Gaming machine

Abstract

To provide a game machine in which a group to which a manufacturing company that has manufactured the game machine belongs and display that can identify the manufacturing company of the game machine can be easily recognized.SOLUTION: A game machine has a first display in which a manufacturing company of the game machine can be identified and a second display different from the first display in which a group to which the manufacturing company belongs can be identified. Regarding the second display, when a predetermined error occurs, at least a part of the second display is not visible, and the entire second display is visible in at least a part when a predetermined error does not occur. The entire first display is visible both when a predetermined error occurs and when a predetermined error does not occur.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to gaming machines such as pachinko machines and slot machines.

Background Art

[0002] Some gaming machines typified by pachinko machines and slot machines have an image display device such as a liquid crystal display type display device, and execute game performances based on images displayed on the image display.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, these days, in order to smooth the application to the Security Telecommunications Association for testing the performance of gaming machines to see if they can be installed in halls, etc., one gaming machine manufacturer has multiple manufacturing companies that manufacture gaming machines, and these manufacturing companies are generally treated as one group. Then, for example, when viewing test play videos or practice videos through a telecommunications circuit, it becomes difficult to tell which gaming machine manufacturer (group) the gaming machines appearing in the viewed videos belong to, or when a problem occurs in a gaming machine installed in a hall, it becomes difficult to tell which manufacturing company the hall staff should inquire with, etc. problems occur.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these problems, and provides a gaming machine in which a display capable of specifying the group to which the manufacturing company that manufactured the gaming machine belongs or the manufacturing company of the gaming machine is easily visible and recognizable.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] According to the present invention, There is a first region above the upper end of a predetermined operating means when viewed in the vertical direction, and a second region below the predetermined operating means when viewed in the vertical direction. The first region and the second region are configured to be controllable by predetermined control means. it has a first display that can identify the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, and a second display that is different from the first display and can identify the group to which the manufacturing company belongs. When a predetermined error has occurred in the second display, In the first region at least a part of the second display is unviewable, and in at least a part when the predetermined error has not occurred, In the first region the entire second display is viewable, and when the predetermined error has occurred Regardless of whether or not, in the first region or the second region the entire first display is viewable. A gaming machine is provided, which is characterized by this.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, a gaming machine is provided in which a display that can identify the group to which the manufacturing company that manufactured the gaming machine belongs and the manufacturing company of the gaming machine is easily visible and recognizable.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. In the following description, "front", "rear", "left", "right", "upper", and "lower" refer to the states as viewed from the front side (player side) of the gaming machine 10 as shown in FIG. 1 unless otherwise specified.

[0010] <Features of the Present Invention> Before explaining the details of the gaming machine 10 in the present embodiment, the features of the invention (the present invention) described in the present embodiment will be explained. In explaining the features, the configurations in parentheses are examples of the configurations of the present embodiment corresponding to the immediately preceding configurations, and the configurations may be described in parentheses for the same purpose in the description of the gaming machine 10 after the description.

[0011] The present invention has a first display (display of the manufacturing company name) that enables identification of the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, and a second display (display of the group name) that is different from the first display and enables identification of the group to which the manufacturing company belongs, and regarding the second display, when a predetermined error has occurred, at least a part of the second display is unviewable, and at least a part of the second display is entirely viewable in at least a part of the case where the predetermined error has not occurred, and in both the case where the predetermined error has occurred and the case where the predetermined error has not occurred, the entire first display is viewable, and is a gaming machine characterized by this.

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to make it easy for the hall staff to know the manufacturing company to which inquiries should be made in the state where the predetermined error has occurred.

[0013] Note that, as will be described later, the first display in this embodiment is composed of characters. However, in the first display, symbols or logos may be used instead of or in addition to the characters. The same applies to the second display. Also, in the present invention, it is acceptable that one of the plurality of manufacturing companies included in one group (for example, the one with the largest scale) coincides with the group related to the one group. In that case, these displays may be made different from each other by changing the font of the characters constituting these names, the color of the characters, making one an abbreviation and the other a formal name, making one with a logo and the other without a logo, etc. Also, any error may be adopted as the predetermined error. Also, "the entire second display is visible" and "the entire first display is visible" mean that the entire second display is visible when viewed visually facing the gaming machine.

[0014] Also, the gaming machine according to this embodiment described later is a slot machine (so-called smart slot) that pays out all medals as electronic data. However, the present invention can also be applied to a conventional slot machine that pays out some medals as physical medals. Furthermore, the present invention may be adopted for a conventional pachinko machine that pays out physical game balls as prize balls or a pachinko machine (so-called smart pachinko) that gives prize balls as electronic data.

[0015] The gaming machine 10 having the above characteristics will be specifically described based on the following embodiments.

[0016] <Structure of Gaming Machine 10> First, the structure of the gaming machine 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. Note that FIG. 1 is a front view of the gaming machine 10, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hand area II shown surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view showing the back surface of the front door 20, FIG. 4 is a view showing the front of the gaming machine 10 excluding the front door 20, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the lower space III shown hatched in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a view showing the arrangement of the symbols applied to the reel 65 developed in a plane, and FIG. 7 is a view showing the types of symbols applied to the reel 65.

[0017] The gaming machine 10 includes a rectangular parallelepiped outer frame 90 with an open front, a front door 20 pivotally supported on the left edge side (around the axis Za) of the outer frame 90 so as to be rotatable and openable, and a gaming machine main body 60. More specifically, three hinge portions 96 (96a, 96b, 96c) are provided on the left edge side of the outer frame 90, and the front door 20 is pivotally supported by the upper hinge portion 96a and the lower hinge portion 96c, and the gaming machine main body 60 is pivotally supported by the upper hinge portion 96a and the middle hinge portion 96b. As shown in FIG. 4, the outer frame 90 has an opening formed by a left side wall 90a, a right side wall 90b, a top plate 90c, and a bottom plate 90d, and the back side portion of the opening is shielded by a back side wall shown in another drawing (FIG. 5 etc.). Also, unless otherwise specified, in the following description, the fact that gaming parts are provided on the inner surface of the plate members (left side wall 90a, right side wall 90b, top plate 90c, back side wall) constituting the outer frame 90 will be simply expressed as "provided on the said plate member" or the like.

[0018] On the front side of the front door 20, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, an upper panel 21, a lower panel 22, a bet button 23, a menu selection button 24, a status display LED 25, a start lever 26, a stop button 27, a medal number display LED 28, a settlement button 32, a medal counting button 33, a door lock 34, a decorative LED 36, and a speaker opening 38 are provided. In particular, the gaming machine 10 according to the present embodiment is a so-called medal-less slot machine that can progress the game without using actual medals. Therefore, the gaming machine 10 does not have the structures necessary for using actual medals, such as a medal insertion slot and a medal discharge port, which are standard equipment of conventional slot machines that use actual medals. Also, in the following description, the medal refers to something that is treated as electronic information, rather than the actual medals that were conventionally used.

[0019] Also, on the back side of the front door 20, as shown in FIG. 3, there are provided a decorative LED board 41, a status display LED board 42, a stop button board 43, a start lever sensor 44, a bet button board 45, a menu selection button board 46, a setting change device 48, a speaker 49, a medal number display LED board 50, and a medal counting button board 51.

[0020] Also, in order to open the front door 20, it is necessary to insert a door key (not shown) into the door lock 34 to release a lock mechanism (not shown) that locks the front door 20 and the outer frame 90. When the front door 20 is opened, as shown in FIG. 4, the lower space III below the gaming machine main body 60 can be confirmed. In the present embodiment, an open door sensor (not shown) for determining whether the front door 20 is open or not is provided on the right edge side of the outer frame 90. The open door sensor is in an OFF state when the front door 20 is closed, and is in an ON state when the front door 20 is open.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 5, in the lower space III (see FIG. 4) below the gaming machine main body 60, a power supply device 91 is provided on the bottom plate 90d along the left side wall 90a, and a medal number control board case 400 is provided on the back side wall 90e. In particular, the medal number control board case 400 is provided at a position lower than the upper surface of the power supply device 91 when viewed in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). This is to effectively utilize the space where structures (such as a hopper for physically paying out the medals and an auxiliary storage for storing the medals overflowing from the hopper, which are unnecessary in the above-mentioned medal-less slot machine) provided in the conventional slot machine using physical medals were provided. Also, a sheet metal 95 is provided in the area on the bottom plate 90d where the power supply device 91 is not installed.

[0022] The power supply device 91 is a device for supplying power to each component of the gaming machine 10, and its activation or stop is controlled by operating the power switch 92 provided in the device. Therefore, when enjoying the game, it is necessary to operate the power switch 92 to activate the power supply device 91 with the front door 20 open. In this embodiment, each of the main board 100, the sub-board 200, and the medal number control board 300 described later has a function of maintaining the information held before the power supply is turned off even when the power supply from the power supply device 91 is turned off. Also, on the side surface of the power supply device 91 on the right side (X-axis direction side), a heat dissipation port 93 for releasing the heat generated during the operation of the power supply device 91 is provided.

[0023] The medal number control board case 400 houses the medal number control board 300 described later inside. In particular, since the medal number control board case 400 has transparency, the housed medal number control board 300 can be visually observed when the medal number control board 300 is housed inside.

[0024] The setting change device 48 provided on the back side of the front door 20 is a device for performing a setting change process for changing a setting value and a setting confirmation process for confirming a set setting value, and includes a setting key switch 48a, a setting change switch 48b, a setting display LED 48c, and a setting key cover 48d. Details of the setting change process and the setting confirmation process will be described later. The setting display LED 48c is an LED that displays the setting value being changed in the setting change process and the set setting value in the setting confirmation process, and in this embodiment, is configured by a 7-segment display. The setting key cover 48d is a cover that covers the setting key switch 48a, and by sliding this, it becomes possible to insert and operate a setting key (not shown) into the setting key switch 48a. Note that FIG. 3 shows a state in which the setting key cover 48d covers the setting key switch 48a. Here, the setting value indicates a payout rate that is different for the expected value of the number of medals paid out with respect to the number of medals used in the game, and in this embodiment, there are six levels from 1 to 6. And as the set setting value increases, the payout rate tends to increase. Similarly in this embodiment, as the setting value changes from 1 to 6, the payout rate increases. In the following description, the setting value of 1 is referred to as setting value 1, and similarly, the setting value of 2 is referred to as setting value 2, the setting value of 3 is referred to as setting value 3, the setting value of 4 is referred to as setting value 4, the setting value of 5 is referred to as setting value 5, and the setting value of 6 is referred to as setting value 6.

[0025] Also, the front door 20 has an upper panel 21 and a lower panel 22 on the front side. Since the upper panel 21 is formed of a transparent member, a player located in front of the gaming machine 10 can visually recognize the gaming machine main body 60 (particularly, the upper effect display area 62a, the reel frame 64, and the reel 65 included in the upper effect display device described later) arranged on the back side of the upper panel 21 through the upper panel 21. The lower panel 22 is also formed of a transparent member like the upper panel 21, so a player positioned in front of the gaming machine 10 can visually recognize the lower effect display area 62b of the lower effect display device 63b disposed on the back side of the lower panel 22 through the lower panel 22.

