Game machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine having characteristics in DC motor control.SOLUTION: A game machine includes a DC motor, a rotating body rotationally driven by the DC motor and having multiple symbols along the rotation direction, DC motor control means for controlling the DC motor, and game progress control means for controlling the progress of a game. The game progress control means can transmit a rotation control signal consisting of a first state and a second state to the DC motor control means. The DC motor control means can execute control to rotate the DC motor for a predetermined amount of rotation when the rotation control signal changes from the first state to the second state. The DC motor control means can execute control to rotate the DC motor at a speed according to the duration time of the first state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 29

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a gaming table represented by a reel gaming machine (slot machine), an enclosed gaming machine, or a medal-less slot machine.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a gaming table provided with control means (IC or the like) for driving a movable body by a DC motor has been proposed (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] However, there is room for improvement in the control of the DC motor in the conventional gaming table.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a gaming table having characteristics in the control of a DC motor.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The gaming table according to the present invention is a DC motor, a rotating body that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols along the rotation direction, DC motor control means for controlling the DC motor, game progress control means for controlling the progress of the game, and is a gaming table provided with the game progress control means is means capable of transmitting a rotation control signal consisting of a first state and a second state to the DC motor control means periodically and The DC motor control means is means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor by a predetermined amount of rotation when the rotation control signal changes from the first state to the second state. The DC motor control means is means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor at a speed corresponding to the duration of the first state. It is characterized by this.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a gaming table having characteristics in the control of a DC motor.

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

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, a gaming table (slot machine) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] The slot machine of the present embodiment described below starts rotating when a predetermined number of gaming media are inserted and a plurality of reels each having a plurality of types of symbols are given a predetermined rotation start instruction operation, and determines whether or not a plurality of types of internal winning combinations are won by lottery based on receiving the rotation start instruction operation. Each of the plurality of reels individually stops rotating by receiving a predetermined rotation stop instruction operation, and if the conditions determined by the combination of symbols when the winning combination based on the lottery result and the plurality of reels stop match the predetermined payout conditions, the gaming media are paid out and the game ends. If they do not match, the game proceeds without paying out the gaming media and ends. It is a gaming table that conducts a series of games.

[0011] <Overall Configuration> First, the overall configuration of the slot machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the slot machine 100 as seen from the front side (the player side).

[0012] The slot machine 100 shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to an example of the game table of the present invention, and includes a main body 101 and a front door 102 that is attached to the front of the main body 101 and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body 101.

[0013] A reel unit 600 (see FIG. 6) in which three reels (left reel 110, middle reel 111, right reel 112) are accommodated is disposed at the central portion of the main body 101. Although details will be described later, each of the reels 110 to 112 includes a reel band 680 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) on which a plurality of types of symbols (see FIG. 4) are printed at equal intervals.

[0014] When viewed from the player, the symbols applied to the reel bands 680 of the reels 110 to 112 are generally displayed vertically in three rows through the symbol display windows 113 provided in front of each of the reels 110 to 112, and a total of nine symbols can be seen. By rotating each of the reels 110 to 112, the combination of symbols visible to the player changes. That is, each of the reels 110 to 112 functions as a display device that can variably display combinations of a plurality of types of symbols.

[0015] In addition to the reels, an electronic image display device such as a liquid crystal display device can also be adopted as such a display device. Further, in the present embodiment, three reels are arranged at the central portion of the main body 101, but the number of reels and the installation position of the reels are not limited to this.

[0016] The notification lamp 123 is a lamp that notifies the player that, for example, it has won internally for a specific winning combination (specifically, special combination 1 or special combination 2) in the internal lottery described later, or that it is in the middle of a bonus game (during the special combination 1·2 game state). The playable game medal lamp 124 is a lamp for notifying the player that the player can insert game medals. The replay lamp 122 is a lamp that notifies the player that the current game can be replayed (i.e., medal insertion is not required) when winning the replay, which is one of the winning combinations, in the previous game. The reel panel lamp 128 is an effect lamp.

[0017] The bet buttons 130 to 132 are buttons for inserting a predetermined number of medals (referred to as credits) electronically stored in the slot machine 100. In this embodiment, each time the bet button 130 is pressed, one medal is inserted up to a maximum of three medals, two medals are inserted when the bet button 131 is pressed, and three medals are inserted when the bet button 132 is pressed. Hereinafter, the bet button 132 is also referred to as the MAX bet button. Note that the game medal insertion lamp 129 lights up a number of lamps corresponding to the number of inserted medals, and when the specified number of medals has been inserted, the game start lamp 121, which notifies that the game can be started, lights up.

[0018] The effect button 156 is an operation means operable by the player. In this embodiment, it is configured as a button that can be pressed by the player and is used for various effects. Such an operation means used for effects is not limited to a button, and for example, it may be configured with a lever, a touch panel, etc., or may be provided with a plurality of operation means.

[0019] The medal insertion slot 141 is an insertion slot for the player to insert medals when starting the game. That is, medals can be inserted electronically by the bet buttons 130 to 132, or actual medals can be inserted (insertion operation) from the medal insertion slot 141, and "insertion" means including both.

[0020] The stored number indicator 125 is a display for displaying the number of medals electronically stored in the slot machine 100. The game information display 126 is a display for numerically displaying various internal information (for example, the number of medals paid out during a bonus game). The payout number display 127 is a display for displaying the number of medals paid out to the player as a result of winning a prize in some winning combination, and is also used as an instruction monitor for performing a push order effect. In this example, the stored number indicator 125, the game information display 126, and the payout number display 127 are 7-segment (SEG) displays.

[0021] The start lever 135 is a lever-type switch for starting the rotation of the reels 110 to 112. That is, when a desired number of medals is inserted into the medal insertion slot 141 or the bet buttons 130 to 132 are operated to operate the start lever 135, the reels 110 to 112 start to rotate. The operation on the start lever 135 is called a game start operation.

[0022] The stop button unit 136 is provided with stop buttons 137 to 139 composed of a left stop button 137, a middle stop button 138, and a right stop button 139. The stop buttons 137 to 139 are button-type switches for individually stopping the reels 110 to 112 that have started rotating by the operation of the start lever 135, and are associated with the respective reels 110 to 112. More specifically, the left reel 110 can be stopped by operating the left stop button 137, the middle reel 111 can be stopped by operating the middle stop button 138, and the right reel 112 can be stopped by operating the right stop button 139.

[0023] Hereinafter, the operation on the stop buttons 137 to 139 is called a stop operation, the first stop operation is called a first stop operation, the next stop operation is called a second stop operation, and the last stop operation is called a third stop operation.

[0024] In addition, the reels that are stopped corresponding to these stop operations are sequentially referred to as the first stop reel, the second stop reel, and the third stop reel. Furthermore, the order in which the stop buttons 137 to 139 are operated to stop all of the rotating reels 110 to 112 is called the operation order or the pressing order.

[0025] When the operation order (pressing order) of the stop buttons 137 to 139 is represented by the left stop button 137 as "left or L", the middle stop button 138 as "middle or M", and the right stop button 139 as "right or R", there are six types: (1) the operation order of left → middle → right (left middle right or LMR), (2) the operation order of left → right → middle (left right middle or LRM), (3) the operation order of middle → left → right (middle left right or MLR), (4) the operation order of middle → right → left (middle right left or MRL), (5) the operation order of right → left → middle (right left middle or RLM), and (6) the operation order of right → middle → left (right middle left or RML). Furthermore, the operation order in which the first stop operation is the stop operation of the left reel 110 is called the "sequential pressing operation order" or simply "sequential pressing", and the stop operation in which the first stop operation is the stop operation of the right reel 112 is called the "reverse pressing operation order" or simply "reverse pressing".

[0026] Note that a light emitter may be provided inside each of the stop buttons 137 to 139, and when the stop buttons 137 to 139 can be operated, the light emitter can also be lit to notify the player.

[0027] The medal return button 133 is a button to be pressed to remove jammed inserted medals. The settlement button 134 is a button for settling the medals electronically stored in the slot machine 100 and the bet medals and discharging them from the medal payout opening 155. The door keyhole 140 is a hole into which a key for unlocking the front door 102 of the slot machine 100 is inserted.

[0028] Below the stop button unit 136, a title panel 162 for displaying the model name and attaching various certificates is provided. Below the title panel 162, a medal payout opening 155 and a medal tray 161 are provided.

[0029] The sound hole 181 is a hole for outputting the sound of the speaker provided inside the slot machine 100 to the outside. The side lamps 144 provided on the left and right parts of the front door 102 are decorative lamps for enlivening the game. An effect device 160 is disposed above the front door 102, and a sound hole 143 is provided above the effect device 160.

[0030] This effect device 160 includes a shutter (shielding device) 163 composed of two right shutters 163a and left shutters 163b that can be opened and closed in the horizontal direction, and a liquid crystal display device 157 (effect image display device) disposed on the back side of the shutter 163. When the right shutter 163a and the left shutter 163b open outward in the horizontal direction in front of the liquid crystal display device 157, the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 157 appears in front of the slot machine 100 (on the player side).

[0031] Note that it may be a display device capable of displaying various effect images and various game information even if it is not a liquid crystal display device. For example, a multi-segment display (7-segment display), a dot matrix display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, a reel (drum), or a display device composed of a projector and a screen may be used. Also, the display screen is rectangular, and the entire screen is configured to be visible to the player. In the case of this embodiment, the display screen is rectangular, but it may be square. Further, a decoration (not shown) may be provided at the periphery of the display screen, and as a result, a part of the periphery of the display screen is hidden by the decoration, so that the display screen can appear to have an irregular shape. In the case of this embodiment, the display screen is a flat surface, but it may be a curved surface.

[0032] Also, inside the main body 101, there are provided a setting key that can be switched between on and off by a rotation operation, an operation for changing settings (setting value change operation) by a pressing operation, and a setting switch that enables an operation for confirming settings. The setting key is an operation means for starting the change and confirmation of setting values (settings 1 to 6 in this example), and the setting switch is one of the setting means that can set one of a plurality of setting values.

[0033] <Winning line> Next, the winning line will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the winning line of the slot machine 100.

[0034] As described with reference to FIG. 1, the symbols on the reels 110 to 112 are generally displayed vertically in three rows from the symbol display window 113 provided in front of each of the reels 110 to 112 as seen by the player, and a total of nine symbols can be seen.

[0035] Specifically, the symbol displayed in the upper stage of the left reel 110 (the position 1 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 1) is called the upper-stage symbol of the left reel, the symbol displayed in the middle stage of the left reel 110 (the position 2 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 2) is called the middle-stage symbol of the left reel, and the symbol displayed in the lower stage of the left reel 110 (the position 3 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 3) is called the lower-stage symbol of the left reel.

[0036] Also, the symbol displayed in the upper stage of the middle reel 111 (the position 4 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 4) is called the upper-stage symbol of the middle reel, the symbol displayed in the middle stage of the middle reel 111 (the position 5 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 5) is called the middle-stage symbol of the middle reel, and the symbol displayed in the lower stage of the middle reel 111 (the position 6 shown in the figure; also referred to as symbol position 6) is called the lower-stage symbol of the middle reel.

[0037] In addition, the symbol displayed in the upper part of the right reel 112 (the position 7 shown in the figure; also referred to as the symbol position 7) is called the upper right reel symbol, the symbol displayed in the middle part of the right reel 112 (the position 8 shown in the figure; also referred to as the symbol position 8) is called the middle right reel symbol, and the symbol displayed in the lower part of the right reel 112 (the position 9 shown in the figure; also referred to as the symbol position 9) is called the lower right reel symbol.

[0038] In this embodiment, as the winning line, only the middle winning line L1 (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as "winning line L1") composed of the middle left reel symbol (symbol position 2), the middle middle reel symbol (symbol position 5), and the middle right reel symbol (symbol position 8) is provided.

[0039] Here, the winning line is a line set at the stop position of the symbol that can be visually recognized through the symbol display window 113, and it is a line for determining whether or not the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination shown in FIG. 5 is displayed (aligned). The effective winning line (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as "effective line") is determined in advance according to the number of medals bet as the game medium.

[0040] The slot machine 100 of this embodiment is a dedicated machine for three-coin bets. When the number of inserted medals is less than three, none of the winning lines are effective, and when three medals are bet, the winning line L1 becomes effective. When the winning line becomes effective, the game can be started by operating the start lever 135.

[0041] Hereinafter, among the symbol display window 113, the symbol positions 2, 5, and 8 on the winning line L1 may be referred to as "winning positions", and the other symbol positions, that is, the symbol positions 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9 may be referred to as "non-winning positions". That is, the winning position refers to the position on the winning line where the symbol constituting the symbol combination corresponding to the winning combination stops.

[0042] Note that the number of winning lines is not limited to one line. For example, in addition to the winning line L1, an upper winning line composed of the upper symbols on the left reel, the upper symbols on the middle reel, and the upper symbols on the right reel, or a lower winning line composed of the lower symbols on the left reel, the lower symbols on the middle reel, and the lower symbols on the right reel, a total of three lines can be set as valid winning lines. Alternatively, the number of winning lines corresponding to the number of bets can be set as valid winning lines.

[0043] <Control Unit> Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the circuit configuration of the control unit of the slot machine 100 will be described in detail. Note that this figure shows a circuit block diagram of the control unit.

[0044] The control unit of the slot machine 100 is roughly divided into a main control unit 300 that controls the progress of the game, a first sub-control unit 400 that controls the main effects according to a command signal (hereinafter simply referred to as "command") transmitted by the main control unit 300, and a second sub-control unit 500 that controls various devices based on the command transmitted by the first sub-control unit 400.

[0045] <Main Control Unit> First, the main control unit 300 of the slot machine 100 will be described. The main control unit 300 includes a basic circuit 302 that controls the entire main control unit 300. This basic circuit 302 is equipped with a CPU 304, a ROM 306 that stores control program data, lottery data used during the internal lottery for winning combinations, symbol arrangements and stop positions of the reels, etc., a RAM 308 for temporarily storing data, an I / O 310 for controlling the input / output of various devices, a counter timer 312 for measuring time, number of times, etc., and a WDT (watchdog timer) 314. Note that other storage devices may be used for the ROM 306 and the RAM 308, and the same applies to the first sub-control unit 400 and the second sub-control unit 500 described later.

[0046] The CPU 304 of this basic circuit 302 operates by taking as the system clock the clock signal with a predetermined period output by the crystal oscillator 315b. Further, when the power is turned on, the CPU 304 transmits the data for frequency division stored in a predetermined area of the ROM 306 to the counter timer 312. The counter timer 312 determines the interrupt time based on the received data for frequency division, and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 304 at each such interrupt time. The CPU 304 executes monitoring of each sensor etc. and transmission of drive pulses upon the occasion of this interrupt request. For example, when the clock signal output by the crystal oscillator 315b is set to 8 MHz, the frequency division value of the counter timer 312 is set to 1 / 256, and the data for frequency division of the ROM 306 is set to 47, the reference time for the interrupt is 256 × 47 ÷ 8 MHz = 1.504 ms.

[0047] The main control unit 300 includes a random number value generation circuit 316 that derives a numerical value within the range of 0 to 65535 each time it receives the clock signal output by the crystal oscillator 315a (it is assumed that this circuit incorporates two random number value generation circuits), and a start signal output circuit 338 that outputs a start signal (reset signal) when the power is turned on. When the start signal is input from this start signal output circuit 338, the CPU 304 starts game control (starts the main control unit main process described later).

[0048] The random number generation circuit 316 generates random numbers used by the basic circuit 302. There are roughly two methods for generating random numbers in this random number generation circuit 316: the counter mode and the random number mode. In the counter mode, a value that counts up (or down) at a predetermined time interval is obtained, and that value is derived as a random number. There are further two methods in the random number mode. The first method in the random number mode performs an operation using a random number seed with a predetermined function (e.g., a modulus function), and the result of this operation is derived as a random number. The second method reads a value from a random number table in which values in the range of 0 to 65535 are randomly arranged, and the read value is derived as a random number. The random number generation circuit 316 obtains irregular values by utilizing the white noise superimposed on the signals input from the various sensors 318 to the sensor circuit 320. The random number generation circuit 316 uses the values thus obtained as the initial value of a counter that counts up (or down) in the counter mode, as a random number seed, or when determining the read start position of the random number table.

[0049] Also, the main control unit 300 includes a sensor circuit 320, and the CPU 304 monitors the states of various sensors 318 (bed button 130 sensor, bed button 131 sensor, bed button 132 sensor, medal reception sensor for medals inserted from the medal insertion port 141, start lever 135 sensor, left stop button 137 sensor, middle stop button 138 sensor, right stop button 139 sensor, settlement button 134 sensor, medal payout sensor for medals paid out from the medal payout device 180, photo sensors 642 of the reel devices 601 to 603 described later, etc.) at each interrupt time.

[0050] When the sensor circuit 320 detects the H level of the start lever sensor, a signal indicating this detection is output to the random number generation circuit 316. The random number generation circuit 316 that receives this signal latches the value at that timing and stores it in a register that stores the random number used for the lottery.

[0051] The medal reception sensor is installed in two places in the internal passage of the medal insertion port 141 and detects the presence or absence of medal passage. The start lever 135 sensor is installed in two places inside the start lever 135 and detects the start operation by the player. The left stop button 137 sensor, the middle stop button 138 sensor, and the right stop button 139 sensor are installed on their respective stop buttons 137 to 139 and detect the operation of the stop button by the player.

[0052] The bet button 130 sensor, the bet button 131 sensor, and the bet button 132 sensor are installed on their respective corresponding bet buttons 130 to 132 and detect the insertion operation when inserting the medals electronically stored in the RAM 308 as medals for use in the game. The settlement button 134 sensor is provided on the settlement button 134. When the settlement button 134 is pressed once, the electronically stored medals are settled. The medal payout sensor is a sensor for detecting the medals paid out by the medal payout device 180. Note that each of the above sensors may be a non-contact sensor or a contact sensor.

[0053] Details will be described later, but the photo sensors 642 of the reel devices 601 to 603 are installed at predetermined positions of the respective reel devices 601 to 603, and become L level while the light-shielding pieces 694a (see Fig. 10(a), etc.) of the detected parts 686 provided on the reels 110 to 112 are passing through. The CPU 304 determines the rotational direction position of the symbols on the reels 110 to 112 based on the detection results of this photo sensor 642, and performs brake control and stop control, etc. of the reels 110 to 112 so that the target symbol stops and is displayed at a predetermined symbol position of the symbol display window 113.

[0054] The main control unit 300 includes a drive circuit 324 that drives a solenoid provided in the medal selector 170 for sorting the inserted medals, a drive circuit 326 that drives a motor provided in the medal payout device 180, and a drive circuit 328 that drives various lamps 336 (winning line display lamp 120, notification lamp 123, game medal insertable lamp 124, replay lamp 122, game medal insert lamp 129, game start lamp 121, stored number display 125, game information display 126, payout number display 127).

[0055] Also, a motor control board 606a for controlling a motor 614a (see FIG. 15 etc.) that rotates the reels 110 to 112 is connected to the basic circuit 302. The motor control board 606a is a control circuit that controls the rotation of the motor 614a based on the position of the rotor in the motor 614a detected by the encoder 614e, and thereby rotates the reels 110 to 112. By using the motor control board 606a, the processing load of the main control unit 300 for controlling the rotation of the reels 110 to 112 can be reduced. Details of the motor control board 606a will be described later.

[0056] Also, an information output circuit 334 is connected to the basic circuit 302, and the main control unit 300 outputs game information (for example, information indicating the game state) of the slot machine 100 to an information input circuit 652 provided in an external hall computer (not shown) etc. via this information output circuit 334.

[0057] Also, the main control unit 300 includes a voltage monitoring circuit 330 that monitors the voltage value of the power supply supplied from a power supply management unit (not shown) to the main control unit 300. When the voltage value of the power supply is less than a predetermined value (9v in this embodiment), the voltage monitoring circuit 330 outputs a low voltage signal indicating that the voltage has dropped to the basic circuit 302.

