Pachinko game system and its effect unit

Abstract

To provide a Pachinko game system that has increased a degree of design freedom of a performance device operated on the basis of game contents on a game board on which game balls are rolled, and a performance unit thereof.SOLUTION: A Pachinko game system includes a performance device that is operated on the basis of game contents on a game board on which game balls are rolled. A body unit including a main board for executing lottery processing together with the game board, and a performance unit including a performance board for executing operation processing of the performance device in correspondence with the lottery processing together with the performance device are caused to be operated independently of each other in independent zones, and signal transmission means for giving a game signal including information on the lottery processing from the body unit to the performance unit is given so that they can be operated in synchronization with each other. The performance unit includes a CPU and a storage unit for holding a program for giving an operation to it, and the program of the storage unit is rewritable. The performance unit includes a reception device for receiving the game signal from the body unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a pachinko game system including a main body unit including a game board for rolling a game ball and an effect unit including an effect device that operates based on the game content on the game board, and an effect unit thereof.

Background Art

[0002] In a pachinko game machine including a game board for rolling a game ball to play a game, in replacing a new machine at a hall in consideration of the environment such as resource saving, instead of replacing the entire game machine as in the conventional case, there has been a proposal regarding the possibility of replacing only a part of the game machine so that it looks like a new machine to the player. In particular, an effect device including a display device provided near the central portion of the game board is an important component that significantly determines the characteristics of each pachinko game machine, and there has also been a proposal to make it look like a replacement with a new machine by replacing such an effect device.

[0003] For example, in Patent Document 1, in a display device for displaying a stereoscopic image, by replacing only a ROM that stores symbols, patterns, control programs, etc., it is possible to change the symbols, patterns, and display operations to be displayed, and a game machine capable of performing a replacement with a new machine by replacing only the ROM without replacing the game machine body is disclosed. It is stated that since a display device for displaying a stereoscopic image is expensive, the cost of the game machine can be greatly reduced by eliminating the need to replace this. In addition to the replacement of storage devices such as ROM, rewriting of the stored contents of the storage device by data communication is also described.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Generally, since the effect device operates in conjunction with the game content on the game board that rolls the game balls to play the game, these are designed integrally. That is, as in Patent Document 1, even if the software of the effect device is replaced, it is required to be designed integrally with the design of the game board and has certain constraints.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a pachinko game system and an effect unit thereof that enhance the degree of freedom in the design of an effect device that operates based on the game content on a game board that rolls game balls.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The pachinko game system according to the present invention is a pachinko game system including an effect device that operates based on the game content on a game board that rolls game balls, and together with the game board, a main body unit including a main board that performs a lottery process, and together with the effect device, an effect unit including an effect board that performs an operation process of the effect device corresponding to the lottery process are in independent compartments and can operate independently of each other, and signal transmission means for giving a game signal including information about the lottery process from the main body unit to the effect unit is provided so that they can operate synchronously with each other. The effect unit includes a CPU and a storage unit that holds a program for giving this operation, and the program of the storage unit is characterized in that it can be rewritten.

[0008] In addition, the effect unit according to the present invention is used in combination with a main body unit including a main board that performs a lottery process, together with a game board that rolls a game ball, and is an effect unit including an effect device that operates based on the game content on the game board. The effect unit is provided in a compartment independent of the main body unit so as to be able to operate independently of each other, and has a receiving device that receives a game signal including information about the lottery process from the main body unit and can operate in synchronization with the main body unit. The effect unit includes a CPU and a storage unit that holds a program for giving this operation, and includes an effect board that performs an operation process of the effect device corresponding to the lottery process, and the program in the storage unit is made rewritable.

