U.S. patent application number 10/984755 was filed with the patent office on 2005-04-28 for gaming machine.
This patent application is currently assigned to Aruze Corporation. Invention is credited to Hattori, Takanori.
Application Number | 20050087926 10/984755 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34528109 |
Filed Date | 2005-04-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050087926 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hattori, Takanori |
April 28, 2005 |
Gaming machine
Abstract
The present invention is a gaming machine in which a plurality
of medal accumulating parts 20a through 20d are disposed so that
these parts are sequentially disposed and ranged along the medal
discharge opening 17, the medals that are paid out from the
respective medal accumulating parts 20a through 20c are moved
sequentially and accumulated in the medal accumulating parts 20b
through 20d that are adjacent on the side of the medal discharge
opening 17, and the medals that are paid out from the medal
accumulating part 20d located closely to the medal discharge
opening 17 can be given to the player, wherein this gaming machine
comprises drawing means which perform a drawing used to determine
the presence or absence of a jackpot when medals are detected,
notification means 23a through 23d which make a notification of the
drawing results of the drawing means, and pay-out means 21a through
21d which pay out medals from the medal accumulating parts 20a
through 20d.
Inventors: |
Hattori, Takanori; (Tokyo,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SNIDER & ASSOCIATES
P. O. BOX 27613
WASHINGTON
DC
20038-7613
US
|
Assignee: |
Aruze Corporation
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
34528109 |
Appl. No.: |
10/984755 |
Filed: |
November 10, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10984755 |
Nov 10, 2004 |
|
|
|
10948131 |
Sep 24, 2004 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/138.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/3297
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
273/138.3 |
International
Class: |
A63F 001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 26, 2003 |
JP |
2003-336355 |
Nov 10, 2003 |
JP |
2003-380374 |
Sep 26, 2003 |
JP |
2003-336356 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A gaming machine comprising: a gaming machine having a
projection device for projection of medals into a gaming space;
said gaming machine having a medal discharge opening for
discharging medals to an outside of said gaming space; wherein said
gaming machine has a plurality of medal accumulating parts, and is
constructed so that said plurality of medal accumulating parts are
sequentially disposed and ranged along said medal discharge
opening, wherein the medals that are paid out from the respective
medal accumulating parts are sequentially moved and accumulated in
the medal accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of said
medal discharge opening, and wherein the medals that are paid out
from the medal accumulating parts that are located closely to said
medal discharge opening are discharged from said medal discharge
opening and given to the player; a detector for detecting the
medals that are projected from said projection device; a drawing
device for performing a drawing in order to determine the presence
or absence of a jackpot when the medals are detected by said
detector; a notification device for making a notification of the
drawing results of said drawing device; and a pay-out device for
paying out medals from the medal accumulating parts when
notification of a jackpot is made by said notification device.
2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein said
notification device comprises an LED lamp.
3. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein said
notification device comprises an LED pattern display device.
4. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of
said detectors are disposed corresponding to the respective medal
accumulating parts, said drawing device performs a drawing in order
to determine a presence or absence of a jackpot separately for each
of said plurality of detectors when medals are detected by said
detectors, said notification device is disposed corresponding to
each of said detectors, and said pay-out device pays out medals
from said medal accumulating parts when notification is made of a
jackpot by a combination of notification contents of a plurality of
notification devices disposed corresponding to the medal
accumulating parts.
5. The gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein said
notification device comprises an LED lamp.
6. The gaming machine according to claim 5, wherein said LED lamps
are respectively disposed corresponding to a plurality of said
detectors, and said respective LED lamps are lit or caused to blink
with a same color when said jackpot is activated.
7. The gaming machine according to claim 4, wherein said
notification device comprises an LED pattern display device.
8. The gaming machine according to claim 7, wherein said LED
pattern display devices are respectively disposed corresponding to
a plurality of said detectors, and said respective LED pattern
display devices display a same pattern when said jackpot is
activated.
9. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein said respective
medal accumulating parts are disposed above the medal accumulating
parts that are adjacent on the side of said medal discharge
opening, and medals in the respective medal accumulating parts are
caused to move by their own weight from these respective medal
accumulating parts, and are accumulated in the medal accumulating
parts that are adjacent on the side of said medal discharge
opening.
10. A gaming machine comprising: a gaming machine having a
projection device for projection of medals into a gaming space;
said gaming machine having a medal discharge opening for
discharging medals to an outside of said gaming space; wherein said
gaming machine has a plurality of medal accumulating parts, and is
constructed so that said plurality of medal accumulating parts are
sequentially disposed and ranged along said medal discharge
opening, wherein the medals that are paid out from the respective
medal accumulating parts are sequentially moved and accumulated in
the medal accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of said
medal discharge opening, and wherein the medals that are paid out
from the medal accumulating parts that are located closely to said
medal discharge opening are discharged from said medal discharge
opening and given to the player; detecting means for detecting the
medals that are projected from said projection device; drawing
means for performing a drawing in order to determine the presence
or absence of a jackpot when the medals are detected by said
detecting means; notification means for making a notification of
the drawing results of said drawing means; and pay-out means for
paying out medals from the medal accumulating parts when
notification of a jackpot is made by said notification means.
11. A gaming machine comprising: a gaming machine having a
projection device for projection of medals into a gaming space;
said gaming machine having a medal receiving opening for receiving
medals that are projected by said projection device; wherein said
gaming machine has a medal discharge opening for discharging medals
to the outside of said gaming space; wherein said gaming machine
has a plurality of medal accumulating parts, and is constructed so
that said plurality of medal accumulating parts are sequentially
disposed and ranged along said medal discharge opening, wherein the
medals that are paid out from the respective medal accumulating
parts are sequentially moved and accumulated in the medal
accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of said medal
discharge opening, and wherein the medals that are paid out from
the medal accumulating part that is located closely to said medal
discharge opening are discharged from said medal discharge opening
and given to the player; a detector for detecting the medals that
have entered into said medal receiving opening; a drawing device
for performing a drawing in order to determine the presence or
absence of a jackpot when the medals are detected by said detector;
a pay-out device for paying out medals from the medal accumulating
parts in accordance with the drawing results of said drawing
device; and a moving device for moving said medal receiving
opening.
12. The gaming machine according to claim 11, wherein said moving
device is a moving unit in which said medal receiving opening is
disposed in a suspended fashion, said moving unit causing said
medal receiving opening to move upwards and downwards.
13. The gaming machine according to claim 12, wherein said moving
unit comprises: a frame body fixed to a ceiling part inside said
gaming space; a raising and lowering motor provided inside said
frame body; and a rope winding part attached to the shaft of said
raising and lowering motor; the other end of the rope that is wound
about said rope winding part being attached to a member coupled to
said medal receiving opening.
14. The gaming machine according to claim 11, wherein an openable
and closable lid body is provided in the opening section of said
medal receiving opening into which the medals enter, in such a
manner that an opening and closing operation of said lid body is
performed with a prescribed timing.
15. The gaming machine according to claim 11, wherein said drawing
device performs a drawing in order to determine a presence or
absence of a jackpot with respect to the paying out of medals from
two or more medal accumulating parts of said plurality of medal
accumulating parts, when the medals have been detected by said
detector.
16. The gaming machine according to claim 11, comprising a
notification device for making a notification of the drawing
results of said drawing device.
17. The gaming machine according to claim 16, wherein said
notification device comprises an LED lamp.
18. The gaming machine according to claim 16, wherein said
notification device comprises an LED pattern display device.
19. The gaming machine according to claim 11, wherein said
respective medal accumulating parts are disposed above the medal
accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of said medal
discharge opening, and medals in the respective medal accumulating
parts are caused to move by their own weight from these respective
medal accumulating parts, and are accumulated in the medal
accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of said medal
discharge opening.
20. A gaming machine comprising: a gaming machine having a
projection device for projection of medals into a gaming space;
said gaming machine having a medal receiving opening for receiving
medals that are projected by said projection device; wherein said
gaming machine has a medal discharge opening for discharging medals
to the outside of said gaming space; wherein said gaming machine
has a plurality of medal accumulating parts, and is constructed so
that said plurality of medal accumulating parts are sequentially
disposed and ranged along said medal discharge opening, wherein the
medals that are paid out from the respective medal accumulating
parts are sequentially moved and accumulated in the medal
accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of said medal
discharge opening, and wherein the medals that are paid out from
the medal accumulating part that is located closely to said medal
discharge opening are discharged from said medal discharge opening
and given to the player; detecting means for detecting the medals
that have entered into said medal receiving opening; drawing means
for performing a drawing in order to determine the presence or
absence of a jackpot when the medals are detected by said detecting
means; pay-out means for paying out medals from the medal
accumulating parts in accordance with the drawing results of said
drawing means; and moving means for moving said medal receiving
opening.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation-in-part application of
U.S. Patent Application ______ (No. pending) filed on Sep. 24,
2004.
[0002] This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent
Application Nos. 2003-336355 filed on Sep. 26, 2003 and 2003-380374
filed on Nov. 10, 2003, which are incorporated herein by
reference.