[0058] In addition, the main control unit 300 is provided with an output interface for transmitting commands to the first sub-control unit 400, enabling communication with the first sub-control unit 400. Note that the information communication between the main control unit 300 and the first sub-control unit 400 is one-way communication. The main control unit 300 is configured to be able to transmit signals such as commands to the first sub-control unit 400, while the first sub-control unit 400 is configured not to be able to transmit signals such as commands to the main control unit 300.

[0059] <Sub-control unit> Next, the first sub-control unit 400 of the slot machine 100 will be described. The first sub-control unit 400 receives the control commands transmitted by the main control unit 300 via the input interface. The first sub-control unit 400 includes a basic circuit 402 that controls the entire first sub-control unit 400 based on these control commands. This basic circuit 402 is equipped with a CPU 404, a RAM 408 for temporarily storing data, an I / O 410 for controlling the input and output of various devices, and a counter timer 412 for measuring time, number of times, etc. The CPU 404 of the basic circuit 402 operates by inputting a clock signal with a predetermined period output by the crystal oscillator 414 as the system clock. The ROM 406 stores a control program and data for controlling the entire first sub-control unit 400, data for controlling the backlight lighting pattern and various displays, etc.

[0060] The CPU 404 transmits the data for frequency division stored in a predetermined area of the ROM 406 to the counter timer 412 via the data bus at a predetermined timing. The counter timer 412 determines the interrupt time based on the received data for frequency division and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 404 at each interrupt time. The CPU 404 controls each IC and each circuit based on the timing of this interrupt request.

[0061] In addition, a sound source IC 418 is provided in the first sub-control unit 400, and speakers 272 and 277 are provided to the sound source IC 418 via an output interface. The sound source IC 418 controls the amplification and the sound output from the amplifiers and the speakers 272 and 277 in accordance with commands from the CPU 404. An S-ROM (Sound ROM) storing voice data is connected to the sound source IC 418, and the voice data obtained from this ROM is amplified by an amplifier and output from the speakers 272 and 277.

[0062] In addition, a drive circuit 422 is provided in the first sub-control unit 400, and various lamps 420 (upper lamp, lower lamp, side lamp 144, title panel 162 lamp, etc.) are connected to the drive circuit 422 via an input / output interface.

[0063] In addition, a drive circuit 424 for driving the motor of the shutter 163 is provided in the first sub-control unit 400, and the shutter 163 is provided to the drive circuit 424 via an output interface. This drive circuit 424 outputs a drive signal to a stepping motor (not shown) provided in the shutter 163 in accordance with commands from the CPU 404.

[0064] In addition, a sensor circuit 426 is provided in the first sub-control unit 400, and a shutter sensor 428 capable of detecting the position of the shutter 163 and a production button sensor 430 capable of detecting a pressing operation of the production button 156 are connected to the sensor circuit 426 via an input interface. The CPU 404 monitors the states of the shutter sensor 428 and the production button sensor 430 at each interrupt time.

[0065] Further, the CPU 404 transmits and receives signals to and from the second sub-control unit 500 via an output interface. The second sub-control unit 500 performs various controls of the effect device 160 including the display control of the effect image display device 157 (hereinafter, also referred to as "liquid crystal display device 157"). Note that the second sub-control unit 500 may be composed of a plurality of control units, such as a control unit that controls the display of the liquid crystal display device 157 and a control unit that controls various effect driving devices (for example, a control unit that controls the motor driving of the shutter 163).

[0066] The second sub-control unit 500 includes a basic circuit 502 that receives the control command transmitted by the first sub-control unit 400 via an input interface and controls the entire second sub-control unit 500 based on this control command. The basic circuit 502 is equipped with a CPU 504, a RAM 508 for temporarily storing data, an I / O 510 for controlling the input and output of various devices, and a counter timer 512 for measuring time, the number of times, etc. The CPU 504 of the basic circuit 502 operates by inputting a clock signal with a predetermined period output by the crystal oscillator 514 as a system clock. The ROM 506 stores a control program and data for controlling the entire second sub-control unit 500, data for image display, and the like.

[0067] The CPU 504 transmits the frequency division data stored in a predetermined area of the ROM 506 to the counter timer 512 via the data bus at a predetermined timing. The counter timer 512 determines the interrupt time based on the received frequency division data and transmits an interrupt request to the CPU 504 at each interrupt time. The CPU 504 controls each IC and each circuit based on the timing of this interrupt request.

[0068] In addition, the second sub-control unit 500 is provided with a VDP 516 (Video Display Processor), and a ROM 506 and a VRAM 518 are connected to the VDP 516 via a bus. The VDP 516 reads out image data and the like stored in the ROM 506 based on a signal from the CPU 504, generates a display image using the work area of the VRAM 518, and displays the image on the effect image display device 157.

[0069] <Symbol arrangement> Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the symbol arrangements applied to the respective reels 110 to 112 described above will be described. Note that FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a planar development of the symbol arrangements applied to the respective reels (left reel 110, middle reel 111, right reel 112).

[0070] A plurality of types (nine types in the present embodiment) of symbols shown on the right side of the figure are arranged on each of the reels 110 to 112 for a predetermined number of frames (twenty frames numbered 0 to 19 in the present embodiment). In addition, the numbers 0 to 19 shown at the left end of the figure are numbers indicating the arrangement positions of the symbols on each of the reels 110 to 112. For example, in the present embodiment, a "watermelon symbol" is arranged in the frame numbered 0 of the left reel 110, a "bell symbol" is arranged in the frame numbered 1 of the middle reel 111, and a "replay symbol" is arranged in the frame numbered 0 of the right reel 112.

[0071] <Types of winning combinations> Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the types of winning combinations of the slot machine 100 will be described. Note that FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the types of winning combinations, the names of the condition devices, the symbol combinations corresponding to the respective winning combinations, the payout numbers, and remarks.

[0072] The winning combinations of the slot machine 100 include special combinations (special combination 1, special combination 2) and general combinations (replay combination 1 to 3, small combination 1 to small combination 5), etc. Note that the types of winning combinations are not limited to these combinations and can be arbitrarily adopted, and in FIG. 5, the illustration of some winning combinations is omitted.

[0073] <Types of winning combinations / Special combinations> Among the winning roles in this embodiment, Special Role 1 and Special Role 2 are roles that transition to a special gaming state in which a predetermined profit is given to the player. Also, the replay role is a role (a role to which a replay is given) that enables replay without newly inserting medals. These winning roles may be called "active roles."

[0074] In addition, "winning" in this embodiment includes the case where a combination of symbols of an active role without medal payout (without medal payout) is displayed on the winning line. For example, it includes winning for Special Role 1, Special Role 2, and the replay role.

[0075] Special Role 1 and Special Role 2 are winning roles in which the gaming state transitions to the Special Role 1·2 Internal Winning State (RT3) by internal winning and transitions to the Special Role 1·2 Gaming State (RT4) by winning. Note that when medals exceeding the specified number (for example, 200 medals) are paid out in the Special Role 1·2 Gaming State (RT4), the gaming state transitions to the Replay Low Probability State (RT1). Note that each gaming state (RT1 to RT4) will be described later.

[0076] The symbol combination corresponding to Special Role 1 (BB) is "Seven 1 Symbol - Seven 1 Symbol - Seven 1 Symbol" or "Seven 2 Symbol - Seven 2 Symbol - Seven 2 Symbol", and the symbol combination corresponding to Special Role 2 (RB) is "BAR Symbol - BAR Symbol - BAR Symbol".

[0077] When winning internally for Special Role 1 or Special Role 2, the special role internal winning flag corresponding to the internally won role is set to on (stored in a predetermined area of the RAM308 of the main control unit 300). This flag remains on until winning for the internally won role, and in subsequent games, it becomes a state where it is easy to win for the internally won role. That is, in a game where Special Role 1 or Special Role 2 has won internally, even if it does not win for that special role, in subsequent games, it becomes a state of having won internally for that special role (RT3), and the symbol combination corresponding to the special role becomes a state where it is easy to win all together.

[0078] <Type of winning combination / Re - game winning combination> The re - game winning combinations 1 to 3 are winning combinations (active combinations) that can play the game without inserting medals (game media) in the next game due to winning, and no medals are paid out. The corresponding symbol combinations are as shown in Figure 5. Note that the re - game winning combination only needs to be a combination that allows the player to play the next game without inserting medals. Therefore, for example, when winning the re - game winning combination, the medals may be automatically inserted in the next game (the number of inserted medals is reset in the medal insertion number storage area), or the medals inserted in the game where the re - game winning combination is won may be carried over and used in the next game as they are.

[0079] <Type of winning combination / Minor winning combination> The minor winning combinations 1 to 5 are winning combinations for which a predetermined number of medals are paid out (there is a payout number) due to winning.

[0080] The minor winning combination 1 (Watermelon) is a winning combination for which, due to winning, the symbol combination of "Watermelon symbol - Watermelon symbol - Watermelon symbol" stops and is displayed on the winning line L1, and 5 medals are paid out.

[0081] The minor winning combination 2 (Cherry) is a winning combination for which, due to winning, the symbol combination of "Cherry symbol - ANY - ANY" stops and is displayed on the winning line L1, and 2 medals are paid out. Note that the symbol combination of "Cherry symbol - ANY - ANY" indicates that the symbol on the left reel 110 only needs to be the "Cherry symbol", and the symbols on the middle reel 111 and the right reel 112 can be any symbol.

[0082] Hereafter, these minor winning combinations 1 (Watermelon) and 2 (Cherry) may be collectively referred to as "rare winning combinations", but the rare winning combinations are not limited to these winning combinations. It may be either of these winning combinations, or other winning combinations may be added.

[0083] The minor winning combination 3 (pushing order bell) is composed of six types of winning combinations from minor winning combination 3a to minor winning combination 3f. In this example, by lottery, with a predetermined probability (about 1 / 6 in this example, common to all settings), it internally wins one of the winning combinations from minor winning combination 3a to minor winning combination 3f, and when the operation order (pushing order) of the stop operation by the stop buttons 137 to 139 matches the correct pushing order corresponding to the internally won winning combination, it wins, and 12 medals are paid out.

[0084] The minor winning combination 4 (common bell) is a winning combination in which, regardless of the operation order (pushing order) and operation timing of the stop operation by the stop buttons 137 to 139, the symbol combination of "bell symbol - bell symbol - bell symbol" stops and is displayed on the winning line L1, and 12 medals are paid out.

[0085] The minor winning combination 5 (single symbol winning combination) is a winning combination in which, regardless of the operation order (pushing order) and operation timing of the stop operation by the stop buttons 137 to 139, the symbol combination of "replay symbol - replay symbol - blank 1 symbol" stops and is displayed on the winning line L1, and 1 medal is paid out.

[0086] <Types of RT-based game states> Next, the types and transitions of the RT-based game states in the slot machine 100 will be described.

[0087] <Re-game low probability state (RT1)> The re-game low probability state (RT1) is the default RT-based game state (hereinafter also referred to as the "normal game state") initially set immediately after the power-on of the slot machine 100, etc., and is a game state that is relatively disadvantageous for the player compared to other game states.

[0088] In this example, in this re-game low probability state (RT1), when winning the re-game winning combination 2 (upgrade replay 1) or the re-game winning combination 3 (upgrade replay 2), it transitions to the re-game high probability state (RT2) described later. Also, in this re-game low probability state (RT1), when internally winning the special winning combination 1 or the special winning combination 2, it transitions to the special winning combination 1·2 internal winning state (RT3) described later.

[0089] <High Probability State for Re-game (RT2)> The high probability state for re-game is a game state where the internal winning probability of re-game is higher than that of the low probability state for re-game (RT1).

[0090] In this example, in this high probability state for re-game (RT2), when winning internally for Special Role 1 or Special Role 2, it transitions to the Special Role 1·2 Internal Winning State (RT3) described later.

[0091] <Special Role 1·2 Internal Winning State (RT3)> The Special Role 1·2 Internal Winning State (RT3) is a state where the internal winning flag corresponding to Special Role 1 or Special Role 2 is set to on, and it is a game state where, by the player performing a stop operation at a predetermined timing, the symbol combination corresponding to the special role corresponding to this flag can be displayed.

[0092] In this example, in this Special Role 1·2 Internal Winning State (RT3), when winning for Special Role 1 or Special Role 2, it transitions to the Special Game State (RT4) described later.

[0093] <Special Game State (RT4)> The Special Game State (RT4) is the most advantageous game state for the player among all game states. In this example, in the Special Game State (RT4), when a specified number of medals (for example, 200 medals) are paid out, it transitions to the low probability state for re-game (RT1).

[0094] Note that in this example, the end condition of the Special Game State (RT4) is not particularly limited, and for example, it may also be when winning internally for a specified role, when there are winnings a specified number of times (for example, 8 times), or when a specified number of games (for example, 6 times) are played.

[0095] <Transition of AT-Type Game States> Next, the AT-type game states will be described.

[0096] The game states of the AT system are roughly classified into a low-navigation state and a high-navigation state. The low-navigation state is a state where the probability of executing the operation navigation is low, and is also referred to as the normal mode, non-favorable section, or normal section. The high-navigation state is a state where the probability of executing the operation navigation is higher than that of the low-navigation state, and is also referred to as the AT mode or favorable section.

[0097] Here, the operation navigation refers to an effect that notifies the stop operation modes (e.g., correct operation order and stop operation timing) of the stop buttons 137 to 139 in order to obtain medals or maintain a favorable game state. For example, an effect that notifies the correct operation order of a pressing sequence role (e.g., small role 3 (pressing sequence bell LCR)) (e.g., an effect that displays characters such as "left → middle → right") corresponds to this.

[0098] When a stop operation is performed according to the operation content of the operation navigation, a favorable result is brought to the player. Therefore, the high-navigation state is a game state that is more favorable to the player than the low-navigation state. Here, "favorable" specifically means that, when the game is played for a predetermined period, the ratio of the total number of game media paid out by the game table to the total number of game media used by the player as the bet amount on the game table, that is, the so-called payout rate (coin payout rate), is favorable.

[0099] In this example, the low-navigation state is defined as a state where the execution probability of the operation navigation is low, and the high-navigation state is defined as a state where the execution probability of the operation navigation is higher than that of the low-navigation state. However, the low-navigation state may be defined as a state where the operation navigation is not executed, and the high-navigation state may be defined as a state where the operation navigation is executed.

[0100] Each game state of the AT system is subdivided and managed, and this is called the effect state. Specifically, the effect state of the low-navigation state includes the normal game state, and the effect state of the high-navigation state includes the normal state, the confirmation notification state, the judgment state, the pull-back state, the AT1 state, the AT2 state, and the ED (ending) state. Note that the AT1 state, the AT2 state, and the ED state are, in principle, states where the number of coins increases.

[0101] In this embodiment, when a certain condition is satisfied in the normal gaming state of the low-navigation state (for example, when winning a winning combination other than a losing combination), it transitions to the normal state of the high-navigation state. After that, for example, it transitions in the order of the confirmation notification state → AT1 state → judgment state, and from this judgment state, there are routes that transition to the normal gaming state or the AT2 state via the return state, routes that transition directly to the AT2 state from the judgment state, and so on.

[0102] The AT state (AT1 state, AT2 state) is a state in which AT games can be played a predetermined number of times (for example, 30 games per set), and it is a more advantageous state for the player than the normal gaming state of the low-navigation state or the normal state of the high-navigation state.

[0103] In this AT game, at the start game of the AT game, a set continuation lottery (for example, a lottery with a winning probability of 1 / 4) to continue or not continue the AT game is executed. If winning this set continuation lottery, an additional predetermined number of times (in this example, 30 games per set) of AT games are awarded, and the AT state is extended. Also, when the condition for transitioning to the normal gaming state is satisfied in the AT state (in this example, when all the games in the AT state are completed), it transitions to the normal gaming state from the next game.

[0104] Also, when the remaining games in the high-navigation state become a predetermined number of games (for example, 20 games) or less, it transitions to the ED state, and in this ED state, an ED (ending) effect suggesting the end of the high-navigation state is executed. Note that the condition for transitioning to the ED state is not limited to the remaining games in the high-navigation state becoming a predetermined number of games (for example, 20 games) or less. For example, the predetermined number of games may be more than 20 games or less, or it may be "acquired number + expected acquisition difference number > 2000".

[0105] <Reel Unit> Next, the reel unit 600 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

[0106] Fig. 6(a) is an external perspective view of the reel unit 600 with the left reel device 601 removed, seen from the front side, and Fig. 6(b) is an external perspective view of the reel unit 600 with the left reel device 601 removed, seen from the back side.

[0107] The reel unit 600 is composed of a left reel device 601 including a left reel 110 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "reel device 601"), a middle reel device 602 including a middle reel 111 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "reel device 602"), a right reel device 603 including a right reel 112 (hereinafter, also simply referred to as "reel device 603"), a reel frame 604 capable of accommodating these three reel devices 601 to 603 therein, and a reel substrate unit 606 disposed above the reel frame 604.

[0108] Prior to the description of the reel devices 601 to 603 which are the features of the present invention, first, the reel frame 604 and the reel substrate unit 606 will be described.

[0109] <Reel Unit / Reel Frame> The reel frame 604 is a box-shaped member having an internal space capable of accommodating the reel devices 601 to 603, and an opening through which the reels 110 to 112 can be visually recognized is formed on the front side. The reel frame 604 of this example is formed of plastic, but the material of the reel frame 604 is not particularly limited and may be metal, wood, or the like.

[0110] Above the reel frame 604, the reel substrate unit 606 to be described later is disposed, and a plurality of types of heat dissipation holes 604a to 604c are formed on the back surface and side surfaces of the reel frame 604. The heat dissipation holes 604a to 604c are all through holes for discharging the heat generated by the reel devices 601 to 603, the reel substrate unit 606, etc. to the outside of the reel frame 604.

[0111] Specifically, in this example, on the upper part of the back surface of the reel frame 604 (below the reel substrate unit 606), three horizontally long elliptical heat dissipation holes 604a are formed at predetermined intervals. On the back surface of the reel frame 604 (in the back direction of the reel devices 601 to 603), six elliptical heat dissipation holes 604b are formed at predetermined intervals. On both ends in the width direction of the reel frame 604 (in the side surface direction of the reel devices 601 and 603), four slit-shaped heat dissipation holes 604c are formed on each side at predetermined intervals. Needless to say, the arrangement locations, shapes, numbers, etc. of these heat dissipation holes 604a to 604c are not limited to this example.

[0112] Also, in the opening of the reel frame 604, reel fixing portions 604d for fixing the reel side plates 650 of the reel devices 601 to 603 are formed in a total of six places, three places each on the upper edge and the lower edge, corresponding to the three reel devices 601 to 603. With the reel devices 601 to 603 accommodated in the inner space of the reel frame 604, by screwing the reel side plates 650 of the reel devices 601 to 603 to the reel fixing portions 604d with screws 651a (only partially shown in FIG. 6), it is possible to fix the reel devices 601 to 603 to the reel frame 604.

[0113] <Reel Unit / Reel Substrate Unit> The reel substrate unit 606 disposed above the reel frame 604 includes a motor control substrate 606a, a relay terminal board 606b electrically connected to the motor control substrate 606a, a setting substrate 606d, and a reel substrate cover 606c disposed so as to cover a part of these motor control substrate 606a, relay terminal board 606b, and setting substrate 606d.

[0114] The motor control board 606a is a board on which electronic components for controlling the reel devices 601 to 603 are mounted. The relay terminal board 606b is a board provided with terminals (connectors) to which a harness or the like for electrically connecting the motor control board 606a and the basic circuit 302 (see FIG. 3) of the main control unit 300 can be attached. The setting board 606d is a board connected to the motor control board 606a for performing various settings. These boards are protected by the reel board cover 606c.

[0115] <Reel device> Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 to 17, the reel devices 601 to 603, which are the features of the present invention, will be described in detail.

[0116] Note that since the structures of the left reel device 601, the middle reel device 602, and the right reel device 603 of the slot machine 100 in this example are the same, hereinafter, only the left reel device 601 (reel device 601) will be described. However, the reel drive mechanism described hereinafter may be applied to only some of the left reel 110, the middle reel 111, and the right reel 112, and in addition to (or instead of) this, it may be applied to auxiliary reels other than the left reel 110, the middle reel 111, and the right reel 112.

