whether to set the normal electrical accessory 34a of the second operation port 34 to the normal electrical open state, and an opening initial value counter C5 used for setting the initial value of the normal electrical accessory opening counter C4 are used. Note that the above counters C1 to C3, CINI, CS, C4, and C5 are provided in various counter areas 65b of the main RAM 65.

[0166] Each of the counters C1 to C3, CINI, CS, C4, and C5 is a loop counter that is incremented by 1 from its previous value each time it is updated and returns to "0" after reaching the maximum value. Each counter is updated at short time intervals. Information corresponding to the hit random number counter C1, the jackpot type counter C2, and the reach random number counter C3 is stored in a reserved storage area 65a provided as acquisition information storage means in the main-side RAM 65 when a winning occurs at the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34.

[0167] The reserved storage area 65a includes a reservation area RE and an execution area AE. The reservation area RE includes a first reservation area RE1, a second reservation area RE2, a third reservation area RE3, and a fourth reservation area RE4. In accordance with the winning history at the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34, combinations of numerical information of the hit random number counter C1, the jackpot type counter C2, and the reach random number counter C3 are stored as reservation information in any one of the reservation areas RE1 to RE4.

[0168] In this case, when a winning occurs at the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34 multiple times in a row, the numerical information is stored in chronological order in the order of the first reservation area RE1 → the second reservation area RE2 → the third reservation area RE3 → the fourth reservation area RE4 in the first reservation area RE1 to the fourth reservation area RE4 of the reservation area RE. By providing these four reservation areas RE1 to RE4 in this way, the winning history of the game ball B1 at the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34 can be reserved and stored up to a maximum of four.

[0169] Note that the number of reservations that can be stored is not limited to four and can be arbitrary, and can be other plural numbers such as two, three, or five or more, or can be a single number.

[0170] The execution area AE is an area for moving the numerical information stored in the first reservation area RE1 of the reservation area RE when starting the variable display of the special figure display section 37a. At the start of one game round, a winning or losing determination and the like are made based on the various numerical information stored in the execution area AE.

[0171] In addition, when a winning occurs in the first through gate 35 or the second through gate 39, the information corresponding to the general power service item release counter C4 is stored in the general power hold storage area 65c provided in the main side RAM 65.

[0172] The general power hold storage area 65c includes a general power hold area HA and a general power execution area HB. The general power hold area HA includes a first general power hold area HA1, a second general power hold area HA2, a third general power hold area HA3, and a fourth general power hold area HA4. According to the winning history of the first through gate 35 or the second through gate 39, the numerical information of the general power service item release counter C4 is stored as general power hold information in any one of the general power hold areas HA1 to HA4.

[0173] In this case, when a winning occurs in the first through gate 35 or the second through gate 39 continuously for a plurality of times, in the first general power hold area HA1 to the fourth general power hold area HA4, each numerical information is stored in chronological order in the order of the first general power hold area HA1 → the second general power hold area HA2 → the third general power hold area HA3 → the fourth general power hold area HA4. By providing four general power hold areas HA1 to HA4 in this way, the winning history of the game ball B1 in the first through gate 35 or the second through gate 39 can be stored in hold memory up to a maximum of 4.

[0174] Note that the number that can be stored in hold memory is not limited to 4 and is arbitrary, and may be other plural numbers such as 2, 3, or 5 or more, or may be a single number.

[0175] The general power execution area HB is an area where the general power hold information to be the target of the general power release lottery is stored when starting the variable display on the general power drawing display unit 38a (FIG. 3). Specifically, when starting the variable display on the general power drawing display unit 38a, the general power hold information stored in the first general power hold area HA1 is shifted to the general power execution area HB.

[0176] The above counters will be described in detail.

[0177] First, the general power device release counter C4 and the initial value counter C5 for release will be described. The general power device release counter C4 and the initial value counter C5 for release are loop counters that are incremented by 1 in order within the range of 0 to 65535 and return to "0" after reaching the maximum value. When the general power device release counter C4 completes one cycle, the value of the initial value counter C5 for release at that time is read as the initial value of the general power device release counter C4.

[0178] As already described, in this pachinko machine 10, the general power release lottery is executed when the game ball B1 wins the through gates 35 and 39. For the general power release lottery, the numerical information updated by the general power device release counter C4 is used. Specifically, when the game ball B1 wins the through gates 35 and 39, the numerical information updated by the general power device release counter C4 is acquired as the release random number. Hereinafter, the numerical information that is updated by the general power device release counter C4, acquired when the game ball B1 wins the through gates 35 and 39, and used for the general power release lottery will be referred to as the release random number. In the general power release lottery, it is determined whether the release random number to be lottery-targeted is the winning determination value that is the target of the general power release win. When an affirmative determination is made, it is a general power release win, and when a negative determination is made, it is a losing result.

[0179] In this pachinko machine 10, a plurality of types of support modes are set so that the support modes by the general power device 34a are different from each other. Specifically, in the support mode, when compared with the situation where the launch of the game ball B1 continues in the same mode in the game area PA, the high-frequency support mode and the low-frequency support mode are set so that the frequency at which the general power device 34a of the second operating port 34 becomes the open state per unit time is relatively high or low.

[0180] First, the general power release lottery executed in the low-frequency support mode will be described. In the main-side ROM 64 (Fig. 12), a low-frequency winning determination value table T1 in which the winning determination values that are the targets of general power release winning in the general power release lottery executed in the low-frequency support mode are recorded is stored. Fig. 14(a) shows the low-frequency winning determination value table T1.

[0181] As shown in Fig. 14(a), the winning determination values of the general power release lottery executed in the low-frequency support mode are set to (250×n - 5) to (250×n). Here, the variable n is a natural number from 1 to 262. The probability of winning the general power release in the general power release lottery executed in the low-frequency support mode is approximately 1 / 42.

[0182] As shown in Fig. 14(a), the winning determination values that are the targets of general power release winning are in consecutive numbers in units of 6. Also, the update period of the random number for release in the general power device release counter C4 is 4 msec. Therefore, in the general power device release counter C4, the period during which the updated random number for release becomes the winning determination value of the general power release winning target in the general power release lottery in the low-frequency support mode continues for 24 msec.

[0183] If the 24-msec period during which the winning determination values that are the targets of general power release winning continue is defined as the winning target period, as shown in Fig. 14(a), in the low-frequency support mode, the winning target period occurs at a 1-sec cycle. Here, if the timing when the game ball B1 discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 (Fig. 4) wins in the first through gate 35 is defined as the winning possible timing, as described above, the cycle at which the winning possible timing occurs is the same 1 sec as the cycle at which the winning target period occurs in the low-frequency support mode.

[0184] Therefore, in the low-frequency support mode, the period during which the winning timing overlaps the winning target period becomes the continuous winning period in which general electric open wins occur continuously. The continuous winning period continues until the initial value of the general electric device open counter C4 is updated and the occurrence timing of the winning target period is shifted. When the occurrence timing of the winning target period is shifted, it becomes a non-winning continuous period in which non-winning results continue in the general electric open lottery executed in the low-frequency support mode until the winning target period and the winning timing overlap again.

[0185] As described above, the winning timing at which the game ball B1 is discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 and a winning occurs at the first through gate 35 can occur at a 1 sec cycle. Therefore, in the non-winning continuous period and the continuous winning period in the low-frequency support mode, the general drawing variation time during which the general drawing display unit 38a (FIG. 3) varies is set to 0.5 sec, which is shorter than 1 sec. For this reason, even if the discharge of the game ball B1 from the adjustment mechanism 180 continues at a 1 sec cycle, the variation of the general drawing display unit 38a corresponding to the previous winning has ended at the time of winning occurrence. As a result, it is possible to prevent a state in which the general drawing hold information exceeds the upper limit number (4).

[0186] Next, the general electric open lottery executed in the high-frequency support mode will be described. In the main side ROM 64 (FIG. 12), a high-frequency winning determination value table T2 in which winning determination values that are the targets of general electric open wins in the general electric open lottery executed in the high-frequency support mode are recorded is stored. FIG. 14(b) shows the high-frequency winning determination value table T2.

[0187] As shown in FIG. 14(b), the winning determination value of the general electric open lottery executed in the high-frequency support mode is set to (m to m + 2). Here, the variable m is a natural number from 1 to 65501. The probability of winning the general electric open in the general electric open lottery executed in the high-frequency support mode is approximately 3 / 5. Also, the general drawing variation time in the high-frequency support mode is set to 0.5 sec in order to accelerate the consumption of the general drawing hold information.

[0188] When the general power release is won in the low-frequency support mode, the release mode of the general power device 34a is the same as that of the general power device 34a when the general power release is won in the high-frequency support mode. Specifically, triggered by one win of the general power release, a series of opening and closing operations in which the general power device 34a is in the open state for 1 second and in the closed state for 1 second are repeated 5 times. Also, in the low-frequency support mode, the guaranteed time (that is, the duration of one display in the general diagram display unit 38a) that is minimally guaranteed when the next general power release lottery is conducted after one general power release lottery is set to the same length as the guaranteed time in the high-frequency support mode.

[0189] In the case of the non-winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, the general power release win basically does not occur in the general power release lottery conducted triggered by winning the first through gate 35. On the other hand, even in the non-winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, winning the second through gate 39 without the upward adjustment mechanism 180 may occur. In this case, in the general power release lottery conducted triggered by winning the second through gate 39, the general power release is won with a low probability (approximately 1 / 42). In the non-winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, both winning the first operation port 33 and winning the second operation port 34 of the game ball B1 may occur. In the non-winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, since the possibility of the general power release win occurring and the opening and closing operation of the general power device 34a being executed is low, the probability of winning the first operation port 33 is higher than the probability of winning the second operation port 34.

[0190] In the case of the high-frequency support mode, in the general power release lottery conducted triggered by winning the through gates 35 and 39, the general power release is won with a high probability (approximately 3 / 5). Here, the shortest interval at which the game ball B1 is launched from the game ball launching mechanism 27 (Figure 2) is 0.6 seconds. In contrast, the shortest interval at which the game ball B1 is released from the adjustment mechanism 180 toward the first through gate 35 is 1 second. For this reason, in the high-frequency support mode, it is more advantageous for the player to aim for the second through gate 39 than to aim for the first through gate 35.

[0191] In the high-frequency support mode, it is possible for both a winning at the first activation port 33 and a winning at the second activation port 34 of the game ball B1 to occur. In the high-frequency support mode, since the general power release winning occurs frequently and the opening and closing operation of the general power device 34a is executed frequently, the possibility of a winning at the second activation port 34 occurring is higher than the possibility of a winning at the first activation port 33 occurring. Since a predetermined number of game balls B1 are paid out triggered by a winning at the second activation port 34, in the high-frequency support mode, the player can play the game while not reducing the number of balls in hand.

[0192] In the case of the winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, in the general power release lottery conducted triggered by a winning at the first through gate 35, the general power release winning occurs continuously with a high probability. For this reason, the frequency of the opening and closing operation of the general power device 34a increases, and in the winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, both a winning at the first activation port 33 and a winning at the second activation port 34 of the game ball B1 can occur.

[0193] In the case of the winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, the shortest interval at which the general power release winning occurs continuously is 1 second, and aiming at the first through gate 35 to shoot the game ball B1 has a higher possibility of becoming the general power release winning than aiming at the second through gate 39 to shoot the game ball B1. For this reason, in the winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, it is more advantageous for the player to aim at the first through gate 35 than to aim at the second through gate 39.

[0194] During the winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, when performing the launch operation of the game ball B1 aiming at the first through gate 35, the possibility of conducting the general power release lottery and winning the general power release is higher than that when performing the launch operation of the game ball B1 aiming at the second through gate 39 in the high-frequency support mode and then conducting the general power release lottery and winning the general power release. Also, as already explained, the opening mode of the general power device 34a when winning the general power release in the low-frequency support mode is the same as that of the general power device 34a when winning the general power release in the high-frequency support mode. Therefore, in the low-frequency support mode, when it becomes the winning consecutive period, temporarily, the winning into the second operation port 34 is more likely to occur than in the high-frequency support mode.

[0195] The winning consecutive period is set in the low-frequency support mode where the player's expectation for winning into the second operation port 34 is low, and the timing of transitioning from the non-winning consecutive period to the winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode is not notified to the player. For this reason, during the non-winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, the player will perform the launch operation of the game ball B1 aiming at the first through gate 35 while expecting to transition to the winning consecutive period.

[0196] In the case of a pachinko machine where the winning consecutive period does not occur, the possibility of winning the general power release in the low-frequency support mode is lower than that in the high-frequency support mode. Therefore, the player's expectation for winning the general power release is lower in the low-frequency support mode than in the high-frequency support mode.

[0197] On the other hand, in the case of the pachinko machine 10, by adopting a configuration that allows for a transition to the winning consecutive period by changing the initial value of the general-electric accessory release counter C4 during the non-winning consecutive period of the low-frequency support mode, it is possible to make the player expect that, even in the low-frequency support mode, there may be a transition to the winning consecutive period where the probability of winning the general-electric release is higher than in the high-frequency support mode. And, by adopting a configuration that does not notify the player of the timing of the transition from the non-winning consecutive period to the winning consecutive period, the player can continuously maintain the expectation that a transition to the winning consecutive period may occur at any time.

[0198] Therefore, while maintaining a state where the probability of winning the general-electric release in the low-frequency support mode, which combines the non-winning consecutive period and the winning consecutive period, is lower than that in the high-frequency support mode, it is possible to increase the player's expectation of winning the general-electric release in the low-frequency support mode.

[0199] Note that the configuration for making the high-frequency support mode have a higher frequency of the general-electric release state per unit time than the low-frequency support mode is not limited to the above. Here, the low-frequency support mode is the low-frequency support mode that combines the non-winning consecutive period and the winning consecutive period. For example, in a configuration where multiple types of guaranteed times (for example, the time of the variable display executed on the general diagram display unit 38a based on winning in the through gates 35, 39) are prepared for the next general-electric release lottery after one general-electric release lottery is conducted, in the high-frequency support mode, a shorter guaranteed time may be more likely to be selected or the average guaranteed time may be set to be shorter than in the low-frequency support mode. Also, by applying any one condition or an arbitrary combination of conditions among increasing the number of release times, lengthening the release time, shortening the guaranteed time ensured for the next general-electric release lottery after one general-electric release lottery is conducted, shortening the average time of such guaranteed times, and increasing the winning probability, the advantage of the high-frequency support mode over the low-frequency support mode may be enhanced.

[0200] Here, the winning consecutive period and non-winning consecutive period that occur during the low-frequency support mode will be described based on FIGS. 15(a) to (c) and FIGS. 16(a) to (d). First, in a comparison pachinko machine where the winning consecutive period and non-winning consecutive period do not occur, the timing of a general power release win will be described based on the time charts of FIGS. 15(a) to (c). FIG. 15(a) shows the timing at which winning can occur at the through gates 35 and 39 in the comparison pachinko machine, FIG. 15(b) shows the winning target period in which the numerical information (release random number) updated in the general power accessory release counter C4 of the comparison pachinko machine becomes the winning determination value that is the target of the general power release win, and FIG. 15(c) shows the timing at which a general power release win can occur in the comparison pachinko machine.

[0201] Here, the comparison pachinko machine is a pachinko machine in which the adjustment mechanism 180 (FIG. 4) is not provided on the game board 24 in the pachinko machine 10 of the present embodiment, and the initial value of the release random number updated by the general power accessory release counter C4 is not updated. Also, at the timings t1 to t6 shown in FIGS. 15(a) to (c), the comparison pachinko machine is in the low-frequency support mode. Since the timing at which winning occurs at the through gates 35 and 39 in the comparison pachinko machine is random, the timing shown in FIG. 15(a) is an example.

[0202] As shown in FIG. 15(a), winning of the game ball B1 at the through gates 35 and 39 occurs at the timing of t1. However, as shown in FIG. 15(b), the timing of t1 is outside the winning target period. The winning target period starts at the timing of t2 after the timing of t1. Therefore, even if the release random number is acquired triggered by the winning that occurred at the timing of t1 and the general power release lottery is conducted using the release random number, it will result in a non-winning result.