[0026] In addition, the gaming machine main body 60 includes main components for controlling the game played by the gaming machine 10. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, an upper effect display area 62a is formed in the upper part of its front surface, and a reel frame 64 is formed in the lower part of its front surface.

[0027] The upper effect display area 62a is the display screen of the upper effect display device 63a built in the gaming machine main body 60, and in addition to effects and information related to the game of the gaming machine 10, it can display group company names and manufacturing company names described later. Also, the lower effect display area 62b is the display screen of the lower effect display device 63b provided on the front door 20, and can display model names and manufacturing company names described later. Note that, as the upper effect display device 63a and the lower effect display device 63b, for example, a liquid crystal display type display device or the like can be adopted, and the effects displayed in the upper effect display area 62a are linked with the audio output from the speaker 49 and the light emission of the decorative LED 36, and can suitably arouse the interest of the player. Also, the upper effect display area 62a is located above the upper end of the stop button 27 (in the direction away from the bottom plate 90d shown in FIG. 5) when viewed in the vertical direction (the z direction shown in FIGS. 4 and 5), and the lower effect display area 62b is located below the upper end of the stop button 27 (in the direction approaching the bottom plate 90d shown in FIG. 5) when viewed in the vertical direction. Further, in the present embodiment, the upper effect display area 62a is located deeper (in the direction approaching the back side wall 90e shown in FIG. 5) than the lower effect display area 62b when viewed in the depth direction (the y direction shown in FIG. 5).

[0028] The reel frame 64 is a window frame formed on the front side of the reels 65 (65L, 65C, 65R) built into the gaming machine main body 60, and is partitioned into an internal region and an external region. The internal region of the reel frame 64 is formed by a cavity or a transparent member, and a part of each of the reels 65 is visible through the internal region. Further, the external region of the reel frame 64 is formed of an opaque member (including a translucent member or a member obtained by coloring a transparent member), making it difficult to view the reels 65 through the external region.

[0029] Here, the reel 65 is composed of the reels 65L, 65C, and 65R, and these reels are configured to be rotatable by a stepping motor. When the reel 65 in the present embodiment rotates, in principle, the reel 65 rotates from top to bottom, and the direction in which the reel 65 rotates from top to bottom may be referred to as the "forward direction", and the direction in which it rotates from bottom to top may be referred to as the "reverse direction". In addition, each of the reels 65 is provided with a plurality of types of symbols, and the symbols provided on the reel 65 are variably displayed by rotation, and the symbols are stopped and displayed by stopping the rotating reel 65. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the outer circumference of each of the reels 65 is equally divided into 21 frames, and one symbol is provided on each frame. In the following description, each frame arranged on the reel 65L may be referred to as LZ00 to LZ20, each frame arranged on the reel 65C may be referred to as CZ00 to CZ20, and each frame arranged on the reel 65R may be referred to as RZ00 to RZ20.

[0030] Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the types of symbols drawn on the outer circumference of each of the reels 65 will be described. The symbol shown in FIG. 7(a) is a blue symbol imitating the number "7", and is referred to as the "blue 7 symbol" in the following description. The blue 7 symbol is arranged at LZ18, CZ18, and RZ18, and in each of the reels 65, it can be said that the symbol is arranged beyond the maximum number of retracted frames described later (there may be a case where it is impossible to stop on the valid line depending on the operation timing of the stop button 27). The symbol shown in Fig. 7(b) is a red symbol imitating the number "7", which is referred to as the "Red 7 Symbol" in the following description. The Red 7 Symbol is arranged in LZ10, CZ10, and RZ10. Similar to the above-mentioned "Blue 7 Symbol", it can be said that in each of the reels 65, it is a symbol arranged beyond the maximum number of drawn frames. The symbol shown in Fig. 7(c) is a symbol marked with "BAR", which is referred to as the "BAR Symbol" in the following description. The BAR Symbol is arranged in LZ03, CZ03, RZ03, etc. Similar to the above-mentioned "Blue 7 Symbol", it can be said that in each of the reels 65, it is a symbol arranged beyond the maximum number of drawn frames. The symbol shown in Fig. 7(d) is a symbol marked with "REPLAY" meaning replay, which is referred to as the "Replay Symbol" in the following description. The Replay Symbol is arranged in LZ04, CZ01, RZ02, etc. In each of the reels 65, it can be said that it is a symbol that is not arranged beyond the maximum number of drawn frames (it can be stopped on the active line regardless of the operation timing of the stop button 27). The symbol shown in Fig. 7(e) is a symbol imitating a bell, which is referred to as the "Bell Symbol" in the following description. The Bell Symbol is arranged in LZ00, CZ02, RZ01, etc. Similar to the above-mentioned "Replay Symbol", it can be said that in each of the reels 65, it is a symbol that is not arranged beyond the maximum number of drawn frames. The symbol shown in Fig. 7(f) is a symbol imitating a cherry, which is referred to as the "Cherry Symbol" in the following description. The Cherry Symbol is arranged in LZ02, CZ08, RZ00, etc. Similar to the above-mentioned "Blue 7 Symbol", it can be said that in each of the reels 65, it is a symbol arranged beyond the maximum number of drawn frames. The symbol shown in Fig. 7(g) is a symbol imitating a watermelon, which is referred to as the "Watermelon Symbol" in the following description. The Watermelon Symbol is arranged in LZ01, CZ00, RZ11, etc. Similar to the above-mentioned "Blue 7 Symbol", it can be said that in each of the reels 65, it is a symbol arranged beyond the maximum number of drawn frames. The symbol shown in FIG. 7(h) is a symbol marked as "BLANK", which is referred to as the "blank symbol" in the following description. The blank symbol, LZ07, CZ05, RZ05, etc. are arranged, and like the above-mentioned "blue 7 symbol", it can be said that they are symbols arranged beyond the maximum number of drawn frames on each of the reels 65.

[0031] In addition, on each of the reels 65, a detection piece (not shown) that moves as the reel rotates is provided at a position corresponding to the reference position (in this embodiment, LZ00, CZ00, RZ00) (a position on the upstream side in the forward direction by the amount of movement in the braking control state described later), and a reel sensor 66 that does not move as the reel rotates and detects the detection piece is provided. Specifically, a reel sensor 66L is provided for the reel 65L, a reel sensor 66C is provided for the reel 65C, and a reel sensor 66R is provided for the reel 65R. Each of these sensors is configured to be able to detect that each of the reels 65 has reached the reference position.

[0032] Also, inside the reel 65, a reel lighting substrate 67 (67L, 67C, 67R) is provided, and the lighting of the LEDs mounted on the reel lighting substrate 67 facilitates the visual recognition of each symbol represented on the reel 65. That is, the LEDs mounted on the reel lighting substrate 67 function as a backlight for the symbol display by the reel 65.

[0033] The start lever 26 can receive the player's operation as an opportunity to start the game. Here, the player's operation on the start lever 26 is to tilt the start lever 26, which is provided substantially perpendicular to the front door 20 in the initial state, in any direction. And the start lever sensor 44 can detect whether the start lever 26 is in the on state or the off state. More specifically, the start lever sensor 44 detects the start lever 26, which is substantially perpendicular to the front door 20, as being in the off state, and detects the start lever 26 tilted in any direction as being in the on state.

[0034] In this embodiment, when the number of medals used in the game (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "betting number", and this number is stored in the RAM 102 described later) is 1 or less, the game is not started even if the start lever 26 is operated. That is, in this embodiment, the game is configured to be startable only when the betting number is the maximum number (in this embodiment, 3) or 2. Therefore, in order to reach the maximum betting number, it is necessary to subtract the medals stored in the medal number control board 300 of the gaming machine 10 by pressing the bet button 23 to increase the betting number. Here, the storage of medals refers to a function of storing a numerical value (credit) corresponding to the medals owned by the player inside the gaming machine 10 (specifically, the RAM 302 described later). Further, cases where medals are stored (credits are added) include, for example, when medals are lent from the dedicated unit 1000 described later, or when winning a prize in a paying combination. In the following description, lending medals from the dedicated unit 1000 means that, in addition to the medals after converting banknotes into medals in the dedicated unit 1000 being transferred (moved) to the medal number control board 300, the stored medals stored in a membership card or the like are also transferred to the medal number control board 300. Also, when winning the replay combination in the previous game, the replay in that game is activated and the betting number in the previous game is set as the betting number in the current game, and the game can be started without setting new medals to the betting number by pressing the bet button 23.

[0035] The gaming machine 10 also has a maximum bet button 23a and a single bet button 23b as the above bet buttons 23, and operations on each button are detected by sensors provided on the bet button board 45. More specifically, a maximum bet button sensor 45a is provided for the maximum bet button 23a, and a single bet button sensor 45b is provided for the single bet button 23b, and operations on each button are individually detected by these sensors. The maximum bet button 23a is a button that subtracts the maximum amount of credit by the maximum number of bets (3 in this embodiment) in one operation and adds the subtracted amount to the number of bets, thereby setting the number of bets to the maximum. The single bet button 23b is a button that subtracts 1 credit in one operation and adds 1 to the number of bets. When the number of bets has reached the maximum, no matter which of the bet buttons 23 is operated, it is not possible to subtract the credit and add to the number of bets.

[0036] In addition to being used as a means (bet button) for subtracting credit and increasing the number of bets according to the operation as described above, the maximum bet button 23a may also be used as a trigger for an effect (effect button). When the maximum bet button 23a is used as a bet button, it is limited to a state where it is possible to add to the number of bets. However, when the maximum bet button 23a is used as an effect button, it is not limited to this state, and for example, it may adopt any state such as during the re-game operation before the start of the game or during the game. Note that on the bet button board 45, a push button sensor 45c for detecting the pressing of the maximum bet button 23a when the maximum bet button 23a is used as an effect button is provided, which is distinguished from the detection by the maximum bet button sensor 45a. Specifically, the maximum bet button sensor 45a is directly connected to the main board 100, whereas the push button sensor 45c is directly connected to the sub-board 200.

[0037] Also, the settlement button 32 is operated to transfer the number of bets before being used in the game to the credit, and the operation on the settlement button 32 is detected by a settlement button sensor (not shown). When the settlement button 32 is operated, regardless of the current value of the number of bets, all of the number of bets is transferred to the credit by one operation of the settlement button 32.

[0038] In addition, the medal counting button 33 is operated to transfer part or all of the credit stored in the medal count control board 300 to the dedicated unit 1000, and the operation on the medal counting button 33 is detected by the medal counting button sensor 51a provided on the medal counting button board 51. When the medal counting button 33 is pressed briefly, 1 credit is transferred to the dedicated unit 1000. When the medal counting button 33 is pressed and held, every time a certain period of time (in this embodiment, 500 ms) elapses, 50 (or the value if the credit value is less than 50) credits are transferred to the dedicated unit 1000.

[0039] The gaming machine 10 also includes a menu selection button 24 to the left of the above-mentioned bet button 23. The menu selection button 24 is composed of a cross key button 24a mounted on the menu selection button board 46 and a decision button 24b located at the center of the cross key button 24a.