[0117] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the members constituting the reel device 601 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the members constituting the reel device 601 as viewed from the back side.

[0118] The reel device 601 includes a reel 110, a reel drive unit 610 that rotationally drives the reel 110, a backlight module 630 for illuminating the symbols of the reel 110 from the back, a reel detection unit 640 for detecting the rotational position of the reel 110, a reel side plate 650 for attaching members such as the reel drive unit 610 and the backlight module 630, a bearing portion 660 disposed on the left reel frame 684 of the reel 110, and a coil spring 670 provided between the left reel frame 684 of the reel 110 and the reel drive unit 610.

[0119] <Reel device / reel> Next, the reel 110 of the reel device 601 will be described.

[0120] Reel 110 is composed of a reel band 680 on which multiple types of patterns are printed at equal intervals, a right reel frame 682 and a left reel frame 684 that support both sides of reel band 680, and a detectable portion 686 fixed to left reel frame 684.

[0121] <Reel device / reel / reel belt> Reel band 680 of reel 110 is a flat ring-shaped member formed by bonding the longitudinal ends of a rectangular band-shaped member together. In this example, reel band 680 is formed of transparent, colorless plastic, but the material of reel band 680 is not particularly limited and may be paper, wood, metal, rubber, etc., or may be a colored material.

[0122] 4 are printed at equal intervals on the outer surface of the reel band 680 for a predetermined number of frames (20 frames numbered 0 to 19 in this example). The number of frames of the symbols printed on the reel band 680 is not limited to this example, and may be less than 20 frames or may be 21 frames or more.

[0123] <Reel device / Reel / Reel frame right> The right reel frame 682 of the reel 110 is a ring-shaped member that supports one side (the right side as viewed from the front) of the reel band 680, and is fixed to the right side as viewed from the front with an adhesive or the like.

[0124] The right reel frame 682 in this example is formed from transparent, colorless plastic, similar to the reel band 680, but the material of the right reel frame 682 is not particularly limited and may be paper, wood, metal, rubber, etc., or it may be a colored material.

[0125] <Reel device / reel / reel frame left> The left reel frame 684 of the reel 110 supports the side surface (the left side surface in the front view) opposite to the side surface where the right reel frame 682 is arranged in the reel tape 680, and is a ring-shaped member that is rotationally driven by the reel drive unit 610, and is fixed to the left side surface in the front view of the reel tape 680 with an adhesive or the like.

[0126] The left reel frame 684 in this example is formed of a colorless and transparent plastic like the reel tape 680, but the material of the left reel frame 684 is not particularly limited, and it may be paper, wood, metal, rubber, etc., or it may be a colored member.

[0127] Fig. 9(a) is an external perspective view of the left reel frame 684 seen from the front side, and Fig. 9(b) is an external perspective view of the left reel frame 684 seen from the back side.

[0128] The left reel frame 684 is composed of an elongated ring-shaped frame portion 684a, six rod-shaped frames 684b extending from this frame portion 684a toward the center of the left reel frame 684, and a cylindrical flange 684c supported by these six frames 684b.

[0129] The flange 684c is a cylindrical member that protrudes toward the front side (the direction in which the reel drive unit 610 is arranged) with the six frames 684b as the base ends. The outer peripheral portion 684c1 of the flange 684c shown in Fig. 9(a) can fit the opening 690a of the detected portion 686 to be described later, and as shown in Fig. 9(b), the claw hole portion 684b1 into which the claw portion 690b of the detected portion 686 can be locked is formed in the three frames 684b.

[0130] With such a structure, by fitting the opening 690a of the detected portion 686 to the outer peripheral portion 684c1 of the flange 684c and locking the claw portion 690b of the detected portion 686 to the claw hole portion 684b1 of the flange 684c, the detected portion 686 can be fixed to the front side of the left reel frame 684.

[0131] In addition, a bearing 662 described later can be accommodated in the inner space 684c2 of the flange 684c shown in FIG. 9(b), and a reel shaft 616e of a reel drive unit 610 described later can be inserted into an insertion hole 684c3 formed in the inner space 684c2.

[0132] With such a structure, after the bearing 662 is accommodated in the inner space 684c2 of the flange 684c, one end of the reel shaft 616e of the reel drive unit 610 is inserted into the bearing 662 from the front side of the flange 684c through the insertion hole 684c3 of the flange 684c, so that the reel shaft 616e of the reel drive unit 610 can rotatably support the left reel frame 684.

[0133] As shown in FIG. 9(a), on the front side of the flange 684c, three power input portions 684c4 each having a concave shape into which a power output portion 616c2 of an output gear 616c described later can be fitted are formed at a predetermined interval.

[0134] With such a structure, by fitting the power output portion 616c2 of the output gear 616c into the power input portion 684c4 of the flange 684c, the power of the output gear 616c can be transmitted to the left reel frame 684, and the left reel frame 684 can be rotationally driven by the reel drive unit 610.

[0135] <Reel device / Reel / Detection part> Next, with reference to FIGS. 7, 8, and 10, the detection part 686 of the reel 110 will be described.

[0136] FIG. 10(a) is a front view of the detection part 686, and FIG. 10(b) is a side view of the detection part 686. Further, FIG. 10(c) is an external perspective view of the detection part 686 seen from the front side, and FIG. 10(d) is an external perspective view of the detection part 686 seen from the back side.

[0137] As shown in Fig. 10(b), the detected part 686 of the reel 110 is composed of a thin-ring-shaped base part 688 having a circular opening, and a thin-cylindrical reel fixing part 690 integrally extending in the thickness direction of the base part 688 with the opening of the base part 688 as the base end.

[0138] The detected part 686 in this example is formed of black plastic, but the material of the detected part 686 is not particularly limited and may be metal or the like, or may be a colorless member.

[0139] As shown in Fig. 10(a), the base part 688 is composed of a small-diameter part 692 having a semi-circular shape in a front view, and a large-diameter part 694 having a slightly larger outer diameter than the small-diameter part 692 and having a semi-circular shape in a front view. The large-diameter part 694 is provided with a light-shielding piece 694a protruding outward in the radial direction, and the light-shielding piece 694a is configured to be detected by a photosensor 642 of a reel detection part 640 described later.

[0140] Further, three openings 694b are formed in the large-diameter part 694, and a part of the large-diameter part 694 is hollowed out. With such a configuration, in the detected part 686, the weight balance between the small-diameter part 692 and the large-diameter part 694 with different outer diameters is adjusted, and it is difficult for the detected part 686 to swing when rotating together with the left reel frame 684. Thereby, the detection accuracy of the detected part 686 is prevented from decreasing, and the rotation balance of the reels 110 to 112 is prevented from being disturbed.

[0141] Further, in the detected part 686, as shown in Figs. 10(a) and (c), a plurality of triangular ribs 696 for reinforcement are formed from the base part 688 to the reel fixing part 690, and it is difficult for the detected part 686 to vibrate when rotating together with the left reel frame 684. Thereby, the detection accuracy of the detected part 686 is prevented from decreasing, and the rotation balance of the reels 110 to 112 is prevented from being disturbed.

[0142] The reel fixing portion 690 includes a circular opening 690a and three claw portions 690b integrally extending from the base end of the opening 690a. As described above, by fitting the opening 690a of the detected portion 686 to the outer peripheral portion 684c1 of the flange 684c of the left reel frame 684 and locking the claw portion 690b of the detected portion 686 to the claw hole portion 684b1 of the flange 684c of the left reel frame 684, the detected portion 686 can be fixed to the front side of the left reel frame 684.

[0143] FIG. 11(a) is a diagram showing the relationship between the light-shielding piece 694a of the detected portion 686 and the reel tape 680 of the left reel 110.

[0144] As described above, on the outer surface of the reel tape 680 in this example, a plurality of types of patterns described with reference to FIG. 4 are printed at equal intervals for a predetermined number of frames (in this example, 20 frames numbered 0 to 19).

[0145] When such a 20-frame reel tape 680 is adopted, the detected portion 686 is fixed to the left reel frame 684 such that the position of the base end portion 694a1 of the light-shielding piece 694a coincides with the boundary position (the position indicated by reference sign A) between the patterns of numbers 0 and 1 of the reel tape 680.

[0146] On the other hand, the terminal end portion 694a2 of the light-shielding piece 694a is formed in a direction of about 180 degrees (= 360 degrees × (10 frames / 20 frames)) with respect to the base end portion 694a1 so as to coincide with the boundary position (the position indicated by reference sign B) between the patterns of numbers 10 and 11 of the reel tape 680.

[0147] According to this example, the range from the base end portion 694a1 to the terminal end portion 694a2 of the light-shielding piece 694a corresponds to the pattern ranges arranged at numbers 11 to 19 and 0 of the reel tape 680. Compared with the case where a plurality of light-shielding pieces are provided, the change in the signal of the photosensor 642 of the reel detection portion 640 that detects the light-shielding piece 694a can be reduced. For example, in the case of performing a reel effect in which the forward and reverse rotations of the reels 110 to 112 are repeatedly executed, the control burden on the control portion that detects the signal of the photosensor 642 can be reduced.

[0148] Note that the positions of the proximal end portion 694a1 and the terminal end portion 694a2 of the light-shielding piece 694a and the positions of the corresponding reel tape 680 are not particularly limited, and may be appropriately determined based on the rotation speeds of the reels 110 to 112, the time required for stopping, etc. For example, the ranges of the corresponding patterns may be made different, and for the positions of the proximal end portion 694a1 and the terminal end portion 694a2, instead of the boundary positions between the patterns, positions shifted by about 1 / 3 of the pattern from the boundary or positions corresponding to the central positions of the patterns may be used.

[0149] FIG. 11(b) is a diagram showing the relationship between the light-shielding piece 694a' of the detected portion 686' according to the modified example and the reel tape 680' of the left reel 110.

[0150] On the outer surface of the reel tape 680' of this modified example, a plurality of types of patterns are printed at equal intervals for a predetermined number of frames (in this example, 21 frames numbered 0 to 20).

[0151] When such a 21-frame reel tape 680' is adopted, the detected portion 686' is fixed to the left reel frame 684 such that the position of the proximal end portion 694a1' of the light-shielding piece 694a' coincides with the boundary position (the position indicated by the symbol C) between the patterns of numbers 0 and 1 of the reel tape 680'.

[0152] On the other hand, the terminal end portion 694a2' of the light-shielding piece 694a' is formed in a direction of about 171 degrees (= 360 degrees × (10 frames / 21 frames)) with respect to the proximal end portion 694a1' so as to coincide with the boundary position (the position indicated by the symbol D) between the patterns of numbers 11 and 12 of the reel tape 680'.

[0153] That is, in the detected portion 686' of this example, in addition to the fact that the length in the longitudinal direction of the light-shielding piece 694a' is shorter than the case where the 20-frame reel tape 680 described with reference to FIG. 11(a) is adopted, the angle of the terminal end portion 694a2' is different from that of the proximal end portion 694a1' and is inclined at an angle slightly closer to the proximal end portion 694a1' side than vertical.

[0154] Note that the positions of the base end portion 694a1' and the terminal end portion 694a2' of the light-shielding piece 694a' and the position of the reel tape 680 corresponding thereto are not limited to the above example, and can be appropriately determined in the same manner as the example of FIG. 11(a).

[0155] <Reel device / Backlight module> Next, the backlight module 630 of the reel device 601 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7, 8, and 12.

[0156] FIG. 12(a) is a front view of the backlight module 630, FIG. 12(b) is a side view of the backlight module 630, and FIG. 12(c) is an external perspective view of the members constituting the backlight module 630 as viewed from the front side with the members disassembled.

[0157] The backlight module 630 of the reel device 601 is a component for illuminating the individual symbols displayed in the symbol display window 113 from the inside of the reel tape 680. In this example, the backlight module 630 is composed of a reflector 632, an illumination substrate 634 detachably attached to the back surface of the reflector 632, and a decorative plate 636 disposed on the side surface of the reflector 632.

[0158] The backlight module 630 of this example is formed of white plastic, but the material of the backlight module 630 is not particularly limited, and it may be metal or the like, or other colored members.

[0159] Three openings 632a to 632c communicating from the front side to the back side are formed side by side in the vertical direction in the reflector 632. Further, six LEDs 634a are arranged at positions corresponding to the openings 632a to 632c on the illumination substrate 634.

[0160] The openings 632a to 632c and the LEDs 634a of the reflector 632 provided in the left reel device 601 are arranged at positions corresponding to the symbol positions (the positions of symbol positions 1 to 3 described with reference to FIG. 2) where the symbols are stopped and displayed in the symbol display window 113 in a state where the left reel device 601 is attached.

[0161] The openings 632a to 632c of the reflector 632 and the LEDs 634a provided in the middle reel device 602 are arranged at positions corresponding to the symbol positions (the positions of symbol positions 4 to 6 described with reference to FIG. 2) where the symbols are stopped and displayed in the symbol display window 113 in a state of being attached to the middle reel device 602.

[0162] The openings 632a to 632c of the reflector 632 and the LEDs 634a provided in the right reel device 603 are arranged at positions corresponding to the symbol positions (the positions of symbol positions 7 to 9 described with reference to FIG. 2) where the symbols are stopped and displayed in the symbol display window 113 in a state of being attached to the right reel device 603.

[0163] In this example, six LEDs 634a are arranged at positions corresponding to the openings 632a to 632c so that the light emitted from one opening does not interfere with the light emitted from the other openings. Thereby, each of the plurality of symbol positions in the symbol display window 113 can be uniformly irradiated with light.

[0164] For example, by lighting all the LEDs 634a, all the symbols visible to the player can be illuminated from behind. Also, by lighting a part of the LEDs 634a, a part of the symbols visible to the player can be illuminated from behind. Note that the number and positions of the openings and LEDs are not limited to this example.

[0165] Further, in this example, in the reflector 632, a plurality of slits (grooves) 632d to 632g are provided at predetermined intervals on the lower surface of the upper opening 632a, the upper and lower surfaces of the central opening 632b, and the upper surface of the lower opening 632c. Thereby, the light emitted from the LED 634a can be uniformly irradiated onto the symbols located in the front, and the visibility of the symbols can be enhanced.

[0166] Further, the slit 632d provided on the lower surface of the upper opening 632a, the slit 632e provided on the upper surface of the central opening 632b, the slit 632f provided on the lower surface of the central opening 632b, and the slit 632g provided on the upper surface of the lower opening 632c are arranged such that the portions where the respective slits are formed and the portions where no slit is formed are staggered in the vertical direction (so that the positions of the slits do not coincide with the upper and lower partitions of the opening). With such a structure, the light emitted from adjacent openings through the slits is configured not to interfere with each other.

[0167] <Reel device / Reel detection unit> Next, the reel detection unit 640 of the reel device 601 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0168] The reel detection unit 640 of the reel device 601 includes a photosensor 642 and a sensor bracket 644 for fixing the photosensor 642 at a predetermined position.

[0169] The photosensor 642 of the reel detection unit 640 is a member for detecting the light-shielding piece 694a of the detected portion 686 described above. In this example, a transmissive photosensor (photo interrupter) in which a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element are arranged opposite to each other is adopted. Note that the photosensor 642 is not limited to a photo interrupter, and other types of sensors may be applied.

[0170] One end of the sensor bracket 644 of the reel detection unit 640 is fixed and supported to the reel side plate 650 by a screw 651b. On the other hand, the photosensor 642 is mounted upward at the other end of the sensor bracket 644, and the light-shielding piece 694a of the detected portion 686 arranged above the photosensor 642 passes between the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element of the photosensor 642. That is, in this example, the photosensor 642 is mounted upward at the 6 o'clock position of the clock. Needless to say, the orientation and position of the photosensor 642 are not limited to this example.

[0171] Based on the signal output by this photosensor 642, the main control unit 300 determines the rotational direction position of the symbols on the reels 110 to 112, and performs brake control, stop control, etc. on the reels 110 to 112 so that the target symbol is stopped and displayed at a predetermined symbol position of the symbol display window 113.

[0172] <Reel device / Reel side plate> Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the reel side plate 650 of the reel device 601 will be described.

[0173] The reel side plate (first attachment means) 650 of the reel device 601 includes a base portion 650a made of a plate-like member, a reel frame upper fixing portion 650b integrally protruding from the upper end of the base portion 650a toward one surface of the base portion 650a, and a reel frame lower fixing portion 650c integrally protruding from the lower end of the base portion 650a toward one surface of the base portion 650a.

[0174] The reel side plate 650 in this example is formed of metal, but the material of the reel side plate 650 is not particularly limited and may be plastic, wood, or the like.

[0175] One screw hole 650a1 for fixing the backlight module 630 is formed in the base portion 650a of the reel side plate 650. The backlight module 630 is screwed to this screw hole 650a1 with one screw 651a and fixed to the inner surface of the base portion 650a.

[0176] Also, one screw hole 650a2 for fixing the sensor bracket 644 of the reel detection unit 640 is formed in the base portion 650a. The sensor bracket 644 is screwed to this screw hole 650a2 with one screw 651b and fixed to the inner surface of the base portion 650a.

[0177] In addition, in the base portion 650a, one screw hole 650a3 (second attachment means) for fixing the mounting plate 612 of the reel drive unit 610 is formed upward and two are formed downward. The reel drive unit 610 is screwed to the screw hole 650a3 with three screws 651c and fixed to the inner surface of the base portion 650a.

[0178] In addition, in the base portion 650a, a reel shaft through-hole 650a4 (see FIG. 8) through which the reel shaft 616e of the gear unit 616 is inserted and which rotatably supports the reel shaft 616e, a heat radiation hole 650a5 for discharging heat generated by the reel drive unit 610 and the like to the outside of the reel side plate 650, a reinforcing groove 650a6, and the like are formed.

[0179] Protruding pieces 650b1 and 650c1 each having a screw hole are formed in the upper reel frame fixing portion 650b and the lower reel frame fixing portion 650c of the reel side plate 650. As shown in FIG. 6, the reel side plate 650 is screwed to the reel fixing portion 604d of the reel frame 604 with screws 651d (only a part is shown in FIG. 6) via the protruding pieces 650b1 and 650c1.

[0180] <Reel device / Bearing portion> Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the bearing portion 660 of the reel device 601 will be described.

[0181] The bearing portion 660 is composed of a bearing 662, a washer 664, and a screw 666.

[0182] The bearing 662 of the reel device 601 is a ring-shaped member having a circular opening at the center and is a bearing that supports one end of the reel shaft 616e of the reel drive unit 610 described later.

[0183] The bearing 662 in this example does not include rolling elements such as balls or rollers, and is entirely composed of a resin bearing. However, the structure and material of the bearing 662 are not particularly limited, and at least a part thereof may be a metal bearing, or other types of bearings such as ball bearings or roller bearings may be applied. In this embodiment, a resin bearing is adopted because when stopping the reels 110 to 112 that are rotating at high speed by driving the DC motor, it increases the friction between the inner space 684c2 of the flange 684c and the reel shaft 616e compared to adopting a metal bearing or a ball bearing, making it easier to stop the reels 110 to 112.

[0184] As described above, after fixing the bearing 662 with the washer 664 and the screw 666 in the inner space 684c2 (see FIGS. 8 and 9(b)) of the flange 684c of the left reel frame 684, one end of the reel shaft 616e of the reel drive unit 610 is inserted into the opening of the bearing 662 through the insertion hole 684c3 (see FIGS. 9(a) and (b)) of the flange 684c, enabling the left reel frame 684 to be rotatably supported by the reel shaft 616e of the reel drive unit 610.

[0185] According to this example, even when the reels 110 to 112 are rotated at high speed during reel effects or the like, the bearing 662 can suppress vibrations and the like of the reel shaft 616e that supports the reels 110 to 112, enabling the reels 110 to 112 to rotate stably at high speed. Also, since the resin bearing 662 has a high coefficient of friction, the rotational speed of the reel shaft 616e can be smoothly and rapidly reduced when the reels 110 to 112 stop, and by smoothly stopping the reels 110 to 112, the effect produced by the reels 110 to 112 can be enhanced.

[0186] <Reel device / Coil spring> Next, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, the coil spring 670 of the reel device 601 will be described.