[0203] As shown in FIG. 15(b), when the next winning target period starts at the timing of t3 after the timing of t2, the winning target period continues for 24 msec. As shown in FIG. 15(a), when a winning in the through gates 35 and 39 of the game ball B1 occurs at the timing of t4 within the winning target period, a release random number is acquired triggered by the winning that occurred at the timing of t4. Then, as shown in FIG. 15(c), in the general electric release lottery performed using the release random number acquired at the timing of t4, a general electric release win occurs.

[0204] As shown in FIG. 15(b), at the timing of t5 which is 1 sec after the timing of t3, the next winning target period that continues for 24 msec starts. Then, as shown in FIG. 15(a), when a winning in the through gates 35 and 39 of the game ball B1 occurs at the timing of t6 after the end of the winning target period, a release random number is acquired. As shown in FIG. 15(c), the general electric release lottery performed using the release random number acquired at the timing of t6 results in a non-winning outcome.

[0205] Thus, in the comparative pachinko machine configured such that the adjustment mechanism 180 is not provided on the game board 24 and the initial value of the release random number is not updated, the timing at which a winning in the through gates 35 and 39 of the game ball B1 occurs is random, and a general electric release win occurs only when the timing of the winning overlaps with the winning target period that starts at 1 sec intervals. For this reason, in the comparative pachinko machine, a continuous winning period and a continuous non-winning period do not occur.

[0206] Next, in the pachinko machine 10 of the present embodiment, the timing at which the general electric release winning occurs will be described based on the time charts of FIGS. 16(a) to 16(d). FIG. 16(a) shows the timing at which winning in the first through gate 35 of the game ball B1 can occur, FIG. 16(b) shows the winning target period in which the numerical information (release random number) updated in the general electric accessory release counter C4 becomes the winning determination value that is the target of the general electric release winning, FIG. 16(c) shows the initial value update timing of the numerical information (release random number) updated by the general electric accessory release counter C4, and FIG. 16(d) shows the timing at which the general electric release winning can occur. At the timings t1 to t12 shown in FIGS. 16(a) to 16(d), the pachinko machine 10 is in the low-frequency support mode.

[0207] As shown in FIG. 16(b), the winning target period starts at the timing of t1 and continues for 24 msec. As shown in FIG. 16(a), the timing t2 at which winning in the first through gate 35 occurs is located between the winning target period starting at the timing of t1 and the next winning target period starting at the timing of t3 which is 1 sec after the timing of t1, and is a timing outside the winning target period. Therefore, even if winning in the first through gate 35 occurs at the timing of t2, it does not result in a general electric release winning.

[0208] As already described, the interval at which the game ball B1 can be discharged from the adjustment mechanism 180 toward the first through gate 35 is 1 sec. As shown in FIG. 16(a), the timing t4 at which winning in the first through gate 35 can occur next to the timing of t2 is the timing 1 sec after the timing of t2. As shown in FIG. 16(b), the timing of t4 is a timing outside the winning target period. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16(d), even if winning in the first through gate 35 occurs at the timing of t4, it does not result in a general electric release winning.

[0209] The period during which winning the first through gate 35 is possible is the same as the occurrence period of the winning target period. Therefore, when the timing at which winning the first through gate 35 can occur is shifted from the winning target period, it becomes a non-winning continuous period in which losing results are continuous in the general power release lottery.

[0210] As shown in Fig. 16(c), the initial value of the general power device release counter C4 is updated at the timing of t5. When the initial value of the general power device release counter C4 is updated, the winning timing for the first through gate 35 may shift and overlap with the winning target period. In this case, as shown in Fig. 16(b), the winning target period starts at the timing of t6, which is after the timing of t5. Then, as shown in Fig. 16(a), a winning for the first through gate 35 occurs at the timing of t7 within the winning target period, and a release random number is obtained. As shown in Fig. 16(d), when the general power release lottery is executed using the release random number obtained at the timing of t7, a general power release win occurs in the general power release lottery.

[0211] As shown in Fig. 16(b), the winning target period starts again at the timing of t8, which is 1 second after the timing of t6. Also, as shown in Fig. 16(a), a winning for the first through gate 35 occurs at the timing of t9, which is 1 second after the timing of t7, and a release random number is obtained. In the general power release lottery performed using the release random number obtained at the timing of t9, a general power release win occurs. Thus, once the winning timing for the first through gate 35 overlaps with the winning target period, it becomes a winning continuous period in which general power release wins occur continuously in the general power release lottery.

[0212] Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16(c), at the timing of t10, the initial value of the general electric accessory opening counter C4 is updated again. As a result, the winning timing for the first through gate 35 is shifted from the winning target period. As shown in FIG. 16(a), a winning occurs at the first through gate 35 at the timing of t11, which is after the timing of t10, and a random number for opening is acquired. As shown in FIG. 16(b), the timing of t11 is outside the winning target period, and the next winning target period starts at the timing of t12, which is after the timing of t11. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16(d), when the general electric opening lottery is executed using the random number for opening acquired at the timing of t11, a losing result is obtained. Thus, when the winning timing for the first through gate 35 is shifted from the winning target period due to the update of the initial value of the general electric accessory opening counter C4, the losing result returns to the non-winning continuous period where the losing results are consecutive in the general electric opening lottery.

[0213] As shown in FIG. 12, in the main RAM 65, a hold flag 65d that enables the hold of the initial value update in the general electric accessory opening counter C4 by setting "1" at the start timing of the winning continuous period, and a hold completion flag 65e that is set to "1" when the initial value update in the general electric accessory opening counter C4 has already been held during the winning continuous period are provided.

[0214] In this pachinko machine 10, when the winning continuous period occurs, thereafter, at the initial value update timing of the general electric accessory opening counter C4 that is first encountered, the initial value update of the general electric accessory opening counter C4 is configured to be held once. By frequently updating the initial value of the general electric accessory opening counter C4, the possibility of entering the winning continuous period during the non-winning continuous period is increased, and by holding the initial value update of the general electric accessory opening counter C4 when the winning continuous period occurs, the winning continuous period is configured to continue for a long time. Thereby, the occurrence of the winning continuous period can be made attractive to the player. By making the occurrence of the winning continuous period an event expected by the player, the interest of the game can be improved.

[0215] Next, the winning random number counter C1 will be described. The winning random number counter C1 is configured to be incremented by 1 in sequence within the range of, for example, 0 to 599, and to return to "0" after reaching the maximum value. In particular, when the winning random number counter C1 makes one full cycle, the value of the random number initial value counter CINI at that time is read as the initial value of the winning random number counter C1. Note that the random number initial value counter CINI is a loop counter similar to the winning random number counter C1 (value = 0 to 599). The winning random number counter C1 is updated periodically and stored in the reserved storage area 65a of the main-side RAM 65 at the timing when the game ball B1 wins the first activation port 33 or the second activation port 34.

[0216] The values of the random numbers for jackpot winning are stored as a win / loss table in the main-side ROM 64. As the win / loss table, a win / loss table for the low-probability mode and a win / loss table for the high-probability mode are set. That is, in the pachinko machine 10, as the lottery mode in the win / loss lottery means, a low-probability mode and a high-probability mode are set.

[0217] In the game state where the win / loss table for the low-probability mode is referred to in the above lottery, the number of random numbers for jackpot winning is 2. On the other hand, in the game state where the win / loss table for the high-probability mode is referred to in the above lottery, the number of random numbers for jackpot winning is 20. Note that if the winning probability of the high-probability mode is higher than that of the low-probability mode, the number of the above winning random numbers is arbitrary.

[0218] The jackpot type counter C2 is configured to be incremented by 1 in sequence within the range of 0 to 29, and to return to "0" after reaching the maximum value. The jackpot type counter C2 is updated periodically and stored in the reserved storage area 65a at the timing when the game ball B1 wins the first activation port 33 or the second activation port 34.

[0219] In this pachinko machine 10, a plurality of jackpot results are set. These plurality of jackpot results are set by providing differences in three conditions: (1) the mode of opening and closing control of the special electric winning device 32 in the opening and closing execution mode, (2) the lottery mode in the winning or losing lottery means after the end of the opening and closing execution mode, and (3) the support mode in the general electric accessory 34a of the second operation port 34 after the end of the opening and closing execution mode.

[0220] As the mode of opening and closing control of the special electric winning device 32 in the opening and closing execution mode, a high-frequency winning mode and a low-frequency winning mode are set so that the frequency of winning in the special electric winning device 32 becomes relatively high or low from the start to the end of the opening and closing execution mode. Specifically, in either the high-frequency winning mode or the low-frequency winning mode, the round games of a predetermined number of times are executed with the upper limit.

[0221] Here, the round game is a game that continues until either one of the conditions is satisfied: the elapse of a predetermined upper limit continuous time and the winning of a predetermined upper limit number of game balls B1 in the special electric winning device 32. Also, the number of round games in the opening and closing execution mode triggered by the jackpot result is the same fixed round number regardless of the type of jackpot result that triggered the transition. Specifically, the upper limit number of round games is set to 15 rounds regardless of which jackpot result occurs.

[0222] In addition, in this pachinko machine 10, a plurality of types are set by making the opening duration of the special electric winning device 32 different each time it is opened. Specifically, a long-duration mode set to 29 seconds with a long opening duration and a short-duration mode set to 0.06 seconds with a short opening duration shorter than the above long duration are set.

[0223] In this pachinko machine 10, when the firing operation device 28 is being operated by the player, the game ball firing mechanism 27 is driven and controlled so that one game ball B1 is fired toward the game area PA every 0.6 seconds. Also, the upper limit number of the end conditions for the round game is set to 9. Then, in the long-time mode among the above opening modes, an opening continuation time longer than the product of the firing cycle of the game ball B1 and one round game is set. On the other hand, in the short-time mode, an opening continuation time shorter than the product of the firing cycle of the game ball B1 and one round game, more specifically, shorter than the firing cycle of the game ball B1 is set. Therefore, when one opening is performed in the long-time mode, it is expected that winnings corresponding to the upper limit number in one round game will occur for the special electric winning device 32, and when one opening is performed in the short-time mode, it is expected that no winnings will occur for the special electric winning device 32 or, even if winnings occur, it will be about one.

[0224] In the high-frequency winning mode, the special electric winning device 32 is opened once in each round game in the long-time mode. On the other hand, in the low-frequency winning mode, the special electric winning device 32 is opened once in each round game in the short-time mode.

[0225] Note that the number of opening and closing operations of the special electric winning device 32, the number of round games, the opening continuation time for one opening, and the upper limit number in one round game in the high-frequency winning mode and the low-frequency winning mode are not limited to the above values and are arbitrary as long as the frequency of winnings occurring for the special electric winning device 32 from the start to the end of the opening and closing execution mode is higher in the high-frequency winning mode than in the low-frequency winning mode.

[0226] The destination for distributing the game result to the jackpot type counter C2 is stored as a distribution table in the main-side ROM 64. And as such a distribution destination, a low-probability jackpot result, a low-winning high-probability jackpot result, and a most advantageous jackpot result are set.

[0227] The low-probability big win result is a big win result in which the opening / closing execution mode becomes the high-frequency winning mode, and furthermore, after the end of the opening / closing execution mode, the win / loss lottery mode becomes the low-probability mode and the support mode becomes the high-frequency support mode. However, this high-frequency support mode shifts to the low-frequency support mode when the number of game plays reaches the end criterion number of times (specifically, 100 times) after the shift.

[0228] The low-winning high-probability big win result is a big win result in which the opening / closing execution mode becomes the low-frequency winning mode, and furthermore, after the end of the opening / closing execution mode, the win / loss lottery mode becomes the high-probability mode and the support mode becomes the high-frequency support mode. These high-probability mode and high-frequency support mode continue until the lottery result in the win / loss lottery becomes a big win state win and a shift to the big win state occurs due to that.

[0229] The most advantageous big win result is a big win result in which the opening / closing execution mode becomes the high-frequency winning mode, and furthermore, after the end of the opening / closing execution mode, the win / loss lottery mode becomes the high-probability mode and the support mode becomes the high-frequency support mode. These high-probability mode and high-frequency support mode continue until the lottery result in the win / loss lottery becomes a big win state win and a shift to the big win state occurs due to that.

[0230] Note that in relation to each of the above game states, the normal game state refers to a state in which, instead of the opening / closing execution mode, the win / loss lottery mode is the low-probability mode and the support mode is the low-frequency support mode. Also, as a game result configuration, it may be such that the low-winning high-probability big win result is not set. Also, in the opening / closing execution mode in the low-winning high-probability big win result, the number of rounds of the round game may be configured to be less than that in the case of the low-probability big win result and the most advantageous big win result.

[0231] In the distribution table, among the values of the big win type counter C2 from "0 to 29", "0 to 9" correspond to the low-probability big win result, "10 to 14" correspond to the low-winning high-probability big win result, and "15 to 29" correspond to the most advantageous big win result.

[0232] Next, the reach random number counter C3 will be described. The reach random number counter C3 is configured to be incremented by 1 in order within a range of, for example, 0 to 238, and return to "0" after reaching the maximum value. Here, in the pachinko machine 10, an expected effect is set as a type of display effect in the symbol display device 41. The expected effect refers to a gaming machine that includes a symbol display device 41 capable of performing variable display of symbols, and in a game round that results in a predetermined jackpot, the final stop result becomes the result corresponding to the grant. It refers to a display state that makes the player think that it is a variable display state in which the result corresponding to the grant is likely to occur in the stage before the stop result is derived and displayed after the variable display of the symbols in the symbol display device 41 is started. Specifically, for the result corresponding to the grant, a combination of symbols with the same number assigned on any of the effective lines is stopped and displayed.

[0233] Two types of expected effects are set: a reach display and a preview display for expecting the occurrence of the reach display and the occurrence of the result corresponding to the grant in the stage before the reach display occurs.

[0234] The reach display includes a display state in which a combination of reach symbols is displayed by stopping the symbols for a part of the symbol columns among the plurality of symbol columns displayed on the display surface 41a of the symbol display device 41, and variable display of the symbols is performed in the remaining symbol columns in that state. Also, in the state where the combination of reach symbols is displayed as described above, while performing variable display of the symbols in the remaining symbol columns, a reach effect is performed by displaying a predetermined character or the like as a moving image on the background screen, or after reducing or hiding the combination of reach symbols, a reach effect is performed by displaying a predetermined character or the like as a moving image on substantially the entire display surface 41a.

[0235] The preview display includes a mode in which a character is displayed separately from the symbols on the symbol display column in a situation where the variable display of symbols has started on the display surface 41a of the symbol display device 41, in a situation where symbols are variably displayed in all symbol columns, or in a situation where symbols are variably displayed in a plurality of symbol columns among some symbol columns. Also included are those that change the background screen to a predetermined mode different from the previous mode and those that change the symbols on the symbol display column to a predetermined mode different from the previous mode. Such a preview display can occur in any game round whether a reach display is performed or not, but it is set to occur with a higher probability when a reach display is performed than when a reach display is not performed.

[0236] The reach display is executed regardless of the value of the reach random number counter C3 in a game round where the same combination of symbols is finally stopped and displayed. Also, in a game round corresponding to a jackpot result where the same combination of symbols is not stopped and displayed, it is not executed regardless of the value of the reach random number counter C3. Further, in a game round corresponding to a non-winning result, it is executed when the reach random number counter C3 obtained at a predetermined timing by referring to the reach table stored in the main side ROM 64 corresponds to the occurrence of the reach display.

[0237] On the other hand, the decision of whether to perform a preview display or not is not made by the main control device 60, but is made by the audio-visual control device 81. In this case, the audio-visual control device 81 executes a lottery process for the preview display so as to satisfy at least one of the conditions that a preview display is more likely to occur in a game round corresponding to any jackpot result than in a game round corresponding to a non-winning result, and that a preview display with a low appearance rate is more likely to occur. Incidentally, the result of this lottery is reflected when an effect for the game is executed on the symbol display device 41.