[0003] Further, this application is related to Japanese Patent
Application No. 2003-336356, which was filed with the Japanese
Patent Office on Sep. 26, 2003.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] 1. Field of the Invention
[0005] The present invention relates to a gaming machine that is
installed in a so-called game arcade or the like.
[0006] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0007] Gaming machines which are equipped with staircase form medal
accumulating parts comprising a plurality of step parts, and which
are constructed so that medals are paid out from a step part (among
the abovementioned plurality of step parts) in accordance with the
results of a drawing that is performed when it is acknowledged that
a medal has entered a medal receiving opening, have been known in
the past (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
No. 2001-310077). In such a gaming machine, the paying out of
medals from the medal accumulating parts can be diversified so that
medals are paid out from the step part at the lower end and given
to the player, so that medals that are paid out from the step parts
on the upper side are accumulated in the step parts on the lower
side, or so that medals are paid out from all of the step parts and
large quantities of medals are given to the player, in accordance
with the drawing results.
[0008] However, in gaming machines of the type described above, the
following problem has been encountered: namely, when it is notified
that a player has won the abovementioned drawing so that a jackpot
has been activated, there is merely a pay-out of medals, so that
the player cannot enjoy a sufficient feeling of achievement at
having won the drawing. Furthermore, in spite of that a plurality
of medal accumulating parts are provided, there is only a pay-out
of medals when it is notified that the drawing has been won;
accordingly, there is a danger that the scenario of the medal
pay-out will be overlooked. When such events occur, the interest of
the game is conspicuously reduced, so that it may be predicted that
the player will no longer play the game.
[0009] Moreover, in a gaming machine such as that described above,
since a medal receiving opening is fixed in a prescribed position
within the gaming space, there is little movement in that medals
are simply inserted in the same direction towards the medal
receiving opening, thus creating monotonous game contents, and
hence the player may experience boredom.
[0010] Furthermore, since the game contents are such that medals
are simply inserted into a fixed medal receiving opening, then
whichever player plays the game, the frequency of inserting medals
into the medal receiving opening will be generally the same.
Therefore, the game results depend on the result of a drawing for
determining whether or not a jackpot has been activated, and it is
difficult to reflect the skill of the player in the game
results.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The gaming machine of the present invention will be
described in accordance with the first and second aspects as
follows.
[0012] The first aspect of the present invention is devised in
light of the abovementioned problems; it is an object of the first
aspect of the present invention to provide a gaming machine which
allows the player to experience a sufficient feeling of achievement
at having won a jackpot, and which can prevent the medal pay-out
scenario from being overlooked, so that the player can sufficiently
enjoy the game.
[0013] In order to solve the abovementioned problems, the first
aspect of the present invention is constructed as follows.
[0014] Specifically, the gaming machine comprising: a gaming
machine having a projection device for projection of medals into a
gaming space; the gaming machine having a medal discharge opening
for discharging medals to an outside of the abovementioned gaming
space; wherein the gaming machine has a plurality of medal
accumulating parts, and is constructed so that the plurality of
medal accumulating parts are sequentially disposed and ranged along
the medal discharge opening, wherein the medals that are paid out
from the respective medal accumulating parts are sequentially moved
and accumulated in the medal accumulating parts that are adjacent
on the side of the medal discharge opening, and wherein the medals
that are paid out from the medal accumulating parts that are
located closely to the medal discharge opening are discharged from
the medal discharge opening and given to the player;
[0015] detecting means for detecting the medals that are projected
from the projection device;
[0016] drawing means for conducting a drawing in order to determine
the presence or absence of a jackpot when the medals are detected
by the detecting means;
[0017] notification means for making a notification of the drawing
results of the drawing means; and
[0018] pay-out means for paying out medals from the medal
accumulating parts when notification of a jackpot is made by the
notification means.
[0019] Furthermore, it is desirable that the notification means
comprise an LED lamp.
[0020] Furthermore, it is desirable that the notification means
comprise an LED pattern display device.
[0021] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, a plurality of the
detecting means are disposed corresponding to the respective medal
accumulating parts, the drawing means perform a drawing in order to
determine a presence or absence of a jackpot separately for each of
a plurality of detecting means when the medals are detected by the
detecting means, the notification means are disposed corresponding
to each of the detecting means, and the pay-out means pay out
medals from the medal accumulating parts when notification is made
of a jackpot by a combination of notification contents of a
plurality of notification means disposed corresponding to the medal
accumulating parts.
[0022] Furthermore, in this case as well, the notification means
can be constructed as an LED lamp or LED pattern display
device.
[0023] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, the machine may also be
constructed so that the LED lamps are respectively disposed
corresponding to a plurality of the detecting means, and so that
the LED lamps are lit or caused to blink with a same color when the
jackpot is activated.
[0024] Furthermore, the notification means can be constructed as an
LED pattern display device.
[0025] Furthermore, the gaming machine may also be constructed so
that the abovementioned LED pattern display devices are
respectively disposed corresponding to a plurality of the detecting
means, and so that the LED pattern display devices are caused to
display a same pattern when the jackpot is activated.
[0026] Furthermore, the gaming machine may also be constructed so
that the respective medal accumulating parts are disposed above the
medal accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of the medal
discharge opening, and so that medals in the respective medal
accumulating parts are caused to move by their own weight from
these respective medal accumulating parts, and are accumulated in
the medal accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of the
medal discharge opening.
[0027] The second aspect of the present invention is devised with
the foregoing problems in view, an object thereof being to provide
a gaming machine which creates a rich sense of movement, and which
allows the skill of a player to be reflected in the game results,
thereby allowing the player to play the game without experiencing
boredom.
[0028] A gaming machine comprising: a gaming machine having a
projection device for projection of medals into a gaming space; the
gaming machine having a medal receiving opening for receiving
medals that are projected by the projection device; wherien the
gaming machine has a medal discharge opening for discharging medals
to the outside of the gaming space; wherein the gaming machine has
a plurality of medal accumulating parts, and is constructed so that
the plurality of medal accumulating parts are sequentially disposed
and ranged along the medal discharge opening, wherein the medals
that are paid out from the respective medal accumulating parts are
sequentially moved and accumulated in the medal accumulating parts
that are adjacent on the side of the medal discharge opening, and
wherein the medals that are paid out from the medal accumulating
part that is located closely to the medal discharge opening are
discharged from the medal discharge opening and given to the
player;
[0029] detecting means for detecting the medals that have entered
into the medal receiving opening;
[0030] drawing means for performing a drawing in order to determine
the presence or absence of a jackpot when the medals are detected
by the detecting means;
[0031] pay-out means for paying out medals from the medal
accumulating parts in accordance with the drawing results of the
drawing means; and
[0032] moving means for moving the medal receiving opening.
[0033] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, the moving means is a
moving unit in which the medal receiving opening is disposed in a
suspended fashion, the moving unit causing the medal receiving
opening to move upwards and downwards.
[0034] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, the moving unit
comprises: a frame body fixed to a ceiling part inside the gaming
space; a raising and lowering motor provided inside the frame body;
and a rope winding part attached to the shaft of the raising and
lowering motor; the other end of the rope that is wound about the
rope winding part being attached to a member coupled to the medal
receiving opening.
[0035] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, an openable and closable
lid body is provided in the opening section of the medal receiving
opening into which the medals enter, in such a manner that an
opening and closing operation of the lid body is performed with a
prescribed timing.
[0036] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, the drawing means
performs a drawing in order to determine a presence or absence of a
jackpot with respect to the paying out of medals from two or more
medal accumulating parts of the plurality of medal accumulating
parts, when the medals have been detected by the detecting
means.
[0037] Furthermore, the gaming machine may comprises a notification
means for making a notification of the drawing results of the
drawing means.
[0038] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, the notification means
comprises an LED lamp.
[0039] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, the notification means
comprises an LED pattern display device.
[0040] Furthermore, in the gaming machine, the respective medal
accumulating parts are disposed above the medal accumulating parts
that are adjacent on the side of the medal discharge opening,
and
[0041] medals in the respective medal accumulating parts are caused
to move by their own weight from these respective medal
accumulating parts, and are accumulated in the medal accumulating
parts that are adjacent on the side of the medal discharge
opening.
[0042] Furthermore, the medals used in the gaming machine in
accordance with the present invention may also include other
medium, such as a coin or a token, as well.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0043] FIG. 1 is a perspective view which schematically shows a
gaming machine constituting an embodiment in accordance with the
first aspect of the present invention;
[0044] FIG. 2 is a perspective view which schematically shows the
game field that is disposed inside the game space of the gaming
machine shown in FIG. 1;
[0045] FIG. 3 is a positional relationship which schematically
shows one of the transporting devices with which the gaming machine
shown in FIG. 1 is equipped;
[0046] FIG. 4A is a plan view which schematically shows the medal
accommodating part with which the gaming machine shown in FIG. 1 is
equipped;
[0047] FIG. 4B is a sectional view along line A-A in FIG. 4A;
[0048] FIG. 5 is a sectional view which schematically shows the
area in the vicinity of the launching device with which the gaming
machine shown in FIG. 1 is equipped;
[0049] FIG. 6 is a block diagram which schematically shows the
internal construction of the gaming machine shown in FIG. 1;
[0050] FIG. 7 is a flow chart which shows the game execution
processing routine that is executed in the gaming machine shown in
FIG. 1;
[0051] FIG. 8 is a flow chart which shows the medal supply
processing routine that is executed in the gaming machine shown in
FIG. 1;
[0052] FIGS. 9A through 9C are diagrams which show how the game is
played in the gaming machine shown in FIG. 1; and
[0053] FIGS. 10A through 10C are diagrams which show how the game
is played in the gaming machine shown in FIG. 1.