[0187] The coil spring 670 of the reel device 601 is provided between the left reel frame 684 of the reel 110 and the output gear 616c (see FIGS. 8 and 14(a)) of the reel driving unit 610. With such a structure, the left reel frame 684 is biased in a direction away from the output gear 616c of the reel driving unit 610.

[0188] The coil spring 670 in this example is formed of metal, but the material of the coil spring 670 is not particularly limited and may be rubber or the like. Further, the biasing means for biasing the left reel frame 684 and the reel driving unit 610 in a separating direction is not limited to a coil spring, and other types of biasing means may be applied.

[0189] <Reel Driving Unit / Overall Configuration> Next, with reference to FIG. 13, the overall configuration of the reel driving unit 610 of the reel device 601 will be described.

[0190] FIG. 13(a) is a front view of the reel driving unit 610, and FIG. 13(b) is a side view of the reel driving unit 610. Further, FIG. 13(c) is an external perspective view of the reel driving unit 610 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 13(d) is an external perspective view of the reel driving unit 610 as viewed from the back side.

[0191] The reel driving unit 610 (driving means) mainly includes a mounting plate (second mounting means) 612 made of a plate-like member, a reel motor unit 614 mounted on one side (the first side; hereinafter, may be referred to as the "reel motor unit 614 side") of the mounting plate 612, a gear unit 616 mounted on the other side (the second side; hereinafter, may be referred to as the "gear unit 616 side") of the mounting plate 612, and a gear unit cover 618 disposed so as to cover a part of the gear unit 616.

[0192] <Reel Driving Unit / Constituent Members> Next, with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the members constituting the reel driving unit 610 will be described in detail.

[0193] FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the members constituting the reel drive unit 610 as seen from the front side, and FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the members constituting the reel drive unit 610 as seen from the back side.

[0194] <Reel drive unit / Mounting plate> The mounting plate (second mounting means) 612 of the reel drive unit 610 includes a base portion 612a made of a plate-like member, an upper fixing plate 612b having an L-shaped side view integrally protruding from one side (first side) of the base portion 612a with the upper end of the base portion 612a as the base end, and a lower fixing plate 612c having an L-shaped side view integrally protruding from one side (first side) of the base portion 612a with the lower end of the base portion 612a as the base end.

[0195] The mounting plate 612 in this example is formed of metal, but the material of the mounting plate 612 is not particularly limited and may be plastic, wood, or the like.

[0196] As shown in the side view of FIG. 13(b), the heights of the upper fixing plate 612b and the lower fixing plate 612c of the mounting plate 612 are designed to be higher than the thickness of the motor 614a of the reel motor unit 614, and one side (first side) of the mounting plate 612 functions as an accommodation space capable of accommodating the motor 614a therein.

[0197] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, two screw holes 612a1 to which the reel motor unit 614 can be attached are formed on the reel motor unit 614 side (first side) of the base portion 612a of the mounting plate 612. The reel motor unit 614 is screwed to the screw holes 612a1 with two screws 651e and is fixed within the inner space formed by the upper fixing plate 612b and the lower fixing plate 612c on the reel motor unit 614 side (first side).

[0198] The base portion 612a is formed with a through hole 612a2 through which the drive gear 614b of the reel motor unit 614 can be inserted. The motor 614a of the reel motor unit 614 is fixed to the side (the first side) of the mounting plate 612 where the reel motor unit 614 is located, with the drive gear 614b protruding toward the gear unit 616 side (the second side) through the through hole 612a2.

[0199] Further, as shown in FIG. 14, the base portion 612a is formed with four screw holes 612a3 to which a gear unit cover 618 (to be described later) can be fixed. The gear unit cover 618 is screwed to these screw holes 612a3 with four screws 651f and fixed to the gear unit 616 side (the second side) of the base portion 612a.

[0200] In addition, the base portion 612a is provided with a rotary shaft 612a4 that rotatably supports the large idle gear 616a and the small idle gear 616b of the gear unit 616, and a reel shaft through hole 612a5 through which the reel shaft 616e can be inserted is formed.

[0201] Furthermore, the base portion 612a is formed with two screw holes 612a6 to which a reel retainer 616f for the reel shaft 616e can be fixed. The reel retainer 616f is screwed to these screw holes 612a6 with two screws 651g, and the reel shaft 616e is fixed to the base portion 612a via the reel retainer 616f while being inserted through the reel shaft through hole 612a5.

[0202] <Reel driving unit / Reel motor unit> Next, with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15, the reel motor unit 614 of the reel driving unit 610 will be described.

[0203] The reel motor unit 614 mainly includes a motor (power generation means) 614a housed in a case and a drive gear (power transmission means) 614b attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 614a and driven by the motor 614a.

[0204] The motor 614a is a device that serves as a power generation means (driving source) for generating the power to rotationally drive the reels 110 to 112, and electronic components such as a control IC are built into the case. The motor 614a in this example is constituted by a brushless DC motor, but the type of the motor 614a is not particularly limited, and it may be a DC motor, a stepping motor, or the like.

[0205] The drive gear 614b is a member that serves as a power transmission means for transmitting the power of the motor (power generation means) 614a. In this example, the power of the motor 614a is transmitted to the large idle gear 616a described later.

[0206] The drive gear 614b in this example is constituted by a spur gear, but the type of the gear is not particularly limited, and it may be a bevel gear, a helical gear, or the like. Also, in this example, lubricating oil is applied to the drive gear 614b in order to make the rotation of the drive gear 614b smooth. Note that if there is no problem with the high-speed rotation of the reels 110 to 112, it is not necessary to apply lubricating oil to the drive gear 614b.

[0207] The reel motor unit 614 is inserted from the reel motor unit 614 side (first side) to the gear unit 616 side (second side) through the through hole 612a2 of the mounting plate 612 with the drive gear 614b inserted. The bottom of the case of the motor 614a is screwed to the screw hole 612a1 on the reel motor unit 614 side (first side) of the mounting plate 612 and thermally welded to the upper surface on the reel motor unit 614 side (first side) of the mounting plate 612.

[0208] According to this example, the motor 614a is fixed to the reel motor unit 614 side (the first side) of the mounting plate 612, and the case of the motor 614a is heat-welded to the mounting plate 612. Therefore, even when the reels 110 to 112 are rotated at high speed, the lubricating oil applied to various gears (in this example, the drive gear 614b, the large idle gear 616a, the small idle gear 616b, and the output gear 616c) arranged on the gear unit 616 (the second side) of the mounting plate 612 will not scatter to the reel motor unit 614 side (the first side) or onto the electronic components inside the case of the motor 614a, and it is possible to prevent a situation where the motor 614a malfunctions or deteriorates in advance.

[0209] <Reel drive unit / Gear unit> Next, the gear unit 616 of the reel drive unit 610 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17.

[0210] FIG. 16(a) is a front view showing the state in which the reel motor unit 614 and the gear unit 616 are attached to the mounting plate 612, and FIG. 16(b) is an external perspective view of the state in which the reel motor unit 614 and the gear unit 616 are attached to the mounting plate 612 as viewed from the gear unit 616 side.

[0211] The gear unit 616 mainly includes a large idle gear (driven gear) 616a that meshes with the drive gear 614b of the reel motor unit 614, a small idle gear (driven gear) 616b that forms a stepped gear with this large idle gear 616a, an output gear (driven gear) 616c that meshes with this small idle gear 616b, a reel shaft 616e that is fitted to the output gear 616c via a bearing 616d, a reel retainer 616f that fixes this reel shaft 616e to the mounting plate 612, and a gasket 616g.

[0212] <Reel drive unit / Gear unit / Large idle gear, Small idle gear> The large idler gear 616a of the gear unit 616 and the small idler gear 616b having a smaller diameter than the large idler gear 614a are coaxially arranged via a common rotating shaft 612a4, constituting a two-stage stepped gear.

[0213] The large idler gear 616a and the small idler gear 616b are members that serve as power transmission means for transmitting the power of the motor (power generation means) 614a. In this example, the power of the motor (power generation means) 614a transmitted via the drive gear 614b is transmitted to the output gear 616c at a predetermined reduction ratio.

[0214] According to this example, since a two-stage stepped gear composed of the large idler gear 616a and the small idler gear 616b is adopted, it is possible to save space in the reel drive unit 610, and by increasing the reduction ratio between the two, the rotational speed of the reels 110 to 112 can be increased, or by decreasing the reduction ratio between the two, the rotational speed of the reels 110 to 112 can be decreased, etc., and the rotational speed of the reels 110 to 112 can be easily adjusted.

[0215] The large idler gear 616a and the small idler gear 616b in this example are composed of spur gears, but the type of gear is not particularly limited, and bevel gears, helical gears, etc. may also be used. Further, in this example, lubricating oil is applied to the large idler gear 616a and the small idler gear 616b in order to make the rotation of the large idler gear 616a and the small idler gear 616b smooth. Note that if there is no problem with the high-speed rotation of the reels 110 to 112, it is not necessary to apply lubricating oil to the large idler gear 616a and / or the small idler gear 616b.

[0216] <Reel drive unit / Gear unit / Output gear> As shown in FIG. 16, the output gear 616c of the gear unit 616 includes an external tooth 616c1 that meshes with the small idler gear 616b and a power output portion 616c2 having a convex portion shape that can be fitted with a power input portion 684c4 (see FIG. 9(a)) of the flange 684c of the left reel frame 684.

[0217] The output gear 616c in this example is composed of a spur gear, but the type of gear is not particularly limited and may be a bevel gear, a helical gear, or the like. Also, in this example, lubricating oil is applied to the output gear 616c in order to smooth the rotation of the output gear 616c. Note that if there is no problem with the high-speed rotation of the reels 110 to 112, it is not necessary to apply lubricating oil to the output gear 616c.

[0218] According to this example, since the output gear 616c includes an external tooth 616c1 that meshes with the small idler gear 616b, by increasing the reduction ratio between the small idler gear 616b and the external tooth 616c1, the rotational speed of the reels 110 to 112 can be increased, or by decreasing the reduction ratio between the two, the rotational speed of the reels 110 to 112 can be decreased, etc., and it becomes possible to easily adjust the rotational speed of the reels 110 to 112.

[0219] Note that in this example, the power of the motor 614a is transmitted to the reels 110 to 112 using four gears: the drive gear 614b, the large idler gear 616a, the small idler gear 616b, and the output gear 616c. However, the number of gears and the reduction ratio are not particularly limited, and the rotational speed of the reels 110 to 112 may be appropriately changed by changing the number of gears and the reduction ratio.

[0220] Therefore, for example, it may be configured to rotationally drive the reels 110 to 112 using only two gears, the drive gear 614b and the output gear 616c, or the drive shaft of the motor 614a may be directly connected to the reels 110 to 112 to rotationally drive the reels 110 to 112.

[0221] <Reel drive unit / Gear unit / Bearing> The bearing 616d of the gear unit 616 is a ring-shaped bearing having a circular opening in the center and is a bearing that supports the reel shaft 616e.

[0222] As shown in an enlarged view in Fig. 14, the bearing 616d in this example is composed of an outer ring 616d1 and an inner ring 616d2 each having a flat ring shape made of metal, and an annular portion 616d3 having a donut shape made of resin disposed between these outer ring 616d1 and inner ring 616d2.

[0223] According to this example, even when the reel is rotated at high speed in a reel production or the like, the output gear 616c can be smoothly rotated by the bearing 616d, and the reels 110 to 112 rotationally driven by the output gear 616c can be stably rotated at high speed. Further, by disposing the annular portion 616d3 made of a resin member between the outer ring 616d1 and the inner ring 616d2, the rotational speed of the output gear 616c can be smoothly and rapidly decreased when the reels 110 to 112 stop, compared with a metal bearing, and by smoothly stopping the reels 110 to 112, the production effect by the reels can be enhanced.

[0224] Note that the material of the bearing 616d is not particularly limited, and the outer ring 616d1 or the inner ring 616d2 may be made of resin, the annular portion 616d3 may be made of metal, or a part or all of these outer ring 616d1, inner ring 616d2, and annular portion 616d3 may be made of ceramic, stainless steel, glass, or the like. Also, the type of the bearing is not particularly limited, and other types of bearings such as ball bearings and roller bearings may be applied.

[0225] <Reel drive unit / Gear unit / Reel shaft, Reel retainer> Fig. 17(a) is a side view of the reel drive unit 610 with the gear unit cover 618 removed, and Fig. 17(b) is a side view of the reel device 601 with the gear unit cover 618, the reel tape 680, and the backlight module 630 removed.

[0226] The reel shaft (reel rotating shaft) 616e is a rod-shaped member, and is a rotating shaft that rotatably supports the reels 110 to 112 via members such as the bearing 616d, the output gear 616c of the gear unit 616, the detected portion 686, and the left reel frame 684.

[0227] The reel retainer 616f is a member for fixing the reel shaft 616e to the mounting plate 612. The reel shaft 616e is fixed to the base portion 612a of the mounting plate 612 via the reel retainer 616f.

[0228] The end portion of the reel shaft 616e on the gear unit 616 side (the left side of the paper in FIGS. 17(a) and (b)) is fitted to the output gear 616c of the gear unit 616 via the bearing 616d, and rotatably supports the left reel frame 684 via this output gear 616c and the detected portion 686 locked to the output gear 616c.

[0229] On the other hand, the end portion of the reel shaft 616e on the reel motor unit 614 side (the right side of the paper in FIGS. 17(a) and (b)) passes through the opening of the right reel frame 682 and is fitted into the reel shaft through-hole 650a4 (see FIGS. 8 and 17(b)) of the reel side plate 650, whereby the reel shaft 616e is supported by both the mounting plate 612 and the reel side plate 650.

[0230] According to this example, since the reel shaft 616e is supported by both the mounting plate 612 and the reel side plate 650, the reel shaft 616e can be supported at at least two points, and even when the reels 110 to 112 are rotated at high speed in a reel effect or the like, the vibration of the reel shaft 616e that supports the reels 110 to 112 is suppressed, so that the reels 110 to 112 can be stably rotated at high speed.

[0231] <Reel drive unit / Gear unit / Gasket> The gasket 616g of the gear unit 616 is a sealing material for preventing the lubricating oil applied to various gears (in this example, the drive gear 614b, the large idler gear 616a, the small idler gear 616b, and the output gear 616c) provided in the gear unit 616 from leaking to the outside.

[0232] The gasket (sealing material) 616g is disposed in a state of being sandwiched between the gear unit cover 618 and the mounting plate 612 in order to close the gap between the gear unit cover 618 and the mounting plate 612, and is fixed in a state of being pressed toward the mounting plate 612 side by the gear unit cover 618.

[0233] The gasket 616g in this example is composed of a flexible member (rubber packing), but the material of the gasket 616g is not particularly limited, and a sealing material made of other materials such as metal or tape may be applied.

[0234] <Reel drive unit / Gear unit cover> Next, the gear unit cover 618 will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15.

[0235] The gear unit cover (cover member) 618 of the reel drive unit 610 is composed of a plate-shaped mounting portion 618a and a box-shaped cover body 618b integrally extending upward with this mounting portion 618a as a base end.

[0236] The gear unit cover 618 in this example is formed of black plastic, but the material of the gear unit cover 618 is not particularly limited, and it may be wood, metal, rubber, etc., or a colorless member.

[0237] Four screw holes 618a1 are formed in the mounting portion 618a of the gear unit cover 618, and the gear unit cover 618 is screwed to the screw holes 612a3 (see FIG. 14) of the mounting plate 612 with four screws 651f through these four screw holes 618a1.

[0238] The cover body 618b of the gear unit cover 618 has an inner space 618b1 capable of accommodating at least various gears (in this example, the drive gear 614b, the large idle gear 616a, the small idle gear 616b, and the output gear 616c) provided in the gear unit 616, and an output gear insertion hole 618b2 through which the flange 684c of the output gear 616c can be inserted.

[0239] The gear unit cover 618 accommodates various gears (in this example, the drive gear 614b, the large idle gear 616a, the small idle gear 616b, and the output gear 616c) of the gear unit 616 in the inner space 618b1 of the cover body 618b, exposes the flange 684c of the output gear 616c to the outside through the output gear insertion hole 618b2, and is fixed to the upper surface of the gear unit 616 side (the second side) of the mounting plate 612 with a gasket 616g sandwiched between the mounting plate 612 and the mounting portion 618a.

[0240] In a conventional gaming table, since the reels were not rotated at high speed in the production using the reels, there was no need to apply lubricating oil to various gears for driving the reels. However, in recent years, in order to enhance the production effect, a production of rotating the reels at high speed has been desired. By rotating the reels at a higher speed than before, there is a possibility that a new problem may occur, such as the lubricating oil for smoothly operating various gears scatters.

[0241] In this regard, according to this example, since the gear unit cover 618 capable of accommodating various gears (the drive gear 614b, the large idle gear 616a, the small idle gear 616b, and the output gear 616c) of the gear unit 616 is provided, even when the reels are rotated at high speed in a reel production or the like, it is possible to prevent the lubricating oil applied to various gears from scattering to surrounding members, electronic components, etc.

[0242] In this example, the volume of the inner space 618b1 of the cover body 618b is designed to be larger than the minimum volume required for accommodating various gears (in this example, the drive gear 614b, the large idler gear 616a, the small idler gear 616b, and the output gear 616c) so that the reduction ratios (such as the diameters, the number of teeth, etc. of the gears) of the various gears (in this example, the drive gear 614b, the large idler gear 616a, the small idler gear 616b, and the output gear 616c) can be changed as appropriate.

[0243] <Operation of the reel drive unit> Next, the operation of the reel drive unit 610 will be mainly described with reference to FIG. 16(a).

[0244] When the motor 614a of the reel drive unit 610 rotates in the first direction (for example, the positive direction, clockwise), the drive gear (power transmission means) 614b driven by the motor 614a rotates in the direction indicated by reference symbol X in FIG. 16(a) (counterclockwise).

[0245] When the drive gear 614b rotates, the large idler gear (driven gear) 616a that meshes with the drive gear 614b and is driven by the drive gear 614b, and the small idler gear (driven gear) 616b that forms a stepped gear with the large idler gear 616a and is driven by the drive gear 614b rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the drive gear 614b, that is, in the direction indicated by reference symbol Y in FIG. 16(a) (clockwise).

[0246] When the small idler gear 616b rotates, the output gear (driven gear) 616c that meshes with the small idler gear 616b and is driven by the small idler gear 616b rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the small idler gear 616b, that is, in the direction indicated by reference symbol Z in FIG. 16(a) (counterclockwise).

[0247] When the output gear 616c rotates, the power of the output gear 616c is transmitted to the left reel frame 684 via the power output part 616c2 of the output gear 616c and the power input part 684c4 of the flange 684c of the left reel frame 684. As a result, the left reel frame 684 rotates in the same direction as the output gear 616c, that is, the direction indicated by the symbol Z in Fig. 16(a) (counterclockwise).

[0248] When the left reel frame 684 rotates, the detected part 686, the reel tape 680, and the right reel frame 682 fixed to the left reel frame 684 rotate integrally, so that the reels 110 to 112 rotate in the forward direction (from above to below in a front view), that is, the rotation direction shown in Fig. 4.

[0249] On the other hand, when the motor 614a of the reel drive unit 610 rotates in the second direction (for example, the reverse direction, counterclockwise), the drive gear 614b, the large idler gear 616a, the small idler gear 616b, and the output gear 616c rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation directions indicated by the symbols X, Y, and Z in Fig. 16(a), so that the reels 110 to 112 rotate in the reverse direction (from below to above in a front view), that is, the direction opposite to the rotation direction shown in Fig. 4.

[0250] Therefore, during the game, by rotating the motor 614a in the first direction (for example, the forward direction, clockwise) triggered by pressing the start lever 135, the reels 110 to 112 can be rotated in the forward direction. In addition, by switching the rotation direction of the motor 614a, the reels 110 to 112 can be rotated in the forward and reverse directions, and an effect (reel effect) using the reels 110 to 112 can be performed.

[0251] In this example, since the reels 110 to 112 are attached to the reel shaft 616e via resin bearings 662, even when the reels are rotated at high speed in reel effects or the like, the vibration and the like of the reel shaft 616e that supports the reels can be suppressed, and thus the reels can be stably rotated at high speed. Further, since the resin bearings have a high coefficient of friction, the rotational speed of the reel shaft 616e can be smoothly and rapidly decreased when the reels stop, and by smoothly stopping the reels, the production effect by the reels can be enhanced.