[0009] According to such a feature, the design of the effect device can be performed separately from the main body unit, which increases the degree of freedom of the design and enables more diverse effects to be provided by a single effect device.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] A pachinko game system as one example according to the present invention and an effect unit used therefor will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a game system 1 used as a pachinko game machine is attached inside an outer frame 2 which is a frame installed in an island facility in a game parlor (not shown). The game system 1 includes a main body frame 5 attached to the outer frame 2 so as to be openable and closable, and a main body unit 1a which is a game device incorporated in the main body frame 5 so as to be openable and closable. The main body unit 1a includes a main body device portion 16 accommodated in a housing 15 (see FIG. 5) and provided inside thereof, and is provided on the lower side so as to provide a space at the upper part with respect to the main body frame 5. On the other hand, an effect unit 1b is accommodated in the space provided at the upper part. That is, the effect unit 1b is outside the housing 15 of the main body unit 1a and is provided in a separate compartment from the main body unit 1a. In the following, when indicating directions, the direction seen from the player facing the game system 1 as shown in the figure is used.

[0013] The main body unit 1a is configured by accommodating the main body device portion 16 in the housing 15. For example, the main body device portion 16 includes a front door 3 having an opening 3a at the center when viewed from the front, and the front door 3 can be opened forward with the left end as a rotation axis. Further attached to the front door 3 are a transparent plate 6 for allowing the player to visually recognize the game area 19 while closing the opening 3a, a handle 7 operated to launch a game ball, an upper plate 8 for storing the game balls, and a lower plate 9.

[0014] The main body device unit 16 is provided with a game board 10 that forms a game area 19 between it and a transparent plate 6 fitted into the front door 3 and rolls a game ball along its surface. The game board 10 is further provided with winning holes such as a start chucker 13 and an attacker 14, other winning holes not shown, nails, accessories, etc., and can distribute the path of the game ball that rolls and falls within the game area 19 along its surface. Also, although not shown in the figure, the main body device unit 16 is internally provided with mechanisms and passages necessary for launching and collecting game balls, such as a game ball launching device unit. Note that the main body unit 1a can handle game balls and proceed with the game alone even without the effect unit 1b. Therefore, the main body device unit 16 further includes a main board 40 that controls the game operation and a main body power supply unit 55 that supplies power to the main body unit 1a.

[0015] On the other hand, the effect unit 1b is housed in an effect device housing 17 and includes an effect device unit 18. The effect device unit 18 includes a plurality of effect devices, an effect board 30, and an effect device power supply unit 56, operates based on the game content on the game board 10, and its operation is to be performed by an effect device power supply unit 56 that is separate from the main body power supply unit 55 of the main body unit 1a. That is, the effect unit 1b performs effects based on the game content of the main body unit 1a, and by having an effect device power supply unit 56 inside the effect device housing 17 independent of the main body unit 1a, it can operate independently as a device. Also, the effect device unit 18 includes a first effect device 12 by a liquid crystal display device that performs effects towards the player, a second effect device 4 that performs effects related to winning and lottery by LEDs, and other effect devices that perform voice effects by speakers not shown, and controls the operation of these effect devices by the effect board 30. The first effect device 12 can, for example, display and notify the player with effects about the result of the jackpot lottery process accompanying winning at a winning hole or the like on the game board 10. Note that there are no particular restrictions on each effect device and effect content, and other combinations may also be possible.

[0016] Referring to FIG. 4 together, the main body frame 5 to which the main body unit 1a and the effect unit 1b are attached is a frame body having a substantially rectangular cross section in a front view so as to follow the outer frame 2. The main body frame 5 has an upper cross beam 5a and a lower cross beam 5c at its upper end and lower end, respectively, and a central cross beam 5b therebetween. Upper hinges 11a and lower hinges 11c are provided at the left ends of the upper cross beam 5a and the lower cross beam 5c, respectively. By assembling the upper hinge 11a and the lower hinge 11c to the outer frame 2, the main body frame 5 can be made rotatable with respect to the outer frame 2 with the left end as a rotation axis A1. Further, a middle hinge 11b is provided near the left side of the central cross beam 5b, and the main body unit 1a can be assembled so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis A2 between the middle hinge 11b and the lower hinge 11c.