[0040] The menu selection button 24 is a component that accepts operations related to the menu screen. Here, the menu screen refers to a screen that shows the operation method of the gaming machine 10, explanatory information about the game, etc., which is displayed in the upper effect display area 62a. The player can view the menu screen by operating the menu selection button 24. For example, when the decision button 24b is pressed in the standby state, a list of menus and a cursor are displayed in the upper effect display area 62a. When the player operates the cross key button 24a to move the cursor to a position indicating an arbitrary menu, and the cursor indicates any menu and the player presses the decision button 24b, the corresponding menu is displayed in the upper effect display area 62a.

[0041] The menu selection button substrate 46 is provided with a cross key button sensor 46a and a decision button sensor 46b. The cross key button sensor 46a can detect in which direction (any of the up, down, left, or right directions with respect to the center of the decision button 24b) the cross key button 24a is pressed. Also, the decision button sensor 46b can detect that the decision button 24b has been pressed. The cross key button sensor 46a and the decision button sensor 46b are directly connected to the sub-substrate 200 in the same manner as the above-described push button sensor 45c.

[0042] In addition, the gaming machine 10 includes a status display LED 25 that displays information regarding the gaming machine 10, such as the bet amount, on the right side of the above-described bet button 23. The status display LED 25 is composed of a plurality of LEDs or a 7-segment display mounted on the status display LED substrate 42, and is composed of the following eight types of LEDs. The first bet amount display LED 25a is composed of three LEDs, and for each increase in the bet amount by one sheet, the number of lit LEDs increases by one. The second acquired medal count display LED 25b is composed of two 7-segment displays, and represents the number of medals acquired by winning in numbers. The third instruction display LED 25c is composed of two 7-segment displays, and can light up in a manner capable of specifying the operation conditions (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as "operation conditions") related to the stop button 27 described later. The fourth replay display LED 25d is composed of one LED, and lights up when replay is stopped and displayed in the game. The fifth game start display LED 25e is composed of one LED, and indicates that the game start enable condition is satisfied by the lighting of the LED. The sixth insertable display LED 25f is composed of one LED, and indicates that the bet amount can be set by the lighting of the LED. The seventh advantageous mode display LED 25g is composed of one LED, and lights up corresponding to the game mode.

[0043] Furthermore, the gaming machine 10 includes a medal number display LED 28 for displaying the number of credits on the right side of the status display LED 25. The medal number display LED 28 is composed of five 7-segment displays mounted on the medal number display LED substrate 50, and thus, it is configured to be able to display medal numbers from 0 to 99999 in terms of display.

[0044] The stop button 27 accepts an operation (stop operation) of the player that serves as an opportunity for the rotating reel 65 to stop from the player. The stop button 27 can accept (be activated for) the stop operation on the occasion of the establishment of stoppable conditions that are established after the reel 65 starts rotating. The operation of the player on the stop button 27 is to press the stop button 27. The stoppable conditions are preconditions for performing a stop display in the game. Specifically, they are conditions that are established when the rotational speeds of all of the reels 65 (65L, 65C, 65R) reach a predetermined speed and the reference positions of each of the reels 65 are detected. Also, for the following description, in one game, the operation on the first stop button may be expressed as the "first stop operation", the operation on the next stop button as the "second stop operation", and the operation on the last stop button as the "third stop operation".

[0045] Each of the stop buttons 27 (27L, 27C, 27R) is mounted on the stop button substrate 43 and is provided one by one for each of the reels 65. Specifically, the stop button 27L accepts a stop operation for stopping the reel 65L, the stop button 27C accepts a stop operation for stopping the reel 65C, and the stop button 27R accepts a stop operation for stopping the reel 65R. Furthermore, on the stop button substrate 43, there is provided a stop button sensor 43a for individually detecting that the stop buttons 27L, 27C, and 27R have been pressed, and control is performed to stop the rotation of each of the reels 65 in response to the detection by the stop button sensor 43a. That is, the stop buttons 27 and the stop button sensor 43a detect a stop operation that triggers the reel control unit 112, which will be described later, to stop the rotation of the reel 65.

[0046] Also, the stop button 27 in the present embodiment includes a stoppable display LED 27a and is configured to cover its periphery with a light-transmissive member. And the stop button 27 is designed to inform the player of whether the stoppable condition is satisfied by the lighting color of the stoppable display LED 27a. In this way, since the player can determine whether the stoppable condition is satisfied by the color of the stop button 27, the player can smoothly perform the stop operation sequentially.

[0047] In the present embodiment, the stop position of the reel 65 can move up to the maximum number of drawn-in frames (sometimes referred to as the maximum drawn-in range, which is 4 in the present embodiment) based on the position of the reel 65 when the stop button 27 is pressed. Here, the control from when the stop button 27 is pressed until the reel 65 stops is generally referred to as draw-in control.

[0048] The internal area corresponding to each of the reels 65 in the reel frame 64 has a dimension of three frames in the vertical direction. Also, each of the reels 65 is stop-controlled so that three symbols can fit in the vertical direction within the internal area of the reel frame 64, and the player can visually recognize the three symbols through the internal area of the reel frame 64. That is, in the case of the reel 65, since three reels are arranged in the left-right direction, when the reel 65 stops, the player can visually recognize 3 symbols × 3 reels = 9 symbols.

[0049] Here, the substantially straight lines (indicated by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 1) formed by the upper, middle, and lower internal regions of each of the reels 65 are referred to as line L1, line L2, and line L3, respectively. Further, the substantially straight line (indicated by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 1) formed by the upper internal region of the reel 65L, the middle internal region of the reel 65C, and the lower internal region of the reel 65R is referred to as line L4, and the substantially straight line (indicated by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 1) formed by the lower internal region of the reel 65L, the middle internal region of the reel 65C, and the upper internal region of the reel 65R is referred to as line L5. In this embodiment, only substantially straight lines are adopted as the lines in the internal region, but not limited to straight lines, bent lines may also be adopted. Also, lines formed including non-adjacent regions (for example, the upper stage of the reel 65L and the lower stage of the reel 65C) may be adopted. That is, any line may be adopted as long as it is a line formed by arbitrarily selecting the internal region for one symbol from each of the reels 65.

[0050] The effective line in this embodiment is only line L2. Here, the effective line is a line on which a winning determination described later is made for the symbol combination stopped on the line. Specifically, when the combination of symbols corresponding to winning stops and is displayed on the effective line, the prescribed number of medals for the winning is awarded. When the combination of symbols corresponding to a replay stops and is displayed on the effective line, the replay operates in the next game. When the combination of symbols corresponding to an accessory or an accessory continuous operation device stops and is displayed on the effective line, the accessory or the accessory continuous operation device operates in the next game. Details of the symbol combinations corresponding to each role will be described later. Note that the effective line may be a single line as in this embodiment, or may be a plurality of lines.

[0051] During the rotation of the reel 65 (during the execution of the game), in order to attract the player's attention and arouse the gaming interest, various effects are performed, which are composed of the images displayed in the upper effect display area 62a, the sounds output from the speakers 49, or the lighting and extinguishing of the decorative LEDs 36, etc.

[0052] Speaker ports 38 are provided in front of each speaker 49. More specifically, a speaker port 38a is provided in front of the speaker 49a located at the upper right (upper left in FIG. 3) when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, a speaker port 38b is provided in front of the speaker 49b located at the upper left (upper right in FIG. 3) when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, a speaker port 38c is provided in front of the speaker 49c located at the lower left (lower right in FIG. 3) when viewed from the front of the gaming machine, and a speaker port 38d is provided in front of the speaker 49d located at the lower right (lower left in FIG. 3) when viewed from the front of the gaming machine. Note that a large number of cavities are provided in each speaker port 38, and the sounds output from the speakers 49 can be appropriately output.

[0053] The decorative LEDs 36 are arranged so as to surround the upper effect display area 62a or the reel frame 64. More specifically, on the upper right side of the upper effect display area 62a, the decorative LED 36a mounted on the decorative LED substrate 41a and the decorative LED 36b mounted on the decorative LED substrate 41b are arranged. On the lower right side of the upper effect display area 62a, the decorative LED 36c mounted on the decorative LED substrate 41c is arranged. On the lower right side of the reel frame 64, the decorative LED 36d mounted on the decorative LED substrate 41d is arranged. On the lower left side of the reel frame 64, the decorative LED 36e mounted on the decorative LED substrate 41e is arranged. On the lower left side of the upper effect display area 62a, the decorative LED 36f mounted on the decorative LED substrate 41f is arranged. On the upper left side of the upper effect display area 62a, the decorative LED 36g mounted on the decorative LED substrate 41g and the decorative LED 36h mounted on the decorative LED substrate 41h are arranged. Note that each decorative LED 36 may light up in a single color or may be capable of lighting up in multiple colors.

[0054] <Electrical Configuration and Functional Configuration of Pachinko Machine 10> Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the electrical configuration and functional configuration of the pachinko machine 10 in the present embodiment will be described. However, components illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 described above will also be referred to as appropriate. Note that FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the pachinko machine 10, and FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the pachinko machine 10.

[0055] The pachinko machine 10 incorporates, as main components, a main board 100, a sub-board 200, and a medal number control board 300. In FIG. 8, the main board 100, the sub-board 200, or the medal number control board 300 is illustrated as if it were a single electronic board, but it does not necessarily have to be a single electronic board. That is, any of the main board 100, the sub-board 200, or the medal number control board 300 may be realized by combining a plurality of electronic boards.

[0056] Electronic components such as a CPU 101, a RAM 102, a ROM 103, and a random number circuit 104 are mounted on the main board 100, and the connection status with other electronic components such as sensors and boards is as shown in FIG. 8. The main board 100 mainly realizes control related to the progress of the game by executing processing based on data and control signals exchanged among these electronic components and various sensors 40a and the like. Here, the various sensors 40a include the above-described start lever sensor 44, stop button sensor 43a, maximum bet button sensor 45a, single bet button sensor 45b, reel sensor 66, and the like. In addition to the main board 100, the medal number control board 300 described later has restrictions on the capacity of the ROM and the capacity of the RAM in order to enhance security against illegal acts such as unauthorized modification. On the other hand, no such restrictions are provided for the sub-board 200.

[0057] The sub-board 200 is also equipped with electronic components such as a CPU 201, a RAM 202, a ROM 203, and a random number circuit 204, and is connected to other electronic components such as sensors and boards as shown in Fig. 8. The sub-board 200 is connected to the main board 100 via one-way communication, and controls the decorative LED board 41, the speaker 49, the upper performance display device 63a, the lower performance display device 63b, etc. based on control commands sent from the main board 100, and mainly realizes control of the performances related to the game (including control related to the menu screen). Here, the various sensors 40b include a push button sensor 45c, a cross key button sensor 46a, a decision button sensor 46b, and the like.

