Patent Grant
10964166
The present invention relates to a game machine such as a slot machine or a video slot machine used in game parlors such as casinos.
Conventionally, there is a game machine called a video slot, which is superior to conventional mechanical slot machines in that it can stimulate players through visual effects with video and animation.
With a bit of ingenuity, such visual expression on video may provide an exciting game to players. Especially, expressions applying software technology using animation include various expressions to live up a game as entertainment, and can attract players.
For example, the game machine described in JP 2011-92719 A has a display portion and a controller. The display portion displays a specific symbol placed in a specific cell. The symbol contains a specific type of symbol that is placed in the specific cell. The controller controls movements of the symbols and cells. The specific cell has a gauge. A numerical value indicated by the gauge represents a count of how many times the specific cell appears in the display portion. The controller compares the numerical value of the gauge with a threshold value, and sets a favorable condition to a player to be initiated when the numerical value of the gauge has reached the threshold value.
Patent document 1 JP2011-92719 A
However, in conventional game machines, it has been ended that a player has only waited for the game result while having watched expression of animation appearing on a display portion. Thus, the player has no element that can participate in the game while involving himself with the game result expressed for a long period of time, but only a sense of expectation of waiting for the result. The player may often expect expression that maintains a sense of expectation and game performance by a performance even when the player waits for a long period of time until the game result comes out.
An object of the present invention is to provide an operating device of a game machine and a game machine which allow a player to participate in a game until a game result comes out so as not to bore the player even for a period of time during which the game result comes out, and which achieve such a performance that maintains a sense of expectation for the game result.
The present invention provides an operating device of a game machine, the operating device being installed in the game machine including a display portion which displays the progress of a game in which a reel with a symbol disposed is stopped in accordance with a control of a body controller, and a result of the game, the operating device being configured to operate the progress of the game in conjunction with a display on the display portion, the operating device comprising a rotation operation portion capable of being rotated by a player, a rotation operation detecting portion which detects a state of rotation operation of the rotation operation portion, a decoration display portion which displays any one of a pattern, a symbol and a letter, or a combination thereof, and a connection portion which outputs a signal of the rotation operation detecting portion to the body controller and inputs a signal for controlling a display of the decoration display portion from the body controller.
According to the present invention with the above characteristics, it is possible to prevent a player from getting bored, and the player can participate in and enjoy a game by operating the operating device.
An operating device of a game machine and the game machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments and drawings illustrate some of the embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.
With reference to
As shown in
While sitting on a chair (not shown), a player can enjoy a game while operating the operating device 50, a bet button 43, a spin button 45, and a payout button 44 provided on the table 26. The game machine 20 further has a bill acceptor 41 and a ticket printer 42 below the display portion 30. A ticket as a note, which is used in place of a bill or a coin and in which the amount of money is written, or a bill can be inserted through the bill acceptor 41, and a ticket on which the amount of payout is written is discharged through the ticket printer 42. The present embodiment is also applicable to a game in which coins are directly put into the game machine 20 and coins are directly paid out from the game machine 20.
The display portion 30 includes touch monitors 31 and 32 that are of a touch panel type. Although the display portion 30 includes two touch panel type monitors, the number of touch monitors is not particularly limited and may be three or more, or one, and the touch monitors 31 and 32 may not be of the touch panel type.
The display portion 30 displays, on a display screen of the touch monitor 31, the symbol 90 and the explanation of a payout amount in the symbol 90 at the normal time. At the normal time, the touch monitor 31 is used for display for a performance, for example when a bonus stage has been won.
The display portion 30 displays, on the display screen of the touch monitor 32, a reel 34, a payout display portion 35, a bet display portion 36, and a credit amount display portion 37.
In the reel 34, the three symbols 90 to be described later are vertically arranged on one reel 34, and the reels 34 (34a, 34b, 34c, 34d, and 34e) are horizontally arranged so that the five symbols 90 are arranged.
In the game machine 20, at the normal time, the reels 34 stop in order of the normal-time reels 34a, 34b, 34c, 34d, and 34e. In the game machine 20, a benefit occurs when the reels 34 stop and the same predetermined number of symbols 90 stop on the line. When a predetermined number of special symbols 90 (such as trigger symbols or wild symbols) stop, the game machine 20 shifts from a normal game to a bonus stage or a free game in which a high payout is obtained. The number of lines increases or decreases according to the number of bets selected by the bet button 43. The bet varies according to the bet button 43.