[0054] FIG. 11 is a perspective view which schematically shows a
gaming machine constituting an embodiment in accordance with the
second aspect of the present invention;
[0055] FIG. 12 is a perspective view which schematically shows the
game field that is disposed inside the game space of the gaming
machine shown in FIG. 11;
[0056] FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional view which schematically
shows a moving unit provided in the gaming machine shown in FIG.
11;
[0057] FIG. 14 is a block diagram which schematically shows the
internal construction of the gaming machine shown in FIG. 11;
[0058] FIG. 15 is a flow chart which shows the game execution
processing routine that is executed in the gaming machine shown in
FIG. 11; and
[0059] FIG. 16 is a diagram which shows one example of a drawing
probability table.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0060] Embodiments in accordance with the first aspect of the
present invention will be described below with reference to the
attached figures.
[0061] FIG. 1 is a perspective view which schematically shows an
example of a gaming machine constituting an embodiment in
accordance with the first aspect of the present invention. The
gaming machine 10 comprises a housing 12 which has substantially
the shape of a hexagonal column. The interior of the game space 13
can be viewed via window parts 14 consisting of a transparent
material that constitute parts of the housing 12. Furthermore, the
ceiling body 11 that forms a part of the housing 12 also consists
of a transparent material, so that the interior of the game space
13 can be viewed from above. Six game fields 15 constituting
targets at which medals are launched from a medal launching device
16 (described later) are respectively disposed inside the game
space 13 so that the hexagonal shape is divided into six parts from
the center. Furthermore, in the figures, only two of the six game
fields 15 are shown. (All the parts are not necessarily shown in
the figures with respect to other parts.).
[0062] Five transporting devices 50 which are used for the upward
conveying of medals that have dropped into medal dropping openings
37 (described later), and rails 45 that are respectively connected
to the upper parts of the five transporting device 50, are disposed
in the vicinity of the window parts 14 inside the game space 13.
The rails 45 are disposed so that these rails are inclined downward
from the upper parts of the transporting devices 50 toward a medal
accommodating part 90 disposed in the central part of the gam space
13. The medals that are transported upward by the transporting
devices 50 slide down the rails 45 and are accommodated in the
medal accommodating part 90. Furthermore, the rails 45 consist of a
transparent material such as an acrylic resin or the like, and are
arranged so that the medals that slide down the rails 45 can be
seen from the outside. Whenever a specified time (e.g., 5 minutes)
has elapsed, the medals accommodated in the medal accommodating
part 90 are supplied to one of a number of medal carrying locations
27 (not shown in the figures) that are respectively provided for
the six game fields 15. In this case, a drawing (hereafter referred
to as the "supply drawing") that is used to select the medal
carrying location 27 that is the object of medal supply among the
six medal carrying locations 27 is conducted, and medals are
supplied to the medal carrying locations 27 in accordance with the
results of this drawing.
[0063] Furthermore, the abovementioned transporting devices 50 and
medal accommodating part 90 will be described in detail later with
reference to the attached figures.
[0064] Launching devices 16 that are used to launch medals are
respectively disposed corresponding to the six game fields 15 in
the lower part of the housing 12, so that a maximum of six players
can simultaneously play the game. These launching devices 16 are
installed so that the devices can pivot in the vertical (up-down)
direction and left-right direction within a specified range. The
players determine the launching direction of the medals by pivoting
the launching devices 16 within the specified range in the vertical
and left-right directions, and launch medals by pressing a launch
button 122 (not shown in the figures), so that the medals are
launched inside the game space 13.
[0065] Furthermore, the permissible pivoting range and the like of
the launching devices 16 are set so that the launching devices 16
can project medals only onto the corresponding game fields 15.
[0066] Moreover, a medal removal opening 31 is disposed beneath
each launching device 16, and medals that are discharged to the
outside of the game space 13 via the medal discharge opening 17
(not shown in the figures) described later are supplied to the
medal removal openings 31, and given to the players.
[0067] Next, the game fields 15 disposed inside the game space 13
will be described.
[0068] FIG. 2 is a perspective view which schematically shows one
of the game fields 15 disposed inside the game space 13 of the
gaming machine 10 shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, in the following
description, one of the six game fields 15 provided in the gaming
machine 10 will be described.
[0069] This game field 15 comprises a medal carrying location 27
and four medal accumulating parts 20 (20a through 20d). The
accumulating parts 20 (20a through 20d) are constructed from the
inclined surface of the medal carrying location 27,
opening-and-closing doors 21 (21a through 21d) that will be
described later, medal receiving openings 22 (22a through 22d) that
will be described later, and side plates (not shown in the
figures). The side plates are disposed on both side parts of the
inclined surface of the medal carrying location 27 so as to contact
the medal receiving openings 22. Each of the medal accumulating
parts 20a through 20d can accumulate medals that are projected by
the corresponding launching device 16. Furthermore, the medal
accumulating part 20a can accumulate medals that are supplied from
the medal accommodating part 90 (see FIG. 1). The four medal
accumulating parts 20a through 20d are sequentially disposed and
ranged along the inclined surface of the medal carrying location 27
toward the player who is playing the game in front.
[0070] Opening-and-closing doors 21a through 21d consisting of a
transparent material such as an acrylic resin or the like are
respectively disposed before the respective medal accumulating
parts 20a through 20d. The players playing the game in front of the
medal accumulating parts 20a through 20d can visually observe the
medals that have accumulated in the medal accumulating parts 20a
through 20d via these opening-and-closing doors 21a through
21d.
[0071] The opening-and-closing doors 21 (21a through 21d) are
respectively connected to a stepping motor 32 (not shown in the
figures) via a transmission member or the like (not shown in the
figures) that can convert the rotational motion of the stepping
motor 32 into a rectilinear reciprocating motion, so that the
opening-and-closing doors can be moved upward or downward and
placed in an open state or closed state by the operation of the
stepping motor 32.
[0072] When the stepping motor 32 operates so that the
opening-and-closing doors 21a through 21d are placed in an open
state, the medals that are blocked slide and move downward along
the inclined surface of the medal carrying location 27 as a result
of their own weight.
[0073] Medal receiving openings 22a and 22d that are used to
receive medals that are launched by the launching devices 16 and
projected into the game space 13 are respectively disposed on the
left and right sides of each of the opening-and-closing doors 21a
through 21d. Furthermore, the medal receiving openings 22a through
22d respectively comprise LED lamps 23a through 23 that can emit
light of a plurality of different colors. In cases where it is
ascertained that a jackpot has been activated according to the
drawing results of the drawing that is used to determine the
presence or absence of a jackpot, the LED lamps 23 on the left and
right sides are lit with the same color, thus providing
notification that a jackpot has been activated. These LED lamps 23
function as notification means which provide notification of the
drawing results of the drawing that is used to determine the
presence or absence of jackpot. Furthermore, medal sensors 28 (not
shown in the figures) such as infrared light sensors or the like
are disposed inside the medal receiving openings 22a through 22d;
as a result, medals that have entered the respective medal
receiving openings 22 can be detected.
[0074] For example, when a medal enters one of the medal receiving
openings 22a among the two medal receiving openings 22a disposed in
the medal accumulating part 20a, it is acknowledged that a medal
has been detected by the medal sensor 28 constituting the detecting
means; in this case, the LED lamp 23a disposed in one of the medal
receiving openings 22a blinks while sequentially changing colors,
and is then lit with a specified color after a specified period of
time has elapsed. If a medal enters the other medal receiving
opening 22a in a state in which one of the LED lamps 23a is lit
with a specified color, and this medal is detected by the medal
sensor 28, the LED lamp 23a disposed in the other medal receiving
opening 22a blinks while changing colors, and is then lit with a
specified color. In this case, if the color with which the two LED
lamps 23a are lit is the same color, it is recognized that a
jackpot has been activated, and the opening-and-closing doors 21a
are driven by the stepping motor 32 so that the opening-and-closing
doors 21a are placed in an open state. Then, the medals that are
blocked by the opening-and-closing doors 21a slide downward along
the inclined surface of the medal carrying location 27, and are
accumulated in the medal accumulating part 20b located beneath the
medal accumulating part 20a.