[0058] Moreover, electronic components such as a CPU 301, a RAM 302, and a ROM 303 are mounted on the medal number control board 300, and the connection state with other electronic components such as sensors and boards is as shown in Fig. 8. The medal number control board 300 is connected to the main board 100 and a dedicated unit 1000 outside the gaming machine 10 by two-way communication, and is configured to be able to move medals by communication between them. Moreover, it is connected to the sub-board 200 by one-way communication (not shown) from the medal number control board 300 to the sub-board 200, and is configured to be able to obtain various information related to the medal number control board 300 (for example, the credit value and the contents of each process executed in the medal number control board 300). Here, the dedicated unit 1000 is different from the dedicated unit 1000 described below, and is configured to accept cards capable of storing information, such as membership cards, and store medals transferred from the medal number control board 300 (credits counted by the medal number control board 300) in the membership card, etc., as saved medals so that they can be discharged. In addition to the electronic components mentioned above, the medal count control board 300 is provided with a medal count clear button and an error reset button on the board, as well as connectors used for connecting to the other boards mentioned above (all not shown).

[0059] Next, the functional configurations of the main board 100 and the sub-board 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 9. Note that the following functional configurations and the functions of each functional configuration are examples, and the device may have a functional configuration not described below, or each functional configuration may have a function not described below. In the same figure, for convenience of explanation, electronic components outside the main board 100 and the sub-board 200 such as the sensors and boards shown in FIG. 8 are also illustrated.

[0060] First, the functional configurations of the main board 100 are roughly classified into a game progress management unit 110 that manages the progress of the game, a state management unit 120 that manages the state related to the game, and a main communication unit 130. Furthermore, the game progress management unit 110 is composed of an internal lottery unit 111, a reel control unit 112, a winning determination unit 113, a medal management unit 114, and a status display LED control unit 115. The state management unit 120 is composed of a setting change management unit 121, a game state management unit 122, a game mode management unit 124, and a main error management unit 125. The main communication unit 130 is composed of a control command transceiver unit 131 and an external signal transmitter unit 132.

[0061] When the game starts, the internal lottery unit 111 determines, by lottery, a winning combination (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an "internal winning combination") from among a plurality of types of winning combinations. More specifically, when the game starts, the internal lottery unit 111 acquires a random number updated by the random number circuit 104 (in this embodiment, a 2-byte random number is used, and the range is 0 to 65535), and sequentially adds the lottery values of the internal lottery table (details will be described later) stored in the ROM 103 to the acquired random number, and determines the winning combination corresponding to the lottery value at which a carry occurs as the internal winning combination. Note that in the internal lottery unit 111, "the internal winning combination is determined by lottery" may be simply expressed as "the internal winning combination is derived".

[0062] When the game starts, the reel control unit 112 waits for the elapse of a predetermined delay time, i.e., a so-called wait time (4.1 s in this embodiment), from the start of the rotation of the reel 65 in the previous game to the start of the rotation of the reel 65 in the current game, and then starts the rotation of each of the reels 65. After that, each time a stop operation is performed, the reel corresponding to the stop operation among the reels 65 is stopped, etc., and the rotation of the reel 65 is individually controlled.

[0063] More specifically, the reel control unit 112 sets a reel control state (acceleration control state, constant speed control state, pulling-in control state, brake control state, stop control state) for each of the reels 65 according to the progress of the game, obtains an excitation pattern corresponding to the currently set reel control state from the excitation patterns stored in the ROM 103, and performs control to output a pulse signal according to the obtained excitation pattern for each of the reel motors 68 (stepping motors), thereby individually controlling the rotation of the reels 65.

[0064] Furthermore, to specifically describe the above reel control states, the acceleration control state is a control state in which a pulse signal is output according to an excitation pattern for accelerating from the start of rotation to a predetermined speed. The constant speed control state is a control state from the end of the acceleration control state until a stop operation is performed. In this control state, a pulse signal is output according to an excitation pattern for maintaining a predetermined speed. The pulling-in control state is a control state in which the corresponding reel is rotated from the stop operation to the stop position. In this control state, similar to the constant speed control state, a pulse signal is output according to an excitation pattern for maintaining a predetermined speed. The brake control state is a control state in which a pulse signal is output according to an excitation pattern for stopping the corresponding reel after reaching the stop position. The stop control state is a control state for maintaining the corresponding reel at the current position. Incidentally, the switching of the reel control state is performed in the main flow of the main board 100 described later, and the output of the pulse signal is performed in a timer interrupt process (not shown) that is performed at a predetermined interval (about 2 ms in this embodiment) in the main board 100.

[0065] Also, when the reel control unit 112 stops each of the reels 65 (switches from the retraction control state to the brake control state), it derives (or reads) candidates for the symbol numbers to be stopped from the stop data stored in the ROM 103, and from the positions of the reels at the timing when the stop operation is performed (the symbol numbers on the reference line), it determines one symbol number as the stop position from the candidates for the symbol numbers within the maximum retraction range (4 frames in this embodiment). Here, the symbol numbers on the reference line for each of the reels 65 are corrected to the symbol numbers at the reference positions (RZ00, CZ00, LZ00 in this embodiment) each time the detection piece is detected by the reel sensor 66 in the timer interrupt process, and are updated according to the number of times the pulse signal is switched thereafter. Furthermore, in the constant speed control state, if the symbol number on the reference line has not been corrected until a predetermined time has elapsed (until a predetermined number of pulse signal switches have been made) after the symbol number on the reference line was last corrected, the reel control unit 112 determines that the corresponding reel has gone out of tune (hereinafter referred to as out-of-tune check), sets the reel control state to the acceleration control state, and re-accelerates the reel.

[0066] The winning determination unit 113 performs a winning determination for determining a winning of a combination of symbols stopped and displayed on the effective line (line L2 in this embodiment) in the game. Incidentally, when performing the winning determination, in addition to the combination of symbols stopped and displayed on the effective line, it may be determined whether the combination of symbols matches the combination derived in the game, and the winning of the combination may be determined.

[0067] The medal management unit 114 controls the increase and decrease of the above-described bet count and the exchange of medals with the medal count control board 300.

[0068] The status display LED control unit 115 controls the above-described status display LED 25.

[0069] The setting change management unit 121 performs setting change processing and setting confirmation processing. Specifically, the setting change processing starts when the setting key switch 48a is operated when the power supply from the power supply device 91 changes from the OFF state to the ON state (hereinafter, may be expressed as "power-on". On the other hand, the change of the power supply from the ON state to the OFF state may be expressed as "power-off"). Each time the setting change switch 48b is operated, the set value is changed in a certain order (in this embodiment, set value 1, set value 2, set value 3, set value 4, set value 5, set value 6, set value 1, set value 2 ···), and the set value at the time when the start lever 26 is operated is determined as the current set value. In the setting change processing, processing for displaying the set value being changed on the setting display LED 48c is also performed. Further, when the setting change processing is executed, all the information held by the main board 100 before the power supply becomes OFF is initialized. In particular, the information includes the bet count. Furthermore, as the timing at which the bet count is cleared during the execution of the setting change processing, any timing may be used as long as it is before the start of the game start processing (step S103 described later) executed after the end of the setting change processing related to the power-on.

[0070] The setting confirmation processing starts when the setting key switch 48a is operated with the power supply ON, and is processing for displaying the already set set value on the setting display LED 48c. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the "already set set value" will be simply referred to as the "set value". In the setting confirmation processing, the information held by the main board 100 is maintained. Further, in the present embodiment, for each of the condition for starting the setting change process and the condition for starting the setting confirmation process, the opening of the front door 20 by the above-described door opening sensor may be added. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the change of an improper setting value and the confirmation of an improper setting value.

[0071] The game state management unit 122 performs control to shift the game state according to the transition conditions among a plurality of types of game states. Details of the types of game states and the transition conditions will be described later.

[0072] The game mode management unit 124 performs control to shift the game mode according to the transition conditions among a plurality of types of game modes. Although details of the types of game modes and the transition conditions will be described later, in the present embodiment, the degree of advantage varies depending on the game mode in which the player stays, and in particular, a game mode with a high degree of advantage can be set in a specific game state (in the present embodiment, during the internal winning in the MB which will be described later).

[0073] In addition to determining whether to set the above-described various error states, the main error management unit 125 determines whether to set an error state using the detection results of various sensors 40a and the like. When it is determined that the state is an error state, the progress of the game is stopped as necessary, and the gaming machine 10 is set to the error state. Note that when setting the error state, preparation for transmitting a control command indicating the occurrence of the error state may be performed, the control command may be transmitted to the control command transmission / reception unit 131, and the occurrence of the error state may be notified using the effect devices (the upper effect display area 62a, the decorative LED 36, the speaker 49, etc.).

[0074] The control command transmission / reception unit 131 performs a process of transmitting a control command for which transmission preparation has been made to the sub-board 200 or the medal number control board 300, and a process of receiving a control command from the medal number control board 300. Here, among the control commands transmitted to the sub-board 200, in addition to the control commands transmitted when an error state occurs, there are control commands transmitted in accordance with the progress of the game. In addition, the control commands transmitted to the medal count control board 300 include a control command indicating that the bet button 23 has been operated, a control command transmitted when medals are awarded upon winning, a control command transmitted when the bet count is settled by operating the settlement button 32, and the like. Further, among the control commands received from the medal count control board 300, there is a control command indicating that the bet count is incremented, and the like. In addition, each control command transmitted and received by the control command transceiver 131 has information corresponding to the type of the control command in addition to information capable of specifying the type of the control command. Further, in the following description, performing the preparation for transmitting a control command and causing the control command transceiver 131 to transmit the control command may be simply expressed as transmitting the control command. Note that the same applies to each control command transmitted or received by the control command receiver 211 and the control command transceiver 304 described later.

[0075] The external signal transmitter 132 is different from the dedicated unit 1000 described above and transmits a signal (outer end signal) indicating the internal state of the gaming machine 10 to an external device (for example, a hall computer or a data display) outside the gaming machine 10. Specifically explaining the information transmitted by the outer end signal, the information includes information indicating that a game has started, information indicating that the AT mode described later has started or that the gaming machine is staying in the AT mode, and information indicating that an error has occurred.

[0076] Next, the functional configuration of the sub-board 200 is roughly classified into a sub-communication unit 210 and a production management unit 220 that manages the production related to the game. Further, the sub-communication unit 210 is composed of a control command receiver 211, and the production management unit 220 is composed of a production control unit 221, a production display control unit 222, an audio control unit 223, and a decorative LED control unit 224. The details of these functional configurations are as follows.

[0077] The control command receiving unit 211 receives the control commands transmitted from the main board 100 and the medal number control board 300, analyzes the received control commands, and updates the information stored in the RAM 202 using the information included in the control commands.

[0078] The effect control unit 221 performs a process of determining the content of the effect to be performed on the effect devices (upper effect display device 63a, lower effect display device 63b, decorative LED 36, speaker 49, etc.) based on the control commands and the like transmitted from the main board 100 and the medal number control board 300.

[0079] When there is an effect to be performed on the upper effect display device 63a or the lower effect display device 63b, the effect display control unit 222 reads the device data corresponding to the effect from the ROM 203, and causes the upper effect display device 63a and the lower effect display device 63b to perform the effect using the device data.

[0080] When there is an effect to be performed on the speaker 49, the audio control unit 223 reads the device data corresponding to the effect from the ROM 203, and causes the speaker 49 to perform the effect using the device data.