[0017] Then, the main body unit 1a is housed in the lower space 22 between the lower cross beam 5c and the central cross beam 5b inside the main body frame 5, and the effect unit 1b is housed in the upper space 21 between the central cross beam 5b and the upper cross beam 5a. That is, the main body unit 1a and the effect unit 1b are housed in mutually independent compartments. Here, the main body unit 1a can move openably and closably with respect to the main body frame 5, and the gaming system 1 including the main body unit 1a and the effect unit 1b can open and close with respect to the outer frame 2 together with the main body frame 5. Note that the main body frame 5 can have a cross section in other shapes such as an ellipse in a front view together with the outer frame 2.

[0018] Furthermore, referring also to FIG. 5, the effect unit 1b has the dimensions of the front portion made larger than those of the rear portion in the left - right and upward directions, and is inserted so as to slide from the front side to the rear side and is accommodated in the main body frame 5. That is, the effect unit 1b is detachable from the front (front side) of the main body frame 5. At this time, the effect unit 1b is attached to the main body frame 5 by engaging the effect device frame 20 provided in the effect device housing 17 that houses and integrates the effect device unit 18 by a plurality of effect devices such as the first effect device 12 and the second effect device 4. As a result, the effect unit 1b can be separated integrally from the main body unit 1a. Note that the effect unit 1b is provided so as to protrude to the front side above the front door 3. Also, the main body unit 1a is integrated by the housing 15 and is detachable from the main body frame 5.

[0019] By the way, the main board 40 controls the gaming operations in the main body unit 1a such as detection of winning and payout for it, and generates and sends out the game signals necessary for performing effects in the effect unit 1b. The sent game signals are transmitted to the effect board 30. In the game system 1, it is possible to rewrite the effect program of the effect unit 1b to provide different effects. Therefore, each of the plurality of types of effect programs capable of providing different effects can perform different effects even when receiving the same game signal. For example, in one effect program, an effect themed on a certain fantasy world is developed, while in another effect program, an effect themed on a certain sports event is developed. Thus, it is possible to rewrite the effect programs of the effect unit 1b that perform completely different effects. In this case, the game signal is a general - purpose signal, and the effect unit 1b can be operated based on this general - purpose signal regardless of which effect program it is. Hereinafter, the configurations of the effect board 30 and the main board 40 and the transmission of the game signal will be described.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 6, the main board 40 includes a CPU 41, a ROM 42, a RAM 43, and an input / output port 44. On the main board 40, the CPU 41 executes processing related to the game operation according to the program recorded in the ROM 42. Also, the CPU 41 proceeds with the processing while recording data and the like generated during the processing in the RAM 43 so that they can be rewritten as needed. Through these operations, the main board 40 mainly controls the game operation.

[0021] The main board 40, for example, receives a signal detecting the winning of a game ball from a sensor provided in a winning port such as the start chucker 13 via the input / output port 44, and performs a lottery process such as a jackpot. Also, the main board 40 sends a signal for paying out prize balls for a win to a payout control board 60 described later. Further, the main board 40 sends a signal for operating solenoids such as electric accessory devices and the attacker 14 related to the progress of the game. In this way, the main board 40 can control game operations such as winning detection, lottery processing, and payout. Further, the main board 40 sends a game signal including information about the lottery process, such as the result of the lottery process, to the effect board 30. As the game signal, for example, any signal that includes information such as whether or not a jackpot lottery is won and the time spent on an effect for displaying the lottery result can be used as a general-purpose signal.

[0022] A payout control board 60 is connected to the main board 40 and includes a CPU 61, a ROM 62, a RAM 63, and an input / output port 64. The payout control board 60 can control the operations related mainly to payout among the game operations by the above-described main board 40 based on the signal from the main board 40. And it can control the payout of prize balls, the payout in response to a request for lending out game balls, and the like.

[0023] Also, a main body power supply board 70 is provided in the above-described main body power supply unit 55. The power supply unit 71 of the main body power supply board 70 can supply a predetermined amount of voltage to each part of the main body unit 1a, such as the payout control board 60, the main board 40, and a first relay port 52 described later.

[0024] As described above, the main board 40 is provided in the main device unit 16 of the main unit 1a. On the other hand, the effect board 30 is provided in the effect device unit 18 of the effect unit 1b. And the main unit 1a and the effect unit 1b are operable independently of each other. Here, a first relay port 52 is connected to the main board 40, and a second relay port 50 is connected to the effect board 30, so that a game signal can be transmitted from the first relay port 52 to the second relay port 50.