[0075] Furthermore, in the case of the medal accumulating parts 20b
through 20d, as in the case of the medal accumulating part 20a,
after medals respectively enter the two medal receiving openings 22
(medal receiving openings 22b through 22d) provided in the medal
accumulating parts 20 (medal accumulating parts 20b through 20d),
if the color with which the LED lamps 23 that are respectively
provided in the two medal receiving openings 22 is the same color,
the opening-and-closing doors 21 (opening-and-closing doors 21b
through 21d) are respectively place in an open state, and the
medals are paid out.
[0076] The medals that are paid out from the medal accumulating
parts 20a through 20c respectively move under their own weight into
the medal accumulating parts 20b through 20d that are adjacent on
the side of the medal discharge opening 17, and that are positioned
lower than the medal accumulating parts 20a through 20c, and are
accumulated in these medal accumulating parts 20b through 20d. The
medals that are paid out from the medal accumulating part 20d that
is located closely to the medal discharge opening 17 slide
downward, and are either carried on the field plate 34 (described
later), caused to drop into the medal discharge opening 17 from the
field plate 34 and given to the player, or caused to drop into the
medal dropping opening 37 and conveyed by the abovementioned
transporting device 50.
[0077] For example, the system may be devised as follows:
specifically, the medals that are accumulated in the uppermost
medal accumulating part 20a are sequentially caused to move into
the medal accumulating parts 20b, 20c and 20d that are adjacent on
the side of the medal discharge opening 17, and the medals that are
respectively accumulated in the medal accumulating parts 20a
through 20c are caused to move into the medal accumulating part
20d. Subsequently, medals are paid out from the medal accumulating
part 20d, so that all of the medals accumulated in the medal
accumulating parts 20a through 20d are paid out from the medal
accumulating part 20d at one time.
[0078] A horizontal medal push-out part 33 is disposed on the front
part of the medal carrying location 27, and a field plate 34 is
disposed on the central part of the undersurface of the medal
push-out part 33. The field plate 34 is connected to a motor 35
(not shown in the figures) via a transmission member (not shown in
the figures) or the like that can convert the rotational motion of
the motor 35 into a rectilinear reciprocating motion, and the field
plate 34 is thus constructed so that this field plate can be caused
to perform a reciprocating motion between the front side and inside
side by the operation of the motor 35. The field plate 34 has a
length which is such that medals can be placed on the front side of
the medal push-out member 33 even when the field plate 34 has moved
to the furthest inside point. When projected medals and medals that
have been paid out from the medal accumulating part 20d are placed
on the field plate 34 in a case where the field plate 34 has moved
to the front side, these projected medals are pushed out by the
medal push-out part 33 when the field plate 34 subsequently moves
to the inside side so that other medals carried on the field plate
34 can be pushed out and caused to drop into the medal discharge
opening 17.
[0079] Furthermore, medal dropping openings 37 are disposed on the
left and right sides of the medal discharge opening 17. Projected
medals, medals paid out from the medal accumulating part 20d and
the like slide down along the inclined surface of the medal
carrying location 27 and drop into the medal dropping openings 37,
whereupon these medals are transported by the transporting devices
50 and accommodated in the medal accommodating part 90.
[0080] Furthermore, the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment need
not necessarily be a so-called pusher gaming machine comprising a
medal push-out part 33 and field plate 34; for example, the machine
may also be constructed so that the medals that slide downward
along the medal carrying location 27 can drop directly into the
medal discharge opening 17 or medal dropping openings 37.
[0081] Next, one of the transporting devices 50 will be described
with reference to the attached figures.
[0082] FIG. 3 is a partially cut-away perspective view which
schematically shows this transporting device 50.
[0083] The transporting device 50 is a device in which medals that
have dropped into the medal dropping opening 37 (see FIG. 2), been
caused to slide down the rails 51 communicating with the medal
dropping opening 37, and placed on a stopper 52 on the tip end of
the rails 51, are conveyed upward and fed onto rails 45 that
communicate with the medal accommodating part 90 (see FIG. 2). The
stopper 52 on the tip ends of the rails 51 has a comb-form shape,
and is constructed with the tip end being bent so that medals that
slide downward along the rails 51 can be stopped in the vicinity of
the stopper 52.
[0084] The transporting device 50 comprises a medal elevator
mechanism 70 that can lift medals that have been placed on the
stopper 52. The medal elevator mechanism 70 has a plurality of
buckets 71 that are used to accommodate the medals carried on the
stopper 52, and a bucket driving device 72 containing a motor that
is used to circulate the buckets 71 in the vertical direction. A
sprocket 73 is attached to the drive shat 72a of the motor inside
the bucket driving device 72, and a chain 75 to which the plurality
of buckets 71 are attached is mounted on this sprocket 73 and
another sprocket 73 that is positioned above this sprocket 73. The
upper sprocket 73 is attached to supporting plates 64a and 64b so
that this sprocket 73 is free to rotate.
[0085] A medal supporting plate 71a that is used to support medals
is disposed on each bucket 71, and the respective medal supporting
plates 71a are inclined downward toward the side of the supporting
plate 64a from the side of the supporting plate 64b. Furthermore,
the end part on the upper side of each medal supporting plate 71a
has a comb-form shape, and when the medal supporting plate 71a is
raised from the lower end, the comb part of the medal supporting
plate 71a and the comb part of the stopper 52 cross so as to face
each other, so that the medals carried on the stopper 52 are
scooped up when the medal supporting plate 71a passes the upper
side of the stopper 52.
[0086] Furthermore, a medal stopper 76 that is used to prevent the
medals from dropping downward from the medal supporting plate 71a
of each bucket 71 is disposed on the supporting plate 64a. The
medal stopper 76 extends in the vertical direction, and when the
medal supporting plate 71a carrying the medals reaches the upper
end of the medal stopper 76, the medals carried on the medal
supporting plate 71a slide downward, and move onto the rails
45.
[0087] Furthermore, a medal hopper that is used to perform the
paying out of medals may be disposed inside the housing 12, and the
system may be devised so that medals paid out from this medal
hopper are supplied to the stopper 52 besides the medals that are
supplied to the stopper 52 from the medal dropping openings 37. By
doing this, it is possible to cause a maximum quantity of medals to
be accommodated on each medal supporting plate 71a, so that the
player can be caused to experience a strong sense of anticipation
regarding the supply of medals from the medal accommodating part
90.
[0088] Furthermore, the system may also be devised so that medals
that have dropped from the medal dropping openings 37 are not
supplied directly to the medal stopper 52, but are instead
temporarily accumulated in the medal hopper, so that medals paid
out from the medal hopper are supplied to the stopper 52.
[0089] As is shown in FIG. 3, each transporting device 50 is
constructed so that the transported medals can be visually observed
from the outside; furthermore, as is described above, the rails 45
that are connected to the transporting device 50 consist of a
transparent material. As a result, the player can visually observe
the meals that are conveyed to the medal accommodating part 90 by
the transporting device 50 and rails 45 via the window part 14 (see
FIG. 1).
[0090] Next, the medal accommodating part 90 will be described with
reference to the attached figures.
[0091] FIG. 4A is a plan view which schematically shows the medal
accommodating part 90 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4B is a sectional
view along line A-A in FIG. 4A.
[0092] As is shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the medal accommodating part
90 has a substantially hexagonal spindle shape; furthermore, as is
shown in FIG. 4A, six opening-and-closing parts 91 are formed in
the circumferential edge part of the medal accommodating part 90 so
that these opening-and-closing parts can open and close.
[0093] When the opening-and-closing parts 91 are in a closed state,
the medals that are carried on the inclined surface 98 are blocked
by the opening-and-closing parts 91. Then, when the
opening-and-closing parts 91 are lowered so that the
opening-and-closing parts 91 are placed in an open state, the
medals carried on the inclined surface 98 slide downward, and move
into the medal accumulating parts 20 (20a through 20d).
[0094] In the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment, a supply
drawing that is used to select the medal carrying location 27 that
is the object of medal supply among the six medal carrying
locations 27 of the medal accommodating part 90 is performed each
time that a specified period of time (e.g., 5 minutes) elapses. The
opening-and-closing part 91 for the selected medal carrying
location 27 is placed in an open state in accordance with the
results of this supply drawing, and the medals accommodated in the
medal accommodating part 90 are supplied to the medal accumulating
part 20a disposed on the medal carrying location 27.
[0095] As is shown in FIG. 4B, a tooth-form part 95 is disposed on
the lower part of each opening-and-closing part 91. Furthermore, a
gear 93 attached to the shat of an opening-and-closing motor 92
(not shown in the figures) is disposed in the vicinity of the lower
end of the tooth-form part 95. The gear 93 engages with a gear 94
that is disposed between the tooth-form part 95 of the
opening-and-closing part 91 and the gear 93, and the gear 94
engages with the tooth-form part 95.
[0096] Furthermore, a raising limit position sensor 96 which is a
mechanical type sensor is disposed in the vicinity of the upper end
of the tooth-form part 95, and a lowering limit position sensor
which is a mechanical type sensor is disposed on the upper side of
the gear 94 in the vicinity of the tooth-form part 95.