[0081] When there is an effect to be performed on the decorative LED board 41, the decorative LED control unit 224 reads the device data corresponding to the effect from the ROM 203, and causes the decorative LED board 41 to perform the effect using the device data.

[0082] Next, the functional configurations of the medal number control board 300 include a control command transceiver unit 304, a credit management unit 305, and a medal error management unit 306. The details of these functional configurations are as follows. Note that some of the processes executed by these functional configurations will be described in detail later.

[0083] The control command transmission / reception unit 304 transmits and receives control commands between the main board 100 and the dedicated unit 1000, analyzes the received control commands, and updates the information stored in RAM 302 using the information contained in the control commands. In addition, the control command transmission / reception unit 304 transmits a control command to the sub-board 200.

[0084] The credit management unit 305 performs processing to control the credit value, such as addition and subtraction, based on control commands sent from the main board 100 or the dedicated unit 1000, or on operations performed on the medal count button 33 or the medal count clear button described below. In this embodiment, the credit value is managed by 2-byte data. Therefore, although the credit value can be stored up to 65536 in terms of data, the upper limit of the credit value is set to 16383 in this embodiment, and a value exceeding the upper limit is not stored.

[0085] The medal error management unit 306 checks the connection with the main board 100 and the dedicated unit 1000, and if there is an abnormality in the connection, it sets up a connection error state, and checks whether there are any abnormalities in the information stored in the RAM 302, such as the credit value, and if there is an abnormality in the check, it sets up a RAM error state.

[0086] <Main flow related to game progress> Next, the main flow relating to the game progress in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 10 to 12. However, the components illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, 8, and 9 described above will also be mentioned, so please refer to them as appropriate. In particular, in the following description, the functions shown in Figure 9 may be cited as entities that perform processing, but the processing is not necessarily realized only by those entities.

[0087] 10 to 12 are flow charts showing the main flow of the main board 100 relating to the progress of a game in this embodiment, and the processing relating to this flow is executed when the power is turned on. The main board 100 can perform one game while performing a series of processes from step S103 to step S143 shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, and can repeat the game by repeating the series of processes. Note that each process shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 is a specific example, and processes other than those described here may be performed by the main board 100.

[0088] First, steps S101 to S119 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. In the first step S101, initial setting processing related to the main board 100 is performed. The initial setting processing related to the main board 100 is performed when the power supply is started, and is a process that is not performed again until the power supply is cut off and then the power supply is started again. More specifically, in this process, if the setting key switch 48a is operated, the backup information (including information specifying the bet number) held at the time of power-off is discarded (cleared), the above-described setting change process is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S103. In the present embodiment, a setting change start command is transmitted to the sub-board 200 at the timing when the setting change process is started, and a setting change end command is transmitted to the sub-board 200 at the timing when the setting change process is completed. On the other hand, if the setting key switch 48a is not operated, in this process, on the condition that there is no abnormality in the backup information held at the time of power-off (in the present embodiment, the checksum value is normal), a process of returning to the state at the time of power-off (if the state at the time of power-off is during a game involving the rotation of the reels, during that game) based on the backup information is performed, and then the process proceeds to step S103. At this time, a power-off return command related to the main board 100 is transmitted to the sub-board 200. If there is an abnormality in the backup information, the game cannot be resumed (RAM error state), so the execution of the above-described setting change process is awaited. At this time, a RAM error command that can identify the occurrence of the abnormality is transmitted to the sub-board 200.

[0089] In step S103, game start processing necessary in advance to start the next game is performed. In the game start processing, processing for saving various information related to the previous game, processing for clearing information indicating the respective stop positions of the reels 65 stopped in the previous game and the combination of symbols stopped on the effective lines, processing for acquiring set values, etc. are performed. In step S105, medal reception start processing, which is preparation processing for setting the bet amount for the next game, is performed. In the medal reception start processing, processing for making it possible to receive information related to the bet amount from the medal number control board 300, processing for setting the same bet amount as the bet amount set in the previous game when winning the replay combination in the previous game, etc. are performed. In step S107, it is determined whether the replay is operating. If the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S111. If the condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0090] In step S109, medal management processing, which is processing related to medals performed based on the detected operation or the state of the gaming machine 10, is performed. In the medal management processing, when detecting the pressing of the bet button 23, processing for transmitting medal request information including the number of medals corresponding to the pressed bet button 23 to request the medal number control board 300, processing for adding the medals transferred from the medal number control board 300 to the bet amount, processing for transferring all of the bet amounts that can be settled to the medal number control board 300 when detecting the pressing of the settlement button 32, etc. are performed.

[0091] In step S111, a reel rotation start check, which is a check as to whether the game start condition is satisfied, is performed. In the reel rotation start check, on the premise of detecting the operation of the start lever 26, for example, it is checked whether the bet amount has reached the maximum amount. In step S113, it is determined whether the game start condition is satisfied in the reel rotation start check. If the condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S115. If the condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S107. In step S115, an internal lottery is conducted using an internal lottery table to determine the internally winning roles. In step S117, a winning role flag setting is performed to store, in a corresponding area of the RAM 102, the internally winning roles derived in step S115, or the losses in the case of non-winning.

[0092] In step S119, a game start-time game mode management process is performed. In this process, for example, a process of controlling the instruction display LED 25c in a lighting mode capable of specifying the operation conditions is performed. Furthermore, in the game start-time game mode management process, a process of transmitting an internal winning command to the sub-board 200 is also performed. The internal winning command includes at least information capable of specifying the derived internally winning roles, the current game state, and the current game mode. As a result, it becomes possible to execute a notification capable of specifying the operation conditions by the device (in this embodiment, the upper effect display device 63a) managed by the sub-board 200. In this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the operation conditions specified by the instruction display LED 25c in one game and the operation conditions specified by the notification executed by the device managed by the sub-board 200 in the one game are the same.

[0093] Hereinafter, steps S121 to S135 will be described with reference to FIG. 11. In step S121, it is determined whether the wait time has elapsed. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S123. If this condition is not satisfied, the process returns to the determination in step S121. In step S123, the reel control state of each of the reels 65 (when this process is performed due to the occurrence of out-of-tune, the rotating reel, that is, the reel set in the constant speed control state) is set to the acceleration control state, and the rotation of the reel set in the acceleration control state is started. Thus, when returning to the determination in step S121, since the rotation of the reel 65 is not started, the reel control unit 112 waits for the elapse of the wait time, and the rotation of the reel 65 will be started.

[0094] In step S125, it is determined whether the rotational speeds of all the reels set to the acceleration control state among the reels 65 have reached a predetermined speed (the output of the pulse signal has ended according to the excitation pattern corresponding to the acceleration control state). If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S127. If this condition is not satisfied, the process returns to the start of step S125. In this determination, when the rotational speed of the reel set to the acceleration control state reaches the predetermined speed, it is sequentially switched from the acceleration control state to the constant speed control state. Further, in this determination, after all of the reels have been switched to the constant speed control state, the process does not proceed to step S127 but waits until the sensors corresponding to the reels among the reel sensors 66 have detected all of their respective detection pieces. After this waiting, all of the stop buttons corresponding to the reels are enabled, and the process proceeds to step S127.

[0095] In step S127, the above-described out-of-tune check is performed on the reels among the reels 65 that are set to the constant speed control state. In step S129, it is determined whether out-of-tune has occurred in the out-of-tune check. If this condition is satisfied, the process returns to step S123. If this condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S131. Thus, for the rotating reels among the reels 65, if it is determined that out-of-tune has occurred, the process of step S123 (reel restart) is performed again on the rotating reels. In step S131, it is determined whether there has been an operation (stop operation) on the enabled stop button. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S133. If this condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S127.

[0096] In step S133, a reel stop process is performed. The reel stop process invalidates stop buttons other than the stop button on which a stop operation has been performed, and as described above, switches the reel corresponding to the stop button on which the stop operation has been performed from the constant speed control state to the pull-in control state, derives the symbol number that becomes the stop position, and at the timing when the symbol position of the reel has advanced to the derived stop position, switches the reel from the pull-in control state to the brake control state to stop the reel. Note that after the output of the pulse signal ends according to the excitation pattern corresponding to the brake control state, it is switched to the stop control state, and the reel is held at the stop position. Also, in the reel stop process, a process in which a stop command is transmitted to the sub communication unit 210 via the control command transmission / reception unit 131 is also performed. The control command includes at least information capable of specifying the type of the stopped reel (any one of reel 65L, reel 65C, and reel 65R) and the stopped position (symbol number) of the reel.

[0097] In step S135, it is determined whether or not all of the reels 65 have stopped. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S137, and if this condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S127. Thus, when not all of the reels 65 have stopped, the processes of steps S127 to S135 are repeated.

[0098] Hereafter, steps S137 to S143 will be described with reference to FIG. 12. In step S137, the above-described winning determination is performed, and the winning combination is determined. In step S139, a state transition process for shifting the game state is performed.

[0099] In step S141, game end-time game mode management processing is performed. In this process, processing for shifting the game mode, processing for controlling the lighting state of the advantageous mode display LED 25g, and the like are performed. Also, in the game end game mode management process, a process of transmitting a game end command to the sub-board 200 is also performed. The control command includes information such as the winning combination determined as a winning, the updated game state, and information capable of specifying the updated game mode.

[0100] In step S143, the number of medals corresponding to the winning combination determined as a winning is awarded. The medals awarded in step S143 are transferred to the medal number control board 300 and stored as credits.

[0101] <Main flow of the medal number control board> Next, the main flow of the medal number control board 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the main flow of the medal number control board 300, and the process related to this flow is a process executed when the power is turned on, that is, triggered by the power being turned on to the medal number control board 300.

[0102] As shown in FIG. 13, in the first step S201 in the main flow of the medal number control board 300, the initial setting process related to the medal number control board 300 is executed. In the initial setting process related to the medal number control board 300, for example, a process of clearing the credit according to the operation state of the medal number clear button at the time of power-on is executed. The details of this process will be described later.

[0103] In step S203, it is determined whether there is lending information. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S205. If this condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S207. Here, the lending information is information indicating medals transmitted from the dedicated unit 1000 outside the gaming machine 10. In step S205, credit addition processing related to lending information is executed. In this processing, the number of medals specified by the lending information is added to the credit. Note that in the dedicated unit 1000, when the credit addition processing ends, the number of medals stored in the dedicated unit 1000 is subtracted by the number of medals related to the credit addition processing. Also, in this embodiment, since 16383 is set as the upper limit value of the credit, when the upper limit value can be exceeded by receiving lending information, a control command indicating that is transmitted to the dedicated unit 1000 so as not to execute the credit addition processing related to the lending information.

[0104] In step S207, it is determined whether there is medal request information. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S209. If this condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S211. Here, as described above, the medal request information is transmitted from the main board 100 when the bet button 23 is operated. In step S209, credit subtraction processing is executed. In this processing, the number of medals specified by the medal request information is transmitted to the main board 100, and the number of medals is subtracted from the credit. Note that in this embodiment, when the credit is less than the number of medals specified by the medal request information, the credit subtraction processing is not executed. However, in this case, all of the current credit may be transmitted to the main board 100, and the number of transmitted medals may be subtracted from the credit.