[0252] Also, in this example, since the output gear 616c is attached to the reel shaft 616e via a bearing 616d, even when the reels are rotated at high speed in reel effects or the like, the output gear 616c can be smoothly rotated, and the reels rotationally driven by the output gear 616c can be stably rotated at high speed. Further, by disposing a resin member between the outer ring and the inner ring of the output gear 616c, the rotational speed of the output gear 616c can be smoothly and rapidly decreased when the reels stop as compared with metal bearings, and by smoothly stopping the reels, the production effect by the reels can be enhanced.

[0253] <Motor control board> FIG. 18 is a circuit block diagram showing the main control unit 300 and the motor control board 606a. One motor control board 606a is provided for one motor 614a. In the case of this embodiment, since three motors 614a are provided corresponding to the reels 110 to 112, three motor control boards 606a are also provided.

[0254] The motor control board 606a includes a control IC 621 and a driver 622. The control IC 621 is, for example, a one-chip microcomputer, which includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output interface, a counter / timer, a signal processing circuit, etc. The control program related to the control of the motor 614a is stored in the ROM, and the CPU controls the motor 614a by executing the control program. The driver 622 includes a plurality of switching elements such as transistors and FETs, and supplies power to the motor 614a. The control IC 621 outputs a drive signal to the driver 622 based on the signal from the encoder 614e of the motor 614a, and controls the rotation amount, rotation direction (forward / backward rotation), and rotation speed of the motor 614a. Further, the control IC 621 corrects the relationship between the rotation amount of the reel R rotated by the motor 614a and the control amount to the driver 622 based on the signal from the photosensor 642. Note that the control IC 621 may be an IC composed of a plurality of types of registers without including a CPU or the like.

[0255] The setting board 606d is an electric circuit board for presetting the setting information related to the rotation of the reel R to the control IC 621 by outputting a setting signal, and is configured to be detachable from the motor control board 606a via a connector 623. It is also possible to adopt a method of incorporating the setting information into the control program of the control IC 621. However, in this method, when it is desired to divert the control IC 621 between different models of the gaming table, it is disadvantageous in that the control program of the control IC 621 has to be created for each model. The setting information can also be incorporated into the control program executed by the main control unit 300, and the main control unit 300 can set it to the control IC 621 when the power is turned on. However, in this method, the capacity of the control program of the main control unit 300 increases, which is disadvantageous when a small-capacity ROM 306 is adopted. According to the present embodiment, by setting information by the setting board 606d, such problems can be solved.

[0256] FIG. 19(a) shows an example of the circuit configuration of the setting board 606d. In the present embodiment, a plurality of types of setting information can be set, and FIG. 19(a) illustrates a circuit example for setting information 1 among them, but the circuits for other types of setting information 2 to N have the same configuration.

[0257] The circuit for setting information 1 is a circuit capable of outputting 2-bit information to the control IC 621. In the illustrated example, it is composed of a pull-down resistor (outputting an L setting signal) that pulls down the wiring connected to the input port of the control IC 621 via the connector 623 and a pull-up resistor (outputting an H setting signal) that pulls up, and is a relatively simple circuit. The control IC 621 can set the setting information, for example, by reading the signal of the input port connected to the setting board 606d at the time of power-on and storing it in a register. FIG. 19(b) shows an example of a register and illustrates the stored information of each register (2 bits) of setting information 1 to 3. Regarding setting information 1, corresponding to the example of the setting information 1 circuit in FIG. 19(a), the information LH (01) is stored.

[0258] In the case of the present embodiment, the output information of the setting board 606d is fixed. Instead of the example of the setting information 1 circuit in FIG. 19(a), a method of easily changing the output information by using a DIP switch or the like can also be adopted. However, when the setting information of the setting board 606d is information unique to the model of the gaming table, there is a risk of being set to incorrect information if the setting information can be changed. By adopting a circuit configuration in which the output information of the setting board 606d is fixed as in the present embodiment, such misconfiguration can be surely avoided.

[0259] Hereinafter, examples of various setting information adopted in the present embodiment will be described. First, setting information 1 is information on the total number of frames (total number of symbols) of the reel R. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that 20 frames are set, but for example, 21 frames can also be set, and a reel R with 21 frames may be used.

[0260] The setting information 2 is the information on the number of steps described later. The number of steps corresponds to the resolution of rotation for one frame, and 1 step is the minimum unit of the rotation amount of the reel R in the control by the control IC 621. When the reel R is rotated by the set number of steps, the reel R rotates by one frame. In the example described later, the number of steps is 5, but 7 or 9 may also be settable.

[0261] The setting information 3 is the reference speed of the rotation speed of the reel R. This reference speed is, for example, the maximum rotation speed. The reference speed may be the minimum rotation speed or an intermediate rotation speed. Based on the reference speed, the controllable rotation speed range of the reel R is set. The setting information 4 is the information on the adjustment rotation amount described later. The adjustment rotation amount is the information for adjusting the reference stop position.

[0262] On the premise that the circumference of the reel R is the same even between different models, the control IC 621 calculates the total number of steps for one rotation of the reel R from the setting information 1 and the setting information 2 by the formula: total number of steps = total number of frames × number of steps. The control IC 621 determines the minimum controllable rotation amount by the formula: minimum rotation amount = 360 degrees ÷ total number of steps. From the relationship between the total number of steps and the resolution of the encoder 614e, the detection value (for example, the number of output pulses) of the rotation amount by the encoder 614e per step can be specified, and rotation control in units of 1 step becomes possible based on this detection value. The control IC 621 can manage the rotation position of one rotation of the reel R in terms of the number of steps. For example, every time the detection value of the encoder 614e for 1 step is output, the rotation position counter is incremented by one, and when the light shielding piece 694a is detected by the photosensor 642, the rotation position counter is reset.

[0263] <Slot machine control process> Hereinafter, the processes of the main control unit 300, the first sub-control unit 400, and the second sub-control unit 500 will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0264] <Main control unit main process> First, with reference to FIG. 20, the main control unit main process executed by the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 will be described. Note that this figure is a flowchart showing the flow of the main control unit main process. The main control unit main process is a process related to the control of game progress.

[0265] As described above, the main control unit 300 is provided with a start signal output circuit (reset signal output circuit) 338 that outputs a start signal (reset signal) when the power is turned on. The CPU 304 of the basic circuit 302 that receives this start signal starts reset by a reset interrupt and executes the main control unit main process shown in FIG. 20 according to the control program stored in advance in the ROM 306.

[0266] When the power is turned on, first, various initial settings are performed in step S101. In this initial setting, the stack initial value is set for the stack pointer (SP) of the CPU 304, the interrupt prohibition is set, the initial setting of the I / O 310 is performed, the initial setting of various variables stored in the RAM 308 is performed, the operation permission and the initial value are set for the WDT 314, and so on.

[0267] In step S102, game start processing is performed. In this game start processing, checks are made as to whether an operation by the start lever 135 or an operation by the bet buttons 130 to 132 (bet number setting operation) has been received, whether the bet number has reached the specified number, and when a bet number setting operation has been received, preparations are made to transmit a bet number setting command or a start lever reception command to the first sub-control unit 400. Note that when winning a prize in the replay combination in the previous game, since a process of inserting the same number of medals as the number of medals inserted in the previous game is performed, it becomes unnecessary for the player to insert medals. If there is an operation of the start lever 135, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0268] In step S103, a prize line determination process is performed to determine the number of inserted medals and determine a valid prize line. In step S104, a random number acquisition process is performed to acquire the random number generated by the random number generation circuit 316.

[0269] In step S105, an internal winning combination lottery process is performed. In the internal winning combination lottery process, a winning combination lottery table stored in the ROM 306 is read out according to the current game state, and an internal lottery is performed using this and the random number value obtained in step S104. Also, preparations are made to transmit an internal lottery command indicating the result of this internal lottery to the first sub-control unit 400. As a result of the internal lottery, if any winning combination (including the active combination) is internally won, the flag of that winning combination is turned on.

[0270] In step S106, a reel stop data selection process is performed to select candidates for reel stop data based on the internal lottery result of the internal winning combination lottery process. Note that this reel stop data is stored in the ROM 306 of the main control unit 300. Also, in step S106, preparations are made to transmit a reel stop data command including information regarding the selected reel stop data to the first sub-control unit 400.

[0271] In step S107, a reel rotation / stop control process is executed to start the rotation of all the reels 110 to 112. Also, the stop buttons 137 to 139 can be accepted, and when any of the stop buttons is pressed, the stop table of the reel stop data is referred to, and any one of the reels 110 to 112 corresponding to the pressed stop button is stopped.

[0272] In the stop control of the reels here, so-called draw-in control (gear slip control) may be performed. Draw-in control refers to control that shifts the stop positions of the reels 110 to 112 within a certain number of gears (number of symbols) range (draw-in range; for example, a maximum of 4 gears) after an operation of each stop button 137 to 139 by the player. The reel stop data is stored in the ROM 306 of the main control unit 300. Each reel stop data is roughly classified into allowable control that allows a predetermined winning combination of symbols to be aligned on the winning line and prohibited control that does not allow any winning combination of symbols to be aligned on the winning line.

[0273] Examples of permissive control include, for example, when a certain winning combination is internally selected or when a special combination is internally selected (with a flag carried over). Even if the timing of the player's operation of each stop button 137 to 139 is poor, control is performed so that the symbol combinations of the winning combinations are displayed within the above-mentioned number of frames. However, since it only "permits", there may be cases where the symbol combinations do not align depending on the timing of the operation of each stop button 137 to 139. Of course, there may also be cases where they align 100% depending on the arrangement of the symbols on the reels 110 to 112 and the number of drawn frames.

[0274] On the other hand, an example of prohibited control is, for example, when the internal lottery result is a loss and a special combination is not internally selected (with a flag carried over). Even if the timing of the player's operation of each stop button 137 to 139 is good, control is performed so that the symbol combinations of the winning combinations are not displayed within the above-mentioned number of frames.

[0275] As a result of the above control, when all the reels 110 to 112 stop, the process proceeds to step S108. In this step S107, for each stop operation, preparations are made to send a stop button reception command related to the stop button 137 to 139 that has been operated (specifically, for the first stop operation, a stop button reception 1 command, for the second stop operation, a stop button reception 2 command, and for the third stop operation, a stop button reception 3 command) to the first sub-control unit 400. For the stop of each reel, preparations are made to send a reel stop command related to the stop position of the reel (specifically, for the first stop reel, a reel stop 1 command, for the second stop operation, a reel stop 2 command, and for the third stop operation, a reel stop 3 command) to the first sub-control unit 400.

[0276] In step S108, a display determination process is performed. In this display determination process, when a symbol combination corresponding to any winning combination is displayed on the activated winning line L1, it is determined that the player has won the corresponding winning combination. Also, in this step S108, preparations are made to send a winning determination command indicating the result of the winning determination to the first sub-control unit 400.

[0277] In step S109, medal payout processing is performed. In the medal payout processing, if a winning combination with medal awarding is won, the corresponding number of medals is paid out.

[0278] In step S110, game state control processing is performed. In the game state control processing, processing related to the transition of each game state is performed, and the game state is transitioned based on the establishment of their start conditions or end conditions. Also, preparations are made to transmit a game state command including information indicating the current game state to the first sub-control unit 400.

[0279] One game ends as described above. Thereafter, the game progresses by returning to step S102 and repeating the above-described processing.

[0280] Note that the various commands prepared in the above steps are transmitted in the command setting transmission processing (step S1006 in FIG. 21) of the main control unit timer interrupt processing described later.

[0281] <Main control unit timer interrupt processing> Next, with reference to FIG. 21, the main control unit timer interrupt processing executed by the CPU 304 of the main control unit 300 will be described. Note that this figure is a flowchart showing the flow of the main control unit timer interrupt processing.

[0282] The main control unit 300 includes a counter timer 312 that generates a timer interrupt signal at a predetermined period (once every approximately 2 ms in this embodiment), and starts the main control unit timer interrupt processing at a predetermined period triggered by this timer interrupt signal.

[0283] In step S1001, timer interrupt start processing is performed. In this timer interrupt start processing, processing such as temporarily saving the values of each register of the CPU 304 in the stack area is performed.

[0284] In step S1002, the watchdog timer 314 is restarted periodically (once every approximately 2 ms, which is the period of the main control unit timer interrupt in this embodiment) so that the count value of the WDT 314 does not exceed the initial setting value (32.8 ms in this embodiment) and no WDT interrupt occurs (so as not to detect an abnormality in the process).

[0285] In step S1003, input port state update processing is performed. In this input port state update processing, detection signals from the sensor circuits 320 of various sensors 318 are input via the input ports of the I / O 310, the presence or absence of the detection signals is monitored, and the signals are stored in the signal state storage areas provided in the RAM 308 partitioned for each of the various sensors 318.

[0286] In step S1004, various game processes are executed, and processes corresponding to the interrupt status are executed.

[0287] In step S1005, timer update processing is performed. More specifically, various timers are updated according to their respective time units.

[0288] In step S1006, command setting transmission processing is performed, and various commands prepared for transmission are transmitted to the first sub-control unit 400. In the first sub-control unit 400, depending on the command type included in the received output schedule information, it becomes possible to determine the effect control according to the change in the game control in the main control unit 300, and based on the information of the command data included in the output schedule information, it becomes possible to determine the content of the effect control.

[0289] In step S1007, external output signal setting processing is performed. In this external output signal setting processing, the game information stored in the RAM 308 is output to the information input circuit 652 separate from the slot machine 100 via the information output circuit 334.

[0290] In step S1008, reel control processing is performed. In this control processing, control information is output to the motor control board 606a.

[0291] In step S1009, device monitoring processing is performed. In this device monitoring processing, first, the signal states of various sensors 318 stored in the signal state storage area in step S1003 are read out, the presence or absence of errors related to medal insertion abnormalities, medal payout abnormalities, etc. is monitored, and when an error is detected, error processing (not shown) is executed. Further, according to the current gaming state, settings are made for the medal selector 170 (medal blocker in which the solenoid provided in the medal selector 170 operates), various lamps 339, and various 7-segment (SEG) displays. Also, when the signal from the photosensor 642 changes from the H level to the L level, the rotational position information is reset to zero.

[0292] In step S1010, it is monitored whether the low-voltage signal is on or not. When the low-voltage signal is on (when power-off is detected), the process proceeds to step S1012, and when the low-voltage signal is off (when power-off is not detected), the process proceeds to step S1011.

[0293] In step S1011, various processes for ending the timer interrupt end processing are performed. In this timer interrupt end processing, the values of the respective registers temporarily saved in step S1001 are set to the original respective registers, etc. Then, the process returns to the main control unit main processing shown in FIG. 20.

[0294] On the other hand, in step S1012, specific variables and stack pointers for returning to the state at the time of power-off at the time of power restoration are saved as restoration data in a predetermined area of the RAM 308, power-off processing such as initialization of the input / output port is performed, and then the process returns to the main control unit main processing shown in FIG. 20.

[0295] <Processing of the First Sub-Control Unit> Next, with reference to FIG. 22, the processing of the first sub-control unit 400 will be described. Note that FIG. 22(a) is a flowchart of the main processing executed by the CPU 404 of the first sub-control unit 400. FIG. 22(b) is a flowchart of the command reception interrupt processing of the first sub-control unit 400. FIG. 22(c) is a flowchart of the timer interrupt processing of the first sub-control unit 400.

[0296] First, the main process of the first sub-control unit 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 22(a).

[0297] When the power is turned on, first, the initialization process is executed in step S3001. In this initialization process, initial settings of input / output ports, initialization processes of storage areas in the RAM 408, etc. are performed. In this process, an area for storing internal winning information, which is information representing the result of internal winning, and an area for storing RT update information, which is information representing the game state, are respectively provided in the RAM 408.

[0298] In step S3002, it is determined whether the timer variable is 10 or more. This process is repeated until the timer variable becomes 10. When the timer variable becomes 10 or more, the process proceeds to the process of step S3003.

[0299] In step S3003, 0 is assigned to the timer variable. In step S3004, command processing, which is processing corresponding to each command received from the main control unit 300, is executed.

[0300] In step S3005, effect control processing is performed. Here, preparations for the effect are made according to the effect reservation information in the effect reservation area provided in the RAM 408. This preparation includes, for example, processes such as reading effect data from the ROM 406, and includes performing an update process of the effect data when the update of the effect data is necessary.

[0301] In step S3006, sound control processing is performed based on the processing result of step S3005. For example, when there is an instruction to the sound source IC 418 in the effect data read in step S3005, this instruction is output to the sound source IC 418.

[0302] In step S3007, lamp control processing is performed based on the processing result of step S3005. For example, when there is an instruction to the various lamps 420 in the effect data read in step S3005, this instruction is output to the drive circuit 422.

[0303] In step S3008, information output processing is performed to set to transmit a command to the second sub-control unit 500 based on the processing result of step S3005. For example, if there is a command to be transmitted to the second sub-control unit 500 in the production data read in step S3005, the setting to output this control command is performed, and the process returns to step S3002.

[0304] Next, with reference to FIG. 22(b), the command reception interrupt processing of the first sub-control unit 400 will be described. This command reception interrupt processing is a process executed when the first sub-control unit 400 detects a strobe signal output by the main control unit 300. In step S3101 of the command reception interrupt processing, the command output by the main control unit 300 is stored as an unprocessed command in a command storage area provided in the RAM 408.

[0305] Next, with reference to FIG. 22(c), the first sub-control unit timer interrupt processing executed by the CPU 404 of the first sub-control unit 400 will be described. The first sub-control unit 400 includes a hardware timer that generates a timer interrupt at a predetermined period (once every 2 ms in this embodiment), and based on this timer interrupt, the timer interrupt processing is executed at a predetermined period.

[0306] In step S3201, 1 is added to the value of the timer variable storage area of the RAM 408 described in step S3002 in the first sub-control unit main processing shown in FIG. 22(a), and the result is stored in the original timer variable storage area. Therefore, in step S3002, it is determined that the value of the timer variable is 10 or more every 20 ms (2 ms × 10).

[0307] In step S3202, commands are sent to the second sub-control unit 500 set in step S3008, and the update process of the rendering random number value is performed, etc. In step S3203, a rendering interruption process is executed. The rendering interruption process is a process executed when an interruption cause such as a power failure occurs, and it performs a process of interrupting the rendering being executed. Specifically, in order to return to the state at the time of power failure at the time of power restoration, specific variables and stack pointers are saved as restoration data in a predetermined area of the RAM 408, and power failure processes such as initialization of input / output ports are performed.

[0308] <Processing of the Second Sub-Control Unit> Next, with reference to FIG. 23, the processing of the second sub-control unit 500 will be described. Note that FIG. 23(a) is a flowchart of the main processing executed by the CPU 504 of the second sub-control unit 500. FIG. 23(b) is a flowchart of the command reception interrupt processing of the second sub-control unit 500. FIG. 23(c) is a flowchart of the timer interrupt processing of the second sub-control unit 500. FIG. 23(d) is a flowchart of the image control processing of the second sub-control unit 500.

[0309] When the power is turned on, first, initial settings are executed in step S5001 of FIG. 23(a). In this initial setting process, input / output port initial settings, initialization processes of storage areas in the RAM 508, initialization processes of storage areas in the VRAM 518, etc. are performed. In the initialization of the RAM, it is common for "0" to be stored in the storage area.

[0310] In step S5002, it is determined whether the timer variable is 10 or more, and this process is repeated until the timer variable becomes 10. When the timer variable becomes 10 or more, the process proceeds to step S5003.

[0311] In step S5003, 0 is assigned to the timer variable. In step S5004, command processing is performed. In the command processing, the CPU 504 of the second sub-control unit 500 determines whether a command has been received from the CPU 404 of the first sub-control unit 400.

[0312] In step S5005, production control processing is performed. Specifically, if there is a new command in step S5004, the processing corresponding to this command is performed. For example, the process of reading out production data for performing image control on the background image from ROM506 is executed. Also, processes such as reading out other production data from ROM506 are performed, and if it is necessary to update the production data, the update process of the production data is included.