[0238] Next, the variable type counter CS will be described. The variable type counter CS is configured to be incremented by 1 in sequence within a range of, for example, 0 to 198, and to return to "0" after reaching the maximum value. The variable type counter CS is used in determining, by the main CPU 63, the display duration in the special figure display unit 37a and the display duration of the symbols in the symbol display device 41. The variable type counter CS is updated once each time the normal process described later is executed once, and is repeatedly updated even within the remaining time in the normal process. Then, the buffer value of the variable type counter CS is acquired when determining the variable pattern at the start of the variable display in the special figure display unit 37a and at the start of symbol variation by the symbol display device 41.

[0239] <Regarding the processing configuration of the main CPU 63> Next, each process executed by the main CPU 63 to advance the game will be described. Such processes of the main CPU 63 are roughly classified into a main process that is started when the power is turned on and a timer interrupt process that is started periodically (at a cycle of 4 msec in this embodiment).

[0240] <Main process> First, the main process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 17.

[0241] First, a power-on wait process is executed (step S101). In the power-on wait process, for example, the process waits without proceeding to the next process until a predetermined time for waiting (specifically, 1 sec) has elapsed since the main process was started. The operation start and initial setting of the symbol display device 41 will be completed during the execution period of such a power-on wait process. Then, access to the main RAM 65 is permitted (step S102), and the internal function registers of the main CPU 63 are set (step S103).

[0242] Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the RAM erase switch provided in the power supply and emission control device 78 is manually operated (step S104), and further, it is determined whether or not "1" is set in the power failure flag of the main-side RAM 65 (step S105). Also, a checksum calculation process for calculating a checksum is executed (step S106), and it is determined whether or not the checksum matches the checksum stored at the time of power-off, that is, the validity of the stored data is determined (step S107).

[0243] In this pachinko machine 10, for example, when initializing RAM data at the time of power-on such as at the start of business in a game hall, the power is turned on while pressing the RAM erase switch. Therefore, if the RAM erase switch is pressed, the process proceeds to step S108. Also, when the power-off occurrence information is not set or when an abnormality in the data stored and held by the checksum is confirmed, the process similarly proceeds to step S108. In step S108, the main-side RAM 65 is cleared. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0244] On the other hand, when the RAM erase switch is not pressed, the process proceeds to step S109 without executing the process of step S108 on the condition that "1" is set in the power failure flag and the checksum is normal. In step S109, a power-on setting process is executed. In the power-on setting process, a predetermined area of the main-side RAM 65 such as initialization of the power failure flag is set to an initial value, and a command corresponding to the current game state is transmitted to the audio-visual control device 81. Also, after executing the process of step S109, a recognition process for causing the management IC 66 to recognize various information (step S110) and a data output process for outputting various data to a reading device connected to the MPU 62 are executed (step S111). Details of these recognition process and data output process will be described later.

[0245] The main CPU 63 is configured to periodically execute timer interrupt processing, but the generation of timer interrupt processing is prohibited at the stage when the main processing is started. The state in which the generation of this timer interrupt processing is prohibited is released at the timing before the processing of step S111 is completed and the processing of step S112 is executed, and the execution of timer interrupt processing is permitted. Thereby, when the supply of operating power to the main CPU 63 is started, the data output processing of step S111 ends, and the timer interrupt processing is not executed until the stage before the processing of step S112 is started. Therefore, until such a situation occurs, the processing for advancing the game by the main CPU 63 is not started.

[0246] Thereafter, the process proceeds to the remaining processes of steps S112 to S115. That is, although the main CPU 63 is configured to periodically execute timer interrupt processing, a remaining time occurs between one timer interrupt processing and the next timer interrupt processing. This remaining time will vary according to the processing completion time of each timer interrupt processing, but the remaining processes of steps S112 to S115 are repeatedly executed using such irregular time. In this regard, it can be said that the remaining processes of steps S112 to S115 are non-periodic processes that are executed non-periodically.

[0247] In the residual process, first, in step S112, an interrupt disable setting is performed to prohibit the occurrence of timer interrupt processing. In the subsequent step S113, a random number initial value update process for updating the random number initial value counter CINI and the release initial value counter C5 is executed, and in step S114, a variable counter update process for updating the variation type counter CS is executed. In these update processes, the current numerical information is read from the corresponding counter in the main-side RAM 65, and after executing the process of adding 1 to the read numerical information, the process of overwriting the original counter is executed. In this case, when the counter value reaches the maximum value, it is cleared to "0" respectively. Thereafter, in step S115, an interrupt enable setting is performed to switch from the state where the occurrence of timer interrupt processing is prohibited to the enabled state. After executing the process of step S115, the process returns to step S112, and the processes of steps S112 to S115 are repeated.

[0248] <Timer interrupt processing> Next, the timer interrupt processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 18. The timer interrupt processing is executed periodically (for example, at a cycle of 4 msec).

[0249] First, the power failure information storage process is executed (step S201). In the power failure information storage process, it is monitored whether a power failure signal corresponding to the occurrence of power-off is received from the power failure monitoring board 67. When the occurrence of power failure is identified, after executing the power failure time process, an infinite loop is entered. In the power failure time process, a "1" is set in the power failure flag of the main-side RAM 65, and a checksum is calculated and the calculated checksum is saved.

[0250] After that, a lottery random number update process is executed (step S202). In the lottery random number update process, updates of a winning random number counter C1, a jackpot type counter C2, and a reach random number counter C3 are executed. Specifically, current numerical information is sequentially read out from the winning random number counter C1, the jackpot type counter C2, and the reach random number counter C3, and after executing a process of adding 1 to each of the read numerical information, a process of overwriting the original counters is executed. In this case, when the counter value reaches the maximum value, each is cleared to "0".

[0251] After step S202, in step S203, an opening counter update process is executed to update a general electric accessory opening counter C4 (FIG. 13). Details of the opening counter update process will be described later. After that, in step S204, a random number initial value update process for updating a random number initial value counter CINI and an opening initial value counter C5 (FIG. 13) is executed in the same manner as in step S113, and in step S205, a variable counter update process is executed in the same manner as in step S114.

[0252] The general electric accessory opening counter C4 is a loop counter, and the opening counter update process for updating the general electric accessory opening counter C4 is executed periodically. Therefore, the initial value update timing of the general electric accessory opening counter C4 that occurs when the general electric accessory opening counter C4 makes one round occurs periodically.

[0253] Here, when the opening initial value counter C5 for updating the initial value of the general electric accessory opening counter C4 is a loop counter and the update of the opening initial value counter C5 is executed periodically, the numerical information obtained as the initial value from the opening initial value counter C5 at the initial value update timing of the general electric accessory opening counter C4 is limited to only a part of the numerical information updated by the opening initial value counter C5.

[0254] In this case, the occurrence timing of the winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode already described does not become random. A situation may occur where the winning target period and the winning possible timing do not overlap, and the winning consecutive period does not occur, a situation where the winning target period and the winning possible timing frequently overlap, and the winning consecutive period frequently occurs, and a situation where the winning consecutive period occurs regularly and the occurrence timing of the winning consecutive period can be easily inferred by the player.

[0255] On the other hand, the pachinko machine 10 is configured to execute the random number initial value update process for updating the open initial value counter C5 both in the periodic timer interrupt process and in the non-periodic remaining process of the main process. For this reason, the winning target period and the winning possible timing overlap at an appropriate frequency. As a result, in the low-frequency support mode combining the non-winning consecutive period and the winning consecutive period, it is possible to generate the winning consecutive period in a mode where the possibility of a general power open win occurring is lower than the possibility of a general power open win occurring in the high-frequency support mode.

[0256] Returning to the description of FIG. 18, after executing the variable counter update process in step S205, in step S206, a rotation control process for rotating the rotating body 183 once in 4 seconds is executed. In the rotation control process, it is determined whether or not it is the timing to rotate the output shaft 184a of the adjustment drive unit 184 communicated with the rotating body 183, and if it is the timing to rotate the output shaft 184a, a pulse signal is transmitted to the adjustment drive unit 184 to rotate the output shaft 184a. In this rotation control process, a pulse signal for rotating the output shaft 184a of the adjustment drive unit 184 by 0.72° at a rate of once every 8 msec is transmitted. That is, in the timer interrupt process executed at a cycle of 4 msec, the adjustment drive unit 184 is driven by transmitting a pulse signal once every two times.

[0257] After that, an illegal detection process is executed to monitor whether or not a predetermined event set as a target for monitoring illegal use has occurred (step S207). In this illegal detection process, the occurrence of a plurality of types of events is monitored, and by confirming that a predetermined event has occurred, a "1" is set in the game stop flag provided in the main side RAM 65. In the subsequent step S208, it is determined whether or not a "1" is set in the game stop flag, thereby determining whether or not the game is in a stopped state. If a negative determination is made in step S208, the processes after step S209 are executed.

[0258] In step S209, port output processing is executed. In the port output processing, when output information is set in the previous timer interrupt processing, processing for performing an output corresponding to the output information to various drive units 32b, 34b is executed. For example, when information for switching the special power winning device 32 to an open state is set, the output of a drive signal to the special power drive unit 32b is started, and when information for switching to a closed state is set, the output of the drive signal is stopped. Also, when information for switching the general power accessory 34a of the second operating port 34 to an open state is set, the output of a drive signal to the general power drive unit 34b is started, and when information for switching to a closed state is set, the output of the drive signal is stopped.

[0259] After that, a reading process is executed (step S210). In the reading process, signals other than the power failure signal and the winning signal are read, and the read information is stored for use in future processes.

[0260] After that, a ball entry detection process is executed (step S211). In this ball entry detection process, signals received from each of the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a are read, and based on the read results, the presence or absence of ball entry into the out port 24a, the general winning port 31, the special power winning device 32, the first operating port 33, the second operating port 34, the first through gate 35, and the second through gate 39 is specified. The details of the ball entry detection process will be described later.

[0261] Thereafter, a timer update process for collectively updating the numerical information of a plurality of types of timer counters provided in the main RAM 65 is executed (step S212). In this case, the timer counters whose stored numerical information is updated by being subtracted are collectively handled. However, it may be configured to collectively perform both the update of the subtraction-type timer counter and the update of the addition-type timer counter.

[0262] Thereafter, a launch control process for controlling the launch of the game ball B1 is executed (step S213). In a situation where the launch operation to the launch operation device 28 continues, one game ball B1 is launched every 0.6 seconds, which is a predetermined launch cycle. In the subsequent step S214, as an input state monitoring process, based on the information read in the reading process of step S210, disconnection confirmation of each ball entry detection sensor 42a to 50a and opening confirmation of the game machine main body 12 and the front door frame 14 are performed.

[0263] Thereafter, a special drawing and special power control process for controlling the execution of the game turn and the execution of the opening and closing execution mode is executed (step S215). In this special drawing and special power control process, when a winning occurs at the first operation port 33 or the second operation port 34 in a situation where the number of held information stored in the held storage area 65a is less than the upper limit number, the numerical information of the hit random number counter C1, the big hit type counter C2, and the reach random number counter C3 at that time is used as held information and stored in the held storage area 65a in time series.

[0264] Here, if the period during which the opening / closing operation of the general electric component 34a is performed is defined as the support execution period, when a winning occurs at the second operation port 34 during the support execution period, a process of adding "1" to the in-support winning counter is performed. And when the value of the in-support winning counter reaches the upper limit number of winning times set in the support execution period, "1" is set in the support end flag. Here, the in-support winning counter is a counter referred to by the main CPU 63 to grasp the total number of winning times at the second operation port 34 that occurred during the support execution period, and is provided in the main RAM 65. The in-support winning counter is cleared to "0" at the start timing of the support execution period. Also, the support end flag is a flag referred to by the main CPU 63 to grasp that the number of winning times at the second operation port 34 that occurred during the support execution period has reached the upper limit number and it is the end timing of the support execution period, and is provided in the main RAM 65.

[0265] In the special figure special electric control process, under the condition that it is not during the game turn and the opening / closing execution mode and reservation information is stored, a validity determination process for determining whether the reservation information corresponds to a jackpot win, and a distribution determination process for determining which jackpot result the reservation information corresponds to if it corresponds to a jackpot win are executed.

[0266] Here, in the validity determination process, when a jackpot win occurs, "1" is set in the high-frequency flag. The high-frequency flag is a flag in which "1" is set when the support mode for winning at the second operation port 34 is the high-frequency support mode. The main CPU 63 specifies whether the support mode for winning at the second operation port 34 is the high-frequency support mode or the low-frequency support mode by referring to the high-frequency flag. As already described, when a jackpot result occurs, regardless of which jackpot it is, the support mode becomes the high-frequency support mode after the end of the opening / closing execution mode.

[0267] In the special drawing special power control process, not only the success / failure determination process and the allocation determination process are performed, but also when the held information does not correspond to a big win or a jackpot, a reach determination process for determining whether the held information corresponds to the occurrence of a reach is executed, and a process for selecting the duration of the game round is executed using the numerical information of the variation type counter CS at that time. Then, a variation command including information on the duration corresponding to the results of each of these processes and a type command including information on the game result are transmitted to the audio-visual control device 81, and the variation display of the pattern on the special drawing display unit 37a is started. The audio-visual control device 81 starts a game-related effect corresponding to the content of these commands on the display / lighting unit 53 and the speaker unit 54 by receiving the variation command and the type command. Further, the audio-visual control device 81 transmits a variation pattern command corresponding to the content of the variation command and the type command to the display control device 82. The display control device 82 starts the variation display of the pattern corresponding to the content of the variation pattern command on the pattern display device 41 by receiving the variation pattern command. As a result, a state where one game round is started is achieved.

[0268] In the special drawing special electric control process, during the execution of one game round, it is determined whether the duration of the game round determined at the start of the game round has elapsed, thereby determining whether it is the end timing of that game round. If it is the end timing, the process of ending that game round is executed in a state where a display corresponding to the game result is performed. In this case, if the current game round corresponds to the occurrence of any jackpot result, the symbol corresponding to the type of that jackpot result is stopped and displayed on the special drawing display unit 37a. If the current game round corresponds to a losing result, the symbol corresponding to the losing result is stopped and displayed on the special drawing display unit 37a. Also, a final stop command indicating that the game round should be ended is transmitted to the audio-visual control device 81. The audio-visual control device 81 ends the production for the current game round in the display light-emitting unit 53 and the speaker unit 54 by receiving the final stop command. Also, the audio-visual control device 81 transmits the final stop command to the display control device 82. The display control device 82 ends the production for the current game round in the symbol display device 41 by receiving the final stop command.

[0269] In the special drawing special power control process, when the result of the game round is a result corresponding to the transition to the opening / closing execution mode, a process for starting the opening / closing execution mode is executed. At the start, an opening command indicating that the opening / closing execution mode is to be started is transmitted to the audio-visual control device 81. Also, in the special drawing special power control process, a process for starting each round game and a process for ending each round game are executed. When the round game is started, the special power winning device 32 is in an open state, and when the round game ends, the special power winning device 32 is in a closed state. In each of these processes, an open command indicating that the round game is started is transmitted to the audio-visual control device 81, and a close command indicating that the round game is ended is transmitted to the audio-visual control device 81. Also, in the special drawing special power control process, when ending the opening / closing execution mode, an ending command indicating that is transmitted to the audio-visual control device 81. The audio-visual control device 81 causes the display / lighting unit 53 and the speaker unit 54 to perform an effect for the opening / closing execution mode in a manner corresponding to various commands received during the opening / closing execution mode. Also, the audio-visual control device 81 transmits a command corresponding to the command received during the opening / closing execution mode to the display control device 82. The display control device 82 causes the symbol display device 41 to perform an effect for the opening / closing execution mode in a manner corresponding to various commands received during the opening / closing execution mode. Also, in the special drawing special power control process, when ending the opening / closing execution mode, a process is executed so that the win / loss lottery mode and the support mode after the end of the opening / closing execution mode become modes corresponding to the type of jackpot result that triggered the execution of the opening / closing execution mode.