[0105] In step S211, it is determined whether there is credit addition information. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S213. If this condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S215. Here, the credit addition information is information transmitted from the main board 100 when the number of bets stored in the main board 100 is settled, or when it is determined that a winning combination with a payout has been won in a winning determination. In step S213, credit addition processing related to credit addition information is executed. In this process, the number of medals specified by the credit addition information related to this process is added to the credit. In particular, in the main board 100, when the credit addition process related to the bet number ends, the bet number is cleared to zero.

[0106] In step S215, it is determined whether the count button has been operated. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S217. If this condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step S203. In step S217, credit counting processing is executed. In this process, a part or all of the current credit is transmitted to the dedicated unit 1000, and the credit is decreased by the number of medals transmitted. More specifically, when the count button is pressed once, if the credit at that time is 50 or less, all of the current credit is transferred to the dedicated unit 1000. On the other hand, if the credit at that time is 50 or more, 50 medals' worth of credit is transferred to the dedicated unit 1000. Further, when the count button is pressed and held, every time a certain period (1 s in this embodiment) elapses, the same processing as when the count button is pressed once is executed until the long press of the count button ends or the credit after subtraction becomes zero.

[0107] As described above, in this embodiment, the main board 100 and the medal number control board 300 are configured to be able to communicate with each other, and the medal number control board 300 and the dedicated unit 1000 are configured to be able to communicate with each other, whereby the above-described medal-less slot machine is realized. Although illustration is omitted, in the timer interrupt process in the medal count control board 300, it is determined whether the mutual communication between the main board 100 and the medal count control board 300 and the mutual communication between the medal count control board 300 and the dedicated unit 1000 are normal. If there is an abnormality in any of these mutual communications, the progress of the main flow of the medal count control board 300 is stopped until it is determined that the error release button has been operated and the abnormality has been eliminated by the process executed by the operation. The execution of the timer interrupt process is permitted upon the completion of the initial setting process related to the medal count control board 300. Furthermore, in the timer interrupt process, control is also executed to turn on the medal count display LED 28 so as to display the value of the current credit, whereby the player can identify the value of the current credit.

[0108] <Regarding the initial setting process related to the medal count control board> Next, with reference to FIG. 14, the details of the medal count control board initial setting process, which is the initial setting process related to the medal count control board 300, will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the medal count control board initial setting process.

[0109] As shown in FIG. 14, in the first step S301 in the medal count control board initial setting process, it is determined whether the medal count clear button was operated at the time of power-on. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S305. If this condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S303.

[0110] In step S303, it is determined whether there is an abnormality in the return information. If this condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S305. If this condition is not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S309. Here, the return information refers to the information stored in the RAM 302 of the medal count control board 300. The determination as to whether there is an abnormality in the return information is composed of a determination as to whether the power-off flag set to ON in the power-off process executed when the power of the medal count control board 300 is turned off is ON, and a determination as to whether the checksum value of the data saved in the backup area of the RAM 302 during the power-off process matches the checksum value in the area after power-on (so-called checksum). If there is an abnormality in any of these determinations, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the return information in the determination as to whether there is an abnormality in the return information.

[0111] In step S305, by setting zero for the credit, the value of the credit is cleared. In this embodiment, this determination is executed regardless of the value of the credit. In step S307, a credit clear command that can identify that the value of the credit has been cleared is transmitted. The control command is transmitted to the sub-board 200 and the dedicated unit 1000, and the medal count control board initial setting process is terminated.

[0112] In step S309, the credit is restored to the value before power-off. In step S311, a power-off return command related to the medal count control board 300 is transmitted, and the medal count control board initial setting process is terminated. The control command includes information that can identify the current value of the credit and is transmitted to the sub-board 200.

[0113] Thus, in this embodiment, in both cases where the credit is cleared when the medal count clear button is operated at power-on and where the credit is cleared when there is an abnormality in the return information at power-on, the same control command (credit clear command) is transmitted to the sub-board 200 and the dedicated unit 1000. Also, as described above, in the present embodiment, the processes according to step S305 and step S307 are executed regardless of the value of the credit when the medal number control board initial setting process is executed.

[0114] <Regarding the presence or absence of clearing of the number of medals in a gaming machine> As described above, in the present embodiment, according to the operation state of the setting key switch 48a and the operation state of the medal number clear button at the time of power-on, the bet number and the credit are individually determined to be cleared, and when clearing is necessary, the target number of medals is cleared. Hereinafter, the details will be described with reference to FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a diagram summarizing the presence or absence of clearing of the number of medals according to the operation state at the time of power-on.

[0115] As shown in FIG. 15, when the setting key switch 48a is OFF and the medal number clear button is OFF at the time of power-on, both the bet number and the credit are not cleared and return to the state at the time of power-off. Here, in any of the operation units, the ON state means that the operation unit is operated, and the OFF state means that the operation unit is not operated. When the setting key switch 48a is OFF and the medal number clear button is ON at the time of power-on, the bet number does not clear and returns to the state at the time of power-off, while the credit is cleared. When the setting key switch 48a is ON and the medal number clear button is OFF at the time of power-on, the bet number is cleared along with the execution of the setting change process, while the credit is not cleared and returns to the state at the time of power-off. When the setting key switch 48a is ON and the medal number clear button is ON at the time of power-on, the bet number is cleared along with the execution of the setting change process, and the credit is also cleared. Note that, regarding the medal number control board 300, when there is an abnormality in the return information described above at the time of power-on, the same handling as when the medal number clear button is ON is performed.

[0116] As described above, in the gaming machine 10 according to the present embodiment, when the setting key switch 48a is ON and the medal number clear button is OFF at the time of power-on, the bet number is cleared as the setting change process is executed. Further, when the setting key switch 48a is OFF and the medal number clear button is ON at the time of power-on, the credit is cleared. In particular, in the gaming machine 10 according to the present embodiment, when the setting key switch 48a is ON and the medal number clear button is OFF at the time of power-on, the bet number is cleared as the setting change process is executed, while the credit is not cleared and returns to the state at the time of power-off. Also, when the setting key switch 48a is OFF and the medal number clear button is ON at the time of power-on, the credit is cleared, while the bet number is not cleared and returns to the state at the time of power-off. Furthermore, when the setting key switch 48a is ON and the medal number clear button is ON at the time of power-on, both the bet number and the credit are cleared. In the present embodiment, when determining whether or not the bet number is cleared and whether or not the credit is cleared, the open / closed state of the front door 20 at the time of power-on is not referred to, but the open / closed state may be referred to. More specifically, regarding the presence or absence of clearing of the bet number and the presence or absence of clearing of the credit shown in FIG. 15, when the setting key switch 48a is ON and the front door 20 is in the closed state at the time of power-on, the setting key switch 48a may be treated as OFF, and when the medal number clear button is ON and the front door 20 is in the closed state at the time of power-on, the medal number clear button may be treated as OFF.

[0117] As described above, the gaming machine 10 according to the present embodiment includes an upper effect display area 62a (upper effect display device 63a) located above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction, and a lower effect display area 62b (lower effect display device 63b) located below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. By the way, these days, in order to smoothly apply to the Security Telecommunications Association to test the performance of a gaming machine to see if it can be installed in a hall, etc., one gaming machine manufacturer generally has multiple manufacturing companies that manufacture gaming machines, and these manufacturing companies are generally treated as one group. Then, for example, when a trial play video or a practice video is viewed through a telecommunications circuit, it becomes difficult to tell which gaming machine manufacturer (group) the gaming machine appearing in the viewed video belongs to, or when a problem occurs with a gaming machine installed in a hall, it becomes difficult to tell which manufacturing company the hall staff should contact, etc. problems occur. On the other hand, the gaming machine 10 according to the present embodiment uses the upper effect display area 62a and the lower effect display area 62b to make it easy to tell which gaming machine manufacturer the gaming machine appearing in the viewed video belongs to (hereinafter, the first function), and to make it easy to tell which manufacturing company the hall staff should contact (hereinafter, the second function). Hereinafter, the details of these functions will be described.

[0118] <Regarding the first function> First, the details of the first function will be described with reference to FIG. 16(a). FIG. 16(a) is a diagram showing a specific example of an image displayed in the upper effect display area 62a and the lower effect display area 62b in the non-gaming state and with the front door 20 closed. Note that the non-gaming state refers to a state in which the game is not being executed and the game can be executed. Also, the closed state of the front door 20 refers to a state in which the door opening sensor provided on the right edge side of the outer frame 90 is OFF, and the open state of the front door 20 described later refers to a state in which the door opening sensor provided on the right edge side of the outer frame 90 is ON. Also, the size of the characters shown in FIG. 16(a) corresponds to the size of each display itself.

[0119] As shown in FIG. 16(a), in the present embodiment, in the non-gaming state and with the front door 20 closed, the group name is displayed in the display area 621 of the upper effect display area 62a located above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction (region Z1), so that the entire display of the group name in region Z1 can be visually recognized. Furthermore, in a non-game state with the front door 20 closed, the name of the manufacturing company is displayed in the display area 622 of the lower effect display area 62b, which is located below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction (area Z2), so that the entire display of the name of the manufacturing company in area Z2 can be visually recognized. Here, the group name is the name of a group to which a plurality of manufacturing companies including the company that manufactures the gaming machine (the gaming machine having the display of the group name) belong. In addition to the plurality of manufacturing companies, the group may include a parent company that has the plurality of manufacturing companies as its subsidiaries, or companies related to the plurality of manufacturing companies or the parent company. Also, the manufacturing company name is the name of the company that manufactures the gaming machine (the gaming machine having the display of the manufacturing company name), and the display of the manufacturing company name contributes to identifying the manufacturing company to which the hall staff should make inquiries. In this embodiment, the display of the group name starts when a certain period of time (180,000 ms) has elapsed since the end of the most recent game and the machine is in a non-game state, and the display ends when the game starts. The end of the most recent game means the end of step S143 (see FIG. 12) related to the game.

[0120] In this way, in the gaming machine according to this embodiment, in a non-game state with the front door 20 closed, the entire group name can be visually recognized in the area above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. According to this, when viewing a trial play video or a practical video, it is easy to recognize which gaming machine manufacturer (group) the gaming machine appearing in the viewed video belongs to. This is because, in order to make it easier to view the upper effect display area 62a and the reel 65 when viewing these videos, the shooting angle related to the shooting of these videos is likely to be limited to the area above the upper end of the stop button 27. In order to achieve the above effect, the reference operation unit is not limited to the stop button 27, and any operation unit that can be operated in a state where the front door 20 is closed, such as a bet button (functioning as an effect button) or a start lever, may be adopted. This also applies to each of the following inventions. Also, in this embodiment, when the game machine is not in a gaming state and the front door 20 is closed, the entire group name is visible in a region above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. However, the period during which the entire group name is visible depends only on the closed state of the front door 20, regardless of whether the game machine is in a non-gaming state or not, and also regardless of the length of that visible period.