[0313] In step S5006, image control processing (specific details will be described later) is performed based on the processing result of step S5005. For example, if there is an image control command in the production data read out in step S5005, the image control corresponding to this command is performed. For example, image control regarding the display image (notification image, background image) is executed. When this image control processing ends, the process returns to step S5002.

[0314] Next, with reference to FIG. 23(b), the command reception interrupt processing of the second sub-control unit 500 will be described. This command reception interrupt processing is a process executed when the second sub-control unit 500 detects a strobe signal output by the first sub-control unit 400.

[0315] In step S5101 of the command reception interrupt processing, the command output by the first sub-control unit 400 is stored in the command storage area provided in RAM508 as an unprocessed command.

[0316] Next, with reference to FIG. 23(c), the second sub-control unit timer interrupt processing executed by the CPU504 of the second sub-control unit 500 will be described. The second sub-control unit 500 includes a hardware timer that generates a timer interrupt at a predetermined period (once every 2 ms in this embodiment), and based on this timer interrupt, the timer interrupt processing is executed at a predetermined period.

[0317] In step S5201, 1 is added to the value in the timer variable storage area of the RAM 508 described in step S5002 in the second sub-control unit main process shown in FIG. 23(a), and the result is stored in the original timer variable storage area. Therefore, in step S5002, it is determined that the value of the timer variable is 10 or more every 20 ms (2 ms × 10). In step S5202, update processing of the effect random number value and the like is performed.

[0318] Next, with reference to FIG. 23(d), the image control process in step S5006 in the main process of the second sub-control unit 500 will be described. This figure is a diagram showing a flowchart indicating the flow of the image control process.

[0319] In step S5301, an instruction to transfer image data is issued. Here, the CPU 504 first swaps the designation of the drawing areas of the display areas A and B in the VRAM 518. As a result, one frame of the image stored in the display area not designated as the drawing area is displayed on the effect image display device 157. Next, the CPU 504 sets the ROM coordinates (transfer source address of the ROM 506), VRAM coordinates (transfer destination address of the VRAM 518), etc. in the attribute register of the VDP 516 based on the position information and other tables, and then sets an instruction to start the transfer of image data from the ROM 506 to the VRAM 518. The VDP 516 transfers the image data from the ROM 506 to the VRAM 518 based on the instruction set in the attribute register. After that, the VDP 516 outputs a transfer end interrupt signal to the CPU 504.

[0320] In step S5302, it is determined whether a transfer end interrupt signal is input from the VDP 516. If a transfer end interrupt signal is input, the process proceeds to step S5303; otherwise, it waits for the transfer end interrupt signal to be input.

[0321] In step S5303, parameter settings are performed based on the production scenario configuration table, attribute data, etc. Here, the CPU 504 indicates information on the image data constituting the display image (coordinate axes of VRAM 518, image size, VRAM coordinates (arrangement coordinates), transparency, etc.) to the VDP 516 in order to form a display image in the display area A or B of the VRAM 518 based on the image data transferred to the VRAM 518 in step S5301. The VDP 516 performs parameter settings according to the attributes based on the instructions stored in the attribute register.

[0322] In step S5304, a drawing instruction is given. In this drawing instruction, the CPU 504 instructs the VDP 516 to start drawing an image. The VDP 516 starts drawing an image in the frame buffer according to the instruction of the CPU 504.

[0323] In step S5305, it is determined whether a generation end interrupt signal from the VDP 516 is input based on the end of image drawing. If the generation end interrupt signal is input, the process proceeds to step S5306; otherwise, it waits for the generation end interrupt signal to be input.

[0324] In step S5306, the scene display counter that is set in a predetermined area of the RAM 508 and counts which scene's image has been generated is incremented (+1), and the process ends.

[0325] <Reel rotation control> As shown in FIG. 18, the main control unit 300 (basic circuit 302) and the control IC 621 are communicably connected. The main control unit 300 transmits control information related to the rotation control of the reels 110 to 112 to the control IC 621, and the control IC 621 controls the motor 614a based on the received control information. Further, the control IC 621 transmits the state of the motor 614a as state information to the main control unit 300, and the main control unit 300 can control the progress of the game based on the received state information.

[0326] Hereinafter, an example of control information and status information, and an example of the rotation control of the reel R will be described with reference to FIG. 24. This figure is a timing chart showing the temporal changes of the control information and the status information.

[0327] In the example of FIG. 24, as control information, rotation instruction information, rotation speed instruction information, and rotation direction instruction information are illustrated. The rotation speed instruction information is an instruction for instructing the rotation speed of the reel R at a constant speed. In the illustrated example, it instructs to rotate at 80 rpm at a constant speed. The control IC 621 accelerates the reel R to the rotation speed instructed by the rotation speed instruction information and controls the motor 614a to maintain the rotation speed. The main control unit 300 can select the rotation speed at a constant speed from a plurality of types of rotation speeds. When the main control unit 300 transmits speed instruction information indicating the selected rotation speed to the control IC 621, the control IC 621 rotates the reel R at a constant speed at that rotation speed.

[0328] The rotation direction instruction information is an instruction for instructing the rotation direction of the reel R. In the illustrated example, it instructs to rotate in the forward rotation (clockwise rotation). The forward rotation is the direction in which the symbols move in the order indicated by the arrow in "Rotation Direction" in FIG. 4. In the case of the reverse movement direction, it is reverse rotation (counterclockwise rotation). The rotation direction instruction information can also instruct reverse rotation. The control IC 621 switches the rotation direction of the motor 614a corresponding to the rotation direction instructed by the rotation direction instruction information.

[0329] The rotation speed instruction information and the rotation direction instruction information may be transmitted by the main control unit 300 to the control IC 621 when starting the rotation control of the reel R, or may be transmitted by the main control unit 300 to the control IC 621 together with the rotation instruction information.

[0330] The rotation instruction information is an instruction for instructing the rotation amount of the reel R, and is information for instructing the rotation of one frame of the reel R. Each time the control IC 621 receives the rotation instruction information, it rotates the reel R by one frame. When the total number of frames is 20 frames, the control IC 621 controls the motor 614a so that the reel R rotates 360 degrees ÷ 20 = 18 degrees by one rotation instruction information.

[0331] In the case of this embodiment, the rotation instruction information is a periodic pulse signal transmitted at a predetermined time interval T, and the control IC621 rotates the reel R by one frame using the rising edge (OFF→ON) of the signal as a trigger. The interval T is an interval equal to or less than the time required for one-frame rotation when the reel R is rotating at a constant speed. When the main control unit 300 rotates the reel R by two or more frames, it can continue to rotate the reel R by transmitting the rotation instruction information every interval T. Note that a configuration may be adopted in which the falling edge (ON→OFF) of the signal is used as a trigger.

[0332] For example, assuming that the rotation speed of the reel R at a constant speed is Nrpm, the time t0 (ms) required for one rotation of the reel R is t0 = 60000 / N. When the total number of frames is 20, the time t1 (ms) required for one-frame rotation is t1 = t0 / 20. For this time t1, the value of T is set such that T≦t1. Preferably, T < t1 and T≒t1. For example, 0.95×t1≦T≦0.99×t1. When the reel R is rotated at 100 rpm, the interval T can be set to about 29 ms. Since the interval T is close to the time t1, it is possible to synchronize the transmission of the rotation instruction information with the frame number of the symbol displayed at the reference stop position, making it easier to perform the stop control of the symbol. The reference stop position is, for example, the middle position in FIG. 2 (symbol positions 2, 5, 8).

[0333] Since the control IC621 rotates the reel R by one frame each time it receives the rotation instruction information, if the next rotation instruction information is received within the interval T after receiving the rotation instruction information, the rotation of the reel R is continued and the reel R is further rotated by one frame. If the next rotation instruction information is not received within the interval T after receiving the rotation instruction information, the reel R is stopped. In the example of FIG. 24, after the rotation instruction information is received four times, since there is no reception of the rotation instruction information, the rotation of the reel R is stopped.

[0334] The main control unit 300 manages the interval T in the timer update process of S1005 in the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 21, and can transmit control information such as rotation instruction information in the reel control process of S1008. Each time the main control unit 300 transmits rotation instruction information, it adds one to the rotation position information, and resets the rotation position information to zero when detecting a change from the H level to the L level of the photosensor 642 (the process of S1009 in FIG. 21). Thereby, the symbol (frame number) located at the reference stop position can be managed. When the rotation position information is zero, it is designed such that, for example, a frame with frame number 0 is located at the reference stop position.

[0335] The state information is information transmitted from the control IC 621 to the main control unit 300, and is information indicating the state of the rotation control of the reel R. The state information is transmitted to a predetermined input port of the main control unit 300, for example, and the main control unit 300 checks it in the device monitoring process of S1009 in the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 21. In the example of FIG. 24, the acceleration state, constant speed state, and stop state of the reel R are illustrated as the state information. When the main control unit 300 acquires state information indicating, for example, the constant speed state, it enables a stop operation. When the main control unit 300 acquires state information indicating, for example, the stop state, it determines the symbol combination.

[0336] When the control IC 621 receives rotation instruction information in a state where the reel R is stopped, it starts the rotation of the reel R at the rotation speed and rotation direction defined by the rotation speed instruction information and the rotation direction instruction information. The acceleration control of the reel R is performed according to the control program of the control IC 621, so that the main control unit 300 does not require a program for acceleration control, and the capacity of the control program can be reduced.

[0337] During the acceleration of the reel R, the amount of rotation of the reel R at the interval T is less than that during the constant-speed rotation. If the difference in the amount of rotation is large, the relationship between the interval T and the amount of rotation of the reel R may be disrupted. Fig. 25(a) is an explanatory diagram thereof. The figure shows that the reel R (i.e., the motor 614a) is accelerated at a predetermined acceleration up to the rotation speed (indicated rotation speed) indicated by the rotation speed indication information within the time of the first two intervals T. The amount of rotation of the reel R after reaching the designated rotation speed is represented by the interval T × the indicated rotation speed, but during the acceleration period before that, the amount of rotation is reduced by the area R1. That is, the relationship between the interval T from the start of rotation of the reel R and the amount of rotation of the reel R becomes the interval T × the indicated rotation speed - R1 after reaching the designated rotation speed.

[0338] Therefore, when accelerating up to the rotation speed (indicated rotation speed) indicated by the rotation speed indication information, the control IC621 of the present embodiment accelerates the reel R up to a rotation speed higher than the indicated rotation speed and then decelerates the reel R to the indicated rotation speed for constant-speed rotation. Fig. 25(b) is an explanatory diagram thereof. The figure shows that within the time of the first two intervals T, the reel R is accelerated up to a rotation speed higher than the indicated rotation speed and then decelerated to the indicated rotation speed for constant-speed rotation at the indicated rotation speed. The area R1 indicates the amount of rotation of the reel R that is less than that during the constant-speed rotation, and the area R2 indicates the amount of rotation of the reel R that is more than that during the constant-speed rotation. By controlling the acceleration, the maximum speed, and the deceleration so that the area R1 and the area R2 are equal, the relationship between the interval T and the amount of rotation of the reel R can be maintained.

[0339] Note that even when the reel R is rotating at a constant speed, there may be a deviation between the interval T and the amount of rotation of the reel R. However, taking the detection of the light-shielding piece 694a by the photosensor 642 as an opportunity, the reel R is slightly accelerated or decelerated, and the control IC621 can match the rotation position of the reel R with the ON timing of the rotation indication information.

[0340] Next, an example of maintaining the relationship between the interval T and the rotation amount of the reel R by increasing or decreasing the interval T in response to an increase or decrease in the indicated rotation speed will be described. FIGS. 26 and 27 show an example thereof. In the example of FIG. 26, the indicated rotation speed is doubled compared to the example of FIG. 24. In this case, the interval T is set to 1 / 2 of the interval T in FIG. 24. In the example of FIG. 27, the indicated rotation speed is set to 1 / 2 times that of the example of FIG. 24. In this case, the interval T is set to twice the interval T in FIG. 24.

[0341] In the above example, the rotation instruction information and the rotation speed instruction information are regarded as separate information, but the rotation speed instruction information can also be included in the rotation instruction information. Hereinafter, an example of a configuration in which the rotation speed instruction information is included in the rotation instruction information will be described with reference to FIG. 28. This figure is a diagram showing an example of an operation using the rotation instruction information including the rotation speed instruction information.

[0342] In FIG. 28(a), the rotation instruction information is a periodic pulse signal transmitted at a predetermined time interval T1, and the control IC621 rotates the reel R by one frame using the falling edge (ON→OFF) of the signal as a trigger. The interval T1 is, as in the example of FIG. 24, an interval equal to or less than the time t1 required for one-frame rotation when the reel R is rotating at a constant speed. And the pulse width H1 of this rotation instruction information serves as the rotation speed instruction information. By setting this pulse width H1 to a predetermined time (here, half the time required for one-frame rotation, which is t1), it is configured to be able to specify the rotation speed required for one-frame rotation. Note that when the next rotation instruction information is not received within the interval T1 after receiving the rotation instruction information, the reel R is stopped. In the above configuration, the reel R is rotated by one frame waiting for the falling edge (ON→OFF) of the signal, but the reel R also stops when there is no falling edge while remaining in the ON state (the reception of the rotation instruction information is not completed).

[0343] In the above example, when the reel R is rotating at a constant speed, the interval T1 is approximately the same as the time t1 required for one-frame rotation, and as shown in FIG. 28(a), a pulse in which the first half of the time interval T1 is OFF and the second half is ON (a pulse with an OFF-to-ON ratio of 1:1) is transmitted. In the example of FIG. 26, the case where the rotation speed of the reel R is doubled compared to the example of FIG. 24 was described. However, in the example of FIG. 28(a), the rotation speed of the reel R can be doubled by halving the pulse period and the pulse width. FIG. 28(b) shows that the rotation speed of the reel R has doubled due to the pulse period T2 (=T1 / 2) and the pulse width H2 (=H1 / 2) which are half of the pulse period T1 and the pulse width H1 of the pulse in FIG. 28(a). On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 27, the case where the rotation speed of the reel R is halved compared to the example of FIG. 24 was described. However, in the configuration of FIG. 28(a), the rotation speed of the reel R can be halved by doubling the pulse period and the pulse width. FIG. 28(c) shows that the rotation speed of the reel R has halved due to the pulse period T3 (=T1×2) and the pulse width H3 (=H1×2) which are twice the pulse period T1 and the pulse width H1 of the pulse in FIG. 28(a).

[0344] Here, an example of the operation when reducing the rotation speed of the reel will be described with reference to FIG. 29. FIG. 29(a) shows an example in which the pulse period and the pulse width are changed to twice their original values halfway in order to halve the rotation speed of the reel. In this example, first, it is assumed that a pulse is transmitted at a period T and the rotation speed A is maintained. The period T is approximately the same as the time required for one-frame rotation. In FIG. 29(a), two pulses Pa1 and Pa2 of the pulses for maintaining this rotation speed A are shown. After transmitting the pulse Pa2, it is assumed that the period and the pulse width of the next pulse are doubled. It is shown that the combined period of the periods A1 and A2 in FIG. 29(a) corresponds to one cycle (2T) including the doubled pulse width, and a pulse Pa3 with the doubled pulse width is transmitted during the period A2.

[0345] Here, the rotation executed by pulse Pa2 (rotation for one frame) will be completed in time T (period A1). At this time, however, the transmission of pulse Pa3 has not been completed yet. That is, when time T has elapsed after the transmission of pulse Pa2 (the end point of period A1), the rotation according to the previously received rotation instruction information (pulse Pa2) has been completed, but since no new rotation instruction information (pulse Pa3) has been received, the control IC621 stops the reel R. In Fig. 29(a), it is shown that the reel R is stopped in period A2. Furthermore, in Fig. 29(a), it is shown that after receiving new rotation instruction information (pulse Pa3), the reel R rotates at a rotation speed of A / 2 in the subsequent period A3.

[0346] In Fig. 28, the correspondence between the pulse period, pulse width, and the rotation speed of the reel was explained. However, when uniformly changing the pulse period and pulse width during deceleration, as in the example of Fig. 29(a), the reel will stop once, and it becomes impossible to smoothly decelerate the reel. That is, during deceleration, it is necessary to be able to receive new rotation instruction information while the rotation according to the previously received rotation instruction information is being executed. Hereinafter, an operation example considering this point will be described with reference to Fig. 29(b). Fig. 29(b) is a diagram showing an operation example when the rotation speed of the reel is reduced by half.

[0347] In Fig. 29(b), it is assumed that pulses are transmitted at a period T and the rotational speed A is maintained as in Fig. 29(a). In Fig. 29(b), among the pulses for maintaining this rotational speed A, two pulses Pb1 and Pb2 are shown. Here, consider increasing the next pulse width in order to decelerate the reel after transmitting pulse Pb2. In this case, since the rotation (rotation for one frame) executed by pulse Pb2 is completed in time T (period B1), it is necessary to be in a state where new rotation instruction information is received by the end of this period B1. However, if the pulse width is doubled as in Fig. 29(a), the pulse width becomes too long to fit within period B1 (time T), so here the pulse width is adjusted to 1.5 times. Also, in order to fit the rotation instruction information within period B1, it is necessary to shorten the OFF time by the amount the pulse width is lengthened. In Fig. 29(b), it is shown that after pulse Pb2, through an OFF time shorter than the OFF time in the state where the rotational speed A was maintained, a pulse Pb3 with a pulse width 1.5 times that of pulse Pb2 was received (period B1). Note that in the above example, the pulse width was adjusted to 1.5 times, but it may also be 1.2 times, as long as the pulse width allows the rotation instruction information to fit within period B1. Also, in the above example, the fall of the pulse of the rotation instruction information within period B1 is synchronized with period T, but the fall of the pulse of the rotation instruction information may occur at a timing earlier than this.

[0348] By the pulse Pb3 with a pulse width 1.5 times that of the original, the rotational speed of the reel R will decelerate from the rotational speed A to the rotational speed A / 1.5. Also, the time until the rotation by this pulse Pb3 is completed becomes 1.5T (period B2). In period B2, even if the pulse width is twice as in Fig. 29(a), the rotation instruction information can be accommodated. In Fig. 29(b), it is shown that after pulse Pb3, through an OFF time, a pulse Pb4 with a pulse width twice that of the original was received (period B2). Also, afterwards, it is shown that the reel R has decelerated to the rotational speed A / 2 by this pulse Pb4 (period B3).

[0349] When increasing the pulse width in order to decelerate the rotation speed of the reel as in the example of Fig. 29(b), it is sufficient to use an OFF time that is shorter than the OFF time in the rotation instruction information before deceleration at least once. By doing so, the reel can be decelerated within a certain range, and if further deceleration is required, a period for transmitting an even longer pulse width can also be ensured. In Fig. 29(b), an example of an operation of gradually decelerating by increasing the pulse width in two steps was described, but depending on the deceleration rate, the configuration may be such that the pulse width is increased only once, or it may be increased in two or more steps.

[0350] In this embodiment, since the time of the pulse width is half of the time required for the rotation of the next frame, during deceleration, the next pulse width and the OFF time before it are made to fit within the time of the previous pulse width × 2 (previous pulse width × 2 > next pulse width + OFF time before it). In Fig. 29(a), this relationship is not satisfied and the reel has once stopped, while in Fig. 29(b)(c), this relationship is satisfied and the reel is decelerating smoothly.

[0351] Also, when gradually decelerating by dividing the pulse width into multiple steps, the same time may be used for the OFF time during deceleration, and only the pulse width may be gradually increased. Fig. 29(c) shows an example of the operation when the same time is used for the OFF time during deceleration as in Fig. 29(b). Specifically, in Fig. 29(b), the OFF time before the pulse Pb3 in period B1 and the OFF time before the pulse Pb4 in period B2 are different, but in Fig. 29(c), these OFF times are the same. With this configuration, the processing related to the derivation of the OFF time during deceleration can be simplified.

