Pachinko machine

Abstract

To provide a Pachinko game machine that allows an entire performance part showing characteristics of an individual game machine to be replaced.SOLUTION: A Pachinko game machine includes a game board fixed to the inside of a frame body attached in a game parlor, which has a game region for rolling game balls along the surface, a performance part disposed around the game board so as to fill a part between the frame body and the game board, and an attaching frame to which the performance part is fixed. The attaching frame given a performance board for executing a performance operation for notifying a player of a result of lottery processing is removably combined for the game board given a main board for executing the lottery processing and controlling a game operation. Signal transmission means is given for transmitting a game signal including the information on the lottery processing from the main board to the performance board in a non-contact manner between the main board and the performance board.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pachinko gaming machine with an exchangeable effect unit, and particularly to a pachinko gaming machine in which the entire effect unit showing the characteristics of an individual gaming machine is exchangeable.

Background Art

[0002] Under the social demand for environmental conservation, it is required to design pachinko gaming machines considering reuse and recycling. Therefore, a gaming machine has been proposed in which a part of the effect unit (including a decoration such as an LED and a liquid crystal effect device; the same applies hereinafter) showing the characteristics of an individual gaming machine is exchanged so that the model can be changed to a new gaming machine and a part can be reused.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a gaming machine that can be changed to a new model by replacing only the game board without replacing the gaming machine frame. The game board is mounted on the gaming machine frame, and a front door is attached to the front side thereof so as to be openable and closable. An effect component (LED, speaker, etc.), which is a part of the effect unit, is attached to this front door. By attaching a drive control circuit board for operating the effect component to the back surface of the game board, it is said that the drive circuit board can be reused as a drive circuit board for the effect components of a new model even when the game board is replaced.

[0004] Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a gaming machine in which the entire decoration including the sheet material attached to the game board is exchangeable and the front body of the game board is reusable. Here, in a gaming machine having a game board including a front body provided with a sheet material representing the characteristics of the gaming machine and a decoration, when changing the model of the gaming machine, the sheet material and the decoration must be replaced together. Therefore, it is said that only the decoration is removed from the game board so that the front body can be reused.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005] Patent Document 1 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-68628 Patent Document 2 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-42567 Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] As described above, a pachinko game machine has been proposed in which a part of an effect unit that shows the characteristics of an individual game machine is replaceable. However, as a whole, it becomes large-scale, and the mechanical structure and the handling of control signals for controlling the electrical components of the effect unit become complicated.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a pachinko game machine in which the entire effect unit that shows the characteristics of an individual game machine is replaceable. Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] The pachinko game machine according to the present invention is fixed inside a frame attached to a game hall, and includes a game board having a game area for rolling a game ball along the surface, and an effect unit disposed around the game board so as to fill the space between the frame and the game board. The game board provided with a main board that performs a lottery process and controls a game operation is detachably combined with an attachment frame provided with an effect board that performs an effect operation for notifying the player of the result of the lottery process. A signal transmission means for transmitting a game signal including information about the lottery process from the main board to the effect board in a non-contact manner is provided between the main board and the effect board.

[0009] According to such a feature, by detachably combining an attachment frame provided with an effect unit with a game board fixed to a frame and transmitting a game signal between them in a non-contact manner, the effect unit that shows the characteristics of an individual game machine can be easily replaced.

[0010] In the above-described invention, it may be characterized in that the main frame to which the game board provided with the main board is fixed is included, and the mounting frame is detachably combined with the main frame. Further, the signal transmission means may be provided to the signal transmission portions facing each other when the main frame and the mounting frame are combined. According to such a feature, the replacement of the effect unit can be performed more simply.

[0011] In the above-described invention, the signal transmission means may be means for optically transmitting the game signal. According to such a feature, the game signal can be transmitted at high speed.