[0270] Specifically, when the type of jackpot result is a low-probability jackpot, "100" is set as the end criterion for the high-frequency support mode in the game count counter. The game count counter is a counter for the main CPU 63 to identify whether the number of games corresponding to the end criterion has been completed in the state where the high-frequency support mode is set. The numerical information set in the game count counter is updated so that "1" is subtracted based on the completion of the game. Also, when the type of jackpot result is a low-prize high-probability jackpot or the most advantageous jackpot result, "1" is set in the indefinite flag. The indefinite flag is a flag for continuing the high-frequency support mode until the lottery result in the win / loss lottery becomes a jackpot state win after the opening / closing execution mode ends and a transition to the jackpot state occurs due to that. In the high-frequency support mode where "1" is set in the indefinite flag, when the generated jackpot result is a low-probability jackpot, the indefinite flag is cleared to "0", "100" is set in the game count counter, and when the generated jackpot result is a low-prize high-probability jackpot or the most advantageous jackpot, "1" is set again in the indefinite flag.

[0271] After executing the special drawing special power control process of step S215 in the timer interrupt process, the general drawing general power control process is executed (step S216). In the general drawing general power control process, when a winning occurs in the through gates 35 and 39, a general power release lottery is executed to determine whether to execute the opening / closing of the general power accessory 34a, and the display of the general drawing display unit 38a and the opening / closing of the general power accessory 34a are executed in a manner according to the result of the general power release lottery. Details of the general drawing general power control process will be described later.

[0272] In the subsequent step S217, based on the processing results of the immediately preceding steps S215 and S216, output information is set to reflect the increase or decrease in the number of pieces of pending information related to the special drawing display unit 37a in the special drawing pending display unit 37b, and output information is set to reflect the increase or decrease in the number of pieces of pending information related to the general drawing display unit 38a in the general drawing pending display unit 38b. Also, in step S217, based on the processing results of the immediately preceding steps S215 and S216, output information is set to update the display content of the special drawing display unit 37a, and output information is set to update the display content of the general drawing display unit 38a.

[0273] Thereafter, the received command and signal contents from the payout control device 77 are confirmed, and a payout state reception process for performing processing corresponding to the confirmation result is executed (step S218). Also, a payout output process for setting the payout command as an output target is executed (step S219). Also, an external information setting process for controlling the start and end of the output of an external signal according to the processing results of various processes executed in this timer interrupt process is executed (step S220). Thereafter, a management output process for outputting information corresponding to the result of the ball entry of the game ball B1 in the game area PA to the management IC 66 is executed (step S221). Details of the management output process will be described later.

[0274] Next, the release counter update process executed in step S203 of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 19. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the release counter update process executed by the main CPU 63.

[0275] First, in step S301, the current numerical information in the general power accessory release counter C4 is read out. In step S302, it is determined whether the current numerical information read out in step S301 is a value obtained by subtracting "1" from the current initial value. Here, the current initial value is numerical information newly stored each time the initial value of the general power accessory release counter C4 is updated.

[0276] If the current numerical information is a value obtained by subtracting "1" from the current initial value (step S302: YES), it means that this is the timing for updating the initial value of the general power service release counter C4. In this case, it is determined in step S303 whether "1" is set in the high-frequency flag. If "1" is not set in the high-frequency flag in step S303, it means that it is the low-frequency support mode. In this case, it is determined in step S304 whether "1" is set in the deferral completion flag 65e (FIG. 12).

[0277] As already described, the main-side RAM 65 (FIG. 12) includes a deferral flag 65d (FIG. 12) and a deferral completion flag 65e (FIG. 12). The deferral flag 65d is a flag that becomes the consecutive winning period in the general power release lottery performed in the low-frequency support mode and is set to "1" when the general power release win occurs three times in a row.

[0278] In the low-frequency support mode, the cases where the general power release win can occur include when a winning occurs in the second through gate 39 during the non-winning consecutive period, when a winning occurs in the first through gate 35 during the winning consecutive period, and when a winning occurs in the second through gate 39 during the winning consecutive period. Among these, the probability of a general power release win when a winning occurs in the second through gate 39 is approximately 1 / 42 in both the non-winning consecutive period and the winning consecutive period.

[0279] For this reason, in the low-frequency support mode, in the general power release lottery performed triggered by a winning in the second through gate 39, the probability of winning the general power release three times in a row is low (approximately 1 / 74000), and a three-consecutive general power release win hardly occurs. Also, even if it occurs accidentally, if the result is a miss in the next general power release win, the deferral flag 65d is cleared to "0".

[0280] On the other hand, during the consecutive winning period, when the general power release lottery is conducted triggered by winning the first through gate 35, it results in winning the general power release. Therefore, when the consecutive winning period occurs while the player is operating the game ball launching device aiming at the first through gate 35, when three winnings in the first through gate 35 occur after the consecutive winning period starts, "1" is set in the hold flag 65d. During the consecutive winning period, at the initial value update timing when the hold flag 65d has "1" set, the initial value update of the general power accessory release counter C4 is postponed.

[0281] Also, the hold completion flag 65e is a flag that is set to "1" when it reaches the initial value update timing with the hold flag 65d having "1" set and the initial value update of the general power accessory release counter C4 is postponed. Here, the hold flag 65d is a flag that is set to "1" with one condition being the low-frequency support mode. For this reason, in the high-frequency support mode, "1" is never set in the hold flag 65d. Since "1" is not set in the hold flag 65d in the high-frequency support mode, "1" is also never set in the hold completion flag 65e. The process of setting "1" in the hold flag 65d will be described later.

[0282] If "1" is set in the hold completion flag 65e in step S304 of the release counter update process (Figure 19), it means that the initial value update of the general power accessory release counter C4 has already been postponed in the current consecutive winning period.

[0283] If "1" is not set in the hold completion flag 65e in step S304, it is determined in step S305 whether "1" is set in the hold flag 65d. If "1" is set in the hold flag 65d (step S305: YES), it means that the current initial value update timing is the initial value update timing for postponement. In this case, the hold flag 65d is cleared to "0" in step S306, and "1" is set in the hold completion flag 65e in step S307.

[0284] After determining in step S302 that it is not the initial value update timing, or after clearing the hold completion flag 65e to "0" in step S307, in step S308, it is determined whether the current numerical information is the maximum value ("65505") of the general power service release counter C4.

[0285] If in step S308 the current numerical information is not the maximum value, then in step S309 the numerical information is updated by adding "1" to the current numerical information. Also, if in step S308 the current numerical information is the maximum value, then in step S310 the numerical information is updated by clearing the current numerical information to "0".

[0286] If in step S304 the hold completion flag 65e is set to "1", it means that after the initial value update is postponed, the general power service release counter C4 has completed one cycle and reached the initial value update timing again. In this case, in step S311 the hold completion flag 65e is cleared to "0".

[0287] After determining in step S303 that it is the high-frequency support mode, after determining in step S305 that the hold flag 65d is not set to "1", or after clearing the hold completion flag 65e to "0" in step S311, the initial value of the general power service release counter C4 is updated. Specifically, in step S312 the current numerical information in the release initial value counter C5 is acquired. And in step S313, the numerical information acquired in step S312 is overwritten as the new initial value to the current initial value to update the initial value. In this way, by changing the initial value of the general power service release counter C4, the winning target period is shifted. Thereby, it is possible to cause a transition from the non-winning consecutive period to the winning consecutive period at a timing not notified to the player. The initial value updated in step S313 is used in step S302 for determining whether it is the initial value update timing.

[0288] In the subsequent step S314, by overwriting the initial value updated in step S313 to the general power accessory release counter C4, the numerical information of the general power accessory release counter C4 is updated, and this release counter update process is terminated.

[0289] In this way, by adopting a configuration that defers the update of the initial value at the timing of updating the initial value of the general power accessory release counter C4 that is first encountered after the winning continuous period, the duration of the winning continuous period can be extended, and the winning continuous period can be made more attractive to the player. On the other hand, when the initial value update timing is encountered in the high-frequency support mode (step S303: YES), the initial value update of the general power accessory release counter C4 is always executed.

[0290] Next, the general diagram general power control process executed in step S216 of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 20. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the general diagram general power control process executed by the main CPU 63.

[0291] In the general diagram general power control process, when a winning occurs in the through gates 35 and 39, a process for acquiring the hold information on the general diagram side is executed, and when the hold information on the general diagram side is stored, a general power release lottery is performed using the hold information, and further, a process for performing an effect for the general diagram is executed on the occasion of the general power release lottery. Also, based on the result of the general power release lottery, a process for opening and closing the general power accessory 34a of the second operating port 34 is executed.

[0292] In the general diagram general power control process, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 20, first, in step S401, a hold information acquisition process on the general diagram side is executed to acquire the hold information corresponding to the winning in the through gates 35 and 39. Here, the hold information acquisition process on the general diagram side will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 21. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the hold information acquisition process on the general diagram side executed by the main CPU 63.

[0293] First, in step S501, it is determined whether the first gate winning flag is set to "1" to determine whether a winning has occurred for the game ball B1 to enter the first through gate 35. Here, the first gate winning flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to identify that one game ball B1 has entered the first through gate 35. And when the first gate winning flag is set to "1", the first gate winning flag is cleared to "0" in step S502.

[0294] If the first gate winning flag is not set to "1" in step S501, the process proceeds to step S503. In step S503, it is determined whether the second gate winning flag is set to "1" to determine whether a winning has occurred for the game ball B1 to enter the second through gate 39. Here, the second gate winning flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to identify that one game ball B1 has entered the second through gate 39.

[0295] If the second gate winning flag is not set to "1" in step S503, the current hold information acquisition process is terminated as it is. If the second gate winning flag is set to "1", the second gate winning flag is cleared to "0" in step S504.

[0296] After clearing the first gate winning flag to "0" in step S502, or after clearing the second gate winning flag to "0" in step S504, in step S505, it is determined whether the current general power hold information in the general power hold area HA is less than the upper limit number (4). And if the general power hold information is at the upper limit number (step S505: NO), the current hold information acquisition process is terminated as it is. If the general power hold information is less than the upper limit number (step S505: YES), the process proceeds to step S506. In step S506, the numerical information of the general power accessory release counter C4 is stored in the highest priority general power hold area HA1 to HA4 among the empty general power hold areas HA1 to H4, and the current hold information acquisition process is terminated.

[0297] In one processing cycle, if both the acquisition of hold information corresponding to "1" set in the first gate winning flag and the acquisition of hold information corresponding to "1" set in the second gate winning flag are executed, the two pieces of hold information acquired in that processing cycle will be the same hold information.

[0298] On the other hand, in the hold information acquisition process on the general drawing side, when "1" is set in both the first gate winning flag and the second gate winning flag in the current processing cycle, only the acquisition of the hold information corresponding to the setting of "1" in the first gate winning flag is executed. And the acquisition of the hold information corresponding to the setting of "1" in the second gate winning flag is executed in the next processing cycle.

[0299] Therefore, when the period in which "1" is set in the second gate winning flag overlaps with the period in which "1" is set in the first gate winning flag, the release random number obtained upon winning in the second through gate 39 of the game ball B1 can be made different from the release random number obtained upon winning in the first through gate 35.

[0300] Returning to the explanation of the general drawing general power control process (Figure 20), after executing the hold information acquisition process on the general drawing side in step S401, in step S402, a process of reading the information of the general drawing general power counter provided in the main side RAM 65 is executed, and in step S403, a process of reading the general drawing general power address table from the main side ROM 64 is executed. Then, in step S404, a process of acquiring the start address corresponding to the information of the general drawing general power counter from the general drawing general power address table is executed.

[0301] Here, the processing details of steps S402 to S404 will be described. As already explained, the general diagram and general power control process includes processes related to the effects for the general diagram and processes related to the opening and closing of the general power device 34a. In this case, as processes related to the effects for the general diagram, a general diagram change start process, a general diagram change in - process, and a general diagram confirmation in - process are set. Also, as processes related to the opening and closing of the general power device 34a, a general power release in - process and a general power closing in - process are set.

[0302] In such a processing configuration, the general diagram and general power counter is a counter for the main CPU 63 to grasp which of the above - mentioned multiple types of processes should be executed. In the general diagram and general power address table, corresponding to the numerical information of the general diagram and general power counter, the start address in the program for executing the above - mentioned multiple types of processes is set.

[0303] The general diagram and general power counter can set numerical information from "0" to "4", and in the general diagram and general power address table, the start address information ("NSA0" to "NSA4") is set in a one - to - one correspondence with each numerical information of the general diagram and general power counter. In this case, the start address NSA0 is the start address of the program for executing the general diagram change start process, the start address NSA1 is the start address of the program for executing the general diagram change in - process, the start address NSA2 is the start address of the program for executing the general diagram confirmation in - process, the start address NSA3 is the start address of the program for executing the general power release in - process, and the start address NSA4 is the start address of the program for executing the general power closing in - process.

[0304] When the condition for updating the numerical information is satisfied when the process corresponding to the currently stored numerical information is completed, the general diagram and general power counter is incremented by 1, decremented by 1, or cleared to "0" in correspondence with the process to be executed in the general diagram and general power control process in the next processing cycle. Therefore, in the general diagram and general power control process in each processing cycle, the process corresponding to the numerical information set in the general diagram and general power counter may be executed.

[0305] According to the above configuration, the main CPU 63 can grasp in which state any process should be executed as the general drawing and general power control without checking the presence or absence of various flags. Therefore, the simplification of the process can be achieved.

[0306] Hereinafter, a processing configuration for executing the general drawing change start process, the general drawing change in process, the general drawing confirmation in process, the general power release in process, and the general power closing in process using the general drawing and general power counter and the general drawing and general power address table will be described.

[0307] Returning to the description of FIG. 20, after the process of step S404 is executed, in step S405, the setting process of the zero flag on the general drawing side is executed. In the setting process of the zero flag on the general drawing side, the numerical information of the general drawing and general power timer counter is read, and when the numerical information of the general drawing and general power timer counter is "0", the process of setting "1" to the zero flag on the general drawing side provided in the register of the main CPU 63 is executed. The general drawing and general power timer counter is a counter used to specify by the main CPU 63 the update timing of the general drawing and general power counter according to the passage of time. The numerical information corresponding to a predetermined time is set in each process of steps S407 to S411, and the update of the numerical information is executed in the timer update process of step S212 in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18).

[0308] In the subsequent step S406, a process of jumping (transferring) to the process indicated by the start address acquired in step S404 is executed. Specifically, if the acquired start address is NSA0, it jumps to the general drawing variation start process of step S407; if the acquired start address is NSA1, it jumps to the general drawing variation in - process of step S408; if the acquired start address is NSA2, it jumps to the general drawing confirmation in - process of step S409; if the acquired start address is NSA3, it jumps to the general power release in - process of step S410; if the acquired start address is NSA4, it jumps to the general power closing in - process of step S411. Then, after executing any one of the processes from step S407 to step S411, this general drawing general power control process ends. Hereinafter, the processes of step S407 to step S411 will be individually described.

[0309] First, the general drawing variation start process (step S407) in the general drawing general power control process (Figure 20) will be described with reference to the flowchart of Figure 22. Figure 22 is a flowchart showing the general drawing variation start process executed by the main - side CPU63.

[0310] In the general drawing variation start process, first, in step S601, by referring to the high - frequency flag provided in the main - side RAM65, it is determined whether it is in the high - frequency support mode. If the high - frequency flag is set to "1" in step S601 and it is in the high - frequency support mode, then in step S602, it is determined whether the indefinite flag is set to "1". As already described, if the indefinite flag is set to "1", it means a low - winning - probability high - certainty big win or the most advantageous big win, and it means that after the opening - closing execution mode ends, it enters the high - frequency support mode.

[0311] If the indefinite flag is not set to "1" in step S602, it is determined in step S603 whether the value of the game count counter is "0". If the value of the game count counter is "0" in step S603, it means that the end reference number of the high-frequency support mode has been reached. In this case, in step S604, the high-frequency flag is cleared to "0". As a result, the support mode of the general-purpose electric device 34a shifts from the high-frequency support mode to the low-frequency support mode.

[0312] Here, the general pattern variation start process is not executed in a situation where the numerical information of the general pattern general-purpose electric counter corresponds to the general-purpose electric opening process or the general-purpose electric closing process, that is, during the opening and closing operation execution of the general-purpose electric device 34a when the general-purpose electric opening winning occurs. Therefore, even if the game of the end reference number ends during the opening and closing operation execution based on the occurrence of the general-purpose electric opening winning before the end of the game of the end reference number, the support mode is maintained in the high-frequency support mode, and it is switched to the low-frequency support mode after the opening and closing execution operation of the general-purpose electric device 34a ends.