[0352] Since the rotation speed of the reel is set corresponding to the pulse width, for example, even when the pulse width is increased and the OFF time is shortened (when the ratio of the ON time is increased) without changing the period of the pulse signal, the rotation speed of the reel can be decelerated (see period B1 in Fig. 29(b)). However, in this case, while the rotation speed of the reel (movement per frame) becomes slower and the time required for rotation control becomes longer, since the transmission period of the rotation instruction information remains the same, a delay gradually occurs in the rotation control with respect to the rotation instruction information. However, for example, in the case of deceleration until the reel stops, a configuration is adopted in which deceleration rotation instruction information is sent in advance, so that a situation where the rotation instruction information (deceleration instruction) arrives too late and the reel stops without decelerating can be prevented. Of course, the deceleration configuration is not limited to this example, and when decelerating by increasing the pulse width, the period of the pulse signal may also be increased according to the deceleration rate of the reel. In this case, the configuration may be such that the pulse period is increased while maintaining the ratio of the ON time and the OFF time of the pulse signal.

[0353] In the example of Fig. 28, the configuration in which the rotation speed increases when the ON time of the pulse signal of the rotation instruction information is shortened and decreases when it is lengthened has been described. Conversely, a configuration in which the rotation speed increases when the ON time is lengthened and decreases when it is shortened may also be adopted. Further, instead of the ON time of the pulse signal, a configuration may be adopted in which the rotation speed is controlled using the OFF time of the pulse signal.

[0354] In the example of FIG. 28, a configuration for determining the rotation speed according to the ON time of the pulse signal of the rotation instruction information has been described. However, a configuration for determining the rotation speed using the ratio of the OFF time to the ON time of the pulse signal may also be used. For example, when the ratio of the OFF time to the ON time of the pulse signal is 1:1, the rotation speed at a constant speed (for example, 80 rpm) is set. As the ratio of the ON time increases, such as 1:2 or 1:3, it becomes slower than the constant speed, and as the ratio of the ON time decreases, such as 2:1 or 3:1, it becomes faster than the constant speed. Also, a configuration may be adopted in which it becomes faster than the constant speed as the ratio of the ON time increases, and becomes slower than the constant speed as the ratio of the ON time decreases.

[0355] Also, considering the upper and lower limits of the rotation speed of the reel, a limit may be set for the pulses acceptable as the rotation speed, and rotation instructions may not be accepted (for example, stop without rotating) for pulses outside this limit.

[0356] In the example of FIG. 28, a configuration for specifying the rotation speed using the pulse width has been described. However, a configuration for specifying the rotation speed using the period of the pulse signal instead of the length of the pulse width or the ratio of the OFF time to the ON time of the pulse signal may also be used. Specifically, a configuration may be adopted in which it becomes slower as the period from rise to rise (or the period from fall to fall) becomes longer, and becomes faster as it becomes shorter.

[0357] Also, for the above configuration, a configuration in which the ON / OFF of the pulse signal is inverted may be used. FIGS. 30(a) to (c) show examples of configurations in which the ON / OFF of the pulse signals in FIGS. 28(a) to (c) are inverted. In this configuration, the control IC621 rotates the reel R by one frame using the rise (OFF→ON) of the signal as a trigger.

[0358] As shown in FIGS. 28 and 30, by using one pulse signal for the rotation instruction information and the rotation speed instruction information, the number of signal lines can be reduced.

[0359] Next, the control of the control IC 621 when the reel R stops will be described. As already described, when no rotation instruction information is received, the control IC 621 stops the rotation of the reel R. At this time, control is performed so that the target symbol stops at the reference stop position, and it is desirable that the stop position can be finely adjusted in the rotation direction. This is advantageous when the reel drive unit 10 and the motor control board 606a are diverted between models. Since the configuration of the reel window 113 and the like differ depending on the model, the middle symbol positions (symbol positions 2, 5, 8 in FIG. 2) may be slightly higher or slightly lower.

[0360] In the present embodiment, as the setting information 4, an adjustment rotation amount, which is the rotation amount of the reel R of less than one frame, can be set, and the position of the symbol at the reference stop position can be finely adjusted by this adjustment rotation amount. In other words, fine adjustment of the reference stop position is possible. Specifically, when no rotation instruction information is received, the control IC 621 rotates the reel R by the adjustment rotation amount and then stops. In the case of the present embodiment, this adjustment rotation amount can be set in units of steps obtained by equally dividing the rotation amount per frame. This step is also information that can be set as the number of steps of the setting information 2.

[0361] FIG. 31 shows an example of steps. The example in the figure illustrates an example in which the rotation amount per frame is divided into 5 steps. In other words, the total number of steps for one rotation of the reel R is 5 steps × 20 frames = 100 steps, and the stop position of the reel R can be selected in 100 stages.

[0362] FIG. 32 shows an example of setting the adjustment rotation amount. The central FIG. 32(a) is an example in which the adjustment rotation amount is 3 steps, which is a standard adjustment rotation amount. The left FIG. 32(b) is an example in which the adjustment rotation amount is 1 step. Compared with the example of FIG. 32(a), the symbol will stop shifted upward. FIG. 32(c) is an example in which the adjustment rotation amount is 5 steps. Compared with the example of FIG. 32(a), the symbol will stop shifted downward. In each case, it is assumed that the reel R is rotated in the forward direction.

[0363] An example of specific stop control will be described. Suppose that during the rotation of the reel R, the main control unit 300 determines to stop the rotation of the reel R three frames ahead by a stop operation. The stop at the third frame is performed by an adjustment rotation amount. For this reason, the main control unit 300 transmits the rotation instruction information twice (3 - 1 = 2) to the control IC 621. The control IC 621 rotates the reel R by two frames upon receiving the rotation instruction information twice, and rotates the reel R by the adjustment rotation amount and stops it when there is no reception of the rotation instruction information. This is the rotation at the third frame. Thereby, the target symbol can be stopped at the reference stop position corresponding to the structure of that model.

[0364] The same applies when there is no stop operation during the rotation of the reel R and the rotation of the reel R is stopped due to the elapse of a predetermined time. Due to the elapse of the predetermined time, the main control unit 300 determines the number of frames to be rotated thereafter, and transmits rotation instruction information for a number one less than the determined number of frames to the control IC 621. The control IC 621 rotates the reel R by the number of frames corresponding to the number of rotation instruction information, and then rotates the reel R by the adjustment rotation amount and stops it.

[0365] Next, an effect example of the reels 110 to 112 will be described with reference to FIG. 33. FIG. 33(a) shows a state in which the reels 110 to 112 are stopped before the operation of the start lever 135. At the symbol positions 2, 5, 8 (see FIG. 2) serving as the reference stop positions, the symbol of frame number 2 (left reel 110), the symbol of frame number 16 (middle reel 111), and the symbol of frame number 19 (right reel 112) are stopped, respectively.

[0366] Triggered by the operation of the start lever 135, the main control unit 300 starts the rotation of the reels 110 to 112 (FIG. 33(b)). As an effect example, the main control unit 300 determines, for example, a temporary stop position and calculates the number of moving symbols (number of frames) from the current position to the temporary stop position. The main control unit 300 transmits the rotation instruction information for the number of calculated frames to the control IC 621.

[0367] For example, when moving the symbols on the left reel 110 by six frames, the rotation instruction information is transmitted six times. Note that the reel R may be rotated one full turn and then stopped at a desired position. This can make the player anticipate for a longer time at which position to stop. For example, if it is desired to move six symbols after rotating the reel R one full turn, the rotation instruction information may be transmitted 26 times. Note that it is also possible to vary the rotation amounts (number of moving frames) among the three reels 110 to 112.

[0368] The main control unit 300 stops transmitting the rotation instruction information. Then, as shown in FIG. 33(c), the reels 110 to 112 can be temporarily stopped. In the example of this figure, from the state of FIG. 33(a), the left reel 110 has rotated by nine frames, the middle reel 111 has rotated by three frames, and the right reel 112 has rotated by five frames, respectively. Thereby, the rotation of the reels 110 to 112 as an effect ends. During this effect period, no stop operation is accepted.

[0369] Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 33(d), the game rotation is started. At this time, when shifting the rotation start timing of the reels 110 to 112, the main control unit 300, for example, counts the delay time for shifting the rotation start timing of each reel, and transmits the rotation instruction information of the second and third reels on the condition that the corresponding delay time has elapsed. Thereafter, in response to the player's stop operation or after a predetermined time has elapsed, the reels 110 to 112 are stopped.

[0370] Regarding the rotation control of the reels 110 to 112 described in this embodiment, it may be applied to the rotation control for production. That is, in the rotation control for game progress, since it is impossible to predict when the player's stop operation will be performed, by transmitting the rotation instruction information for each frame with an interval T, it is possible to cope with the stop operation that occurs randomly. However, in the case of the rotation control for production, the rotation amount and the stop position can be determined in advance. For this reason, in the rotation control for production, for example, the configuration may be such that the rotation instruction information is transmitted to the control IC 621 without setting the interval T, or instead of the rotation instruction information in units of one frame, the control information indicating the total rotation amount is transmitted once, and the control IC 621 performs the corresponding control, or the control information of the number of moving symbols (the number of moving frames) (for example, the control information for moving five symbols) is transmitted once, and the control IC 621 performs the corresponding control. Thereby, the load on the main control unit 300 may be reduced.

[0371] <Example of operation during reel acceleration (1)> Hereinafter, an example of the operation when the reel is accelerating will be described with reference to FIG. 34. This figure is a diagram showing the positional relationship of the left reel 110 with respect to the rotation instruction information. In this figure, the rotation instruction information in FIG. 24 will be used for explanation, but the same configuration can be adopted for other rotation instruction information.

[0372] At the upper part of FIG. 34, for the left reel 110, the positions between the position P01 where the symbol (replay) numbered 2 is displayed in the middle row and the position P10 where the symbol (blank 1) numbered 19 is displayed in the middle row are shown. For example, the position P04 is the position where the symbol (bell) numbered 1 is displayed in the middle row, and the position P07 is the position where the symbol (watermelon) numbered 0 is displayed in the middle row.

[0373] For example, consider a case where the symbol position of the reel after power-on is in a state where the symbols have stopped at each position of the symbol display window 113 (see Fig. 2) (a state where there is no displacement). In this case, by receiving the rotation instruction information from the main control unit 300 and moving the symbols one frame at a time, normal rotation control of the reel is executed. Fig. 34(a1) shows that it rotates from position P01 in Fig. 34 to position P04 in Fig. 34 according to the rotation instruction information for one frame, then rotates to position P07 in Fig. 34 according to the subsequent rotation instruction information for one frame, and then rotates to position P10 in Fig. 34 according to the subsequent rotation instruction information for one frame.

[0374] However, the symbol position of the reel after power-on may be in a state where a displacement has occurred from each position of the symbol display window 113 (see Fig. 2) due to external factors such as maintenance work. In this case, when the symbols are moved one frame at a time in response to the rotation instruction information from the main control unit 300, the rotation control of the reel is executed while this displacement is maintained as it is. Fig. 34(a2) shows that it rotates beyond position P04 in Fig. 34 to position P05 according to the rotation instruction information for one frame from position P02 in Fig. 34, and at this time, the displacement remains. Regarding this displacement, when the light-shielding piece 694a is detected, it can be eliminated by rotating to a position where no displacement occurs. For example, in Fig. 34(a2), it is shown that when receiving the rotation instruction information for one frame from position P05 in Fig. 34, it rotates to position P07 where no displacement occurs. The position when rotating one frame from position P05 is position P08, but here, since the light-shielding piece 694a is detected halfway (between position P05 and position P06), the displacement is eliminated by rotating to position P07 in Fig. 34. The subsequent rotation is a rotation in a state where the displacement has been eliminated. In Fig. 34(a2), it is shown that it rotates to position P10 in Fig. 34 after going through the rotation according to the rotation instruction information for one frame from position P07.

[0375] According to the above operation, misalignment can be eliminated. However, as in the case of Fig. 34(a2), if a rotation of less than one frame is performed for the rotation instruction information of one frame, even though it is a rotation instruction for one frame, the target position may be reached and stopped earlier than originally intended, resulting in looseness in the reel and the occurrence of new obstacles. To prevent such problems, when the light-shielding piece 694a is detected, it should be rotated to a position where no misalignment occurs while ensuring that the rotation amount is one frame or more. For example, when the light-shielding piece 694a is detected, by rotating to a position where the second-closest misalignment does not occur, misalignment can be eliminated while ensuring a rotation amount of one frame or more.

[0376] For example, in Fig. 34(b1), it is shown that from the position P01 in Fig. 34, it rotates to the position P04 in Fig. 34 according to the rotation instruction information for one frame, and when receiving the subsequent rotation instruction information for one frame, it rotates to the position P10 where no misalignment occurs. The position when rotating one frame from the position P04 is the position P07, but here the light-shielding piece 694a is detected midway (between the positions P05 and P06), so it rotates to the position P10, which is the position where no misalignment occurs next to the position P07. Even if it rotates to the position P07, no misalignment occurs, and since the rotation amount of one frame is ensured, in this case, it may also rotate to the position P07.

[0377] Next, in Fig. 34(b2), it is shown that from the position P02 in Fig. 34, it rotates to the position P05 in Fig. 34 according to the rotation instruction information for one frame, and when receiving the subsequent rotation instruction information for one frame, it rotates to the position P10 where no misalignment occurs. The position when rotating one frame from the position P05 is the position P08, but here the light-shielding piece 694a is detected midway (between the positions P05 and P06), so misalignment is eliminated by rotating to the position P10, which is the position where no misalignment occurs next to the position P07.

[0378] When the configurations of FIGS. 34(b1) and (b2) are adopted, the rotation amount per frame of the rotation instruction information becomes one frame or more, and a delay occurs in the state of the reel with respect to the rotation instruction information. Regarding this delay, the control IC 621 adjusts the speed to recover the delay, and the delay is eliminated by the time the reel reaches the constant-speed rotation state. In view of the execution of this speed adjustment, the timing at which the stop button is enabled may be delayed. Also, in the case where a motor capable of speed adjustment in a short time is adopted, the stop button may be enabled at the same timing regardless of whether the speed adjustment is executed. That is, at the first start of the reel after power-on, in consideration of the backlash due to the deviation of the reel stop position caused by the reel contact during maintenance, special control is performed to drive the reel additionally more than the rotation instruction information at the timing of the first light-shielding piece detection to prevent backlash. Then, although the rotation instruction information and the reel drive amount do not match due to driving the reel additionally more than the rotation instruction information, the event of the mismatch is eliminated by performing speed adjustment from the first detection of the light-shielding piece until the operation to the stop button becomes effective. Note that it is also possible to determine whether or not a positional deviation has occurred at the time of light-shielding piece detection and perform the above-described special control, or to perform the special control uniformly at the time of light-shielding piece detection regardless of whether or not a positional deviation has occurred.

[0379] Note that the above configuration is an example of an operation for eliminating the positional deviation that occurred before power-on. For example, when a positional deviation occurs after power-on, since its movement can be grasped based on the signal from the encoder 614e, the above operation is not executed in this case, but it may be configured to be executable even after power-on.

[0380] <Example of operation during reel acceleration (2)> Hereinafter, an example of the operation during the acceleration of the reel will be described with reference to FIG. 35. This figure is a diagram showing an example of the acceleration operation of the reel after the reel action is executed. In this figure, the rotation instruction information of FIG. 24 is used for explanation, but the same configuration can be adopted for other rotation instruction information.

[0381] There are some slot machines that execute pseudo-games similar to normal games. In this pseudo-game, the reels rotate and there are slight vibrations that simulate stopping. Also, separately from normal games, there are some that rotate the reels so that a specific combination of symbols is displayed. In this way, a series of operations may be performed, such as executing a reel action using the reels for game progress and then accelerating the reels to a constant speed for game start. Here, for example, if a rotation in the opposite direction of acceleration was executed in the immediately preceding reel action, there is a possibility that the reels may not reach the constant speed or may experience misalignment even when the normal acceleration process is executed. Therefore, in such a case, the main control unit 300 side may ensure a longer acceleration period. In adopting such a configuration, for example, it may be configured to maintain the acceleration state until a predetermined time longer than the normal acceleration time has elapsed, or to make the period from the start of acceleration to the effective stop operation longer, or to transmit more of the above rotation instruction information than usual. In FIG. 35, as an example of the above configuration, it is shown that by transmitting rotation instruction information for four frames immediately after the reel action, a longer acceleration period is ensured as a whole. In particular, since misalignment is likely to occur in the reel action immediately after power-on, adopting the above configuration can make it less likely for such problems to occur. Taking the pseudo-game as an example, in the pseudo-game, the game progresses in the following flow: "start operation → reel rotation (pseudo-game) → pseudo-stop operation → pseudo-stop (slight vibration) → pseudo-start operation → reel rotation → stop operation → stop". However, the time until the stop operation becomes effective in the flow of "pseudo-start operation → reel rotation → stop operation" is longer compared to the time until the stop operation becomes effective in the flow of "start operation → reel rotation → stop operation" in a normal game. The reel rotation in "pseudo-start operation → reel rotation → stop operation" with a pseudo-game and the reel rotation in "start operation → reel rotation → stop operation" in a normal game use common drive control in acceleration control and / or constant speed control. In "pseudo-start operation → reel rotation → stop operation", by rotating a few extra frames before the common drive control, the above problems can be solved while using the common drive control.Note that the present invention is applicable not only to pseudo games but also to a period until a stop operation after a reel action such as reverse rotation or high-speed rotation becomes effective. Thus, the above problem can be solved by adding rotations for several frames before the normal acceleration process after the reel action.

[0382] Note that when a fixed symbol stops after a reel action, the timing of the stop from that point may be learned, making it easier to stop the target symbol and potentially assisting the player in aiming. To address such problems, there is a configuration in which the rotation start of each reel is performed randomly (hereinafter referred to as random delay). For such a configuration, when ensuring a longer acceleration period, it may be configured to add an acceleration period after the random delay.

[0383] Also, in the above example, an acceleration period of four frames is provided immediately after the reel action, but it is not limited to this acceleration period. Since the player always sees the rotation of the maximum number of symbols being drawn in, it is possible to ensure that even if an acceleration period is added to this extent, there will be no sense of discomfort. The acceleration period may be determined by lottery from a plurality of periods, or may be set to different periods for each reel. For example, for the reel that starts rotating earlier due to the above-mentioned random delay, an acceleration period longer than that of the reel that starts rotating later may be set.

[0384] Note that in this embodiment, an example using a DC motor has been described, but for example, a configuration using a stepping motor may also be used, and the type of motor is not limited.

[0385] <Handling of position information during normal rotation of the reel> In this embodiment, the main control unit 300 transmits rotation instruction information to the control IC 621 of the motor control board 606a and updates the position information of the reel. Hereinafter, an example of this operation will be described with reference to FIG. 36. This figure is a diagram showing an example of a part of the rotation instruction information transmitted during the rotation of the left reel 110 and the actual positional relationship of the left reel 110.

[0386] When the rotation instruction information for one symbol is transmitted, the position information is updated to the number of the middle symbols displayed by the rotation. Also, the control IC621 causes the symbols corresponding to this position information to move to the middle of the reel. It is shown that in the middle of FIG. 36, the position information of the reel is updated in the order of number 1→0→19 with the transmission of three rotation instruction information.

[0387] In the upper part (a1) to (a6) of FIG. 36, the changes in the left reel 110 due to the rotation instruction information are shown. Among them, the change from the bell symbol numbered 1 to the watermelon symbol numbered 0 shown in (a2) to (a5) corresponds to the second rotation instruction information. In this example, the position information updated by the rotation instruction information and the actual position relationship of the reel are in a consistent state. At this time, the light-shielding piece 694a is detected at the timing when the boundary between number 1 and number 0 passes through the middle line (FIG. 36(a3)), but the position information does not change due to this detection.

[0388] On the other hand, depending on the control of the control IC621, a delay may occur in the control of the reel with respect to the rotation instruction information, and a deviation may occur between the position information of the reel updated by the main control unit 300 and the actual position relationship of the reel. In the lower part (b1) to (b7) of FIG. 36, the changes in the left reel 110 due to the rotation instruction information are shown. Among them, the change from the bell symbol numbered 1 to the watermelon symbol numbered 0 shown in (b4) to (b7) corresponds to the second rotation instruction information. In this example, however, the actual position of the reel is one symbol behind the position information updated by the rotation instruction information, and it is shown that this change occurs at the timing when the third rotation instruction information is transmitted.