[0012] In the above-described invention, the signal transmission means may encrypt and transmit the game signal and decrypt the same. Further, the signal transmission means may include an image display device for displaying an encrypted image of the game signal, and an imaging device for imaging the image displayed on the image display device and decrypting the game signal. According to such a feature, the game signal can be transmitted more quickly and stably between the main board and the effect board that can be separated from each other.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 5

Figure 6

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] A pachinko machine as one example according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a gaming machine 1 which is a pachinko machine is attached inside an outer frame 2 which is a frame installed in island facilities in a game parlor (not shown). The gaming machine 1 has a main body frame (main frame) 5 attached to the outer frame 2 so as to be openable and closable, and a door frame 3 having an opening 3a attached to the main body frame 5 so as to be openable and closable. Further attached to the door frame 3 are a transparent plate 6 for closing the opening 3a, a handle 7 operated to launch a game ball, an upper tray 8 for storing game balls, and a lower tray 9. In addition, when indicating directions hereinafter, the direction seen from a player facing the gaming machine 1 as shown in the drawing is used.

[0016] The main body frame 5 is a frame having a substantially rectangular cross section provided along the outer frame 2. Inside the main body frame 5, a game board 10 is fixed which forms a game area 19 between itself and a transparent plate 6 fitted into the door frame 3 and rolls a game ball along its surface. At approximately the center of the game board 10, a first effect device 12 is provided for notifying the player by displaying with an effect regarding the result of a jackpot lottery process. As the first effect device 12, for example, a display device using a liquid crystal panel can be used, but it may also be a dot matrix using LEDs, a rotating belt type display device, or the like. The game board 10 is further provided with winning openings such as a start chucker 13 and an attacker 14, other winning openings (not shown), nails, accessories, etc., and can distribute the path of game balls falling while rolling within the game area 19.

[0017] The door frame 3 is separate from the second effect device 4 provided at the upper part, and can be rotated around the rotation axis between the middle hinge 11b and the lower hinge 11c to open and close. The upper hinge 11a is used together with the lower hinge 11c to obtain a rotation axis for rotating the main body frame 5 with respect to the outer frame 2 described above. The second effect device 4 is provided so as to protrude to the front side around the transparent plate 6 when the door frame 3 is closed, and can perform effects according to the progress of the game with the mounted lighting, speakers, etc. The second effect device 4 is a so-called decorative body, and together with the first effect device 12, it is an effect part whose effect operation is controlled by the effect substrate 30.

[0018] Referring also to FIG. 3, the gaming machine 1 includes a main board 20 that performs a lottery process and controls the gaming operation at a position below the first effect device 12 on the back side of the game board 10. The main board 20 is enclosed in a board case (not shown) and attached to the back side of the game board 10. Further, on the back side of the first effect device 12, there is provided an effect substrate 30 that mainly controls the effect operation for notifying the result of the lottery process.

[0019] Referring also to FIGS. 4 and 5, the gaming machine 1 is separable into a main body part 1a and a separation part 1b. The separation part 1b includes a mounting frame 5a and the first effect device 12 and the second effect device 4 as an effect part 4' fixed thereto. The mounting frame 5a is detachably combined with the main body frame 5 of the main body part 1a. By combining the mounting frame 5a with the main body part 1a, the second effect device 4 is arranged so as to fill the space 5c between the game board 10 and the upper part of the main body frame 5. That is, the second effect device 4 among the effect parts 4' is arranged around the left, right, and upper sides of the game board 10.

[0020] In addition, the separation part 1b is supported by an auxiliary frame 5b connected to the back side of the mounting frame 5a so as to project the first effect device 12 from the back side to the front side, and also supports an effect board 30 arranged on the back side of the first effect device 12 and a second relay port 50 to be described later. Then, the separation part 1b inserts the second effect device 4 into the space 5c from the back side along the upper part of the main body frame 5 and fixes the mounting frame 5a to the main body frame 5. As a result, the separation part 1b projects the second effect device 4 to the front side and is also fixed to the main body part 1a. At this time, the first effect device 12 is arranged so as to face from the back side to the front side behind the through hole 10a in the central part of the game board 10. In this way, the mounting frame 5a and the auxiliary frame 5b are for gathering a plurality of effect devices into one, and may be in the form of a housing.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 6, the main board 20 includes a CPU 21, a ROM 22, a RAM 23, and an input / output port 24. On the main board 20, the CPU 21 executes processing related to the game operation according to the program recorded in the ROM 22. Also, the CPU 21 proceeds with the processing while rewritably recording data and the like generated during the processing in the RAM 23 as necessary. By these operations, the main board 20 mainly controls the game operation.