[0313] In the subsequent step S605, an external output setting process for high-frequency release is executed. In the external output setting process, data setting of the main-side RAM 65 is performed so that the output of the high-frequency signal from the external terminal board 97 (FIG. 2) to the management computer of the game hall is stopped. The high-frequency signal starts to be output when shifting to the high-frequency support mode. Incidentally, the stop of the output of the high-frequency signal is executed in the external information setting process of step S220 in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18).

[0314] After performing a negative determination in step S601, after performing an affirmative determination in step S602, after performing a negative determination in step S603, or after executing the process of step S605, in step S606, it is determined whether the total number NS of the pending information on the general pattern side is 1 or more. If the total number NS of the pending information on the general pattern side is "0" (step S606: NO), the general pattern variation start process is terminated as it is, and if it is 1 or more (step S606: YES), the process proceeds to step S607.

[0315] In step S607, a general power release lottery process is executed to determine whether it is a general power release lottery for executing the opening / closing operation of the general power device 34a, and this main drawing change start process is terminated. Here, the general power release lottery process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 23. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the general drawing release lottery process executed by the main CPU 63.

[0316] In the general power release lottery process, first, in step S701, a shift process of the general power reservation area HA (FIG. 13) is executed. In this shift process, the release random number stored in the first general power reservation area HA1 (FIG. 13) of the general power reservation area HA is shifted to the general power execution area HB (FIG. 13), and after the shift, the first general power reservation area HA1 is cleared. Also, the release random numbers in each area are shifted in the following manner: the second general power reservation area HA2 (FIG. 13) → the first general power reservation area HA1, the third general power reservation area HA3 (FIG. 13) → the second general power reservation area HA2, the fourth general power reservation area HA4 (FIG. 13) → the third general power reservation area HA3.

[0317] In the subsequent step S702, it is determined whether the high-frequency flag is set to "1". If the high-frequency flag is set to "1" (step S702: YES), then in step S703, it is determined whether it is in the opening / closing execution mode. If a negative determination is made in step S702, or if an affirmative determination is made in step S703, the process proceeds to step S704.

[0318] In step S704, the low-frequency winning determination value table T1 (FIG. 14(a)) is read from the main ROM 64. In step S705, a general drawing acceptance / rejection determination process (general power release lottery) is performed. In the general power release lottery, when the release random number stored in the general power execution area HB matches any of the winning determination values stored in the low-frequency winning determination value table T1, it is a general power release win, and when it does not match any of the winning determination values, it is a losing result.

[0319] In the subsequent step S706, it is determined whether or not the result of the general drawing validity determination process in step S705 is a general power release winning. If the result of the general drawing validity determination process is a general power release winning (step S706: YES), it is determined in step S707 whether or not "1" is set in the high-frequency flag. If "1" is not set in the high-frequency flag and it is in the low-frequency support mode (step S707: NO), it is determined in step S708 whether or not "1" is set in the winning consecutive flag. Here, the winning consecutive flag is a flag for grasping that it is the winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode, and is provided in the main side RAM65 (FIG. 12).

[0320] The main side RAM65 includes a winning consecutive counter for grasping the number of times the general power release winning has occurred continuously during the non-winning consecutive period in the low-frequency support mode. The main side CPU63 (FIG. 12) grasps that it has become the winning consecutive period when the value of the winning consecutive counter becomes "3", and sets "1" in the winning consecutive flag.

[0321] If "1" is not set in the winning consecutive flag in step S708, "1" is added to the winning consecutive counter in step S709, and it is determined in step S710 whether or not the value of the winning consecutive counter is "3". Then, when the value of the winning consecutive counter is "3" (step S710: YES), it is grasped that it has become the winning consecutive period.

[0322] In this case, the winning consecutive counter is cleared to "0" in step S711, and "1" is set in the hold flag 65d in step S712. Thereby, at the initial value update timing of the general power device release counter C4 that is first encountered after the occurrence of this winning consecutive period, the initial value update of the general power device release counter C4 is postponed. Then, in step S713, "1" is set in the winning consecutive flag to store that it is the winning consecutive period.

[0323] In the case where the general drawing success / failure determination process (general power release lottery) in step S705 results in a failure (step S706: NO), the winning consecutive counter is cleared to "0" in step S714, and the winning consecutive flag is cleared to "0" in step S715. Therefore, in the non-winning consecutive period of the low-frequency support mode, even if a general power release win occurs only once or accidentally twice in a row triggered by the winning of the game ball B1 into the second through gate 39, it is not determined that the winning consecutive period has started.

[0324] If a negative determination is made in step S703, since it is the high-frequency support mode and not in the opening / closing execution mode, the high-frequency winning determination value table T2 (Fig. 14(b)) is read from the main side ROM64 in step S716, and in step S717, a general drawing success / failure determination process is performed in the same manner as in step S705. In the general drawing success / failure determination process, when the release random number stored in the general power execution area HB matches any of the winning determination values stored in the high-frequency winning determination value table T2, it is a general power release win, and when it does not match any of the winning determination values, it is a failure result.

[0325] After determining in step S707 that it is the high-frequency support mode, after determining in step S708 that it is already the winning consecutive period, after determining in step S710 that the value of the winning consecutive counter is "2" or less, after setting "1" in the winning consecutive flag in step S713, after clearing the winning consecutive flag to "0" in step S715, or after executing the general drawing success / failure determination process in step S717, in step S718, the general drawing variation time stored in the main side ROM64 is read. In the main side ROM64, information setting the general drawing variation time to 0.5 sec is stored in advance.

[0326] In the subsequent step S719, the information on the general drawing change time read in step S718 is set to the general drawing general power timer counter, and a process for starting the change display of the general drawing display unit 38a (FIG. 3) is executed in step S720. Then, in step S721, the numerical information of the general drawing general power counter is updated from "0" to "1" by adding "1" to the numerical information of the general drawing general power counter, and this general drawing change start process is terminated.

[0327] As already described, even if the general power release win occurs three times in a row in the high-frequency support mode, if it is determined in step S707 that it is the high-frequency support mode so that "1" is not set in the deferral flag 65d triggered by the three consecutive general power release wins, the processes in steps S708 to S713 are not executed.

[0328] Next, the process during the general drawing change in the general drawing general power control process (FIG. 20) (step S408) will be described. In the process during the general drawing change, first, by referring to the zero flag, it is determined whether it is the timing to end the display on the general drawing display unit 38a. And when it is not the end timing of the change display, the pattern to be displayed on the general drawing display unit 38a is updated to the next sequential pattern on the condition that it is the timing to update the display content of the general drawing display unit 38a. On the other hand, when it is the end timing of the change display on the general drawing display unit 38a, a pattern stop process for displaying the current final stop pattern is executed on the general drawing display unit 38a. In the pattern stop process, the information on the final stop time is set to the general drawing general power timer counter. After executing the pattern stop process, the general drawing general power counter is updated from "1" to "2".

[0329] Next, the process during the general drawing confirmation in the general drawing general power control process (FIG. 20) (step S409) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 24. In the process during the general drawing confirmation, first, in step S801, it is determined whether the final stop time set in the general drawing general power timer counter in the process during the general drawing change has elapsed. Note that specifically for this determination process, it is determined whether "1" is set in the zero flag.

[0330] If the final stop time has not elapsed (step S801: NO), the current process of determining the general drawing is terminated as it is. If the final stop time has elapsed (step S801: YES), it is determined in step S802 whether the result of the general power release lottery that triggered the current variable display is a winning in the general power release. Then, if it is a winning in the general power release (step S802: YES), the process proceeds to step S803.

[0331] In step S803, "5" is set in the general power release counter provided in the main side RAM65. In step S804, "10" is set in the general power winning counter provided in the main side RAM65. The general power release counter is a counter for the main side CPU63 to specify the remaining number of opening times of the general power device 34a in the opening and closing operation of the current general power device 34a. The general power winning counter is a counter for the main side CPU63 to specify whether the number of winnings in the second operation port 34 has occurred up to the upper limit during the opening and closing operation of the current general power device 34a. After that, in step S805, the supported winning counter is cleared to "0", and in step S806, numerical information of the opening continuation time (specifically 1 sec) is set in the general drawing general power timer counter.

[0332] In the subsequent step S807, by adding "1" to the general drawing general power counter, the numerical information of the general drawing general power counter is updated from "2" to "3", and the current process of starting the general drawing variable is terminated.

[0333] Also, in step S802, if the result of the general power release lottery that triggered the current variable display is not a winning in the general power release, in step S808, after clearing the numerical information of the general drawing general power counter to "0", the current process of determining the general drawing is terminated.

[0334] Next, the process during the general power release in the general diagram general power control process (Fig. 20) (step S410) will be described. In the process during the general power release, first, it is determined whether it is the closing timing of the general power device 34a. If it is not the closing timing, the open state of the general power device 34a is maintained. On the other hand, if it is the closing timing of the general power device 34a, a process for closing the general power device 34a is executed. In this case, the value of the general power release counter is updated to be decremented by "1". When the value of the general power release counter is "0", the numerical information of the general diagram general power counter is cleared to "0", and the opening and closing operation of the general power device 34a is terminated. Also, when "1" is set in the support end flag, it means that the number of winning times to the second operating port 34 has already reached the upper limit number of times. In this case, the general power release counter and the support end flag are cleared to "0", and the numerical information of the general diagram general power counter is cleared to "0", and the opening and closing operation of the general power device 34a is terminated. Further, when the numerical information of the general power device open counter is "1" or more and "1" is not set in the support end counter, the information on the closing time of the general power device 34a is set in the general diagram general power timer counter, and the general diagram general power counter is updated from "3" to "4".

[0335] When the opening and closing operation of the general power device 34a reaches the reference number of times, or when the number of winning times to the second operating port 34 that occurred during the current support execution period reaches the upper limit number of times, the current support execution period ends.

[0336] Next, the process during the general power closing in the general diagram general power control process (Fig. 20) (step S411) will be described. In the process during the general power closing, the closed state of the general power device 34a is maintained, and when the closing time has elapsed, a process for opening the general power device 34a again is executed. Specifically, the information on the opening duration for high frequency is set in the general diagram general power timer counter, and the general diagram general power counter is updated from "4" to "3".

[0337] Next, a configuration for specifying the presence or absence of the entry of the game ball B1 into the out port 24a, the general winning port 31, the special electric winning device 32, the first operation port 33, the second operation port 34, the first through gate 35, and the second through gate 39 will be described based on the detection results of the respective entry detection sensors 42a to 50a by the main CPU 63. FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a configuration in which the detection results of the entry detection sensors 42a to 50a are input to the main CPU 63.

[0338] An input port 63a is provided in the main CPU 63. The input port 63a is configured as a 9-bit parallel interface so as to be able to handle nine types of signals simultaneously. And an area where information of "0" or "1" is stored according to the voltage of each signal is provided in a one-to-one correspondence with each terminal. That is, as the area, it includes the 0th bit D0 to the 8th bit D8. Also, although more than ten types of signals are input to the input port 63a, in order to limit the number of signals input simultaneously to nine types, the signal group to be input to the input port 63a is switched through the switching control by the driver IC.

[0339] In the ball entry detection process (step S211) of the timer interrupt process (Fig. 18), the signal group to be input to the input port 63a is set to the signal groups from the respective ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a. In the situation where such a setting is made, information corresponding to the detection signal from the first winning port detection sensor 42a is stored in the 0th bit D0, information corresponding to the detection signal from the second winning port detection sensor 43a is stored in the 1st bit D1, information corresponding to the detection signal from the third winning port detection sensor 44a is stored in the 2nd bit D2, information corresponding to the detection signal from the special power detection sensor 45a is stored in the 3rd bit D3, information corresponding to the detection signal from the first operation port detection sensor 46a is stored in the 4th bit D4, information corresponding to the detection signal from the second operation port detection sensor 47a is stored in the 5th bit D5, information corresponding to the detection signal from the out port detection sensor 48a is stored in the 6th bit D6, information corresponding to the detection signal from the first gate detection sensor 49a is stored in the 7th bit D7, and information corresponding to the detection signal from the second gate detection sensor 50a is stored in the 8th bit D8.

[0340] Each of the above ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a outputs a LOW-level signal indicating non-detection as a detection signal when it has not detected the passage of the game ball B1, and outputs a HI-level signal indicating detection as a detection signal when it has detected the passage of the game ball B1. At the input port 63a, when a LOW-level signal is received, "0" information is stored in the corresponding bit, and when a HI-level signal is received, "1" information is stored in the corresponding bit. That is, in the situation where the passage of the game ball B1 has not been detected by the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a, "0" information corresponding to the information indicating non-detection is stored in the corresponding bit, and in the situation where the passage of the game ball B1 has been detected, "1" information corresponding to the information indicating detection is stored in the corresponding bit.

[0341] Fig. 26 is a flowchart showing the ball entry detection process executed in step S211 of the timer interrupt process (Fig. 18).

[0342] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the situation where the information "0" is stored in the 0th bit D0 to the situation where the information "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the first winning port detection sensor 42a (step S901: YES). In this case, "1" is set to the first output flag provided in the main-side RAM 65 (step S902), and the value of the 10 prize ball counter provided in the main-side RAM 65 is incremented by 1 (step S903). The first output flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to specify that the information output indicating that one game ball B1 has been detected by the first winning port detection sensor 42a should be executed for the management IC 66. The 10 prize ball counter is a counter for the main CPU 63 to specify the number of times to execute the payout of 10 game balls B1. When the value of the 10 prize ball counter is 1 or more, a 10 prize ball command is output to the payout control device 77 in the payout output process of step S219 in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18), and when the 10 prize ball command is output once, the value of the 10 prize ball counter is decremented by 1. When the payout control device 77 receives the 10 prize ball command, it drives and controls the payout device 76 so that 10 game balls B1 are paid out.

[0343] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the situation where the information "0" is stored in the 1st bit D1 to the situation where the information "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the second winning port detection sensor 43a (step S904: YES). In this case, "1" is set to the second output flag provided in the main-side RAM 65 (step S905), and the value of the 10 prize ball counter provided in the main-side RAM 65 is incremented by 1 (step S906). The second output flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to specify that the information output indicating that one game ball B1 has been detected by the second winning port detection sensor 43a should be executed for the management IC 66.

[0344] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the situation where the information "0" is stored in the second bit D2 to the situation where the information "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the third winning port detection sensor 44a (step S907: YES). In this case, "1" is set in the third output flag provided in the main side RAM 65 (step S908), and the value of the ten winning ball counter provided in the main side RAM 65 is incremented by 1 (step S909). The third output flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to specify to the management IC 66 the information output indicating that one game ball B1 has been detected by the third winning port detection sensor 44a to be executed.

[0345] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the situation where the information of "0" is stored in the third bit D3 to the situation where the information of "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the special power detection sensor 45a (step S910: YES). In this case, "1" is set in the special power winning flag provided in the main side RAM 65 (step S911), "1" is set in the fourth output flag provided in the main side RAM 65 (step S912), and further, the value of the 15 prize ball counter provided in the main side RAM 65 is incremented by 1 (step S913). The special power winning flag is a flag for the main side CPU 63 to identify that one game ball B1 has entered the special power winning device 32 in the round game of the opening / closing execution mode. In the special feature special power control process (step S215) of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18), by confirming that "1" is set in the special power winning flag, it is identified that one game ball B1 has entered the special power winning device 32, and the remaining number of balls that can enter the special power winning device 32 in the round game is decremented by 1. When the process of decrementing the number of balls that can enter by 1 is executed, the special power winning flag is cleared to "0". The fourth output flag is a flag for the main side CPU 63 to identify that the information output indicating that one game ball B1 has been detected by the special power detection sensor 45a should be executed for the management IC 66. The 15 prize ball counter is a counter for the main side CPU 63 to identify the number of times the payout of 15 game balls B1 should be executed. When the value of the 15 prize ball counter is 1 or more, in the payout output process of step S219 in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18), a 15 prize ball command is output to the payout control device 77, and when the 15 prize ball command is output once, the value of the 15 prize ball counter is decremented by 1. When the payout control device 77 receives the 15 prize ball command, it drives and controls the payout device 76 so that 15 game balls B1 are paid out.