[0097] When the opening-and-closing part 91 is to be opened, the
opening-and-closing motor 92 operates so that the gear 93 rotates
in the right-hand direction, thus causing the opening-and-closing
part 91 to be lowered. Then, when a contact 95a disposed on the
upper end of the tooth-form part 95 is detected by the lowering
limit position sensor 97 during the lowering of the
opening-and-closing part 91, the rotation of the
opening-and-closing motor 92 is stopped. Then, when a fixed period
of time (e.g., 5 seconds) has elapsed, the opening-and-closing
motor 92 is caused to rotate in the reverse direction (left-hand
rotation), so that the opening-and-closing part 91 is raised. When
the contact 95a is detected by the raising limit position sensor 96
during the raising of the opening-and-closing part 91, the rotation
of the opening-and-closing motor 92 is stopped.
[0098] The supply of medals to the medal accumulating part 20a from
the medal accommodating part 90 is accomplished by the raising and
lowering of the abovementioned opening-and-closing part 91.
[0099] Furthermore, in FIG. 4B, only the tooth-form part 95
disposed on one side (the upper side in FIG. 4A) of the
opening-and-closing part 91 is shown; however, the
opening-and-closing part 91 has tooth-form parts 95 on both the
left and right sides, and is constructed so that the both the left
and right tooth-form parts 95 can be driven by the motor 92.
Furthermore, the raising limit position sensor 96 and lowering
limit position sensor 97 may be disposed on both the left and right
sides, or may be disposed on only one side. In a case where the
raising limit position sensor 96 and lowering limit position sensor
97 are disposed on one side of the opening-and-closing part 91, the
detection of the contact 95a by the raising limit position sensor
96 and lowering limit position sensor 97 is acknowledged, and the
rotation of motors 92 respectively provided for both the left and
right tooth-form parts 95 is stopped.
[0100] Next, the launching device 16 will be described with
reference to the attached figures.
[0101] FIG. 5 is a sectional view which shows the area in the
vicinity of one of the launching devices 16 of the housing 12
schematically. Furthermore, in FIG. 5, for convenience of
description, a state is shown in which a portion of this launching
device 16 is viewed in a sectional view.
[0102] As is shown in FIG. 5, launching device 16 is attached on
the lower side of the window part 14 of the housing 12 so that this
launching device 16 can pivot within a specified range in the
vertical direction and left-right direction. The player can cause
the launching device 16 to pivot in the vertical direction and
left-right direction by operating a lever 120 that is disposed on
the launching device 16. Furthermore, a launch button 122 is
disposed on this lever 120, and the player can launch medals 1 by
pressing this launch button 122.
[0103] A medal loading opening 118 is formed in the left side of
the launching device 16, and a medal launching opening 119 is
formed in the right side of the launching device 16. Furthermore,
guide rails 123 that communicate with the medal loading opening 118
and medal launching opening 119 are disposed inside the launching
device 16. These guide rails 123 are disposed so that the rails are
inclined downward toward the inside end, and are bent upward at an
intermediate point. Furthermore, a stopper 121 is disposed inside
the launching device 16, and a shutter 124 is disposed to the
inside of the stopper 121. The stopper 121 can be moved upward and
downward by the operation of a solenoid that is attached to the
stopper 121, and the shutter 124 can be opened and closed by the
operation of a motor that is attached to the shutter 124.
Furthermore, the stopper 121 and shutter 124 are disposed at a
spacing that is greater than the diameter of the medals 1.
[0104] Furthermore, a launching roller 125 is attached to a
launching motor (not shown in the figures) on the right side of the
shutter 124. The launching roller 125 can be caused to rotate in
the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure by the operation
of the launching motor. Furthermore, the launching roller 125 is
disposed so that this roller contacts the medals 1 that slide
downward along the guide rails 123. When the launching roller 125
contacts the medals 1 that slide downward along the guide rails 123
while the launching roller 125 is rotating, the medals 1 can be
accelerated, so that the medals 1 can be launched in a good
attitude from the medal launching opening 119.
[0105] When a plurality of medals 1 enter the medal loading opening
118, the plurality of medals 1 are blocked by the shutter 124. In
this case, the stopper 121 is in an open state, and one medal 1 is
present between the stopper 121 and the shutter 124. When the
launch button 122 is pressed, the stopper 121 moves downward, so
that the medal 1 that is present in front of the stopper is
blocked; then, immediately afterward, the shutter 124 is placed in
a pivoted open state, and the launching roller 125 rotates, so that
the medal 1 that is present between the stopper 121 and shutter 124
slides downward along the guide rails 123, is accelerated by
contact with the launching roller 125, and is launched from the
medal launching opening 119.
[0106] In the figure, as shown by the arrow of chain double-dashed
line, the medals 1 launched from the medal launching opening 119
are projected into the game space 13.
[0107] When a specified time (e.g., 0.5 seconds) has elapsed
following the placing of the shutter 124 in an open state, the
shutter 124 pivots and is placed in a closed state; furthermore,
the stopper 121 moves upward so that a medal 1 is fed out as far as
the shutter 124. Then, when the launch button 122 is pressed again,
this medal 1 is launched by the method described above.
Furthermore, for example, the abovementioned elapsed time can be
set in accordance with the period of time extending from the point
in time at which the shutter 124 is placed in an open state (when
the launching device 16 approaches most closely to a horizontal
attitude) to the point in time at which the medal 1 passes the
lower end of the shutter 124 or the like. Furthermore, it would
also be possible to install a sensor in the vicinity of the medal
launching opening 119, and to devise the system so that the shutter
124 is placed in a closed state when the medal that is accelerated
by the launching roller 125 is detected by the abovementioned
sensor after the shutter 124 has been placed in an open state.
[0108] FIG. 6 is a block diagram which schematically shows the
internal construction of the gaming machine constituting this
embodiment. As is shown in FIG. 6, a control part 60 is disposed
inside the housing 12 of the gaming machine 10. The control part 60
comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 66, a ROM 62 and a RAM
64.
[0109] The ROM 62 stores game programs that control the flow of the
overall games of the gaming machine 10, programs relating to the
drawing that is conducted in order to establish the presence or
absence of a jackpot, programs used to conduct the supply drawing
that is used to select the medal carrying location 27 that is the
object of medal supply, audio data that is required in order to
generate BGM, effect sounds and the like in accordance with the
game conditions, and other data. Furthermore, the ROM 62 also
stores drawing probability tables that are required in order to
conduct the drawing that is used to determine the presence or
absence of a jackpot, supply drawing probability tables that are
required in order to conduct the supply drawing used to select the
medal carrying location 27 that is the object of medal supply among
the six medal carrying locations 27, and the like.
[0110] The CPU 66 is connected to the medal sensors 28 and LED
lamps 23 (23a through 23d) disposed in the medal receiving openings
22 (22a through 22d) via an interface circuit 61. When it is
detected by medal sensor 28 that a medal has entered one of the two
medal receiving openings 22, a detection signal is sent to the CPU
66 via the interface circuit 61. Then, the CPU 66 that has received
such a detection signal from the medal sensor 28 determines the lit
color of the LED lamp 23 in one medal receiving opening 22, and
sends a control signal to the LED lamp 23 which causes this lamp to
be lit with the determined lit color.
[0111] Furthermore, when it is detected by the medal sensor 28 that
a medal has entered the other medal receiving opening 22, a
detection signal is sent to the CPU 66 via the interface 61. Then,
the CPU 66 that has received such a detection signal from the medal
sensor 28 performs a drawing on the basis of the abovementioned
drawing probability table that is stored in the ROM 62, and, in
cases where a jackpot has been activated, the CPU 66 transmits a
control signal to the LED lamp 23 of the other medal receiving
opening 22 which causes this LED lamp 23 to be lit with the same
color as the previously lit LED lamp 23.
[0112] Furthermore, the CPU 66 is connected to the medal
accommodating part 90 via an interface circuit 63. Each time that a
specified period of time has elapsed, the CPU 66 sends a driving
signal to the opening-and-closing motor 92, and causes the
opening-and-closing motor 92 to operate. When the CPU 66 receives a
detection signal from the lowering limit position sensor 97 during
the lowering of the opening-and-closing part 91 by the rotation of
the opening-and-closing motor 92, the CPU 66 sends a control signal
to the opening-and-closing motor 92 and stops the
opening-and-closing motor 92. Then, after a fixed period of time (5
seconds) has elapsed, the CPU 66 again sends a control signal to
the opening-and-closing motor 92 and causes the opening-and-closing
motor 92 to rotate in the reverse direction so that the
opening-and-closing part 91 is raised. Furthermore, when the CPU 66
receives a detection signal from the raising limit position sensor
96 during the raising of the opening-and-closing part 91, the CPU
66 sends a control signal to the opening-and-closing motor 92 and
stops the opening-and-closing motor 92.
[0113] Furthermore, the CPU 66 is connected to a stepping motor 32,
motor 35 and speaker 46 via an interface circuit 65.
[0114] The stepping motor 32 is used to open and close the
opening-and-closing doors 21 (21a through 21d) of the medal
accumulating parts 20 (20a through 20d), and the motor 35 is used
to cause a reciprocating motion of the abovementioned field plate
34.