When the game machine 20 becomes in a state advantageous for the player during a performance as in Examples to be described later, the game machine 20 changes the order in which the reels 34 start to vary, or the variation is started such that an interval at which one or a plurality of the reels 34 start to vary is different from the interval at the normal time, so that a mode different from the normal time is provided. This mode can make the player feel a sense of expectation that it becomes in the state advantageous for the player.
When the game machine 20 shifts from the state advantageous for the player, such as a free game or a bonus stage, to a normal game, if the previous stop symbols 90 as spots remain as they are, a misunderstanding may be given to the player.
Thus, the game machine 20 stores as an initial value the arrangement of the reels 34 displaying the symbols 90 displayed beforehand at the time of turning on the power, and when the game machine 20 has shifted from the state advantageous for the player to the normal game, the arrangement of the reels 34 displaying the previous stop symbols 90 is deleted, and the arrangement of the reels 34 displaying the symbols 90 as the initial value is displayed. With the above display, no misunderstanding is given to the player.
Next, the main configuration of the game machine 20 will be described with reference to the block diagram of
The mother board 24 controls the display portion 30 (touch monitors 31 and 32) and the emergency LED 22 displayed in case of emergency, and further controls each device via an I/O board 25. The I/O board 25 is also connected to a speaker (not shown), the bet button 43, the spin button 45, the payout button 44, the bill acceptor 41, the ticket printer 42 (
The operating device 50 is connected to the mother board 24 via a CPU 58, the control board 57 incorporating ROM and RAM, and the I/O board 25. The mother board 24 uses the same CPU, has an OS (operation software), and controls the display portion 30 and the operating device 50, including the I/O board.
Under control of the software on the OS driven by the CPU of the mother board 24, the game machine 20 controls benefit as a state advantageous for the player, a stage bonus, and a winning amount of a free game, further controls the display portion 30 reflecting the result obtained from the winning, and furthermore controls the operating device 50.
Using the control program driven by the same OS driven by the same installed CPU of the mother board 24, the game machine 20 performs lotteries such as benefit, a stage bonus, and benefit of a winning game of a free game, which are advantageous for players, controls the symbols 90 and the reel 34 of the display portion 30, and further controls the operating device 50. Consequently, the control for the display portion 30 can be interlocked with the control for the operating device 50 with less time lag, and, in addition, it is difficult to perform fraudulent acts and the like.
Since the mother board 24 allows bidirectional communication with the operating device 50 via the I/O board 25, the mother board 24 can be easily connected and easily interlock with the operating device 50, and skipping of data from the operating device 50 due to electrical noise is also reduced. The control program is provided with a notifying control program that operates a notifying control portion to be described later and an operating device control program that controls the operating device 50.
The mother board 24 controls a motor 71 via a motor driver 78 of the control board 57 and further controls lighting of an LED 61 provided in a light source portion 60 shown in
In the operating device 50, a rotation operation detecting portion 72 detects the rotation direction and the number of rotations with an origin detecting portion 73 and a jog sensor 74, and further detects whether or not a push button portion 51 is pushed by a button switch 76. The detected data is output to the mother board 24 via the I/O board 25.
Next, the appearance of the operating device 50 will be described with reference to
In the operating device 50, a flange portion 54 is provided, and a body portion 53 incorporating the control board 57 (
Next, the internal structure of the operating device 50 will be described with reference to
The rotation driving portion 65 integrally fixes a decoration display portion 66 and a rotation fixing portion 67 and fixes the motor 71, which pivotally supports the rotation fixing portion 67 on a shaft 62, to the center of the body portion 53. In the rotation driving portion 65, the decoration display portion 66 can be rotated by the rotation of the motor 71. In the decoration display portion 66, any one of a pattern, a symbol and a letter, or a combination thereof is engraved, printed, or three-dimensionally formed. The rotation driving portion 65 cannot only rotate at a constant rotation speed according to a performance but also can be controlled by changing the rotation speed.
In the rotation operation portion 52 integrally formed with the push button portion 51, a rotation shaft 55 is provided so as to be rotatable around the motor. The body portion 53 is provided with urging means 56 including an urging spring, rubber or the like and provided below the rotation shaft 55, and the urging means 56 urges the rotation operation portion 52 upward. The body portion 53 is further provided with a ball urging receiver 68 so that the rotation operation portion 52 can be stably rotated and depressed.
The ball urging receiver 68 has a rotary sphere therein and slides with the rotation operation portion 52, and the rotary sphere rotates in accordance with the rotation of the rotation operation portion 52. For the ball urging receiver 68, urging means (not shown) similar to the above-described urging means is provided so that the rotary sphere moves vertically in conjunction with vertical movement of the rotation operation portion 52.
