JPH0639082A - Medal game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate a confirmation work and handling at the time of settlement of accounts by discharging plural kinds of current money for a game hall, whose values are different from each other, at the time of settlement of accounts. CONSTITUTION:In the inside of a machine body of a slot machine 6, three sets of medal discharge machines 22, 23 and 24 for storing three kinds of medals having each different value, respectively, and also discharging them to a medal discharge port 20 are provided. When a return request of medals deposited in the machine is executed by an account settlement switch 19, a controller converts the number of times of executable games by the deposited medals to the number of pieces of each medal, and discharges the corresponding medals by a prescribed number of pieces from each medal discharge machine.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medal game machine such as a slot machine for executing a game by using medals, and particularly executes a game by consuming medals owned by a player entrusted to the machine. Regarding the medal game machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional slot machine is provided with a medal insertion slot and various operating means for advancing the play on the front playing surface. After inserting a medal through the medal insertion slot, the operating means is operated. It has a structure that allows the game to be executed while playing.

Further, in recent slot machines, prior to the start of the game, a large number of medals are inserted in advance from the medal insertion slot and deposited in the machine, and the deposited medals are consumed by the push button operation, while each game is played. It is configured to be able to perform. In the slot machine having such a structure, when a game result for winning is obtained, a payout of a predetermined number of medals is received, and the payout number is added and stored as the number of medals deposited.
When the player operates the settlement button switch, the stored number of medals are discharged to the medal discharge port and returned to the player.

[0004]

However, in the slot machine having such a structure, if a large amount of medals are discharged at the time of settlement, it is difficult to confirm whether or not the number of the discharged medals is proper. There is also a problem that it takes a lot of time and labor to carry and handle the medal.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and by releasing a plurality of types of playground currencies having different values at the time of payment, the medal game in which confirmation work and handling at the time of payment are facilitated. The purpose is to provide a machine.

[0006]

According to the present invention, in a medal game machine capable of executing a game by consuming medals owned by a player who is entrusted to a machine, the number of medals deposited is stored. Storage means, a switch means for requesting the return of medals deposited in the machine, a storage section for individually storing a plurality of types of playground currencies having different values, and sending out the currency from each storage section Currency releasing means having a sending mechanism, and converting means for converting the number of deposited medals stored in the storage unit into the number of each currency when there is a return request command from the switch means,
And a control means for activating one of the sending mechanisms of the currency discharging means to discharge the currency converted by the converting means in the number of coins.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of types of medals, which have different values and are formed in a visually distinguishable form, are used as the playground currency.

[0008]

[Function] At the time of payment, the type and number of currencies are determined and released according to the number of medals deposited, which facilitates confirmation work and handling.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the overall construction of a playground system in which a slot machine according to the present invention is installed. This playground system is provided with three types of medals 1A, 1B and 1C which are a play medium and a currency at the time of settlement, and medal lending machines 2, 3, 4, and 5 for lending these medals for a fee. It is composed of medal game machines 6, 7, and 8 that can be operated by inserting medals.

The three types of medals 1A, 1B and 1C are formed in a form in which different values are given and the values can be visually discriminated. In this embodiment, the first medal 1A has a monetary value of 5,000 yen, the second medal 1B has a monetary value of 1,000 yen, and the third medal 1C has each medal game machine 6, 7, 8. Each of the medals 1A, 1 has been given a value capable of executing one game by
The diameter R of each of B and 1C is visually distinguishable.
1, R2 and R3 are set in a relationship of R1>R2> R3.

In this embodiment, each medal 1A, 1
B and 1C are formed of different materials so that they can be visually distinguished and can be automatically distinguished by the material detection sensor.
For example, the first medal 1A may be formed of different metal materials such as copper, the second medal 1B of stainless steel, the third medal 1C of aluminum, and the first and second medals 1A and 1B may be different. The third medal 1C may be formed of a metal material and a synthetic resin material.

The above medal lending machines 2, 3, 4, 5 are
A coin slot 10 and a medal slot 1 on the front face 9
1 is provided, and one of the medals corresponding to the total amount of coins inserted from the coin insertion port 10 is a medal ejection port 11
To release. Of these, the medal ejecting machine 2 is capable of ejecting three types of medals 1A, 1B, 1C, and of the other medal ejecting machines 3, 4, 5, the medal ejecting machine 3 is the first medal 1A. The medal ejecting machine 4 can eject only the second medal 1B, and the medal ejecting machine 5 can eject only the third medal 1C.

The medal game machines 6, 7 and 8 are game machines having different game contents.
7, 8 are also operation means such as a medal slot 12 capable of inserting the first, second, and third medals 1A, 1B, 1C on the front playing surface 14 and levers and push button switches for advancing the play. Is provided. Of these, the medal game machine 6 is a slot machine (hereinafter referred to as "slot machine 6"), and the other medal game machines 7 and 8 are game machines other than the slot machine.