[0115] As is described above, the speaker 46 is used to output BGM,
voice, effect sounds or the like in accordance with the game
conditions.
[0116] The game that is played in the gaming machine constituting
this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7
and 8.
[0117] FIG. 7 is a flow chart which shows the game execution
processing routine that is executed in the gaming machine 10 shown
in FIG. 1. This subroutine is called up and executed when the power
supply of the gaming machine 10 is switched on. Furthermore, in the
case of this game execution processing, since the same processing
is performed for each of the four medal accumulating parts 20 (20a
through 20d), the processing performed for one medal accumulating
part 20 among the four medal accumulating parts 20 (20a through
20d) will be described below.
[0118] First, the CPU 66 determines whether or not a medal has
entered either of the two medal receiving openings 22 (step S10).
Specifically, the CPU 66 determines whether or not a detection
signal has been received from the medal sensor 28 detecting a medal
that has entered one of the two medal receiving openings 22
installed in the medal accumulating part 20. In cases where it is
determined in step S10 that no medal has entered either of the two
medal receiving openings 22, this subroutine is ended.
[0119] On the other hand, in cases where it is determined that a
medal has entered one of the two medal receiving openings 22, the
CPU 66 next determines whether or not lit color data has already
been stored in the RAM 64 (step S12). This lit color data is data
that relates to the lit color of the LED lamps 23 of the medal
receiving openings 22 determined in step S18 (described below), and
is stored in the RAM 64. The information that lit color data is
already stored in the RAM 64 indicates that a medal has already
entered one of the medal receiving openings 22, and that the
corresponding LED lamp 23 is lit with the lit color determined in
step S18.
[0120] In cases where it is determined in step S12 that lit color
data has already been stored in the RAM 64, this subroutine is
ended.
[0121] On the other hand, in cases where it is determined in step
S12 that no lit color data is stored in the RAM 64, the CPU 66 next
determines whether or not lit color data relating to the other
medal receiving opening is stored in the RAM 64 (step S14). The
information that lit color data relating to the other medal
receiving opening 22 is stored in the RAM 64 in step S14 indicates
that a medal has already entered this other medal receiving opening
22 prior to the entry of a medal into the first medal receiving
opening 22 so that the LED lamp 23 is lit with the lit color
determined in step S18.
[0122] In cases where it is determined in step S14 that lit color
data relating to the other medal receiving opening 22 is not stored
in the RAM 64, the CPU 66 next executes processing that causes the
LED lamp 23 of the first medal receiving opening 22 to blink (step
S16). When the processing of this step S16 is executed, the LED
lamp 23 blinks while sequentially changing color. Furthermore, the
blinking of this LED lamp 23 is performed for a fixed period of
time (e.g., 3 seconds).
[0123] When the processing of step S16 has been executed, the CPU
66 next executes lit color determination processing (step S18). In
this step S18, the CPU 66 performs a lit color determining drawing
on the basis of a lit color determination probability table stored
in the ROM 62, and stores lit color data relating to the determined
lit color in the RAM 64.
[0124] When the processing of step S18 has been executed, the CPU
66 next executes processing that lights the LED lamp 23 of the
first medal receiving opening 22 with the lit color determined in
step S18 (step S20). When the processing of step S20 has been
executed, this subroutine is ended.
[0125] In cases where it is determined in the abovementioned step
S14 that lit color data relating to the other medal receiving
opening 22 is stored in the RAM 64, the CPU 66 next executes
processing that causes the LED lamp 23 of the first medal receiving
opening 22 to blink (step S22). When the processing of this step
S22 is executed, the LED lamp 23 blinks while sequentially changing
color. Furthermore, the blinking of this LED lamp 23 is performed
for a fixed period of time (e.g., 3 seconds).
[0126] When the processing of step S22 has been executed, the CPU
66 next executes drawing processing (step S24). In this step S24,
the CPU 66 performs a drawing on the basis of the abovementioned
drawing probability table in order to determine the presence or
absence of a jackpot. The results of this drawing are stored in the
RAM 64 as drawing data. In this drawing, a drawing is performed
that determines whether a jackpot has been activated or missed.
[0127] When the processing of this step S24 is executed, the
control part 60 functions as drawing means which perform a drawing
in order to determine the presence or absence of a jackpot when
medals are detected by the medal sensors 28 disposed in both of the
two medal receiving openings 22.
[0128] When the processing of step S24 has been executed, the CPU
66 next determines whether or not a jackpot has been activated
(step S26). Specifically, the CPU 66 determines whether or not the
drawing data stored in the RAM 64 is drawing data that corresponds
to a jackpot.
[0129] In cases where it is determined in step S26 that a jackpot
has not been activated, i.e., in cases where the drawing data
stored in the RAM 64 is drawing data that corresponds to a "miss",
the CPU 66 next executes processing that causes the LED lamp 23 of
the first medal receiving opening 22 be lit with a different color
than that of the LED lamp 23 of the other medal receiving opening
22 (step S28). In this step S28, the CPU 66 causes the LED lamp 23
of the first medal receiving opening 22 to be lit on the basis of
the lit color data relating to the other medal receiving opening 22
that is stored in the RAM 64 in the abovementioned step S20, so
that this lit color is a lit color that is different from the lit
color of the LED lamp 23 of the other medal receiving opening
22.
[0130] On the other hand, in cases where it is determined in step
S26 that a jackpot has been activated, the CPU 66 next executes
processing that causes the LED lamp 23 of the first medal receiving
opening 22 to be lit with light of the same color as that of the
LED lamp 23 of the other medal receiving opening 22 (step S30). In
this step S30, the CPU 66 lights the LED lamp 23 of the first medal
receiving opening 22 on the basis of the lit color data relating to
the other medal receiving opening 22 that is stored in the RAM 64
in the abovementioned step S20 so that this lit color is the same
as the light color of the LED lamp 23 of the other medal receiving
opening 22.
[0131] When the processing of step S30 has been executed, the CPU
66 next executes processing that opens the opening-and-closing
doors 21 (step S32). In this step S32, the CPU 66 sends a driving
signal to the stepping motor 32 and lowers the opening-and-closing
doors 21 so that these doors are placed in an open state. When the
processing of this step S32 is executed so that the
opening-and-closing doors 21 are placed in an open state, the
medals that have accumulated in the medal accumulating part 20 are
paid out. Furthermore, when the processing of this step S32 is
executed, the control part 60, stepping motor 32 and
opening-and-closing doors 21 function as pay-out means which pay
out medals from the medal accumulating part 20.
[0132] In cases where the processing of step S32 has been executed,
or in cases where the processing of the abovementioned step S28 has
been executed, the CPU 66 next executes reset processing, so that
the two LED lamps 23 are both extinguished, and so that the lit
color data stored in the RAM 64 is erased. When the processing of
step S34 has been executed, this subroutine is ended.
[0133] In the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment, as is shown in
FIG. 7, the transmission that medals have respectively entered the
two medal receiving openings 22 disposed in each medal accumulating
part 20 is notified, and a drawing is performed in order to
determine the presence or absence of a jackpot. In cases where the
drawing results indicate that a jackpot has been activated, the
player is notified of this jackpot by the lighting of the two LED
lamps 23 with the same lit color, and medals are paid out from the
medal accumulating part 20. On the other hand, in cases where the
drawing results indicate that a jackpot has not been activated
(i.e., that the jackpot has been missed), the two LED lamps 23 are
lit with different lit colors, so that the player is notified that
the drawing results indicate a "miss". Furthermore, as is described
with reference to FIG. 7, in cases where medals have entered one of
the two medal receiving openings 22 in continuous succession, a
drawing used to determine the presence or absence of a jackpot is
not performed.
[0134] FIG. 8 is a flow chart which shows the medal supply
processing routine that is executed in the gaming machine 10 shown
in FIG. 1. This subroutine is called up and executed when the power
supply of the gaming machine 10 is switched on.
[0135] First, the CPU 66 determines whether or not a specified
period of time (5 minutes) has elapsed (step S40). In cases where
it is determined that this specified period of time has not
elapsed, the CPU 66 again performs the determination processing of
step S40. On the other hand, in cases where it is determined in
step S40 that the abovementioned specified period of time has
elapsed, the CPU 66 next executes supply drawing processing (step
S42). In this step S42, the CPU 66 performs a drawing on the basis
of the supply drawing probability table that is stored in the ROM
62, and selects the medal carrying location 27 that is the object
of medal supply among the six medal carrying locations 27 on the
basis of the drawing results.
[0136] When the processing of step S42 has been executed, the CPU
66 next sends a driving signal to the opening-and-closing motor 92
in order to open the opening-and-closing part 91 associated with
the medal carrying location 27 that has been selected in step S42,
and causes this opening-and-closing motor 92 to rotate (step S44).
When the processing of this step S44 is executed, the
opening-and-closing motor 92 rotates in the rightward direction, so
that the opening-and-closing part 91 is lowered (see FIG. 4).
[0137] When the processing of step S44 has been executed, the CPU
66 next determines whether or not a detection signal has been
received from the lowering limit position sensor 97 (step S46).