[0346] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the state where the information "0" is stored in the 4th bit D4 to the state where the information "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the first operation port detection sensor 46a (step S914: YES). In this case, "1" is set to the first operation winning flag provided in the main side RAM 65 (step S915), "1" is set to the fifth output flag provided in the main side RAM 65 (step S916), and further, the value of the single prize ball counter provided in the main side RAM 65 is incremented by 1 (step S917). The first operation winning flag is a flag for the main side CPU 63 to identify that one game ball B1 has entered the first operation port 33. In the special figure special power control process (step S215) of the timer interrupt process (Fig. 18), by confirming that "1" is set in the first operation winning flag, a process of newly storing the stored information is executed on the condition that the number of the stored information stored in the storage area RE of the storage area 65a is less than the upper limit number of 4. When it is confirmed in the special power control process (step S215) that "1" is set in the first operation winning flag and the process corresponding to the confirmation is executed, the first operation winning flag is cleared to "0". The fifth output flag is a flag for the main side CPU 63 to identify that the information output indicating that one game ball B1 has been detected by the first operation port detection sensor 46a should be executed for the management IC 66. The single prize ball counter is a counter for the main side CPU 63 to identify the number of times to execute the payout of one game ball B1. When the value of the single prize ball counter is 1 or more, in the payout output process of step S219 in the timer interrupt process (Fig. 18), a single prize ball command is output to the payout control device 77, and when a single prize ball command is output once, the value of the single prize ball counter is decremented by 1. When the payout control device 77 receives a single prize ball command, it drives and controls the payout device 76 so that one game ball B1 is paid out.

[0347] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the situation where the information "0" is stored in the 5th bit D5 to the situation where the information "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the second operation port detection sensor 47a (step S918: YES). In this case, "1" is set in the second operation winning flag provided in the main-side RAM 65 (step S919), "1" is set in the sixth output flag provided in the main-side RAM 65 (step S920), and further, the value of the single prize ball counter provided in the main-side RAM 65 is incremented by 1 (step S921). The second operation winning flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to identify that one game ball B1 has entered the second operation port 34. In the special electric control process (step S215) of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18), by confirming that "1" is set in the second operation winning flag, the process of newly storing the reserved information is executed on the condition that the number of reserved information stored in the reserved area RE of the reserved storage area 65a is less than the upper limit number of 4. When it is confirmed in the special electric control process (step S215) that "1" is set in the second operation winning flag and the process corresponding to the confirmation is executed, the second operation winning flag is cleared to "0". The sixth output flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to identify that the information output indicating that one game ball B1 has been detected by the second operation port detection sensor 47a should be executed for the management IC 66.

[0348] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the situation where the information "0" is stored in the 6th bit D6 to the situation where the information "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the out port detection sensor 48a (step S922: YES). In this case, "1" is set in the seventh output flag provided in the main-side RAM 65 (step S923). The seventh output flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to identify that the information output indicating that one game ball B1 has been detected by the out port detection sensor 48a should be executed for the management IC 66.

[0349] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the situation where the information "0" is stored in the 7th bit D7 to the situation where the information "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the first gate detection sensor 49a (step S924: YES). In this case, "1" is set to the first gate winning flag provided in the main RAM 65 (step S925). The first gate winning flag is a flag for the main CPU 63 to identify that one game ball B1 has entered the first through gate 35. In the general diagram general power control process (step S216) of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18), as already described in FIG. 21, by confirming that "1" is set in the first gate winning flag, the number of pieces of hold information on the general diagram side stored in the general power hold storage area 65c is less than the upper limit number of 4 pieces. As a condition, a process of storing the numerical information of the current general power accessory opening counter C4 as hold information on the general diagram side in the general power hold storage area 65c is executed. When it is confirmed in the general diagram general power control process (step S216) that "1" is set in the first gate winning flag and the process corresponding to the confirmation is executed, the first gate winning flag is cleared to "0".

[0350] When it is confirmed that the situation has switched from the state where the information "0" is stored in the 8th bit D8 to the state where the information "1" is stored, it is determined that one game ball B1 has been detected by the second gate detection sensor 50a (step S926: YES). In this case, "1" is set in the second gate winning flag provided in the main-side RAM 65 (step S927). The second gate winning flag is a flag for the main-side CPU 63 to identify that one game ball B1 has entered the second through gate 39. In the general-purpose power control process (step S216) of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18), as already described with reference to FIG. 21, by confirming that "1" is set in the second gate winning flag, the number of pieces of suspended information on the general-purpose drawing side stored in the general-purpose power suspended storage area 65c is less than the upper limit number of 4. On this condition, the process of storing the numerical information of the current general-purpose power accessory release counter C4 as the suspended information on the general-purpose drawing side in the general-purpose power suspended storage area 65c is executed. When it is confirmed in the general-purpose power control process (step S216) that "1" is set in the second gate winning flag and the process corresponding to the confirmation is executed, the second gate winning flag is cleared to "0".

[0351] Note that since the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18) is activated at a cycle of 4 msec as already described, when the detection of one game ball B1 is started by one of the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a, the main-side CPU 63 identifies that one game ball B1 has been detected by the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a in the situation where the detection of that one game ball B1 is being continued by the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a. Therefore, it is sufficient to provide one each of the first to seventh output flags.

[0352] Next, the processing content executed by the payout control device 77 will be described. First, the electrical configuration of the payout control device 77 and various devices that communicate with the payout control device 77 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 27.

[0353] The dispensing control device 77 includes an MPU 91. In addition to the dispensing-side CPU 92 which is an arithmetic processing device including a control unit and an arithmetic unit, the MPU 91 incorporates a dispensing-side ROM 93, a dispensing-side RAM 94, an interrupt circuit, a timer circuit, a data input / output circuit, and the like.

[0354] The dispensing-side ROM 93 is a memory that does not require external power supply for memory retention, such as a NOR-type flash memory and a NAND-type flash memory (i.e., non-volatile memory means), and is used as read-only. The dispensing-side ROM 93 stores various control programs and fixed-value data executed by the dispensing-side CPU 92.

[0355] The dispensing-side RAM 94 is a memory that requires external power supply for memory retention, such as an SRAM and a DRAM (i.e., volatile memory means), and is used for both reading and writing. The dispensing-side RAM 94 allows random access and has a shorter read time than the dispensing-side ROM 93 when compared with the same data capacity. The dispensing-side RAM 94 temporarily stores various data and the like for the execution of the control program stored in the dispensing-side ROM 93.

[0356] The payout-side CPU 92 is capable of two-way communication with the main-side CPU 63. When the payout-side CPU 92 receives a prize ball command from the main-side CPU 63, it drives and controls the payout device 76 so that the number of game balls B1 corresponding to the prize ball command is paid out. Also, the payout-side CPU 92 monitors whether it is possible to normally pay out the game balls B1. If it is determined that it is not possible to pay out normally, even if the information on the number of unpayout prize balls is stored in the payout-side RAM 94, the payout device 76 is stopped. Further, the payout-side CPU 92 transmits a payout restriction command indicating that it is not possible to pay out normally to the main-side CPU 63. When the main-side CPU 63 receives the payout restriction command, it transmits a notification command to the audio-visual control device 81 so that a notification indicating that it is not possible to normally pay out the game balls B1 is executed by the symbol display device 41, the display light-emitting unit 53, and the speaker unit 54. The states in which it is not possible to normally pay out the game balls B1 include a full state in which the lower tray 56a is full of the game balls B1, a no-ball state in which the tank 75 is not replenished with the game balls B1, a payout abnormality state in which the payout device 76 does not operate normally, a main body open state in which the game machine main body 12 is opened from the outer frame 11, and a front door open state in which the front door frame 14 is opened from the inner frame 13.

[0357] A full detection sensor (not shown) is provided at an intermediate position of the game ball B1 passage leading from the payout device 76 to the lower tray 56a, and the detection result of the full detection sensor is input to the payout-side CPU 92. When the game balls B1 are continuously detected by the full detection sensor, the payout-side CPU 92 determines that it is in the full state. When the state in which the game balls B1 are continuously detected by the full detection sensor is released, the payout-side CPU 92 determines that the full state has been released.

[0358] A ball non-detection sensor (not shown) is provided at an intermediate position of the game ball B1 passage leading from the tank 75 to the payout device 76, and the detection result of the ball non-detection sensor is input to the payout-side CPU 92. When the game ball B1 is not continuously detected by the ball non-detection sensor, the payout-side CPU 92 specifies that it is in a ball non-state, and when the state where the game ball B1 is not continuously detected by the ball non-detection sensor is released, the payout-side CPU 92 specifies that the ball non-state is released.

[0359] The payout device 76 is provided with a payout detection sensor (not shown) for detecting the game ball B1 paid out from the payout device 76, and the detection result of the payout detection sensor is input to the payout-side CPU 92. When the game ball B1 is detected by the payout detection sensor, the payout-side CPU 92 specifies that one game ball B1 has been paid out from the payout device 76. Further, even though the payout-side CPU 92 is driving and controlling the payout device 76 so that the game ball B1 is paid out, when the game ball B1 is not continuously detected by the payout detection sensor, the payout-side CPU 92 specifies that it is in a payout abnormal state, and when the state where the game ball B1 is not continuously detected by the payout detection sensor is released, the payout-side CPU 92 specifies that the payout abnormal state is released.

[0360] A front door opening sensor 95 is provided on the front surface of the inner frame 13 (see FIG. 2), and the detection result of the front door opening sensor 95 is input to the dispensing side CPU 92. In this case, when the front door frame 14 is in the closed state with respect to the inner frame 13, the front door opening sensor 95 transmits a closed detection signal to the dispensing side CPU 92, and when the front door frame 14 is in the open state with respect to the inner frame 13, the front door opening sensor 95 transmits an open detection signal to the dispensing side CPU 92. The dispensing side CPU 92 identifies that the front door frame 14 is in the closed state when receiving a closed detection signal from the front door opening sensor 95, and identifies that the front door frame 14 is in the open state when receiving an open detection signal from the front door opening sensor 95. Further, the dispensing side CPU 92 transmits a front door opening command to the main side CPU 63 at the timing when it is identified that the front door frame 14 has changed from the closed state to the open state, and transmits a front door closing command to the main side CPU 63 at the timing when it is identified that the front door frame 14 has changed from the open state to the closed state. The main side CPU 63 identifies that the front door frame 14 is in the open state when receiving the front door opening command, and identifies that the front door frame 14 is in the closed state when receiving the front door closing command.

[0361] On the front part of the inner pack unit 15, a main body opening sensor 96 is provided (see Fig. 2), and the detection result of the main body opening sensor 96 is input to the payout side CPU 92. In this case, when the gaming machine main body 12 is in the closed state with respect to the outer frame 11, the main body opening sensor 96 transmits a closed detection signal to the payout side CPU 92, and when the gaming machine main body 12 is in the open state with respect to the outer frame 11, the main body opening sensor 96 transmits an open detection signal to the payout side CPU 92. When the payout side CPU 92 receives a closed detection signal from the main body opening sensor 96, it specifies that the gaming machine main body 12 is in the closed state, and when it receives an open detection signal from the main body opening sensor 96, it specifies that the gaming machine main body 12 is in the open state. Further, the payout side CPU 92 transmits a main body opening command to the main side CPU 63 at the timing when it specifies that the gaming machine main body 12 has changed from the closed state to the open state, and transmits a main body closing command to the main side CPU 63 at the timing when it specifies that the gaming machine main body 12 has changed from the open state to the closed state. The main side CPU 63 specifies that the gaming machine main body 12 is in the open state when it receives the main body opening command, and specifies that the gaming machine main body 12 is in the closed state when it receives the main body closing command.

[0362] With reference to the flowchart of Fig. 28, the timer interrupt process executed by the payout side CPU 92 will be described. The timer interrupt process is repeatedly started at a predetermined cycle (for example, 2 msec).

[0363] First, the full state process is executed (step S1001). In the full state process, based on the detection result of the full state detection sensor as already described, it is specified whether it is in the full state, and when it is in the full state, a process for stopping the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a command indicating that it is in the full state is transmitted to the main side CPU 63. Also, when the full state is released, a process for enabling the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a command indicating that the full state has been released is transmitted to the main side CPU 63.

[0364] Thereafter, a ball-void process is executed (step S1002). In the ball-void process, as already described, it is determined whether it is in a ball-void state based on the detection result of the ball-void detection sensor. If it is in a ball-void state, a process for stopping the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a command indicating that it is in a ball-void state is transmitted to the main CPU 63. Also, if the ball-void state is released, a process for enabling the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a command indicating that the ball-void state is released is transmitted to the main CPU 63.

[0365] Thereafter, a payout abnormality monitoring process is executed (step S1003). In the payout abnormality monitoring process, as already described, it is determined whether it is in a payout abnormality state based on the detection result of the payout detection sensor. If it is in a payout abnormality state, a process for stopping the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a command indicating that it is in a payout abnormality state is transmitted to the main CPU 63. Also, if the payout abnormality state is released, a process for enabling the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a command indicating that the payout abnormality state is released is transmitted to the main CPU 63.

[0366] Thereafter, a front door opening monitoring process is executed (step S1004). In the front door opening monitoring process, as already described, it is determined whether the front door frame 14 is in an open state based on the detection result of the front door opening sensor 95. If the front door frame 14 is in an open state, a process for stopping the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a front door opening command is transmitted to the main CPU 63. Also, if the front door frame 14 is closed, a process for enabling the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a front door closing command is transmitted to the main CPU 63.

[0367] After that, the main body opening monitoring process is executed (step S1005). In the main body opening monitoring process, as described above, based on the detection result of the main body opening sensor 96, it is specified whether the gaming machine main body 12 is in an open state. When the gaming machine main body 12 is in an open state, a process of stopping the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a main body opening command is transmitted to the main CPU 63. Also, when the gaming machine main body 12 is closed, a process of enabling the payout of the game ball B1 is executed, and a main body closing command is transmitted to the main CPU 63.

[0368] After that, the command reading process is executed (step S1006). In the command reading process, a process of reading the bonus ball command transmitted by the main CPU 63 is executed. Then, the bonus ball command is stored in the payout-side RAM 94. And after executing a bonus ball setting process for adding the number corresponding to the received bonus ball command to the number information of un-paid bonus balls in the payout-side RAM 94 (step S1007), a payout control process for performing execution control of the payout of the game ball B1 by the payout device 76 is executed (step S1008). In the payout control process, when the number information of un-paid bonus balls stored in the payout-side RAM 94 is a value of 1 or more, drive control of the payout device 76 is performed, and when one game ball B1 is detected by the payout detection sensor, the value of the bonus ball number information is subtracted by 1. And when the value of the bonus ball number information becomes "0", the drive control of the payout device 76 is stopped. After that, an external information setting process for controlling the start and end of the output of an external signal according to the processing results of various processes executed in this timer interrupt process is executed (step S1009).

[0369] Next, a configuration for externally outputting information from the pachinko machine 10 to the hall computer HC provided in the game hall will be described.

[0370] As shown in FIG. 2, an external terminal board 97 is provided in the back pack unit 15. A number of external terminals are provided on the external terminal board 97. A plurality of some of the external terminals are electrically connected to the main side CPU 63, and a plurality of some of the external terminals are electrically connected to the payout side CPU 92. Since each of the main side CPU 63 and the payout side CPU 92 is electrically connected to the external terminal board 97 in this way, as shown in FIG. 27, the main side CPU 63 and the payout side CPU 92 can externally output information to the whole computer HC.

[0371] One external terminal of the external terminal board 97 is electrically connected to the front door open sensor 95, and one external terminal of the external terminal board 97 is electrically connected to the main body open sensor 96. Regarding the configuration of this electrical connection in detail, a signal relay board 98 is provided at an intermediate position in the signal path from the front door open sensor 95 toward the payout side CPU 92. A branch path SL2 is provided on the signal relay board 98 by branching from the signal path SL1 from the front door open sensor 95 toward the payout side CPU 92. Then, the branch path SL2 is connected to the external terminal for front door opening on the external terminal board 97. Therefore, an electrical signal corresponding to the detection result of the front door open sensor 95 is input not only to the payout side CPU 92 but also to the external terminal for front door opening on the external terminal board 97. As a result, it becomes possible to externally output a signal indicating whether or not the front door frame 14 is in an open state to the whole computer HC without going through the control by the payout side CPU 92.