As shown in FIG. 2, the slot machine 6 has three reels 13 each having a plurality of symbols on its peripheral surface.
a, 13b, 13c and first to third medal ejecting machines 22, 23, 24 for taking in and ejecting the inserted first, second and third medals 1A, 1B, 1C, respectively. It is built in, and each reel 13a,
Symbol display window 15 for confirming symbols for 3 frames 13b and 13c, deposit number display 25, medal slot 1
2, starter lever 16, three stop button switches 17a, 1
7b, 17c, game switch 18, settlement switch 1
9, a medal discharge port 20, a medal tray 21, etc. are provided.

Three reels 13a, 13b, 13c are located in the symbol display window 15, and the rotation states of the reels 13a, 13b, 13c can be seen through the symbol display window 15, and each reel can be seen. When stopped,
3 frame of symbols of each reel has a central, vertical, so that the arrayed in a line on each stop line L ₁ ~L ₅ diagonal.

The starting lever 16 includes three reels 13
The three stop button switches 17a, 17b, and 17c are for simultaneously starting a, 13b, and 13c, and are for individually stopping the corresponding reels 13a, 13b, and 13c.

The medal insertion slot 12 is a portion for inserting one or a large number of medals prior to the start of the game, and has a structure capable of inserting any one of the first, second and third medals. Has become. It should be noted that only one medal slot may be provided as in this embodiment, and the first and second medals may be separately provided.

The medal ejection port 20 is a part for ejecting a medal to the medal receiving tray 21 at the time of settlement of medals. In this embodiment, three types of medals can be ejected from the medal ejection port 20.

In this slot machine 6, it is possible to execute the game once for each one of the third medals 1C. Furthermore, by using the maximum of three third medals 1C, the game of three times is performed once. It can be executed as a game. That is, when you use a third one medal 1C of, activate only the center stop line L _1, when used two is on,
Among, activate the three stop line L _2, L _1, L ₃ below, 3
When using a single sheet, the upper, middle, lower and diagonal 5 stop lines L
Activate the ₁ ~L _5, thereby enabling the execution of the game.

In this slot machine 6, it is possible to execute 200 games per 1st medal 1A and 40 times per 1st second medal 1B, respectively. A medal deposit method is adopted in which any number of three medals 1A, 1B, and 1C are inserted and deposited in the machine, and the value equivalent to the deposited medals (the number of times the game can be executed) is consumed by the push button operation while the game is executed. ing.

The deposit number display 25 digitally displays the value corresponding to the medals deposited in the machine, that is, the value converted into the number of the third medals 1C (the number of executable games). The game switch 18 is for instructing to consume the maximum number of times the game can be executed up to three times during the execution of the game. When the game switch 18 is pressed once, the number of times the game can be executed once is pressed twice. When the number of times the game can be executed twice is pushed, the number of times the game can be executed three times is subtracted. The adjustment switch 19 is for adjusting the deposited medals and discharging them to the medal tray 21.

The medal slot 12 communicates with the three medal ejectors 22, 23, 24 via the medal transfer passage 26, and the first medal 1A is the first medal ejector 2.
2, the second medal 1B to the second medal ejector 23,
The third medal 1C is guided to the third medal ejector 24, respectively. Although not shown, it goes without saying that a medal return passage for guiding a defective medal or a medal whose acceptance is rejected to the medal ejection port 20 is provided.

A medal discriminator 27 which discriminates the kind of the medal inserted into the medal insertion slot 12 and outputs a medal detection signal for each medal is provided at the entrance of the medal transport passage 26. In this embodiment, a metal detector such as a proximity sensor for individually detecting the material of the medal is used as the medal discriminator 27, but it is not limited to the material but a sensor for detecting the size of the medal or the like. Alternatively, the medal discriminator 27 may be configured by combining a plurality of types of sensors having different detection principles.

The end of the medal transfer passage 26 communicates with the first medal ejecting machine 22, and a branch path communicating with the second and third medal ejecting machines 23, 24 is formed in the middle of the medal conveying path 26. Then, passage switching mechanisms 28 and 29 using solenoids as drive sources are provided at the respective branch points.

First and second medal ejecting machines 22, 23
Is a medal storage unit 30 formed of a cylindrical body having open upper and lower ends.
Has a structure in which a sending mechanism 31 for sending the stored medals one by one to the medal discharging chute 32 is provided at the lower end of each of the medal storing parts 30, and the upper end of each medal storing part 30 is made to communicate with the medal conveying passage 26 or its branch passage. There is.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the medal ejecting machines 22 and 2.
A specific example of each sending mechanism 31 in 3 is shown. Each of the delivery mechanisms 31, 31 is a mechanism that uses a solenoid 35 as a drive source and reciprocates a rod 36 according to the energization and de-energization of the solenoid 35. The fixed substrate 3 is attached to the rod 36.
7, a drive plate 38 reciprocally supported is connected, and mounting shafts 39 are provided on both sides of the fixed substrate 37 so that a tension spring 40 is provided between each mounting shaft 39 and the rod 36. It is stretched. When the solenoid 35 is energized, an electromagnetic force that opposes the spring force of the tension spring 40 acts on the rod 36 to pull the drive plate 38 in the direction of arrow a, and when the solenoid 35 is deenergized, the tension spring 40 moves. The spring force acts on the rod 36 to pull the drive plate 38 in the opposite direction of arrow b.