When the push button portion 51 is pushed, the rotation operation portion 52 moves downward and pushes the button switch 76 to detect whether the push button portion 51 is pushed or not. As the button switch 76, a mechanical switch, an optical switch, or the like is used.
The body portion 53 is provided with the light source portion 60 below the rotation operation portion 52. The light source portion 60 includes a plurality of LEDs 61 and transmits the transparent rotation operation portion 52 to illuminate the decoration display portion 66 and the like.
A rotation operation detecting portion 72 abuts against the rotation shaft 55 of the rotation operation portion 52, and as an origin detecting portion 73 rotates in conjunction with the rotation shaft 55, the rotation operation detecting portion 72 detects the number of rotations. The origin detecting portion 73 serves as the jog sensor 74 which detects the rotation direction. Although the jog sensor 74 may serve as the origin detecting portion 73 as in the present embodiment, a separate sensor which detects the rotation direction may be provided.
In the rotation operation portion 52, a vibration motor 75 is provided in an abutted state in order to notify a player that it is advantageous for the player during performance by vibration of the rotation operation portion 52.
Although the light source portion 60 can emit light in multiple colors with a full-color LED, a payout amount or odds can be previously determined with the light emission color of the light source portion 60, and the payout amount or odds can be used. When the number of coins is from 1 to 9, the light emission color is blue. When the number of coins is from 10 to 99, the light emission color is green. When the number of coins is from 100 to 999, the light emission color is red. When the number of coins is from 1000 to 9999, the light emission color is rainbow color.
The light source portion 60 can be used for a performance that for example, when there is a payout, with the rotation of the rotation operation portion 52 as a trigger, the light emission color is changed in order of blue, green, red, and rainbow colors at a high speed that allows players to recognize the color, and all payout amounts are determined by the push button portion 51. In particular, when a large dividend is to be paid out, the light source portion 60 does not display the blue and green light emission colors but changes sequentially only the red and rainbow light emission colors which are high price suggestions, so that it is possible to give the player an expectation that a large dividend is paid out.
Next, a performance using the operating device 50 will be described with reference to
In this example, as shown in
In the push button portion 51, as shown in
As described above, in the transparent cross 84, the rotation driving portion 65a rotates in accordance with the progress of a game, so that the light from the light source portion 60 below the transparent cross 84 can be visually recognized, like a beautiful kaleidoscope. The rotating motion seen through the transparent cross 84 can provide a performance giving a sense of expectation to a player.
Next, a performance using the operating device 50 will be described with reference to
In this example, instead of the motor 71 of the rotation driving portion 65a, the decoration display portions 66b and 67b are changed in two modes.
On the other hand, in the lower decoration display portion 67b in close contact with the decoration display portion 66b is printed such that the letter “PUSH” is capable of transmitting the light from the LED 61 of the lower light source portion 60, and the other portion is printed in black and shields the light. As described above, in the decoration display portions 66b and 67b, a different letter appears by changing the light emitting portion of the LED 61.
The player is encouraged to push the operating device 50 thus configured, so that the player can participate in and enjoy the game. In addition, two different displays are possible even in the thin operating device 50.
Example 3 is an example of the operating device 50 in a case where a player selects the progress of a game while the game is in progress, as shown in
In
The player rotates the rotation operation portion 52 to place the selected selection card 91 in front and depresses the push button portion 51 to determine the selection card 91. The game progresses according to the contents described on the determined selection card 91.
For example, the selection card 91 describes displays of a payout amount, odds, or winning of a free game, and winning of a bonus stage.
Example 4 is an example of the operating device 50 in a case where a player selects the progress of a game while the game is in progress, as shown in
In
The player rotates the rotation operation portion 52 to place the selected sphere 92 in front and depresses the push button portion 51 to determine the sphere 92. The game progresses according to the contents described on the determined sphere 92.
For example, the sphere 92 describes displays of a payout amount, odds, or winning of a free game, winning of a bonus stage, and the like.
In Example 5, as shown in
In
In the process of gradually changing the symbol, in the case where the operating device 50 is rotated left and right, when the operating device 50 is rotated to the right, the middle state of the change to the change symbol 94 displays, and when the operating device 50 is rotated to the left, the middle state returns to the special symbol 93. The process of gradually changing the symbol depends on the rotation speed of the operating device 50, and if the operating device 50 is rotated fast, the speed of the process of changing to the change symbol 94 increases.
When the rotation operation portion 52 is rotated, the touch monitor 32 shown in
As shown in
By pushing the push button portion 51, all the amounts earned at one time may be displayed on the payout display portion 35d without rotating. The number of digits to be displayed may be read aloud by voice. For example, in accordance with the rotation of the rotation operation portion 52 of the operating device 50, the number of the earned amount may be displayed in order such as “1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000”.