[0372] Regarding the main body opening sensor 96 in detail, the signal relay board 98 is provided with a branch path SL4 branched from the signal path SL3 from the main body opening sensor 96 toward the payout-side CPU 92. And the branch path SL4 is connected to the external terminal for main body opening on the external terminal board 97. Therefore, the electrical signal corresponding to the detection result in the main body opening sensor 96 is input not only to the payout-side CPU 92 but also to the external terminal for main body opening on the external terminal board 97. Thereby, it becomes possible to externally output a signal indicating whether the gaming machine main body 12 is in an open state to the hall computer HC without going through the control by the payout-side CPU 92.

[0373] Next, the content of the information externally output from the main-side CPU 63 and the payout-side CPU 92 to the hall computer HC will be described. First, the content of the information externally output from the main-side CPU 63 to the hall computer HC will be described.

[0374] The main-side CPU 63 performs output setting of information to each external terminal assigned to the main-side CPU 63 on the external terminal board 97 in the external information setting process (step S220) in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 18). Information output from the main-side CPU 63 to the external terminal board 97 includes information indicating that it is in the opening / closing execution mode, information indicating that the support mode is in the high-frequency support mode, information indicating that one game round has ended, information indicating that a predetermined number (for example, 100) of game balls B1 have been discharged from the game area PA through any one of the out ports 24a, general winning ports 31, special electric winning devices 32, first operation ports 33, and second operation ports 34, information indicating that a game ball B1 has entered the first operation port 33, and information indicating that a game ball B1 has entered the second operation port 34.

[0375] The payout-side CPU 92 performs output setting of information to each external terminal assigned to the payout-side CPU 92 on the external terminal board 97 in the external information setting process (step S1009) in the timer interrupt process (Figure 28). Information indicating that 10 game balls B1 have been paid out is included in the information output from the payout-side CPU 92 to the external terminal board 97.

[0376] Based on various information received from the pachinko machine 10 through the external terminal board 97, the hall computer HC can grasp the execution mode of paying out the game balls B1 in the pachinko machine 10. For example, · The ball payout rate, which is the ratio of the number of game balls B1 paid out until 100 game balls B1 are discharged from the game area PA of the pachinko machine 10. · The ball payout rate in the normal game state that is not the opening / closing execution mode and the high-frequency support mode (hereinafter, this ball payout rate is referred to as "B"). · The ball payout rate in the opening / closing execution mode. · The ball payout rate in the high-frequency support mode. · The number of game rounds executed until 100 game balls B1 are discharged from the game area PA of the pachinko machine 10 (hereinafter, this ratio is referred to as "S"). · B - S × "the number of prize balls for winning in the first operation port 33 and the second operation port 34". · The number of game balls B1 entering the first operation port 33 until 100 game balls B1 are discharged from the game area PA of the pachinko machine 10 (hereinafter, this ratio is referred to as "S1"). · The number of game balls B1 entering the second operation port 34 until 100 game balls B1 are discharged from the game area PA of the pachinko machine 10 (hereinafter, this ratio is referred to as "S2"). · B - (S1 × "the number of prize balls for winning in the first operation port 33" + S2 × "the number of prize balls for winning in the second operation port 34"). And so on are calculated. As a result, the hall computer HC can manage the ball entry mode of the game balls B1 in the game area PA of the pachinko machine 10. Note that the number of prize balls refers to the number of game balls B1 paid out when one game ball B1 enters the corresponding ball entry part.

[0377] <Configuration for managing the winning mode of game ball B1> Next, a configuration for managing the winning mode of game ball B1 using the management IC66 will be described. First, the electrical configuration of the management IC66 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 29.

[0378] As already described, the MPU62 of the main control device 60 includes a main CPU63, a main ROM64, a main RAM65, and a management IC66. In addition, the MPU62 includes an I / F101 and a reading terminal 102 other than these.

[0379] The I / F101 is an interface for transmitting and receiving signals between the MPU62 and external devices. The I / F101 is electrically connected to the main CPU63 via an internal bus 103. Detection results from sensors such as the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 50a and commands from the payout-side CPU92 are input to the MPU62 through the input port of the I / F101, and various processes are executed by the main CPU63 based on the input detection results and command contents as already described. Further, when a signal output is performed to a device such as the special power drive unit 32b as a result of various processes being executed by the main CPU63, the signal output is performed through the output port of the I / F101, and when a command output is performed to the payout-side CPU92 and the sound and light control device 81 as a result of various processes being executed by the main CPU63, the command output is performed through the output port of the I / F101.

[0380] The reading terminal 102 is a terminal for electrically connecting a reading device, which is an external device of the pachinko machine 10, to the MPU62, and is provided such that the terminal portion for connection is exposed on the surface of the MPU62. However, as already described, the main control board 61 on which the MPU62 is mounted is housed in the board box 60a, and the reading terminal 102 faces the wall portion of the board box 60a so as not to be exposed outside the main control device 60. Therefore, in order to electrically connect the reading device to the reading terminal 102, it is necessary to open the board box 60a to expose the MPU62. This makes it possible to prevent the electrical connection of the reading device to the reading terminal 102 from being performed illegally. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and an opening for exposing the reading terminal 102 to the outside of the main control device 60 may be formed in the board box 60a, and a configuration may be adopted in which the reading device can be electrically connected to the reading terminal 102 without requiring the destruction of the board box 60a.

[0381] The management IC66 includes a management-side I / F 111, a management-side CPU 112, a management-side ROM 113, a management-side RAM 114, an RTC 115, a correspondence-relation memory 116, and a history memory 117. These devices are connected so as to be capable of two-way communication through an internal bus 66a provided in the management IC66.

[0382] The management-side I / F 111 is an interface for receiving various signals from the main-side CPU 63 via a signal path group 118 for unidirectional communication built in the MPU62, and for transmitting various signals to the reading terminal 102 via a signal path group 119 for unidirectional communication built in the MPU62. The various signals from the main-side CPU 63 are input to the input port of the management-side I / F 111, and the various signals to the reading terminal 102 are output from the output port of the management-side I / F 111. Note that the main-side CPU 63 is electrically connected to the reading terminal 102 via a signal path group 120 for two-way communication built in the MPU62.

[0383] The management-side CPU 112 is an arithmetic processing unit including a control unit and an arithmetic unit. The management-side ROM 113 is a memory (i.e., non-volatile storage means) such as a NOR-type flash memory and a NAND-type flash memory that does not require external power supply for storage retention, and is used as read-only. The management-side ROM 113 stores various control programs and fixed-value data executed by the management-side CPU 112. The management-side RAM 114 is a memory (i.e., volatile storage means) such as SRAM and DRAM that requires external power supply for storage retention, and is used for both reading and writing. The management-side RAM 114 allows random access and has a shorter read time than the management-side ROM 113 when compared with the same data capacity. The management-side RAM 114 temporarily stores various data and the like for the execution of the control programs stored in the management-side ROM 113.

[0384] The RTC 115 is a real-time clock, which is configured to constantly measure year / month / day information and time information and output the measured year / month / day information and time information according to an instruction from the management-side CPU 112. Note that the RTC 115 is provided with a backup power supply, and can measure year / month / day information and time information even when the power of the pachinko machine 10 is cut off.

[0385] The correspondence relation memory 116 is a memory (i.e., volatile storage means) such as SRAM and DRAM that requires external power supply for storage retention, and is used for both reading and writing. The correspondence relation memory 116 is used to store information on the correspondence relation between each buffer 122a to 122p provided in the input port 121 of the management-side I / F 111 and the types of signals input to these buffers 122a to 122p. Details of the content of the correspondence relation memory 116 will be described later.

[0386] The history memory 117 is a memory that does not require external power supply for data retention, such as a NOR-type flash memory and a NAND-type flash memory (i.e., non-volatile storage means), and is used for both reading and writing. The history memory 117 is used to store information related to the entry of the game ball B1 received from the host CPU 63 through the management-side I / F 111. Details of the content of the history memory 117 will be described later.

[0387] Next, the configuration of the input port 121 provided in the management-side I / F 111 will be described. FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of the input port 121 of the management-side I / F 111.

[0388] A plurality of buffers 122a to 122p are provided in the input port 121. Specifically, the first to sixteenth buffers 122a to 122p are provided. Each of the first to sixteenth buffers 122a to 122p can input one type of signal through signal paths 118a to 118p. When the signal to be input is at a LOW level, information of "0" is stored as first data in each of the first to sixteenth buffers 122a to 122p, and when the signal to be input is at a HI level, information of "1" is stored as second data. Note that the relationship between LOW and HI and the first and second data may be reversed.

[0389] A first signal corresponding to the detection result of the first winning port detection sensor 42a is input to the first buffer 122a. In this case, the host CPU 63 outputs a LOW-level first signal when the first winning port detection sensor 42a does not detect a new game ball B1, and outputs a HI-level first signal for a specific period when the first winning port detection sensor 42a detects one game ball B1. This specific period is sufficient for the management-side CPU 112 to identify that a HI-level first signal is input to the first buffer 122a.

[0390] A second signal corresponding to the detection result of the second winning port detection sensor 43a is input to the second buffer 122b. In this case, when no new game ball B1 is detected by the second winning port detection sensor 43a, the main CPU 63 outputs a second signal of LOW level, and when one game ball B1 is detected by the second winning port detection sensor 43a, the main CPU 63 outputs a second signal of HI level for a specific period. This specific period is sufficient for the management CPU 112 to identify that the HI-level second signal is input to the second buffer 122b.

[0391] A third signal corresponding to the detection result of the third winning port detection sensor 44a is input to the third buffer 122c. In this case, when no new game ball B1 is detected by the third winning port detection sensor 44a, the main CPU 63 outputs a third signal of LOW level, and when one game ball B1 is detected by the third winning port detection sensor 44a, the main CPU 63 outputs a third signal of HI level for a specific period. This specific period is sufficient for the management CPU 112 to identify that the HI-level third signal is input to the third buffer 122c.

[0392] A fourth signal corresponding to the detection result of the special electric detection sensor 45a is input to the fourth buffer 122d. In this case, when no new game ball B1 is detected by the special electric detection sensor 45a, the main CPU 63 outputs a fourth signal of LOW level, and when one game ball B1 is detected by the special electric detection sensor 45a, the main CPU 63 outputs a fourth signal of HI level for a specific period. This specific period is sufficient for the management CPU 112 to identify that the HI-level fourth signal is input to the fourth buffer 122d.

[0393] A fifth signal corresponding to the detection result of the first operation port detection sensor 46a is input to the fifth buffer 122e. In this case, the main CPU 63 outputs a fifth signal of LOW level when no new game ball B1 is detected by the first operation port detection sensor 46a, and outputs a fifth signal of HI level for a specific period when one game ball B1 is detected by the first operation port detection sensor 46a. This specific period is long enough for the management CPU 112 to identify that a HI-level fifth signal is input to the fifth buffer 122e.

[0394] A sixth signal corresponding to the detection result of the second operation port detection sensor 47a is input to the sixth buffer 122f. In this case, the main CPU 63 outputs a sixth signal of LOW level when no new game ball B1 is detected by the second operation port detection sensor 47a, and outputs a sixth signal of HI level for a specific period when one game ball B1 is detected by the second operation port detection sensor 47a. This specific period is long enough for the management CPU 112 to identify that a HI-level sixth signal is input to the sixth buffer 122f.

[0395] A seventh signal corresponding to the detection result of the out-port detection sensor 48a is input to the seventh buffer 122g. In this case, the main CPU 63 outputs a seventh signal of LOW level when no new game ball B1 is detected by the out-port detection sensor 48a, and outputs a seventh signal of HI level for a specific period when one game ball B1 is detected by the out-port detection sensor 48a. This specific period is long enough for the management CPU 112 to identify that a HI-level seventh signal is input to the seventh buffer 122g.

[0396] An eighth signal corresponding to whether it is during the opening / closing execution mode is input to the eighth buffer 122h. In this case, the main CPU 63 continuously outputs an eighth signal of LOW level when it is not in the opening / closing execution mode, and continuously outputs an eighth signal of HI level when it is in the opening / closing execution mode.

[0397] A ninth signal corresponding to whether it is during the high-frequency support mode is input to the ninth buffer 122i. In this case, the main CPU 63 continuously outputs a LOW-level ninth signal in a situation where it is not in the high-frequency support mode, and continuously outputs a HI-level ninth signal in a situation where it is in the high-frequency support mode.

[0398] A tenth signal corresponding to whether the front door frame 14 is open is input to the tenth buffer 122j. In this case, the main CPU 63 continuously outputs a LOW-level tenth signal in a situation where the front door frame 14 is in the closed state, and continuously outputs a HI-level tenth signal in a situation where the front door frame 14 is in the open state.

[0399] An output instruction signal for causing the management-side CPU 112 to recognize an opportunity to output the history information stored in the history memory 117 to the read terminal 102 is input to the sixteenth buffer 122p. In this case, the main CPU 63 outputs a LOW-level output instruction signal in a situation where there is no need to output the history information, and outputs a HI-level output instruction signal for a specific period when there is a need to output the history information. This specific period is a period sufficient for the management-side CPU 112 to specify that a HI-level output instruction signal is input to the sixteenth buffer 122p.

[0400] The 11th buffer 122k, the 12th buffer 122l, the 13th buffer 122m, the 14th buffer 122n, and the 15th buffer 122o can receive signals from the main CPU 63, but they are blank and do not receive normal signals in the pachinko machine 10. In this way, since more buffers 122a to 122p are provided as the input ports 121 of the management-side I / F 111 in the pachinko machine 10 than the types of signals output from the main CPU 63 to the management IC 66, the management IC 66 can be used in models different from the pachinko machine 10. This makes it possible to enhance the versatility of the management IC 66. Incidentally, signal paths 118a to 118p are formed between the main CPU 63 and each of the 1st to 16th buffers 122a to 122p so as to correspond one-to-one to the 1st to 16th buffers 122a to 122p, but it is not limited to this, and signal paths 118k to 118o may not be formed between the buffers 122k to 122o to be blanked.

[0401] It is determined at the design stage of the management IC 66 that an output instruction signal is input to the 16th buffer 122p at the input port 121 of the management-side I / F 111. Without receiving an instruction from the main CPU 63, the management-side CPU 112 can identify that an output instruction signal is input to the 16th buffer 122p. On the other hand, the types of signals input to the 1st to 15th buffers 122a to 122o are not determined at the design stage of the management IC 66, and the types of these signals are identified by the management-side CPU 112 after receiving an instruction from the main CPU 63. The identification of the types of these signals by the management-side CPU 112 is performed, although the details will be described later, when control is started in the main CPU 63 and the management-side CPU 112 with the supply of operating power to the MPU 62, and a type identification command is transmitted from the main CPU 63 to the management-side CPU 112. In this case, the information on the types of various signals provided by the type identification command is stored in the correspondence memory 116, and when the management-side CPU 112 identifies the types of various signals in a situation where operating power is supplied, the information stored in the correspondence memory 116 is referred to.

[0402] FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of the correspondence memory 116. In the correspondence memory 116, first to fifteenth correspondence areas 123a to 123o are provided in one-to-one correspondence with first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o provided in the input port 121 of the management-side I / F 111.

[0403] In the first correspondence area 123a, information indicating that it is the general winning port 31 is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the first buffer 122a. Further, in the first correspondence area 123a, information indicating that it is the general winning port 31 and information on the number of game balls B1 (10) to be paid out when one game ball B1 enters the general winning port 31 are also stored. In the second correspondence area 123b, information indicating that it is the general winning port 31 is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the second buffer 122b. Further, in the second correspondence area 123b, information indicating that it is the general winning port 31 and information on the number of game balls B1 (10) to be paid out when one game ball B1 enters the general winning port 31 are also stored. In the third correspondence area 123c, information indicating that it is the general winning port 31 is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the third buffer 122c. Further, in the third correspondence area 123c, information indicating that it is the general winning port 31 and information on the number of game balls B1 (10) to be paid out when one game ball B1 enters the general winning port 31 are also stored.