A medal introduction hole 41, which is slightly larger than the outer shape of the medal, is formed through the plate surface of the drive plate 38, and when the solenoid 35 is deactivated, the medal introduction hole 41 is formed. It is located right below the medals and takes the lowest medal in the medal storage unit into the hole. Further, the fixed substrate 37 is formed with a medal take-out port 42 communicating with the medal ejection chute 32, and when the solenoid 35 is energized, the medal introduction hole 41 of the drive plate 38 is provided at the medal take-out port 4.
The medal in the medal introducing hole 41 located on the upper side of the second coin drops from the medal take-out port 42 to the medal ejection chute 32.

The third medal emitting machine 24 is composed of a large number of third medal emitting machines.
Of the medal 1C, a sending mechanism 34 for sending the received medals one by one to the medal discharging chute 32 is provided at the bottom position of the hopper 33. This sending mechanism 34 is publicly known and here The description is omitted.

FIG. 5 shows the electrical construction of the slot machine 6 having the above construction. In the figure, reference numeral 45 is a control device composed of a microprocessor, which is the main body of control and calculation.
R in which a program is stored in the PU 46 via the bus 51
An OM 47 and a RAM 48 that stores data such as the number of times the game can be executed are electrically connected. The CPU 46 has a RAM 48 according to a program stored in the ROM 47.
While reading / writing data from / to, the operation of each input / output device is controlled in series via the I / O ports 49 and 50, and the game proceeds according to the control procedure shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (details will be described later).

Among the input / output devices, the medal discriminator 27, the deposit number display 25, the stop button switches 17a, 17b, 1
7c, game switch 18, settlement switch 19, first to
The third medal ejectors 22, 23, 24 and the passage switching mechanisms 28, 29 have already been described, and the description will not be repeated here. The starting lever switch 43 is the starting lever 16
An operation signal is output by operating. The reel drive mechanism 44 has a stepping motor for individually driving and stopping each reel 13a, 13b, 13c.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show step 1 of the control procedure of the CPU 46 in the slot machine 6 having the above-described structure.
~ As shown in step 28. First, in step 1, at the beginning of the machine operation, each part of the control unit 45 is initially reset,
In the next step 2, step 3
The presence or absence of operation of the game switch 18 is determined in step 4, the presence or absence of operation of the starting lever 16 in step 4, and the presence or absence of operation of the adjustment switch 19 in step 5, respectively.

When any of the medals is inserted into the medal insertion slot 12, the determination in step 2 becomes "YES",
In the next step 6, the CPU 46 discriminates the type of medal from the signal from the medal discriminator 27.

If the inserted medal is the first medal 1A, the determination in step 7 is "YES", and the CPU 46
Sets "200" as the game executable number T in a predetermined storage area provided in the work area of the RAM 48 (step 10). If the inserted medal is the second medal 1
If B, the determination in step 8 is "YES", and C
The PU 46 sets "40" as the game executable number T (step 11). If the inserted medal is the third medal 1C, the determination in step 9 is "YES", and the CPU 46 sets "1" as the game executable number T (step 12). The above procedure is repeatedly executed each time a medal is inserted into the medal insertion slot 12, and the number of times T the game can be executed is incremented according to the type of medal (steps 10 to 12).

Next, when the game switch 18 is pressed once, the determination in step 3 becomes "YES", and the CPU
In the next step 46, it is determined whether or not the number of times the game can be executed T is “1” or more in the next step 13, and in the following step 14, the number of operations K by which the game switch 18 has already been pressed is “3”
Determine if less than. Both judgments are "YE
If it is "S", the CPU 46 sets "1" as the number of operations K, validates the central stop line L _1, and subtracts 1 from the game executable number T (steps 15 and 16).

Each time the game switch 18 is pressed,
The same procedure is executed and 3 stop lines are activated.
If the number of times the game can be executed T becomes zero in the process, step 13 is performed again, and the number of operations K
When the number reaches “3”, step 14
It becomes “O”, and the pressing operation of the game switch 18 is invalid.

When the start lever 16 is operated next, step 4 becomes "YES", and the CPU 46 determines in step 17 whether or not the number of operations K is "1" or more. If the determination is "YES", in the next step 18, the three reels 13a, 13b, 13c are simultaneously started and the game is executed.