Specifically, the CPU 66 determines whether or not a detection
signal transmitted from the lowering limit position sensor 97 as a
result of the contact 95a disposed on the comb-form part 95 being
detected by the lowering limit position sensor 97 during the
lowering of the opening-and-closing part 91 has been received.
[0138] In cases where it is determined in step S46 that a detection
signal has not been received, the CPU 66 again performs the
determination processing of step S46.
[0139] On the other hand, in cases where it is determined in step
S46 that a detection signal has been received, the CPU 66 next
sends a stopping signal to the opening-and-closing motor 92 in
order to stop the lowering of the opening-and-closing part 91, and
thus stops the rotation of the opening-and-closing motor 92 (step
S48).
[0140] When the processing of step S48 has been executed, the CPU
66 next waits until a specified period of time (5 seconds) has
elapsed, and maintains the stopped state of the opening-and-closing
part 91 (step S50). Then, in order to raise the opening-and-closing
part 91, the CPU 66 sends a driving signal to the
opening-and-closing motor 92, and causes the opening-and-closing
motor 92 to perform reverse rotation (step S52). When the
processing of this step S52 is executed, the opening-and-closing
motor 92 rotates in the leftward direction, so that the
opening-and-closing part 91 is raised (see FIG. 4).
[0141] When the processing of step S52 has been executed, the CPU
66 next determines whether or not a detection signal has been
received from the raising limit position sensor 96 (step S54).
Specifically, the CPU 66 determines whether or not a detection
signal transmitted from the raising limit position sensor 96 as a
result of the contact 95a disposed on the comb-form part 95 being
detected by the raising limit position sensor 96 during the raising
of the opening-and-closing part 91 has been received.
[0142] In cases where it is determined in step S54 that a detection
signal has not been received, the CPU 66 again performs the
determination processing of step S54.
[0143] In cases where it is determined in step S54 that a detection
signal has been received, the CPU 66 next sends a stopping signal
to the opening-and-closing motor 92 in order to stop the raising of
the opening-and-closing part 91, and thus stops the rotation of the
opening-and-closing motor 92 (step S56). When the processing of
step S56 has been executed, this subroutine is ended.
[0144] In the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment, as is described
with reference to FIG. 8, a supply drawing that is used to select
the medal carrying location 27 that is the object of medal supply
is performed, and the opening-and-closing part 91 is placed in an
open state for a fixed period of time (5 seconds) in order to
supply medals to the medal carrying location 27 that is selected on
the basis of the drawing results. When the opening-and-closing part
91 is placed in an open state, the medals slide downward along the
inclined surface 98 of the medal accommodating part 90, so that the
medals move into the medal accumulating part 20 installed on the
medal carrying location 27.
[0145] Next, the game that is played in the gaming machine 10 of
this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and
10.
[0146] FIGS. 9A through 9C and 10A through 10C are diagrams which
show how the game is played in the gaming machine 10 of this
embodiment.
[0147] For example, when a medal enters the left-side medal
receiving opening 22a of the two uppermost medal receiving openings
22a among the medal receiving openings 22 (22a through 22d) that
are provided with two of these medal receiving openings 22 being
provided for each of four medal accumulating parts 20 (20a through
20d) as shown in FIG. 9A, the LED lamp 23a that is disposed in the
left-side medal receiving opening 22a (as shown in FIG. 9B) blinks
while sequentially changing color, and is then lit with a specified
color as shown in FIG. 9C after a fixed period of time has
elapsed.
[0148] Then, when a medal enters the medal receiving opening 22a on
the opposite side (right side) after the LED lamp 23a installed in
the left-side medal receiving opening 22a is lit with a specified
color, a drawing that is used to determine the presence or absence
of a jackpot is performed, and if a jackpot is activated, the LED
lamp 23 disposed in the right-side medal receiving opening 22a
blinks while sequentially changing color as shown in FIG. 10A, and
is then lit with the same color as the lit color of the LED lamp
23a of the left-side medal receiving opening 22a (as shown in FIG.
10B) after a fixed period of time has elapsed, so that the player
is notified that a jackpot has been activated on the basis of the
results of the abovementioned drawing.
[0149] Furthermore, after the abovementioned notification that a
jackpot has been activated is made, the opening-and-closing doors
21a are lowered so that these doors assume an open state as shown
in FIG. 10C, and the medals that have accumulated in the medal
accumulating part 20a are paid out. The medals that are paid out
from the medal accumulating part 20a slide downward along the
inclined surface of the medal carrying location 27 under their own
weight, and are accumulated in the medal accumulating part 20b
located beneath the medal accumulating part 20a.
[0150] In the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment, as is described
with reference to FIGS. 1 through 10A-10C, notification that a
jackpot has been activated is made by lighting both of the two LED
lamps 23 that are installed in each of the medal accumulating parts
20 with the same lit color. Accordingly, the activating of a
jackpot can be recognized by direct perception. Furthermore, the
feeling of achievement at having activated a jackpot can be
sufficiently experienced as a result of such notification that a
jackpot has been activated, and overlooking of the scenario in
which the medals are paid out can be prevented. As a result, the
players can thoroughly enjoy the game.
[0151] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment,
drawings that are used to determine the presence or absence of a
jackpot are performed separately for each of the two medal sensors
28 when medals are detected by the two medal sensors 28 that are
installed in each of the four medal accumulating parts 20.
Accordingly, the player projects medals while aiming at both of the
two medal receiving openings 22 for which medal sensors 28 are
respectively installed, so that the skill of the player can be
reflected in the game results.
[0152] Furthermore, the challenge of the game can be increased by
varying the number of medal sensors 28 that are installed for each
medal accumulating part 20.
[0153] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment,
the players are notified of the drawing results of the drawing that
is used to determine the presence or absence of a jackpot by means
of LED lamps 23 which have high visual recognition characteristics;
accordingly, the activating of jackpots can be confirmed more
reliably.
[0154] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment,
the medal accumulating parts 20a through 20c are respectively
disposed at higher levels than the medal accumulating parts 20b
through 20d that are adjacent on the side of the medal discharge
opening 17, so that the medals that are paid out from the medal
accumulating parts 20a through 20c move as a result of their own
weight, and are respectively accumulated in the medal accumulating
parts 20b through 20d. Accordingly, there is no need for a device
that is used to move the medals or the like, and as a result, the
cost of manufacturing the gaming machine can be reduced.
[0155] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment,
the medals that are transported by the transporting devices 50 and
rails 45 are accommodated in the medal accommodating part 90, and
these medals that are accommodated in the medal accommodating part
90 are supplied to the medal carrying locations 27 that are
selected on the basis of the supply drawing. Accordingly, in the
stage in which the medals are transported by the transporting
devices 50 and rails 45, the medal carrying locations 27 to which
the medals are being supplied cannot be recognized. Accordingly,
all of the players playing the game using six game fields 15 are
enveloped by a feeling of anticipation regarding the supply of the
medals, so that the interest of the game can be continued.
[0156] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 10 of this embodiment,
since the machine is constructed so that the medals that are
transported by the transporting devices 50 and rails 45 can be
visually recognized by the players, the quantity of medals that are
transported by the transporting devices 50 and rails 45 can be
recognized. Accordingly, all of the players playing the game can be
more strongly enveloped by a feeling of anticipation regarding the
supply of the medals.
[0157] In the abovementioned example, a case is described in which
the respective medal accumulating parts are disposed above the
medal accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of the medal
discharge opening, and the gaming machine is constructed so that
the medals in the respective medal accumulating parts move from
these medal accumulating parts under their own weight, and are
accumulated in the medal accumulating parts that are adjacent on
the side of the medal discharge opening. However, in the first
aspect of the present invention, as long as the respective medal
accumulating parts are disposed so that these medal accumulating
parts are sequentially disposed and ranged along the medal
discharge opening, there are no particular restrictions on the
positional relationship of the respective medal accumulating parts;
for example, the gaming machine may be constructed so that a medal
accumulating part A among a plurality of medal accumulating parts
is positioned beneath a medal accumulating part B that is adjacent
on the side of the medal discharge opening, and so that medals that
are paid out from the medal accumulating part A are moved into the
medal accumulating part B by means of a moving device such as a
conveyor or the like.
[0158] In the abovementioned example, a case is described in which
two medal receiving openings equipped with medal sensors are
respectively disposed corresponding to each medal accumulating
part, and drawings for determining the presence or absence of a
jackpot are performed separately for each of the two medal
receiving openings. However, in the first aspect of the present
invention, the system may also be devised so that the entry of
medals into the medal receiving openings is acknowledged, and a
common drawing is performed for all of the medal accumulating parts
in order to determine the presence or absence of a jackpot with
respect to the paying out of medals from one medal accumulating
part, or from two or more medal accumulating parts, among the
plurality of medal accumulating parts.