[0404] In the fourth correspondence area 123d, information indicating that it is the special electric winning device 32 is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the fourth buffer 122d. Further, in the fourth correspondence area 123d, information indicating that it is the special electric winning device 32 and information on the number of game balls B1 (15) to be paid out when one game ball B1 enters the special electric winning device 32 are also stored. In the fifth correspondence area 123e, information indicating that it is the first operating port 33 is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the fifth buffer 122e. Further, in the fifth correspondence area 123e, information indicating that it is the first operating port 33 and information on the number of game balls B1 (1) to be paid out when one game ball B1 enters the first operating port 33 are also stored. In the sixth correspondence area 123f, information indicating that it is the second operating port 34 is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the sixth buffer 122f. Further, in the sixth correspondence area 123f, information indicating that it is the second operating port 34 and information on the number of game balls B1 (1) to be paid out when one game ball B1 enters the second operating port 34 are also stored. In the seventh correspondence area 123g, information indicating that it is the out port 24a is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the seventh buffer 122g.

[0405] In the eighth correspondence area 123h, information indicating that it is the opening / closing execution mode is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the eighth buffer 122h. In the ninth correspondence area 123i, information indicating that it is the high-frequency support mode is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the ninth buffer 122i. In the tenth correspondence area 123j, information indicating that it is the front door frame 14 is stored as information for the management-side CPU 112 to identify the type of signal input to the tenth buffer 122j.

[0406] In the 11th correspondence area 123k, information indicating that it is a blank that does not correspond to any information for specifying the type of signal input to the 11th buffer 122k by the management-side CPU 112 is stored. In the 12th correspondence area 123l, information indicating that it is a blank that does not correspond to any information for specifying the type of signal input to the 12th buffer 122l by the management-side CPU 112 is stored. In the 13th correspondence area 123m, information indicating that it is a blank that does not correspond to any information for specifying the type of signal input to the 13th buffer 122m by the management-side CPU 112 is stored. In the 14th correspondence area 123n, information indicating that it is a blank that does not correspond to any information for specifying the type of signal input to the 14th buffer 122n by the management-side CPU 112 is stored. In the 15th correspondence area 123o, information indicating that it is a blank that does not correspond to any information for specifying the type of signal input to the 15th buffer 122o by the management-side CPU 112 is stored.

[0407] With the configuration in which the management-side CPU 112 specifies the type of signal input to the 1st to 15th buffers 122a to 122o as described above by receiving an instruction from the main-side CPU 63, the management IC 66 can be used in models different from this pachinko machine 10. As a result, the versatility of the management IC 66 can be enhanced.

[0408] Further, instead of outputting information for recognizing the type of a signal each time a signal output corresponding to the storage of history information is performed to the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o, information for recognizing the type of the signal is output in advance, and information for specifying the type of the signal input to the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o based on the output information is stored in the correspondence memory 116 by the management CPU 112. Thereby, compared with a configuration in which information for recognizing the type of a signal is output each time a signal output corresponding to the storage of history information is performed to the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o, it is possible to suppress the amount of information output from the main CPU 63 to the management CPU 112 at the time of each signal output.

[0409] Further, the output of information for specifying the type of the signal input to the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o is performed by the management CPU 112 at the start of the supply of the operating power. Thereby, in a situation where a game is started in the pachinko machine 10, it is possible to specify the type of the signal input to the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o by the management CPU 112.

[0410] Further, information setting regarding the input of an output instruction signal to the sixteenth buffer 122p is performed at the design stage of the management IC 66. Thereby, not only in the pachinko machine 10 but also in other models of pachinko machines using the management IC 66, it is possible to omit the process for specifying the type of the signal input to the sixteenth buffer 122p for the output instruction signal that is surely used. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the processing load of the process for specifying the type of such a signal.

[0411] Next, the history memory 117 of the management IC 66 will be described. FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the configuration of the history memory 117.

[0412] The history memory 117 is provided with a history area 124 for sequentially storing history information. In the history area 124, a plurality of pointer information is set in serial numbers, and a history information storage area 125 is set in a one-to-one correspondence with each piece of pointer information. The history information storage area 125 can store a combination of RTC information and correspondence relationship information. In this case, each history information storage area 125 has a data capacity of 2 bytes, a data capacity of 1 byte is allocated as an area for storing RTC information, and a data capacity of 1 byte is allocated as an area for storing correspondence relationship information. When it becomes necessary to store the correspondence relationship information according to the signals input to the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o (in the actual pachinko machine 10, the first to tenth buffers 122a to 122j), first, the year, month, day information and time information measured by the current RTC 115 are stored in the area for storing the RTC information of the history information storage area 125 corresponding to the pointer information that is currently the write target. After that, the correspondence relationship information corresponding to the buffers 122a to 122o that triggered this information storage is read from the correspondence relationship areas 123a to 123o corresponding to the buffers 122a to 122o in the correspondence relationship memory 116, and the read correspondence relationship information is stored in the area for storing the correspondence relationship information of the history information storage area 125 corresponding to the pointer information that is currently the write target.

[0413] Specifically regarding the correspondence information stored in the history information storage area 125, as described above, signals corresponding to the detection results of the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 48a are input to the first to seventh buffers 122a to 122g. Therefore, information corresponding to the types of the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 48a is stored in the first to seventh correspondence areas 123a to 123g in the correspondence memory 116. More specifically, information corresponding to the types of the ball entry parts corresponding to each of the ball entry detection sensors 42a to 48a is stored in the first to seventh correspondence areas 123a to 123g. In the pachinko machine 10, as described above, since the first to third winning port detection sensors 42a to 44a all detect the game ball B1 that has entered the general winning port 31, information indicating that it is the general winning port 31 is stored in the first to third correspondence areas 123a to 123c corresponding to these first to third winning port detection sensors 42a to 44a. Also, information indicating that it is the special winning device 32 is stored in the fourth correspondence area 123d, information indicating that it is the first operation port 33 is stored in the fifth correspondence area 123e, information indicating that it is the second operation port 34 is stored in the sixth correspondence area 123f, and information indicating that it is the out port 24a is stored in the seventh correspondence area 123g. When the buffers 122a to 122o that triggered this information storage are any of the first to seventh buffers 122a to 122g, information on the type of the ball entry part corresponding to the buffer 122a to 122g is read from any of the first to seventh correspondence areas 123a to 123g, and the read information on the type of the ball entry part is directly stored in the area for storing the correspondence information in the history information storage area 125.

[0414] On the one hand, a signal indicating whether the eighth buffer 122h is in the open / close execution mode is input, a signal indicating whether the ninth buffer 122i is in the high-frequency support mode is input, and a signal indicating whether the front door frame 14 is open is input to the tenth buffer 122j. Therefore, information indicating that it is in the open / close execution mode is stored in the eighth corresponding relationship area 123h, information indicating that it is in the high-frequency support mode is stored in the ninth corresponding relationship area 123i, and information indicating that it is the front door frame 14 is stored in the tenth corresponding relationship area 123j.

[0415] The main CPU 63 continuously outputs the eighth signal at the LOW level in a situation where it is not in the open / close execution mode as already described, and continuously outputs the eighth signal at the HI level in a situation where it is in the open / close execution mode. Therefore, the management CPU 112 can identify that the open / close execution mode has started when the eighth signal changes from the LOW level to the HI level, and can identify that the open / close execution mode has ended when the eighth signal changes from the HI level to the LOW level. And in either case where the eighth signal changes from the LOW level to the HI level or from the HI level to the LOW level, the management CPU 112 identifies that an opportunity to store the corresponding relationship information in the history information storage area 125 has occurred. That is, when the eighth signal changes from the LOW level to the HI level, not only the information indicating that it is in the open / close execution mode read from the eighth corresponding relationship area 123h but also the start information is stored together in the area for storing the corresponding relationship information in the history information storage area 125. Also, when the eighth signal changes from the HI level to the LOW level, not only the information indicating that it is in the open / close execution mode read from the eighth corresponding relationship area 123h but also the end information is stored together in the area for storing the corresponding relationship information in the history information storage area 125.

[0416] As described above, when the master CPU 63 is not in the high-frequency support mode, it continuously outputs the LOW-level ninth signal, and when it is in the high-frequency support mode, it continuously outputs the HI-level ninth signal. Therefore, when the ninth signal changes from LOW level to HI level, the management CPU 112 can identify that the high-frequency support mode has started, and when the ninth signal changes from HI level to LOW level, it can identify that the high-frequency support mode has ended. And in both cases where the ninth signal changes from LOW level to HI level and from HI level to LOW level, the management CPU 112 identifies that an opportunity has occurred to store the correspondence information in the history information storage area 125. That is, when the ninth signal changes from LOW level to HI level, not only the information indicating that it is in the high-frequency support mode read from the ninth correspondence area 123i but also the start information is stored together in the area for storing the correspondence information in the history information storage area 125. Also, when the ninth signal changes from HI level to LOW level, not only the information indicating that it is in the high-frequency support mode read from the ninth correspondence area 123i but also the end information is stored together in the area for storing the correspondence information in the history information storage area 125.

[0417] As described above, the main CPU 63 continuously outputs a LOW-level 10th signal when the front door frame 14 is in the closed state, and continuously outputs a HIGH-level 10th signal when the front door frame 14 is in the open state. Therefore, the management CPU 112 can identify that the front door frame 14 has been opened when the 10th signal changes from LOW level to HIGH level, and can identify that the front door frame 14 has been closed when the 10th signal changes from HIGH level to LOW level. And in both cases where the 10th signal changes from LOW level to HIGH level and from HIGH level to LOW level, the management CPU 112 identifies that an opportunity has occurred to store the correspondence information in the history information storage area 125. That is, when the 10th signal changes from LOW level to HIGH level, not only the information indicating that it is the front door frame 14 read from the 10th correspondence area 123j but also the opening start information are together stored in the area for storing the correspondence information in the history information storage area 125. Also, when the 10th signal changes from HIGH level to LOW level, not only the information indicating that it is the front door frame 14 read from the 10th correspondence area 123j but also the opening end information are together stored in the area for storing the correspondence information in the history information storage area 125.

[0418] The history information storage area 125 is provided with several minutes that can store all the history information generated during that period even if the business days during which the shooting of the game balls B1 in the pachinko machine 10 continues from opening to closing are continuously 10 days. For example, if 60,000 pieces of history information are generated in one day, more than 600,000 history information storage areas 125 are provided. Thus, it is possible to store and hold all the history information in the history memory 117 for at least 10 days.

[0419] In the history memory 117, a pointer area 126 is provided separately from the history area 124. The pointer area 126 stores information for the management CPU 112 to identify the pointer information that is currently the write target in the history memory 117. Specifically, at the time of shipment of the pachinko machine 10, information designating the pointer information of "0" as the write target is set in the pointer area 126. Then, each time one piece of history information is newly stored in the history information storage area 125, the information in the pointer area 126 is updated so that the value of the pointer information that is the write target is incremented by 1. When the pointer information of the last order becomes the write target and the history information is stored in the history information storage area 125 corresponding to the pointer information of the last order, the information in the pointer area 126 is updated so that the pointer information of "0" becomes the write target. As a result, when a storage trigger for history information occurs exceeding the number of history information that can be stored, the old history information is overwritten with new history information in order from the history information storage area 125 where the old history information is stored.

[0420] Also, when reading of history information from the history memory 117 by the reading device occurs, all of the history information storage area 125 is cleared to "0", and the information in the pointer area 126 is updated so that the pointer information of "0" becomes the write target. This makes it possible to prevent the history information that has once been the reading target from becoming the reading target again.

[0421] Next, a specific processing configuration for managing the winning mode of the game ball B1 using the management IC 66 will be described. First, a processing configuration for storing information on the correspondence relationship between the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o provided in the input port 121 of the management side I / F 111 and the types of signals in the correspondence relationship memory 116 will be described. FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the recognition processing executed by the main CPU 63. Note that the recognition processing is executed in step S110 in the main processing (FIG. 17).

[0422] First, set "15" in the recognition output counter provided in the main-side RAM 65 (step S1101). The recognition output counter is a counter for the main-side CPU 63 to specify the remaining required number of times of information output for the management-side CPU 112 to recognize which type of signal each buffer 122a to 122p of the input port 121 in the management-side I / F 111 corresponds to. As already described, since the 15 buffers 122a to 122o of the first to fifteenth are the recognition targets of the signal types, "15" is set in the recognition output counter.

[0423] Thereafter, the output process of the identification start command is executed (step S1102). The host CPU 63 outputs various commands to the management CPU 112 in order to make the management CPU 112 recognize which type of signal the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o correspond to. When outputting this command, the first to eighth signals input to the first to eighth buffers 122a to 122h are used. That is, the first to eighth signals (i.e., the first to eighth signal paths 118a to 118h) used to instruct the management CPU 112 of the timing for storing the history information are used to output a command for the management CPU 112 to recognize which type of signal the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o correspond to. Thereby, compared with a configuration in which the signal path for outputting this command is provided separately from the signal paths 118a to 118p for outputting signals to the first to sixteenth buffers 122a to 122p, the number of signal paths can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified. The identification start command has a data capacity of 8 bits, and the data of each bit is input to the first to eighth buffers 122a to 122h as the first to eighth signals respectively. Also, in the output process of the identification start command, in order to make the management CPU 112 recognize that a new command has been transmitted, the output state of the ninth signal is switched to the HI level at the timing of starting the output of the identification start command. Also, the output period of the identification start command and the period for maintaining the output state of the ninth signal at the HI level are set to a period sufficient for the management CPU 112 to recognize the output states of these identification start command and ninth signal. By receiving the identification start command, the management CPU 112 specifies that it should start a process for storing information on the correspondence relationship between the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o and the signal types in the correspondence relationship memory 116.

[0424] Thereafter, a type identification command corresponding to the current value of the recognition output counter of the main-side RAM 65 is read from the main-side ROM 64 (step S1103). In this case, the first buffer 122a is set as the target for signal type setting first, and then the (n + 1)-th buffer is set as the target for signal type setting after the n-th buffer. Thus, recognition settings for signal types corresponding to the first to fifteenth buffers 122a to 122o are performed. Therefore, if the recognition output counter is from "15" to "13", a type identification command indicating that it is the general winning port 31 and the number of winning balls thereof is read. If the recognition output counter is "12", a type identification command indicating that it is the special electric winning device 32 and the number of winning balls thereof is read. If the recognition output counter is "11", a type identification command indicating that it is the first operation port 33 and the number of winning balls thereof is read. If the recognition output counter is "10", a type identification command indicating that it is the second operation port 34 and the number of winning balls thereof is read. If the recognition output counter is "9", a type identification command indicating that it is the out port 24a is read. If the recognition output counter is "8", a type identification command indicating the open / close execution mode is read. If the recognition output coun...

Claims

【Claim 1】 A predetermined storage execution means for storing predetermined information in the predetermined storage means by executing a predetermined storage process for causing the storage of information corresponding to a predetermined event to be executed in the predetermined storage means when the predetermined event occurs as a result of the game; An information calculation means for calculating mode information corresponding to the result of the game in a predetermined period using the predetermined information each time a predetermined calculation trigger occurs; A result storage execution means for sequentially storing the mode information obtained by the calculation by the information calculation means in a calculation result storage means; Comprising: The result storage execution means includes means for causing the mode information to be stored in the calculation result storage means to be in a state where the mode information to be stored among the mode information obtained by the calculation by the information calculation means is stored; Among the mode information obtained by the calculation by the information calculation means, the mode information that is not the storage target is not configured to be stored in the calculation result storage means; This gaming machine: A predetermined control means capable of executing a predetermined process including a predetermined progress process for progressing the game and the predetermined storage process; Means for generating a specific advantageous period when a specific trigger occurs; Comprising: In one process cycle of the predetermined process, the predetermined storage process is executed after the predetermined progress process is executed; When a specific event that stops the progress control of the game occurs, the predetermined storage process by the predetermined storage execution means is not executed; The information calculation means calculates the mode information using the predetermined information in the specific advantageous period as the mode information corresponding to the result of the game in the predetermined period. A gaming machine characterized by that.

Images