When the rotation operation portion 52 of the operating device 50 is rotated, the color of a frame of the payout display portion 35 may be changed so as to indicate the payout amount. For example, the payouts are different in order of 10 coins for the blue frame, 100 coins for the green frame, and 1000 coins for the red frame, and when the rotation operation portion 52 is rotated, the color of the corresponding frame gradually changes. The frame color changes in order of blue, green, and red to change a payout expectation value, and all the payout amounts are displayed on the payout display portion 35 by pushing the push button portion 51.
In Example 6, as shown in
As shown in
In addition, as shown in
The height or rotation of the toss coin 95 may be used as a performance of the notifying control portion notifying beforehand that it is advantageous for a player before the game result comes out. When the height of the toss coin 95 is high, or when the rotation is fast, this performance can be used as a performance with a high expectation, such as payment of a large dividend, high odds, or winning of a bonus stage or a free game.
As shown in
Thus, the player can participate in and enjoy the game.
In Example 7, as shown in
As shown in
In this case, the rotation operation portion 52 of the operating device 50 is rotated beforehand, a spot of the roulette 101 is selected, and the spot is determined by depressing the push button portion 51 as shown in
A ball 102 of the roulette is thrown by depressing the push button portion 51. When a predetermined time elapses, the roulette 101 stops, and the game result is displayed.
This performance can be used as a performance with a high expectation, such as payment of a large dividend, high odds, or winning of a bonus stage or a free game. The game result may be displayed in conjunction with an actual table game.
In addition, as a performance informing that a player is in an advantageous state by another game, as shown in
In this case, the rotation operation portion 52 of the operating device 50 is rotated beforehand, a spot of the wheel 105 is selected, and the spot is determined by depressing the push button portion 51.
As shown in
As described above, the player can be prevented from being bored by displaying the performance of the other table games on the touch monitor 31, and the player can participate in and enjoy the game by operating the operating device 50.
In Example 8, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As described above, the player can participate in the game as though the player himself turns the card 96b. In addition, the player can participate in the game with expectation of the game result.
In Example 9, as shown in
As shown in
When the rotation operation portion 52 of the operating device 50 is rotated, the number of the coins 108 to be paid out is changed and displayed on the touch monitor 31 in accordance with the speed or the number of times the rotation operation portion 52 is rotated.
As shown in
For example, in a case where the earned amounts are 100 coins, 1000 coins, and 10000 coins, if the number of coins is 100, the rotation driving portion 65 rotates once per second. If the number of coins is 1000, the rotation driving portion 65 rotates twice per second. If the number of coins is 10000, the rotation driving portion 65 rotates three times per second. It is indicated that the faster the rotation speed, the higher the earned amount.
In Example 10, as shown in
As shown in
At this time, in the game machine 20, such a display may be performed that as the rotation speed of the rotation operation portion 52 increases or the number of rotations increases, a concealed portion of a wild symbol or a trigger symbol that appears after change decreases. Further, in the game machine 20, as the rotation speed of the rotation operation portion 52 increases or the number of rotations increases, the outline or shade of the symbol 90 may be gradually made darker, and the symbol 90 gradually appearing may be made easily recognizable.
As described above, in the game machine 20, the player can participate in and enjoy the game by operating the operating device 50.
In Example 11, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As described above, in the game machine 20, the player can participate in and enjoy the game by operating the operating device 50.
As shown in
In the game machine 20, when the rotation operation portion 52 of the operating device 50 is rotated, the background or the display position of the reel 109a or 109b can be changed from
In the game machine 20, when the rotation operation portion 52 of the operating device 50 is rotated, the display position of the background or the reel 109a or 109b is changed, and the push button portion 51 is depressed to determine the display position of the background or the reel 109a or 109b.
Thus, in the game machine 20, the position where the background or the reel 109a or 109b appears can be changed according to the preference of a player.
Next, a performance using the operating device 50 will be described with reference to
In this example, as shown in
In this display performance, as shown in
Since the vibration of the vibration motor 75 (
Next, a performance displayed on the touch monitor 32 will be described with reference to
The reel 34 displayed on the touch monitor 32 displays the reel 34e in order from the left reel 34a at the normal time. In the case of a special performance, for example when it is advantageous for a player, a cover portion 113a covering the entirety of the left reel 34a is provided without displaying the symbol 90b. This control is similarly performed for the reels 34b and 34c, and then the reels 34d and 34e displaying the symbols 90 are displayed as in the normal state.