[0022] The main board 20 receives, for example, a signal for detecting the winning of a game ball from a sensor provided at a winning port such as a start checker 13 via the input / output port 24 and performs a lottery process such as a jackpot. Also, the main board 20 sends out a signal for paying out prize balls for a winning to a payout control board provided separately. Further, the main board 20 sends out a signal for operating solenoids such as an electric accessory related to the progress of the game and an attacker 14. In this way, the main board 20 can control game operations such as winning detection, lottery processing, and payout. Further, the main board 20 sends out a game signal including information about the lottery process, such as the result of the lottery process, to the effect board 30. The game signal is, for example, a signal including information such as the success or failure of the jackpot lottery and the time spent on an effect for displaying the lottery result.

[0023] A payout control board 60 is connected to the main board 20 and includes a CPU 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, and an input / output port 64. The payout control board 60 can control, based on signals from the main board 20, the operations related mainly to payouts among the gaming operations performed by the main board 20 described above. Then, it can control the payout of prize balls, the payout in response to a lending request of game balls, and the like.

[0024] Generally, an effect board or the like that receives signals from the main board is electrically directly connected to the main board by wiring like the above-described payout control board. In contrast, in this embodiment, the game signals from the main board 20 can be transmitted to the effect board 30 without contact via two relay ports.

[0025] Specifically, the first relay port 40 connected to the main board 20 can receive game signals transmitted in one direction from the main board 20. Also, a second relay port 50 is connected to the effect board 30, and game signals or signals corresponding thereto can be transmitted in one direction from the second relay port 50 to the effect board 30. Between the first relay port 40 and the second relay port 50, signal transmission means for transmitting game signals without contact is provided, and game signals can be transmitted in one direction from the first relay port 40 to the second relay port 50. As the signal transmission means, a transmitting device 41 that emits game signals is provided at the first relay port 40, and a reading device 51 that reads the game signals emitted from the transmitting device 41 is provided at the second relay port 50.

[0026] For example, an image display device capable of displaying a two-dimensional code is used as the transmitting device 41, and a camera capable of performing image processing and recognizing the two-dimensional code is used as the reading device 51. Thereby, by encoding the game signals into two-dimensional codes, the game signals can be transmitted without contact. In addition, by appropriately using optical transmission means, the game signals can be transmitted at high speed and with high stability. Other transmission means capable of transmitting game signals without contact, such as sound waves and magnetic waves, can also be used regardless of the optical transmission means.

[0027] In this way, the effect display board 30 can receive game signals from the second relay port 50. The effect display board 30 includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, an input port 34, and an output port 35. In the effect display board 30, the CPU 31 executes processing related to the effect operation according to the program recorded in the ROM 32. Also, the CPU 31 proceeds with the processing while recording data and the like generated during the processing in the RAM 33 so that they can be rewritten as necessary. Through these operations, the effect display board 30 can control the effect operation.

[0028] The effect display board 30 extracts whether a jackpot lottery is a win or a loss from the game signals obtained through the input port 34 and the time spent on the effect for displaying the lottery result, and controls the effect operation for notifying the player of the result of the lottery process according to this. As the effect operation, for example, a plurality of digits are varied on the first effector 12, and if the result of the lottery process is a jackpot, the plurality of digits are stopped as matching digits, and if it is a loss, they are stopped at other digits (numbers). A series of operations from the variation to the stop of these digits are performed according to the time spent on the above-described effect. Also, as the effect operation, effects using light, sound, etc. by the lighting, speakers, etc. mounted on the second effector 4 can be performed according to the progress of the game.

[0029] Specifically, the effect display board 30 can select one pattern corresponding to the game signal from a plurality of patterns of predetermined effect operations and send out a signal indicating this pattern through the output port 35. Such a signal is input to each of the sub-sub-boards for image effects, LED effects, and sound effects (not shown). Each sub-sub-board can operate the first effector 12, the lighting of the second effector 4, and the speakers in the pattern corresponding to the input signal, and perform the effect of the pattern selected by the effect display board 30.