[0121] Therefore, it can be said that the gaming machine 10 has a first display (display of the manufacturing company name) that can identify the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, and a second display (display of the group name) that is different from the first display and can identify the group to which the manufacturing company belongs. In a state where the opening / closing body (front door 20) is closed, the entire second display is visible in a first region (region Z1) above the upper end of a predetermined operation means (stop button 27) when viewed in the vertical direction. In the present invention, the phrase "the entire second display is visible" means that the entire second display is visible when viewing the gaming machine directly. Also, although the manufacturing company name in this embodiment is composed of characters, in the above first display, symbols or logos may be used instead of or in addition to the characters. This also applies to the above second display. Furthermore, in the present invention, it is allowed that one manufacturing company (for example, the one with the largest scale) among a plurality of manufacturing companies included in one group coincides with the group related to the one group. In that case, these displays may be made different from each other by changing the font or color of the characters constituting these names, making one an abbreviation and the other a formal name, making one with a logo and the other without a logo, etc.

[0122] In addition, in the present embodiment, in a non-game state and when the front door 20 is in a closed state, the name of the manufacturing company is configured to be unviewable in a region above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. According to this, when viewing trial play videos or practice videos, it is possible to prevent confusion between the group name and the manufacturing company name.

[0123] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it has a first display (display of the manufacturing company name) that enables identification of the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, and a second display (display of the group name) that is different from the first display and enables identification of the group to which the manufacturing company belongs. In a state where the opening / closing body (front door 20) is closed, the first display is unviewable in a region above the upper end of a predetermined operation means (stop button 27) when viewed in the vertical direction, and the entire second display is viewable in that region. In other words.

[0124] As described above, in the present embodiment, in the upper effect display area 62a, the display of the group name is made from a state where the group name is not displayed. According to this, it is possible to make it easier to recognize the display of the group name. This is due to the fact that the timing at which the display of the image starts is such that the display of the image is easily recognized. In addition, in order to achieve the above effect, as conditions for starting the display of the group name, conditions other than the conditions according to the present embodiment, such as the start or end of the above-described AT mode, may be adopted.

[0125] Therefore, it can be said that the second display (display of the group name) starts to be displayed based on the fulfillment of a predetermined condition.

[0126] In particular, in the present embodiment, the display of the group name starts during a non-game state. According to this, it is possible to make it easier to recognize the display of the group name without disturbing the display during the game. In achieving the above effect, as long as the condition for starting the display of the group name is a condition satisfied during non-game play, such as the operation of the menu selection button 24 during non-game play, conditions other than the conditions according to this embodiment may be adopted.

[0127] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it can be said that the above predetermined condition is a condition that can be satisfied during non-game play.

[0128] Also, in the gaming machine according to this embodiment, when it is in the non-game state and the front door 20 is closed, the entire manufacturing company name is visible in the area below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. According to this, when viewing the demonstration video or the practice video, while preventing confusion between the group name and the manufacturing company name, it is easy to identify the manufacturing company to which the hall staff should make inquiries in case of problems with the gaming machine or other situations. In achieving the effect, when it is in the non-game state and the front door 20 is closed, the entire manufacturing company name is visible in the area below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. However, the period during which the entire manufacturing company name is visible is not limited to whether it is in the non-game state or not as long as the front door 20 is closed, and the length of the visible period is also not limited.

[0129] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it can be said that in the state where the opening / closing body (front door 20) is closed, the entire first display (display of the manufacturing company name) is visible in the second area (area Z2) below the predetermined operation means (stop button 27) when viewed in the vertical direction.

[0130] Also, as shown in FIG. 16(a), in this embodiment, when it is in the non-game state and the front door 20 is closed, the model name (title) is displayed in the display area 623 of the lower effect display area 62b located below the upper end of the stop button 27 (area Z2) when viewed in the vertical direction, so that the entire model name is visible in the area Z2. Here, unlike the group name and the manufacturing company name described above, the model name refers to the name of the gaming machine itself (the gaming machine having the display of the model name).

[0131] <Regarding the Second Function> Next, the details of the second function will be described with reference to FIGS. 16(b), 17, and 18. FIG. 16(b) is a diagram showing a specific example of an image displayed in the upper effect display area 62a and the lower effect display area 62b in the non-game state and with the front door 20 open. FIG. 17(a) is a timing chart when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state during the non-game state, and FIG. 17(b) is a timing chart when the front door 20 is switched from the open state to the closed state during the non-game state. FIG. 18(a) is a modified example of the display in the display area 621 when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state during the non-game state, and FIG. 18(b) is a modified example of the display in the display areas 622 and 623 when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state during the non-game state. In particular, in these drawings, the solid line surrounding each display indicates the range where the display exists.

[0132] As shown in FIG. 16(b), in the present embodiment, in the non-game state and with the front door 20 open, in addition to the manufacturing company name, additional information is displayed in the display area 621 of the upper effect display area 62a located above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction (region Z1), so that the entire manufacturing company name is visible in region Z1. Here, the additional information in the present embodiment is the telephone number and address of the manufacturing company name displayed in the display area 621, but the content is not limited as long as it is information related to the manufacturing company. Furthermore, in the non-game state and with the front door 20 open, the name of the manufacturing company is displayed in the display area 622 of the lower effect display area 62b, which is located below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction (area Z2), so that the entire name of the manufacturing company is visible in area Z2. However, unlike the non-game state and the closed state of the front door 20, in the non-game state and with the front door 20 open, the model name is not displayed in the display area 623 of the lower effect display area 62b.

[0133] Therefore, as shown in Fig. 17(a), in the gaming machine according to the present embodiment, when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state during the non-game state, the display of the group name is switched to the display of the manufacturing company name in area Z1. On the other hand, in area Z2, the display of the manufacturing company name is maintained even when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state during the non-game state.

[0134] In this way, in the gaming machine according to the present embodiment, when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state during the non-game state, the entire name of the manufacturing company is visible above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. According to this, when an abnormality (such as an error) occurs in the gaming machine, the manufacturing company to which the hall staff should make an inquiry can be made clear. This is because when an abnormality occurs in the gaming machine, the hall staff opens the front door 20 for the purpose of checking the substrate itself inside the gaming machine (the back in the case of a pachinko machine) or the harness connecting the substrates. In addition, in order to achieve the above effect, when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state during the non-game state, it does not matter whether the entire group name is visible above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. Also, although different from the present embodiment, when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state during the non-game state, it is allowed that the name of the manufacturing company becomes non-displayed (invisible) below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, when not playing and with the front door 20 open, the entire manufacturer's name is visible vertically above the top of the stop button 27, but the period during which the entire manufacturer's name is visible does not matter whether the game is not being played or not, and the length of the period during which the manufacturer's name is visible does not matter, as long as the front door 20 is open. This also applies to subsequent inventions.

[0135] Therefore, in other words, in a specified case in which the opening / closing body (front door 20) of the gaming machine 10 is opened from a closed state, the entire first display (display of the manufacturer's name) becomes visible in at least the first area (area Z1).

[0136] In particular, in this embodiment, when the front door 20 is switched from a closed state to an open state while not playing, the group name becomes hidden (unvisible) above the top end of the stop button 27 when viewed vertically. This will prevent hall staff from mistaking the group name for the manufacturer that they should contact if an abnormality occurs with a gaming machine. In order to achieve this effect, it is acceptable for the visibility of the group name display to be reduced, for example, by making part of the group name display invisible when the front door 20 is switched from a closed state to an open state during non-play, as in the modified example shown in Figure 18(a).

[0137] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, in the above specified case, it can be said that the second display (display of the group name) related to the first area (area Z1) is not visible, or the visibility of the second display related to the first area is reduced compared to the state in which the opening / closing body is closed.

[0138] Furthermore, in the modified example shown in Figure 18(a), the visibility of the group name display is reduced by displaying the name of the manufacturer and additional information when the front door 20 is switched from a closed state to an open state (in this embodiment, the display of the name of the manufacturer and additional information). According to this, when an abnormality occurs in the gaming machine, the effect of making it easier for the hall staff to identify the manufacturing company to which they should make an inquiry can be enhanced.

[0139] Also, although different from the present embodiment, regarding the display content related to the display of the manufacturing company name in the display area 622 (which is maintained even when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state), and the display content related to the display of the manufacturing company name in the display area 621, these display contents may be made different by changing the font of the characters constituting them, the color of the characters, abbreviating one and using the official name for the other, using a logo for one and not using a logo for the other, etc. This can also enhance the effect of making it easier for the hall staff to identify the manufacturing company to which they should make an inquiry when an abnormality occurs in the gaming machine.

[0140] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, in the above-described predetermined case, it can be said that the state where the entire first display (display of the manufacturing company name) is visible in the second area (area Z2) is maintained, and the display content of the first display related to the first area and the display content of the first display related to the second area are different.

[0141] Regarding the invention related to the second function described above, the display position of the manufacturing company name in the state where the front door 20 is opened is not limited to the position according to the present embodiment (above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction), and may be below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction (for example, the display area 623). Similarly, the display position of the group name is not limited to the position according to the present embodiment (above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction), and may be below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction (for example, the display area 623).

[0142] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it has a first display (display of the manufacturing company name) that can identify the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, and a second display (display of the group name) that is different from the first display and can identify the group to which the manufacturing company belongs. When the opening / closing body (front door 20) is in the closed state, the entire second display is visible. When the opening / closing body is in the open state, the second display is not visible, or the visibility of the second display is reduced compared to the state where the opening / closing body is closed, and the entire first display is visible. In other words.

[0143] In particular, in this embodiment, as described above, when the front door 20 is in the closed state, the entire manufacturing company name is visible. According to this, when an abnormality (such as an error) occurs in the gaming machine, the manufacturing company can be recognized without opening the front door 20.

[0144] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it can be said that when the opening / closing body (front door 20) is in the closed state, the entire first display (display of the manufacturing company name) is visible.

[0145] Also, as in the modified example shown in FIG. 18(b), in the closed state of the front door 20, a part of the display of the manufacturing company name may be invisible, and in the open state of the front door 20, the entire display of the manufacturing company name may be visible. According to this, it is possible to prevent confusion between the display of the manufacturing company name and the display of the group name during the game when the front door 20 is likely to be in the closed state. In addition, in order to achieve this effect, in the closed state of the front door 20, all of the display of the manufacturing company name may be made invisible. Furthermore, when the front door 20 changes from the closed state to the open state, the display of the group name in the display area 621 may be maintained. In this case, it is preferable to make the display of the manufacturing company name more recognizable than the display of the group name, for example, by making the display of the group name in the open state of the front door 20 smaller than the display of the manufacturing company name in the open state of the front door 20.

[0146] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it has a first display (display of the manufacturing company name) that can identify the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, and a second display (display of the group name) that is different from the first display and can identify the group to which the manufacturing company belongs. In a state where the opening / closing body (front door 20) is closed, at least a part of the first display is not visible, and the entire second display is visible. In a state where the opening / closing body is open, the entire first display is visible, and the entire second display is visible. In other words, it can be said like this.

[0147] Furthermore, in a state where the opening / closing body (front door 20) is open, it can be said that the first display (display of the manufacturing company name) is more easily recognized than the second display (display of the group name).