[0025] First, the first relay port 52 connected to the main board 40 is capable of receiving a game signal transmitted in one direction from the main board 40. Also, a second relay port 50 is connected to the effect board 30, and a game signal or a signal corresponding thereto can be transmitted in one direction from the second relay port 50 to the effect board 30. Here, for example, the first relay port 52 and the second relay port 50 are connectors that can be electrically connected to each other. According to this, it is possible to transmit the game signal from the main board 40 to the effect board 30, and it is also possible to easily attach and detach the effect unit 1b including the effect board 30 to and from the main unit 1a by attaching and detaching the connector. Further, since only the game signal needs to be transmitted from the main board 40 to the effect board 30, only one set of connectors is required.

[0026] In this way, the effect board 30 can receive a game signal from the second relay port 50. That is, the second relay port 50 functions as a receiving device for receiving a game signal from the main unit 1a by the effect unit 1b. The effect board 30 includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, an input port 34, and an output port 35 and is connected to the storage unit 90. In the effect board 30, the CPU 31 executes processing related to the effect operation according to the basic program recorded in the ROM 32 and the effect program stored in the storage unit 90. Also, the CPU 31 proceeds with the processing while recording the data generated during the processing in the RAM 33 so that it can be rewritten as needed. By these operations, the effect board 30 can control the effect operation.

[0027] The performance board 30 extracts the result of the jackpot lottery from the game signals obtained via the input port 34 and the time spent on the performance for displaying the lottery result, and controls the performance operation for notifying the player of the result of the lottery process accordingly. As the performance operation, for example, a plurality of digits are varied on the first performance device 12, and if the result of the lottery process is a jackpot, the plurality of digits are stopped as identical 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 this number are performed in accordance with the time spent on the above-described performance. In this way, by including the time spent on the performance in the game signal, the operations related to the performance of the performance unit 1b can be synchronized with the main body unit 1a. That is, the main body unit 1a and the performance unit 1b can be operated in synchronization with each other. Also, as the performance operation, performances using light, sound, etc. by the lighting, speakers, etc. mounted on the second performance device 4 can be performed in accordance with the progress of the game.

[0028] Specifically, the performance board 30 can select one pattern corresponding to the game signal from a plurality of patterns of predetermined performance operations and send out a signal indicating this pattern via the output port 35. Such a signal is input to each of the sub-sub-boards for image performance, LED performance, and sound performance (not shown). Each sub-sub-board can operate the first performance device 12, the lighting, and the speakers of the second performance device 4 in the pattern corresponding to the input signal, and perform the performance of the pattern selected by the performance board 30.

[0029] Also, the performance board 30 is connected to the storage unit 90 that holds the performance program as described above, and can operate in accordance with such a performance program. The storage unit 90 is further connected to the communication unit 91, and the performance program held in the storage unit 90 can be rewritten by communication with the outside. The connection between the communication unit 91 and the outside may be wired, but it is preferable to make it wireless so that the performance program of the storage unit 90 can be rewritten by operating from a remote location, reducing the trouble of rewriting.

[0030] Furthermore, the effect unit 1b includes the effect device power supply unit 56 as described above, and is provided with a power supply board 80 for effect devices within the effect device power supply unit 56. The power supply unit 81 of the power supply board 80 for effect devices can supply a predetermined amount of voltage to each part of the effect unit 1b, such as the second relay port 50, the effect board 30, the storage unit 90, the communication unit 91, the first effect device 12, the second effect device 4, and other effect devices.

[0031] As described above, according to the gaming system 1, the main body unit 1a including the main body device unit 16 and the effect unit 1b including the effect device unit 18 can operate independently of each other. At this time, the main body unit 1a is provided with a main body power supply unit 55 inside, and in relation to the effect unit 1b, it only needs to be able to send out gaming signals. Therefore, the game can proceed regardless of the presence or absence of the effect unit 1b. That is, the main body unit 1a can operate independently of the effect unit 1b. On the other hand, the effect unit 1b is provided with an effect device power supply unit 56 inside, and can operate in a standby state where it can perform an effect operation by receiving a gaming signal. That is, the effect unit 1b can operate independently of the main body unit 1a.