[0389] When such a delay occurs, the speed of the reel is adjusted by the control IC621 so that the rotation instruction information and the timing match. However, there is a case where the boundary between number 1 and number 0 passes through the middle line and the light-shielding piece 694a is detected before that (Fig. 36(b5)). At this time, although the rotation of the reel is delayed with respect to the rotation instruction information, since that amount of rotation is executed by the control IC621, it will finally match the position information of the reel in the main control unit 300. Therefore, if the position information is updated to 0 by detecting the light-shielding piece 694a, there will be a problem that the position information of the reel in the main control unit 300 does not match the actual position of the reel. Therefore, in a state where the rotation of the reel has reached a constant speed, it is configured to maintain the position information even if the light-shielding piece 694a is detected. Note that the update of the reel position information by detecting the light-shielding piece 694a is executed at the stage when the reel has accelerated and reached a constant speed.

[0390] <Example using stop information> In the examples from FIGS. 24 to 30, the rotation of the reel is instructed using rotation instruction information, and the configuration in which the reel is stopped when there is no rotation instruction information has been described. Here, in order to more surely execute the rotation stop of the reel, it may be configured to transmit information (stop information) for instructing the stop of the reel separately from the rotation instruction information. FIG. 37 shows an example in which stop information is added to the rotation instruction information described in FIG. 28. In this example, the stop information is a signal for controlling the reel to a stopped state in the ON state, and it is shown in FIG. 37 that the reel is in the stopped state upon receiving this stop information. Note that, for example, it may be a signal for controlling the reel to a stopped state in the OFF state, and the form of the signal is not limited. Also, although FIG. 37 describes using the rotation instruction information of FIG. 28, a configuration applying other rotation instruction information described using FIGS. 24 to 30 may also be used. By using such stop information, the rotation stop of the reel can be surely executed. Note that, in order to more surely execute the rotation stop of the reel, it may be configured not to transmit the rotation instruction information for a predetermined period after transmitting the stop information. Also, in the control IC 621, when it is determined that some abnormality has occurred, the rotation control may not be executed. As an example, a configuration may be mentioned in which, for the reception of the rotation instruction information in a predetermined period after receiving the stop information, it is determined that it is not a normal rotation instruction and the rotation control is not executed.

[0391] Note that the example in FIG. 37 uses the rotation instruction information described in FIG. 28. In this rotation instruction information, the pulse width corresponds to the rotation speed of the reel. Here, in FIG. 37, even while the reel is being controlled to a stopped state based on the stop information, the pulse of the rotation instruction information remains ON, and the pulse width is longer compared to normal rotation. If the rotation speed is set based on such a lengthened pulse width, there is a possibility that the rotation speed may become too fast or too slow, and unexpected problems may occur in the gaming table. In the description of FIG. 28, a configuration was described in which a limit is set on the length of the acceptable pulse width in consideration of the upper and lower limits of the rotation speed of the reel. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the above problems. In the example of FIG. 37, there is a pulse fall (rotation instruction) after the transmission of the stop information. In this example, since the pulse width is too long, rotation control is not performed and it remains in the stopped state. In addition to such a configuration, for example, the pulse width during the period when the stop information is being transmitted may not be used when deriving the rotation speed, or rotation control based on this may not be performed for the pulses during the transmission of the stop information (rotation control is performed for the pulses transmitted after the end of the transmission of the stop information).

[0392] <Transmission of Rotation Information to External Device> Conventionally, in a gaming table, there are some that transmit internal information to external devices such as a hall computer, a lending machine, and a testing machine. The situation of the motor 614a described above is also such internal information, and it may be configured to transmit this information to an external device. FIG. 38(a) shows a block diagram for transmitting information from the main control unit 300 to the testing machine 900 via the IF board 800.

[0393] In the main control unit 300, as described above, the rotation of the reels 110 to 112 is controlled by transmitting rotation instruction information and the like to the control IC 621. The information transmitted to this control IC 621 may be separately transmitted to an external device. However, since the signals that can be received by the external device are different, the signals may be separately processed and then output according to the type of the external device. The IF board 800 in Fig. 38(a) is provided to process the signals transmitted from the main control unit 300 in accordance with the testing machine 900.

[0394] Fig. 38(b) is a diagram showing an example of signals when the IF board 800 that converts the control signal of the DC motor into the control signal of the stepping motor is used in the case where the testing machine 900 can receive the control signal of the stepping motor. The rotation instruction information shown at the top of this figure is transmitted to the control IC 621, but is also transmitted to the IF board 800 at the same time. The IF board 800 that receives this signal converts it into the control signal of the stepping motor and outputs it to the testing machine 900. In the middle of Fig. 38(b), it is shown that the signal is converted into a signal with more waveforms than the pulse signal that is the rotation instruction information. The testing machine 900 that receives this signal can grasp the control state of the motor 614a.

[0395] Note that when the configuration using the stop information in Fig. 37 is adopted, the reels 110 to 112 may be in a stopped state while the rotation instruction information is being transmitted to the control IC 621. In such a configuration, the main control unit 300 may transmit the stop information to the IF board 800, and while this information is being transmitted, the signal for stopping the control of the stepping motor may be transmitted. In Fig. 38(b), it is shown that the pulse signal of the stepping motor stops during the transmission of the stop information. Not limited to this example, the IF board 800 may be configured to output information corresponding to the stop information according to the external device. At the bottom of Fig. 38(b), an example of the signal when the IF board 800 outputs the stop information to the external device as it is is shown.

[0396] The above example is just an example, and any configuration that can output a signal converted according to an external device is acceptable. For example, the above processing may be executed by the main control unit 300 without separately providing the IF board 800. By adopting such a configuration, information can be transmitted without imposing a burden on the external device.

[0397] <Others> Note that the rotation control of the reel R and its circuit configuration in the present embodiment are also applicable to other rotating bodies, such as a rotating body for an effect that is not related to the symbol display for winning determination. Further, it is not limited to a slot machine and is also applicable to various rotating bodies provided in a pachinko machine.

[0398] <Technical idea corresponding to the embodiment> Hereinafter, the technical idea described in the above description will be described while referring to the corresponding configuration.

[0399] In the above description, a DC motor (for example, the motor 614a), a rotating body (for example, the reels 110 to 112) that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols along the rotation direction, DC motor control means (for example, the control IC 621) for controlling the DC motor, game progress control means (for example, the main control unit 300) for controlling the game progress, A gaming table comprising: the game progress control means is means capable of transmitting rotation instruction information (for example, FIG. 37, etc.) for instructing rotation of a predetermined amount (for example, the rotation amount for one frame) to the DC motor control means, the game progress control means is means capable of transmitting stop information (for example, FIG. 37) for instructing stop to the DC motor control means, the DC motor control means is means capable of controlling the rotation of the DC motor by the predetermined amount when receiving the rotation instruction information, the DC motor control means is means capable of controlling the stop of the DC motor when not receiving the rotation instruction information and not receiving the stop information. The DC motor control means is means for controlling the stop of the DC motor based on reception of the stop information (see the description of <Example using stop information>). The gaming table characterized by this was described.

[0400] Also, for the gaming table described above, The predetermined amount is the amount of movement for one symbol, The game progress control means is means capable of periodically transmitting the rotation instruction information to the DC motor control means. The gaming table characterized by this was described.

[0401] Also, for the gaming table described above, Regarding the rotation instruction information received while the DC motor control means is controlling the stop of the DC motor based on reception of the stop information, the DC motor control means is means that does not target it for control of the DC motor (see the description of <Example using stop information>). The gaming table characterized by this was described.

[0402] Also, in the above description, a DC motor (for example, motor 614a), a rotating body (for example, reels 110 to 112) that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols along the rotation direction, DC motor control means (for example, control IC 621) for controlling the DC motor, game progress control means (for example, main control unit 300) for controlling game progress, A gaming table comprising: The game progress control means is means capable of transmitting rotation instruction information (for example, FIG. 37, etc.) instructing rotation of a predetermined amount (for example, the amount of rotation for one frame) to the DC motor control means, The game progress control means is means capable of transmitting stop information (for example, FIG. 37) instructing a stop to the DC motor control means, The DC motor control means is means capable of controlling the rotation of the DC motor by a predetermined amount when receiving the rotation instruction information. The DC motor control means is means capable of controlling the stop of the DC motor when not receiving the rotation instruction information and not receiving the stop information. The DC motor control means is means for controlling the stop of the DC motor based on the reception of the stop information (see the description of <Example using stop information>). The game progress control means is means capable of transmitting information corresponding to the stop information transmitted to the DC motor control means to an external device (see the description of <Transmission of rotation information to external device>). The game table characterized by the above has been described.

[0403] Also, for the game table described above, The game progress control means is means capable of transmitting information corresponding to the rotation instruction information transmitted to the DC motor control means to the external device (see the description of <Transmission of rotation information to external device>). The game table characterized by the above has been described.

[0404] Also, for the game table described above, The game progress control means is means that does not transmit information corresponding to the rotation instruction information to the external device during a period when the DC motor control means is not rotating the rotating body (see the description of <Transmission of rotation information to external device>). The game table characterized by the above has been described.

[0405] Also, in the above description, a DC motor (for example, motor 614a), a rotating body (for example, reels 110 to 112) that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols along the rotation direction, DC motor control means (for example, control IC 621) for controlling the DC motor, game progress control means (for example, main control unit 300) for controlling the game progress, A gaming machine comprising: The game progress control means is means capable of transmitting rotation instruction information (for example, as shown in FIG. 37) for instructing rotation of a predetermined amount (for example, the rotation amount for one frame) to the DC motor control means. The game progress control means is means capable of transmitting stop information (for example, as shown in FIG. 37) for instructing stop to the DC motor control means. The DC motor control means is means capable of controlling the rotation of the DC motor by the predetermined amount when receiving the rotation instruction information. The DC motor control means is means capable of controlling the stop of the DC motor when not receiving the rotation instruction information and not receiving the stop information. The DC motor control means is means for controlling the stop of the DC motor based on the reception of the stop information (see the description of <Example using stop information>). The game progress control means is means for not transmitting the rotation instruction information to the DC motor control means for a predetermined period after transmitting the stop information to the DC motor control means (see the description of <Example using stop information>). A gaming machine characterized by the above has been described.

[0406] Also, for the gaming machine described above, The DC motor control means is means that may not perform rotation control of the rotating body even when the game progress control means transmits the rotation instruction information (see the description of <Example using stop information>). A gaming machine characterized by the above has been described.

[0407] Also, in the above description, a DC motor (for example, motor 614a), a rotating body (for example, reels 110 to 112) that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols provided along the rotation direction, DC motor control means (for example, control IC 621) for controlling the DC motor, game progress control means (for example, main control unit 300) for controlling game progress, A gaming machine comprising: The game progress control means is a means capable of transmitting rotation instruction information (for example, FIGS. 24 to 30) for instructing rotation of a predetermined amount (for example, the rotation amount for one frame) to the DC motor control means. The DC motor control means is a means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor by the predetermined amount so that any of the symbols is in a predetermined position (for example, the middle stage of the symbol display window 113). The DC motor control means is a means capable of executing control to set a rotation amount larger than the predetermined amount based on the establishment of a predetermined condition (for example, detection of the light shielding piece 694a) during the first rotation control after power-on, and moving any of the symbols to the predetermined position (see the description of <Operation example (1) when the reel is accelerated>). The gaming machine having the above characteristics has been described.

[0408] Due to reasons such as maintenance during power-off, the reels may be in a state of being misaligned when power is turned on. Such misalignment cannot be detected when power is turned on, and is determined when the index (light shielding piece) of the reel is detected, and the position of the reel is corrected based on this determination. At this time, as a result of rotating less than one frame for a rotation instruction for one frame, there is a possibility that a malfunction of the reel may occur. Such a problem can be prevented in the above-described gaming machine.

[0409] Also, the gaming machine described above, comprises a stop button (for example, stop buttons 137 to 139) for receiving a stop operation for stopping the rotation of the rotating body. The game progress control means is a means for advancing the game by stopping the rotation of the rotating body by the stop operation of the stop button after accelerating the rotating body to a constant speed rotation state. The DC motor control means is a means in which a delay may occur in the control for the rotation instruction information received thereafter, depending on the amount of rotation of the DC motor exceeding the predetermined amount. The DC motor control means is a means capable of eliminating the delay until the stop button becomes effective by adjusting the rotational speed of the DC motor (refer to the description of <Operation example (1) during reel acceleration>). The gaming machine thus described has been explained.

[0410] Also, for the gaming machine described above, detection means (for example, reel detection unit 640) for detecting that the rotating body is at a predetermined rotational position (for example, the boundary between the 0th symbol and the 1st symbol is in the middle of the symbol display window 113), The predetermined condition is a condition that is satisfied when the detection means first detects that the rotating body is at the predetermined rotational position during the execution of the first rotation control after the power is turned on (refer to the description of <Operation example (1) during reel acceleration>). The gaming machine thus described has been explained.

[0411] Also, in the above description, a DC motor (for example, motor 614a), DC motor control means (for example, control IC 621) for controlling the DC motor, reels (for example, reels 110 to 112) that are rotationally driven by the DC motor and have a plurality of symbols applied along the rotation direction, stop buttons (for example, stop buttons 137 to 139) for receiving a stop operation for stopping the rotation of the reels, game progress control means (for example, main control unit 300) for controlling the game progress, A gaming machine equipped with The game progress control means is a means for rotating the reels by transmitting rotation instruction information (for example, FIGS. 24 to 30) to the DC motor control means, The game progress control means is a means for advancing the game by accelerating the reels to a constant rotational speed and then stopping the rotation of the reels by the stop operation of the stop button. The game progress control means is means capable of executing a reel action using the reel separately from the progress of the game, the time from when the reel is accelerated until the stop button becomes effective when the reel action is executed is longer than the time from when the reel is accelerated until the stop button becomes effective when the reel action is not executed (see the description of <Example of operation when reel is accelerated (2)>), and a game machine characterized by this has been described.

[0412] In a reel action such as a pseudo game, there is a possibility that malfunctions such as reel misalignment may occur due to the slight vibration of the reel and the timing of the start of rotation of the reel hitting each other. The above game machine can provide a game machine in which such malfunctions are less likely to occur.

[0413] Also, for the game machine described above, the number of transmissions of the rotation instruction information from when the reel is accelerated until the stop button becomes effective when the reel action is executed is more than the number of transmissions of the rotation instruction information from when the reel is accelerated until the stop button becomes effective when the reel action is not executed (see the description of <Example of operation when reel is accelerated (2)>), and a game machine characterized by this has been described.

[0414] Also, for the game machine described above, the time from when the reel is accelerated until the stop button becomes effective when the first game is executed without the reel action being executed after the power is turned on is longer than the time from when the reel is accelerated until the stop button becomes effective when a game after the first game is executed without the reel action being executed (see the description of <Example of operation when reel is accelerated (2)>), and a game machine characterized by this has been described.

[0415] Also, in the above description, A DC motor (e.g., motor 614a), and a rotating body (e.g., reels 110 - 112) that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols along the rotation direction, and DC motor control means (e.g., control IC 621) for controlling the DC motor, and game progress control means (e.g., main control unit 300) for controlling the progress of the game, A game table provided with the above, wherein the game progress control means is means capable of transmitting a rotation control signal (e.g., FIGS. 28 - 30) consisting of a first state and a second state (e.g., ON state and OFF state) to the DC motor control means, the DC motor control means is means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor by a predetermined amount of rotation (e.g., the amount of rotation for one frame) when the rotation control signal changes from the first state to the second state, the DC motor control means is means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor at a speed corresponding to the duration of the first state (see, for example, the operation examples in FIGS. 28 - 30), A game table characterized by the above has been described.

[0416] Also, for the game table described above, the DC motor control means is means for executing control to decelerate the speed of the rotating body as the duration of the first state becomes longer (see, for example, the operation examples in FIGS. 28 - 30), A game table characterized by the above has been described.

[0417] Also, for the game table described above, when decelerating the speed of the rotating body, the game progress control means may make the duration of the second state shorter than before deceleration (see, for example, the operation example in FIG. 29), A game table characterized by the above has been described.

[0418] When controlling a reel equipped with a DC motor, if the width of the speed change is large during reel deceleration, there may be rattling, and suitable reel control may not be achieved, or the appearance of the reel operation may deteriorate. In the above-described gaming table, these problems can be solved during reel deceleration.

[0419] Also, for a gaming table described above, When the game progress control means decelerates the speed of the rotating body, the duration of the second state may be made shorter than before deceleration, and then the duration of the first state may be gradually increased without changing the duration of the second state (for example, refer to the operation example in FIG. 29). A gaming table characterized by this has been described.

[0420] Also, in the above description, a DC motor (for example, motor 614a), a rotating body (for example, reels 110 to 112) that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols along the rotation direction, DC motor control means (for example, control IC 621) for controlling the DC motor, game progress control means (for example, main control unit 300) for controlling the progress of the game, A gaming table comprising: The game progress control means is means capable of transmitting a rotation control signal (for example, FIGS. 28 to 30) consisting of a first state and a second state (for example, an ON state and an OFF state) to the DC motor control means. The DC motor control means is means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor by a predetermined rotation amount (for example, the rotation amount for one frame) when the rotation control signal changes from the first state to the second state. The ratio of the duration of the first state to the duration of the second state varies depending on the speed (for example, refer to FIG. 28 and applicable modified examples). A gaming table characterized by this has been described.

[0421] In addition, the operations and effects described in the embodiments of the present invention merely list the most preferable operations and effects resulting from the present invention, and the operations and effects according to the present invention are not limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. Further, among the plurality of configurations described in the examples, there may be cases where the scope of the game can be expanded by applying the content described in one configuration to other configurations.

Industrial Applicability

[0422] The gaming table according to the present invention can be applied to gaming tables typified by pinball machines (pachinko machines), spinning reel gaming machines (slot machines), enclosed gaming machines, or medal-less slot machines.

Explanation of Signs

[0423] 100 Slot machine 110 - 112 Reels 113 Symbol display window 130 - 132 Bet buttons 135 Start lever 137 - 139 Stop buttons 156 Effect button 157 Effect image display device (liquid crystal display device) 300 Main control unit 400 First sub-control unit 500 Second sub-control unit 600 Reel unit 601 Left reel device 602 Middle reel device 603 Right reel device 604 Reel frame 610 Reel drive unit 612 Mounting plate 614 Reel motor unit 614a Motor 614b Drive gear 616 Gear unit 616a Large idler gear 616b Small idler gear 616c Output gear 616d Bearing 616e Reel Shaft 618 Gear Unit Cover 621 Control IC 630 Backlight Module 632 Reflector 634 Lighting Substrate 640 Reel Detection Unit 642 Photo Sensor 644 Sensor Bracket 650 Reel Side Plate 660 Bearing Part 670 Coil Spring 680 Reel Tape 682 Right Reel Frame 684 Left Reel Frame 686 Detected Part

Claims

1. A DC motor, a rotating body that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols provided along the rotation direction, DC motor control means for controlling the DC motor, game progress control means for controlling the progress of the game, A gaming table comprising: The game progress control means is means capable of periodically transmitting a rotation control signal consisting of a first state and a second state to the DC motor control means, The DC motor control means is means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor by a predetermined amount of rotation when the rotation control signal changes from the first state to the second state, The DC motor control means is means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor at a speed corresponding to the duration of the first state, A gaming table characterized by the above.

2. A DC motor, a rotating body that is rotationally driven by the DC motor and has a plurality of symbols provided along the rotation direction, DC motor control means for controlling the DC motor, game progress control means for controlling the progress of the game, A gaming table comprising: The game progress control means is means capable of periodically transmitting a rotation control signal consisting of a first state and a second state to the DC motor control means, The DC motor control means is means capable of executing control to rotate the DC motor by a predetermined amount of rotation when the rotation control signal changes from the first state to the second state, The ratio of the duration of the first state to the duration of the second state varies depending on the speed, A gaming table characterized by the above.

Images