Thereafter, the cover portions 113a, 113b, and 113c are removed, and the symbols 90b of the reels 34a, 34b, and 34c are displayed in order, or the symbols 90b of the reels 34a, 34b, and 34c are displayed simultaneously.
As described above, in the game machine 20, the reel 34 initially displayed at the normal time covers one or a plurality of the reels 34 with the cover portions 113 (113a, 113b, and 113c), so that the player can maintain a sense of expectation for a high payout until the second half.
Next, a performance displayed on the touch monitor 32 will be described with reference to
As shown in
At this time, when a payout occurs, the wild symbol 90d converted in advance is displayed, and whether the reel 34e is stopped or whether the symbol 90 is converted into the wild symbol 90d after the reel 34e is stopped is determined by lottery. Then, the reel 34e is stopped and displayed in the manner of the above-described content determined by lottery.
If there is no payout, the symbol 90 to be converted is converted in advance into the wild symbol 90d, and then the reel 34e is stopped. Thus, despite the occurrence of the performance that the symbol 90 is converted, the change of the symbol 90 without a payout can be prevented, and it is possible to improve a sense of expectation of the player for the conversion performance.
As a modified example of the present embodiment, as shown in
Here, the trigger symbol 90f is a symbol used for determination of winning to a state advantageous for the player, such as a bonus stage or a free game, due to appearance of a predetermined number regardless of a stop line of the symbol 90.
As shown in
Thus, in this example, it is possible to prevent the performance that, despite the fact that the trigger symbols 90f are aligned on the reel 34c, conversion into the wild symbols 90e is performed, and it is possible to prevent that the trigger symbol 90f is forcibly converted to make the player feel distrust.
Next, a performance of a free game of the game machine 20 will be described with reference to
For example, as shown in a free game winning table 131 shown in
On the other hand, in the free game 2 (133), the free game A is performed seven times, and in a final free game C135, it is decided at the time of lottery in advance that the free game is won at a rate of 100%.
In the game of the free game A, it is prefetched that the free game is won, and the notifying control portion described above is operated to perform notification so as to give the player a sense of expectation. Examples of the notification include notification due to vibration of the operating device 50, sound notification, and notification which is different from usual and is displayed on the display portion 30.
If the payout amount during the free game is decided, the notifying control portion performs prefetching from a region storing winning contents, and the notifying control portion may be operated to perform notification so as to give the player a sense of expectation. Examples of the notification include notification due to vibration of the operating device 50, sound notification, and notification which is different from usual and is displayed on the display portion 30. Thus, the notification performance according to prefetching can improve the expectation of the player.
As described above, the player can further enjoy the game by using the operating device 50 and participating in the game. However, the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and examples of the method of using the operating device 50 and participating in the game include a method of selecting a hand in a Janken game (i.e., the game of “paper, stone, and scissors”) and a method in which like an RPG game, a player operates a character by using the operating device 50 to enjoy the performance. When the character is operated, the push button portion 51 may be pushed continuously in some cases. However, when the push button portion 51 is pressed long for more than 1 second instead of being pushed continuously, a continuous push state may be maintained.
In the above examples, in a case where the rotation operation is prompted during a performance, when the operation of the rotation of the operating device 50 or the depression of the push button portion 51 is not performed for a predetermined time in order to make the progress of the game interesting, the game may be forcibly progressed. For example, the predetermined time is about 10 to 15 seconds, and after taking time to operate, if there is no operation for progressing the game, the game result may be displayed to proceed to the next game.
As described above, the player can enjoy a game with good tempo without wasting time and without being bored.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2018-146554 | Aug 2018 | JP | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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| 5249104 | Mizobe | Sep 1993 | A |
| 5271628 | Okada | Dec 1993 | A |
| 5292127 | Kelly | Mar 1994 | A |
| 6626761 | Okada | Sep 2003 | B1 |
| 20050250574 | Kane | Nov 2005 | A1 |
| 20060009278 | Vancura | Jan 2006 | A1 |
| 20070054723 | Mattice | Mar 2007 | A1 |
| 20080176619 | Kelly | Jul 2008 | A1 |
| 20090325684 | Wudtke | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20180075691 | Sumi | Mar 2018 | A1 |
| 20190122493 | Ikeda | Apr 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2011-92719 | May 2011 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| Applicant published a pamphlet entitled “Fortune Guardians” in 2018 for distributing at ICE Totally Gaming, Excel London (Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL, UK) during Feb. 6 through 8, 2018 and at G2E Asia (G2E: Global Gaming Expo) Venetian Macau Convention & Exhibition Center (Estrada da Baia de Nossa Senhora da Esperanca, Macau) during May 15 through 17, 2018. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200043292 A1 | Feb 2020 | US |