[0032] As a result, the effect unit 1b only needs to be able to operate correspondingly when receiving a gaming signal from the main body unit 1a in the standby state, and the rest can be freely designed. That is, the design of the effect unit 1b can be carried out separately from the main body unit 1a, and the degree of freedom of its design can be increased. Furthermore, in the effect unit 1b, by enabling the rewriting of the effect program, it becomes possible to provide various effects with a single device.

[0033] In addition, the transmission of the game signal from the main board 40 to the effect board 30 can be made easily detachable by using a connector between the first relay port 52 on the main board 40 side and the second relay port 50 on the effect board 30 side. In this way, it may be easy to replace the effect unit 1b including the effect board 30 by the lottery process of the main board 40. Also, the signals sent from the main board 40 can be aggregated into a game signal, which can be used as a general-purpose signal. As a result, an effect program that provides different effects for the result of one lottery process can be prepared and made rewritable. Then, an effect program can be richly variably selected from among a plurality of different effect programs that provide different effects.

[0034] In the above example, in order to transmit the game signal from the main board 40 to the effect board 30, it is electrically directly connected by a connector, but it can also be made non-contact.

[0035] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, between the first relay port 52 and the second relay port 50, there is provided signal transmission means for transmitting the game signal in a non-contact manner, and the game signal can be transmitted in one direction from the first relay port 52 to the second relay port 50. As the signal transmission means, the first relay port 52 is provided with a display unit 53 that displays the result corresponding to the lottery process among the game signals, and the second relay port 50 is provided with a reading unit 51 that reads the display of the display unit 53. At this time, the display unit 53 may be arranged on the surface of the housing 15 of the main unit 1a, and the reading unit 51 may be arranged on the surface of the housing 17 for the effect device of the effect unit 1b so as to face each other.

[0036] More specifically, for example, an image display device capable of displaying a two-dimensional code or the like is used as the display unit 53, and a camera capable of performing image processing to recognize the two-dimensional code is used as the reading unit 51. As a result, the game signal can be transmitted to the effect board 30 in a non-contact manner after being encoded into a two-dimensional code. That is, the display unit 53 encodes the game signal and displays the symbol including the encoded signal as an image, and the reading unit 51 reads the image and decodes the game signal. In addition, by appropriately using optical transmission means, the game signal can be transmitted at high speed and with high stability. Even without relying on optical means, other means capable of transmitting the game signal in a non-contact manner such as sound waves and magnetic waves can also be used as the signal transmission means.

[0037] As described above, the transmission of the game signal from the main board 40 to the effect board 30 is performed in a non-contact manner between the first relay port 52 on the main board 40 side and the second relay port 50 on the effect board 30 side. That is, the operation process of the effect device unit 18 is performed by the effect board 30 according to the display content of the display unit 53. By making it non-contact in this way, the degree of freedom in the design of the effect unit 1b can be increased even in terms of dimensions.

[0038] Although an example in which the transmission of the game signal from the display unit 53 to the reading unit 51 is performed by a two-dimensional code has been described above, this may also be performed by an encryption. For example, the game signal is encrypted at the first relay port 52, an image corresponding to the encryption is displayed on the image display device used as the display unit 53, the reading unit 51 captures this image, and the game signal is obtained by decrypting it at the second relay port 50. That is, the display unit 53 is a pseudo-effect display device that performs a display corresponding to the lottery process included in the game signal. In addition, the reading unit 51 is a reading device that pairs with the display unit 53.

[0039] Also, predetermined codes can be used as game signals. A correspondence table defining 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 40. When creating a game signal on the main board 40, this code is extracted. Then, the extracted code is transmitted as a game signal to the effect board 30 that stores the same correspondence table, and the effect corresponding to the code can be selected and performed on the effect board 30. Also, a second correspondence table defining the pattern of the effect corresponding to the code can be stored in the effect board 30, and the effect can be performed accordingly.