After all reels have stopped, if a predetermined symbol combination is established on any of the activated lines, the determination in step 19 becomes "YES", and the game executable number T
The number of times t the game can be executed is added as a payout for the combination of winning symbols (step 20). When the game is completed, the number of operations K is cleared (step 21).

When the settlement switch 19 is pressed, a medal return request command is given to the CPU 46, whereby step 5 becomes "YES", and the CPU 46 next proceeds to step 22 to determine the number of times the game can be executed T at that time. R
Judgment is made by reading from AM48.

At this time, the number of times T the game can be executed is 0.
If YES, the determination in step 22 is “YES”, and the medal is not returned, and the process ends. Step two
When "2" is "NO", that is, when the number of medals deposited is one or more, the CPU 46 proceeds to the next steps 23 to.
The conversion process of step 27 is performed, and based on the result, a predetermined medal is paid out in step 28.

In the work area in the RAM 48, the payout number N1 of each of the first to third medals 1A, 1B and 1C is given.
An area for storing N2 and N3 (both are integer values) is provided, and the CPU 46 performs the following calculation to set the game executable number T to each medal 1A, 1B, 1
Converting to C payout number N1, N2, N3, the type of medal to be paid out and the payout number of the medal are determined.

As the first stage of the conversion process, the CPU 46
First, in step 23, the value of the payout number N3 of the third medal 1C is set to the same value as the value of the game executable number T.

Next, in step 24, the CPU 46 determines that the value N3 is the number of times the game can be executed by the first medal 1A "20".
It is checked whether it is 0 or more. If N3 is 20
If it is 0 or more, step 24 becomes "YES" and C
In the next step 25, the PU 46 first executes the arithmetic expression (1), then executes the arithmetic expression (2) using the arithmetic result of the equation (1), and stores the obtained numerical values N1 and N3 in a predetermined area in the RAM 48. Remember.

[0043]

[Equation 1]

[0044]

[Equation 2]

Since N1 is an integer value, the above (1)
The arithmetic operation result is truncated to the right of the decimal point, and only the integer part is programmed to be determined as the value of N1.

After the processing of step 25 or when the determination in step 24 is "NO", the CPU 46
Is the next step 26, the value of N3 is the second medal 1B
It is determined whether or not the number of times the game can be executed by the game is “40” or more. When this determination is “YES”, the CPU 46
In the next step 27, the arithmetic expression (3) is executed first, and then the numerical values N2 and N3 obtained by executing the arithmetic expression (4) using the calculation result of the expression (3) are stored in a predetermined area in the RAM 48. .

[0047]

[Equation 3]

[0048]

[Equation 4]

Similarly to the equation (1), the equation (3) is rounded down after the decimal point, and only the integer part is determined as the value of N2.

By the above processing, the number of times the game can be executed T
Is the payout number N of the first to third medals 1A, 1B, 1C
1, N2, N3, and based on this value, a predetermined number of medals are paid out in step 28.

In this embodiment, the payout number of each medal is determined by executing the calculation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the payout number of each medal is set for each value of the game executable number T. It is also possible to determine the payout number of each medal using the table. Further, the currency at the time of settlement is not limited to a medal which is also used as a game medium, and a dedicated card, various articles, etc. may be used.

[0052]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the medal game machine which consumes the medals deposited in the machine and executes the game, the number of deposited medals at the time of payment is set to the number of plural kinds of currencies having different values. Since it is converted into and returned to the player, it is possible to confirm at the time of payment, and the labor required for transportation work can be reduced, so that the currency can be easily handled.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a playground system in which a slot machine according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the outer appearance of the slot machine.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a delivery mechanism in the medal discharge machine.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a delivery mechanism in the medal discharge machine.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the slot machine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure by the control device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure by the control device.

[Explanation of Codes] 1A, 1B, 1C Medals 6, Slot Machine 12 Medal Insertion Port 20 Medal Discharge Ports 22, 23, 24 Medal Discharger 25 Deposited Number Indicator 26 Medal Discriminator 45 Controller 46 CPU 48 RAM

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A medal game machine capable of executing a game by consuming medals owned by a player who has been deposited in a machine, and a storage means for storing the number of deposited medals, and the machine. Currency releasing means comprising a switch means for requesting the return of a given medal, a storage portion for individually storing a plurality of types of playground currencies having different values, and a delivery mechanism for sending out the currency from each storage portion. A conversion means for converting the number of deposited medals stored in the storage unit into the number of each currency when a return request command is issued from the switch means, and a sending mechanism of any one of the currency releasing means is operated. A medal game machine comprising: control means for discharging the number of currencies converted by the conversion means. 2. The medal game machine according to claim 1, wherein the currency for the playground comprises a plurality of types of medals to which different values are added and which are formed in a visually distinguishable form.