[0148] Also, in the modified example shown in FIG. 18(b), in a closed state of the front door 20, a part of the display of the manufacturing company name is not visible, and in an open state of the front door 20, the entire display of the manufacturing company name becomes visible. Therefore, after recognizing where the display of the manufacturing company name is in the closed state of the front door 20, the display of the manufacturing company name is recognized in the open state of the front door 20. Thus, it is possible to make it easier to recognize the manufacturing company name in the open state of the front door 20.

[0149] Also, as described above, in this embodiment, when the front door 20 is in an open / closed state, the display of the group name becomes invisible, and when the front door 20 is in an open state, the entire display of the group name is visible. On the other hand, regarding the display of the manufacturing company name, the entire display is visible regardless of the open / closed state of the front door 20. Regarding such a relationship, the open state of the front door 20 may be replaced with a state in which any state related to the gaming machine has occurred, and the closed state of the front door 20 may be replaced with a state in which no state related to the gaming machine has occurred. Here, as an arbitrary state related to the above gaming machine, there can be adopted a non-returnable error that requires setting changes or RAM clearing for resolution, a game stop state (a state where the so-called complete function is activated) set when the net increase in the number of medals from a predetermined start position (for example, the state where the most medals are sucked in) reaches a specified number (for example, 19,000 medals), etc., a state where the progress of the game is restricted, or a state where the progress of the game is permitted, such as a state where a specific combination is internally won. Note that, similar to the present embodiment, the group name does not need to be constantly displayed during a period when no arbitrary state related to the gaming machine has occurred, and it may be displayed in a part of that period.

[0150] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it has a first display (display of the manufacturing company name) that can identify the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, and a second display (display of the group name) that is different from the first display and can identify the group to which the manufacturing company belongs. For the second display, in the case of a specific state, at least a part of the second display is unrecognizable, and in at least a part of the case where it is not a specific state, the entire second display is recognizable. In both the case of a specific state and the case where it is not a specific state, the entire first display is recognizable. According to this, in the above specific state, by preventing confusion between the first display and the second display, it is possible to make the first display easier to recognize.

[0151] Furthermore, it can be said that the above specific state includes a state where the progress of the game is restricted. Also, it can be said that the above specific state includes a state where the progress of the game is permitted.

[0152] In particular, it is preferable that the arbitrary state related to the above gaming machine is a state where a predetermined error has occurred. Note that the content of the above predetermined error is not limited, but for example, a state where the progress of the game is restricted as described above, a state where the reel 65 is out of tune, or a state where an abnormal winning (winning of a combination that is not internally won) has occurred can be adopted as the predetermined error. Also, similar to the present embodiment, the group name does not need to be constantly displayed during the period when the above-mentioned predetermined error does not occur, and it may be displayed for a part of the period.

[0153] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it has a first display (display of the manufacturing company name) that can identify the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, and a second display (display of the group name) that is different from the first display and can identify the group to which the manufacturing company belongs. Regarding the second display, when a predetermined error has occurred, at least a part of the second display is unrecognizable, and at least a part of the period when the predetermined error has not occurred, the entire second display is recognizable. In other words, in both the case where a predetermined error has occurred and the case where a predetermined error has not occurred, the entire first display is recognizable. According to this, in the state where the above-mentioned predetermined error has occurred, by preventing the first display and the second display from being confused, it is possible to make the first display easier to recognize.

[0154] Furthermore, for the above-mentioned predetermined error, it is preferable to adopt a door opening error that occurs when the front door 20 is opened as in the present embodiment.

[0155] Therefore, in the gaming machine 10, it has a base body (outer frame 90) and an opening / closing body (front door 20) that can be opened and closed with respect to the base body. In other words, the above-mentioned predetermined error occurs based on the opening of the opening / closing body.

[0156] Also, in the present embodiment, when switching from the open state to the closed state of the front door 20 (when the front door 20 is closed), the display of the group name starts (restarts). However, as shown in FIG. 17(b), the timing when the entire display of the group name becomes recognizable is the timing when a time T (3000 ms in the present embodiment) has elapsed since the closing of the front door 20. According to this, it is possible to make the display of the group name easier to recognize when the front door 20 is closed. Note that the present invention can also be applied to the modified example shown in FIG. 18(a).

[0157] Also, as described above, in this embodiment, unlike the closed state of the front door 20 during non-game play, when the front door 20 is in the open state during non-game play, the model name is not displayed in the display area 623 of the lower effect display area 62b. That is, when the front door 20 is switched from the closed state to the open state, the display of the model name becomes non-displayed in the area (area Z2) below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. According to this, in this case, the display of the manufacturer name in the display area 622 where the display is maintained becomes easier to recognize. Note that in achieving the above effect, it is not limited to the model name display in the display area 623 becoming non-displayed. For example, it is sufficient that the display of the model name in the open state of the front door 20 becomes difficult to visually recognize compared to the closed state of the front door 20, such as the brightness of the model name display in the open state of the front door 20 becoming lower compared to the closed state of the front door 20.

[0158] <Regarding the display during game play> Next, with reference to FIG. 19, the flow of each display when the front door 20 changes from the closed state to the open state during game play and when the front door 20 changes from the open state to the closed state during game play will be described. FIG. 19(a) is a timing chart when the front door 20 changes from the closed state to the open state during game play, and FIG. 19(b) is a timing chart when the front door 20 changes from the open state to the closed state during game play.

[0159] As shown in FIG. 19(a), when the front door 20 changes from the closed state to the open state during game play, the display of the manufacturer name starts in the area (area Z1) above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. On the other hand, below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction (area Z2), the display of the manufacturer name is maintained and the display of the model name ends. As shown in FIG. 19(b), when the front door 20 changes from the open state to the closed state during the game, the display of the manufacturing company name ends above the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction. On the other hand, below the upper end of the stop button 27 when viewed in the vertical direction, the display of the manufacturing company name is maintained and the display of the model name is started. Since these figures show the state during the game, the group name is not displayed regardless of the open / closed state of the front door 20.

[0160] <Regarding other modification examples> Modification examples not described in the above explanation are listed below.

[0161] First, regarding the high / low probabilities, ratios, frequencies, and the number of times in this embodiment, as long as each relationship is ensured, the smaller value may be 0 or the larger value may be the maximum value. In particular, regarding the high / low of each ratio described above, as long as the phenomenon aspect is ensured, the control for realizing the high / low of each ratio is not limited. In addition, each lottery value in the lottery table illustrated in this embodiment is an example, and as long as the magnitude relationship between the lottery tables is maintained, each lottery value may adopt any value within the range.

[0162] The present invention described above is not limited to the above description, and also includes various modifications, improvements, etc. as long as the object of the present invention is achieved.

[0163] <Supplementary Note> This embodiment includes the following technical ideas. (1) A first display that enables identification of the manufacturing company of the gaming machine, A second display that is different from the first display and enables identification of the group to which the manufacturing company belongs, and Regarding the second display, when a predetermined error has occurred, at least a part of the second display is unviewable, At least in part when the predetermined error has not occurred, the entire second display is visible. In both the case where the predetermined error has occurred and the case where the predetermined error has not occurred, the entire first display is visible. A gaming machine characterized by the above. (2) The gaming machine according to (1) above, having a base body and an opening / closing body that can be opened and closed with respect to the base body. The predetermined error occurs based on the opening / closing body being opened. A gaming machine characterized by the above.

Explanation of Signs

[0164] 10 Gaming machine 20 Front door 21 Upper panel 22 Lower panel 23 Bet button 23a Maximum bet button 23b Single bet button 24 Menu selection button 24a Cross key button 24b Decision button 25 Status display LED 25a Inserted number display LED 25b Acquired number display LED 25c Indication display LED 25d Replay display LED 25e Game start display LED 25f Insertable display LED 25g Advantage mode display LED 26 Start lever 27(27L, 27C, 27R) Stop button 27a Stoppable display LED 28 Medal number display LED 32 Payout button 33 Medal counting button 34 Door lock 36 (36a, 36b, 36c, 36d, 36e, 36f, 36g, 36h) Decorative LED 38 (38a, 38b, 38c, 38d) Speaker 40a, 40b Various sensors 41 (41a, 41b, 41c, 41d, 41e, 41f, 41g, 41h) Decorative LED substrate 42 Status display LED substrate 43 Stop button substrate 43a Stop button sensor 44 Start lever sensor 45 Bet button substrate 45a Maximum bet button sensor 45b Single bet button sensor 45c Push button sensor 46 Menu selection button substrate 46a Cross key button sensor 46b Enter button sensor 48 Setting change device 48a Setting key switch 48b Setting change switch 48c Setting display LED 48d Setting key cover 49 (49a, 49b, 49c, 49d) Speaker 50 Medal number display LED substrate 51 Medal counting button substrate 51a Medal counting button sensor 53 Operation board cover 60 Game machine main body 62a Upper stage display area 62b Lower stage display area 63a Upper stage display device 63b Lower stage display device 64 Reel frame 65 (65L, 65C, 65R) Reel 66 (66L, 66C, 66R) Reel sensor 67 (67L, 67C, 67R) Reel lighting substrate 68 Reel motor 90 Outer frame 90a Left side wall 90b Right side wall 90c Top plate 90d Bottom plate 90e Rear side wall 91 Power supply device 92 Power switch 95 Sheet metal 96 Hinge part 96a Upper hinge part 96b Middle hinge part 96c Lower hinge part 100 Main board 101, 201, 301 CPU 102, 202, 302 RAM 103, 203, 303 ROM 104 Random number circuit 100 Main board 110 Game progress management unit 111 Internal lottery unit 112 Reel control unit 113 Prize winning determination unit 114 Medal management unit 115 Status display LED control unit 120 Status management unit 121 Setting change management unit 122 Game status management unit 124 Game mode management unit 125 Main error management unit 130 Main communication unit 131 Control command transmission / reception unit 132 External signal transmission unit 200 Sub board 204 Random number circuit 210 Sub communication unit 211 Control command reception unit 220 Effect management unit 221 Effect control unit 222 Effect display control unit 223 Audio control unit 224 Decoration LED control unit 300 Medal number control board 304 Control command transmission / reception unit 305 Credit Management Department 306 Medal Error Management Department 300 Medal Quantity Control Board 400 Medal Quantity Control Board Case 621 Display Area 622 Display Area 623 Display Area 1000 Dedicated Unit Lines L1 to L5 Za Axis

Claims

Claim 1: There is a first region above the upper end of a predetermined operating means when viewed in the vertical direction, and a second region below the predetermined operating means when viewed in the vertical direction. The first region and the second region are configured to be controllable by a predetermined control means. A first display capable of identifying the manufacturing company of the gaming machine. A second display different from the first display and capable of identifying the group to which the manufacturing company belongs. And having Regarding the second display, When a predetermined error has occurred, at least a part of the second display is not visible in the first region. In at least a part of the case where the predetermined error has not occurred, the entire second display is visible in the first region. Regardless of whether the predetermined error has occurred or not, the entire first display is visible in the first region or the second region. A gaming machine characterized by the above.

Images