[0030] Incidentally, as described above, the main board 20 is provided at a position below the first effect device 12 on the back side of the game board 10. That is, the main board 20 is attached to the game board 10 of the main body 1a. On the other hand, the effect board 30 is provided on the back side of the first effect device 12 and is attached to the separation part 1b. By removing the separation part 1b from the main body part 1a, the main board 20 and the effect board 30 can be separated.

[0031] Therefore, the first relay port 40 connected to the main board 20 is arranged in the main body part 1a, and the second relay port 50 connected to the effect board 30 is arranged in the separation part 1b. When the main body part 1a and the separation part 1b are combined, the first relay port 40 and the second relay port 50 are arranged so that game signals can be transmitted without contact with each other. For example, when using the above-described optical transmission means, the emission device 41 of the first relay port 40 and the reading device 51 of the second relay port 50 are arranged to face each other.

[0032] As described above, the gaming machine 1 detachably combines the separation part 1b including the mounting frame 5a provided with the effect board 30 and the main body part 1a including the game board 10 provided with the main board 20, and includes the emission device 41 and the reading device 51 as signal transmission means for transmitting game signals from the main board 20 to the effect board 30 without contact. As a result, together with the separation part 1b, the effect part 4' provided therein can be easily replaced. The effect part 4' is composed of the first effect device 12 and the second effect device 4 and is manufactured to show the characteristics of individual gaming machines. By simply replacing the effect part 4' of the gaming machine 1, it can be used as a different model without replacing the main body part 1a.

[0033] Although an example in which the game signal is transmitted from the emission device 41 to the reading device 51 by a two-dimensional code has been described above, this may be performed by encryption. For example, the game signal is encrypted at the first relay port 40, an image corresponding to the encryption is displayed on the image display device used as the emission device 41, this image is captured by the reading device 51, and the game signal is obtained by decrypting at the second relay port 50.

[0034] Also, as game signals, predetermined codes can be used. A correspondence table that defines codes corresponding to each set of information such as the result of the jackpot lottery and the time spent on effects for displaying the lottery result is stored in the main board 20. When creating game signals on the main board 20, these codes are extracted. Then, the extracted codes are transmitted as game signals to the effect board 30 that stores the same correspondence table, and on the effect board 30, an effect corresponding to the code can be selected and an effect can be performed. Also, a second correspondence table that defines the pattern of the effect corresponding to the code can be stored in the effect board 30, and an effect can be performed accordingly.

[0035] So far, the embodiments of the present invention and the modified examples based on them have been described, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to these examples. Also, those skilled in the art will be able to find various alternative embodiments and modified examples without departing from the gist of the present invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Explanation of Signs

[0036] 1 Gaming machine 1a Main body part 1b Separation part 5 Main body frame 5a Mounting frame 10 Game board 20 Main board 30 Effect board

Claims

1. A game board that is fixed inside a frame attached to a game arcade, has a game area for rolling a game ball along its surface, and conducts a game using the game ball; A plurality of effect parts that are arranged around the game board so as to at least fill the space between the frame and the game board, and perform an effect operation for notifying a player of the result of a lottery process; An attachment frame to which all of the effect parts are fixed, and the pachinko game machine is configured such that the entire effect part can be replaced, The attachment frame provided with an effect board that performs an effect operation for notifying a player of the result of the lottery process is detachably combined with the game board provided with a main board that conducts the lottery process and controls the game operation, A pachinko game machine characterized in that it is provided with signal transmission means for transmitting a game signal including information about the lottery process from the main board to the effect board without having wiring between the main board and the effect board and in a non-contact manner.

2. The pachinko game machine according to claim 1, further including a main frame to which the game board provided with the main board is fixed, and the attachment frame is detachably combined with the main frame.

3. The pachinko game machine according to claim 2, characterized in that the signal transmission means is provided to signal transmission parts that face each other when the main frame and the attachment frame are combined.

4. The pachinko game machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the signal transmission means is means for optically transmitting the game signal.

5. The pachinko game machine according to claim 4, characterized in that the signal transmission means encrypts and transmits the game signal and decrypts the same.

6. The pachinko game machine according to claim 5, characterized in that the signal transmission means includes an image display device that displays an encrypted image of the game signal, and an imaging device that captures the image displayed on the image display device and decrypts the game signal.

Images