[0040] Note that it is also preferable that the main unit 1a is based on a circulating game device that can circulate game balls inside the housing 15 to continuously play the game. In this case, the game ball passage for guiding the game balls from the island facility becomes unnecessary, and the degree of freedom in designing the effect unit 1b is also improved.

[0041] For rewriting the above-described effect program, it may be performed by replacing the storage medium attached to the storage unit 90. That is, different effect programs are held in the storage medium attached to the storage unit 90 and another replaceable storage medium, and the effect program is replaced together with the recording medium. Also, a plurality of recording media storing such different effect programs may be prepared in advance, and one of them may be selected and exchanged. Furthermore, such a plurality of recording media may be attached to the storage unit 90 simultaneously, and the effect program of one recording medium may be selected and used.

[0042] So far, the embodiments according to 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

[0043] 1 Gaming system 1a Main unit 1b Effect unit 2 Outer frame 5 Main body frame 10 Game board 16 Main body device section 18 Effect device section 30 Effect substrate 40 Main substrate

Claims

1. A pachinko game system including an effect device that operates based on the game content on a game board for rolling game balls, a main body housing that houses a main body unit including a main board that performs a lottery process, together with the game board including a launcher unit for handling the game balls and advancing the game, an effect device housing that houses an effect unit including a liquid crystal display device, an effect unit that performs effects related to winning and lottery by LEDs, and an effect unit that performs voice effects by a speaker, and all of the effect devices that operate based on the game content in the main body unit, and includes an effect board that performs an operation process of the effect device corresponding to the lottery process, and the main body housing is positioned at the lower part in a front view inside a frame installed in an island facility in a game parlor, and the effect device housing is positioned at the upper part thereof, and each is housed in an independent compartment so as to be able to operate independently of each other, and each is provided with a power supply unit inside, and signal transmission means for supplying a game signal including information about the lottery process from the main body unit to the effect unit is provided so as to be able to operate in synchronization with each other, The pachinko game system according to claim 1, wherein the effect unit includes a CPU and a storage unit that holds a program for giving this operation, and the program of the storage unit is made rewritable.

2. The pachinko game system according to claim 1, wherein the signal transmission means transmits the game signal in a non-contact manner.

3. The signal transmission means includes a pseudo-effect display device of the main body unit and a reading device of the effect unit that pairs with the pseudo-effect display device, The pachinko game system according to claim 2, wherein the pseudo-effect display device encodes the game signal and displays a symbol including this, and the reading device reads the symbol displayed on the pseudo-effect display device and decodes the game signal.

4. The pachinko game system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the main body unit circulates the game balls inside the main body unit to provide a game.

5. It is used in combination with a game board including a launcher unit for handling game balls and advancing the game, and a main body unit including a main board that performs a lottery process. It includes a liquid crystal display device, an effect unit that performs effects related to winning and lottery using LEDs, and an effect unit that performs voice effects using a speaker, and includes all of the effect devices that operate based on the game content in the main body unit, and is an effect unit housed in a housing for the effect device. It is housed in an independent compartment at the upper part of a main body housing that houses the main body unit positioned at the lower part in a front view inside a frame installed in an island facility in a game parlor, and is provided with a power supply unit inside so that it can operate independently of the main body unit. On the other hand, it has a receiving device that receives a game signal including information about the lottery process from the main body unit and can operate in synchronization with the main body unit. It includes a CPU and a storage unit that holds a program for giving this operation, includes an effect board that performs the operation process of the effect device corresponding to the lottery process, and is characterized in that the program in the storage unit can be rewritten. An effect unit of a pachinko game system.

6. The effect unit of the pachinko game system according to claim 5, wherein the receiving device receives the game signal in a non-contact manner.

7. The receiving device includes a reading device that pairs with a pseudo-effect display device of the main body unit. The effect unit of the pachinko game system according to claim 6, wherein the reading device reads the symbol of the pseudo-effect display device that encodes the game signal and displays the symbol including the game signal, and decodes the game signal.

Images