[0159] Furthermore, in the abovementioned example, a case is
described in which the entry of medals into both of the two medal
receiving openings installed in each medal accumulating part is
acknowledged, a drawing for the purpose of determining the presence
or absence of a jackpot is performed, and in cases where the
drawing results indicates that a jackpot has been activated, medals
are paid out from the medal accumulating part. In the first aspect
of the present invention, however, the system may also be devised
so that the entry of medals into each of a plurality of medal
receiving openings disposed in each medal accumulating part is
acknowledged, drawings are respectively performed for each of the
above-mentioned plurality of medal receiving openings, and the
presence or absence of a jackpot is determined in accordance with
the drawing results of all of the drawings relating to the
plurality of medal receiving openings.
[0160] For example, the system may also be devised so that the
entry of medals into each of two medal receiving openings disposed
in each medal accumulating part is acknowledged, drawings that
determine the activating or missing of a jackpot are performed for
each individual medal receiving opening, a jackpot is determined to
have been activated if the results of the drawings for the two
medal receiving openings both indicate an activation, and a jackpot
is determined to have been missed if either of the two sets of
drawing results for the two medal receiving openings indicate a
miss, or if both of these two sets of drawing results indicate a
miss.
[0161] In the abovementioned example, a case is described in which
the entry of medals into the medal receiving openings is
acknowledged, a drawing for the purpose of determining the presence
or absence of a jackpot is performed, and the paying out of medals
from the medal accumulating part is performed in cases where the
drawing results of the abovementioned drawing indicates that a
jackpot has been activated. In the first aspect of the present
invention, however, there are no particular restrictions on the
conditions under which the drawing that is used to determine the
presence or absence of a jackpot is performed; for example, such
conditions may include the passage of a medal through a specified
position within the game space, the collision of a medal with a
target installed in a specified position within the game space, or
the like. Furthermore, in the above-mentioned example, a case is
described in which a drawing for the purpose of determining the
presence or absence of a jackpot is performed, and the paying out
of medals from the medal accumulating part is performed in cases
where a jackpot is activated according to the results of the
abovementioned drawing. In the first aspect of the present
invention, however, the gaming machine may be constructed so that
the abovementioned drawing is not performed, and so that a jackpot
is activated as a result of, for example, the passage of a medal
through a specified position within the game space, the collision
of a medal with a target installed in a specified position within
the game space, or the like.
[0162] Furthermore, in the abovementioned example, a case is
described in which notification of the activating of a jackpot is
made in cases where the lit color of two LED lamps disposed in the
medal accumulating part is the same color. In the first aspect of
the present invention, however, there are no particular
restrictions on the method that is used to notify the players of
the activating of a jackpot. For example, such notification can be
accomplished by increasing the brightness of all of a plurality of
LED lamps corresponding to the medal accumulating part, or such
notification can be accomplished by causing all of a plurality of
LED lamps corresponding to the medal accumulating part to blink.
For example, the activating of a jackpot can also be reported by
displaying a stopped combination of patterns or the like displayed
by respective display devices comprising a plurality of LED pattern
display devices corresponding to the medal accumulating parts as a
specified combination (e.g., a combination in which all of the
patterns are "7").
[0163] Furthermore, in the abovementioned example, a case is
described in which the passage of a fixed period of time (e.g., 5
minutes) is acknowledged, a supply drawing for the purpose of
selecting the medal carrying location constituting the object of
medal supply is performed, and medals are supplied to the medal
carrying location selected in accordance with the results of this
supply drawing. In the first aspect of the present invention,
however, there are no particular restrictions on the conditions
used to select the medal carrying location to which medals are
supplied; for example, the activating of a jackpot and resulting
pay-out of medals from one of the four medal accumulating parts are
acknowledged, and the selection of the medal carrying location to
which medals are to be supplied is performed accordingly.
[0164] Next, an embodiment relating to the second aspect of the
present invention will be described on the basis of the
drawings.
[0165] FIG. 11 is a perspective view schematically showing one
example of a gaming machine of this embodiment.
[0166] Parts which are common with FIG. 1 showing an embodiment in
accordance with the first aspect of the present invention described
above are indicated by a reference numeral equal to the
corresponding reference numeral used in FIG. 1, plus 1000. Only the
basic composition is described, and description of the detailed
composition is omitted here. The gaming machine 1010 comprises a
housing 1012 which has substantially the shape of a hexagonal
column. The interior of the game space 1013 can be viewed via
window parts 1014 consisting of a transparent material that
constitute parts of the housing 1012. Furthermore, the ceiling body
1011 that forms a part of the housing 1012 also consists of a
transparent material, so that the interior of the game space 1013
can be viewed from above. Six game fields 1015 constituting targets
at which medals are launched from a medal launching device 1016
(described later) are respectively disposed inside the game space
1013 so that the hexagonal shape is divided into six parts from the
center. Furthermore, in the figures, only two of the six game
fields 1015 are shown.
[0167] Five transporting devices 1050 which are used for the upward
conveying of medals that have dropped into medal dropping openings
1037 (not shown in the figures), and rails 1045 that are
respectively connected to the upper parts of the five transporting
devices 1050, are disposed in the vicinity of the window parts 1014
inside the game space 1013. The rails 1045 are disposed so that
these rails are inclined downward from the upper parts of the
transporting devices 1050 toward a medal accommodating part 1090
disposed in the central part of the game space 1013. The medals
that are transported upward by the transporting devices 1050 slide
down the rails 1045 and are accommodated in the medal accommodating
part 1090. Furthermore, the rails 1045 consist of a transparent
material such as an acrylic resin or the like, and are arranged so
that the medals that slide down the rails 1045 can be seen from the
outside.
[0168] Whenever a specified time (e.g., 5 minutes) has elapsed, the
medals accommodated in the medal accommodating part 1090 are
supplied to one of a number of medal carrying locations 1027 (not
shown in the figures) that are respectively provided for the six
game fields 1015. In this case, a drawing (hereafter referred to as
the "supply drawing") that is used to select the medal carrying
location 1027 that is the object of medal supply among the six
medal carrying locations 1027 is conducted, and medals are supplied
to the medal carrying locations 1027 in accordance with the results
of this supply drawing.
[0169] Furthermore, the abovementioned transporting devices 1050
and medal accommodating part 1090 will be described in detail later
with reference to the attached figures.
[0170] Launching devices 1016 that are used to launch medals are
respectively disposed corresponding to the six game fields 1015 in
the lower part of the housing 1012, so that a maximum of six
players can simultaneously play the game. These launching devices
1016 are installed so that the devices can pivot in the vertical
(up-down) direction and left-right direction within a specified
range. The players determine the launching direction of the medals
by pivoting the launching devices 1016 within the specified range
in the vertical and left-right directions, and launch medals by
pressing a launch button 1122 (not shown in the figures), so that
the medals are launched inside the game space 1013.
[0171] Furthermore, the permissible pivoting range and the like of
the launching devices 1016 are set so that the launching devices
1016 can project medals only onto the corresponding game fields
1015.
[0172] Moreover, a medal removal opening 1031 is disposed beneath
each launching device 1016, and medals that are discharged to the
outside of the game space 1013 via the medal discharge opening 1017
(not shown in the figures) described later are supplied to the
medal removal openings 1031, and given to the players.
[0173] Furthermore, medal receiving openings 1022 that are used to
receive medals that are launched by the launching devices 1016 into
the game space 1013 and projected into the game space 1013 are
disposed in a suspended fashion in a moving unit 1100 for moving
the medal receiving openings 1022 upwards and downwards. This
moving unit 1100 functions as moving means which move the medal
receiving openings 1022. Two medal receiving openings 1022 are
provided respectively for each game field 1015. Moreover, the
moving unit 1100 is attached to the ceiling body 1011. If a medal
is inserted into either one of the two medal receiving openings
1022 and the medal is detected by the medal sensor 1028 (not shown
in the figures) provided in the medal receiving opening 1022, then
a drawing is performed in order to determine the presence or
absence of a jackpot with respect to the paying out of medals from
one or more of four medal accumulating parts 1020 (1020a-1020d),
which are described hereafter, and if a jackpot is activated, then
medals are paid out from a medal accumulating part 1020 determined
in accordance with the result of the drawing.
[0174] The moving unit 1100 is described in detail hereafter with
respect to the drawings.
[0175] Next, the game fields 1015 disposed inside the game space
1013 will be described.
[0176] FIG. 12 is a perspective view which schematically shows one
of the game fields 1015 disposed inside the game space 1013 of the
gaming machine 1010 shown in FIG. 11. Furthermore, in the following
description, one of the six game fields 1015 provided in the gaming
machine 1010 will be described.
[0177] This game field 1015 comprises a medal carrying location
1027 and four medal accumulating parts 1020 (1020a through 1020d).
The medal accumulating parts 1020 (1020a through 1020d) are
constructed from the inclined surface of the medal carrying
location 1027, opening-and-closing doors 1021 (1021a through 1021d)
that will be described later, medal receiving openings 1022 (1022a
through 1022d) that will be described later, and side plates (not
shown in the figures). The side plates are disposed on both side
parts of the inclined surface of the medal carrying location 1027
so as to contact the medal receiving openings 1022. Each of the
medal accumulating parts 1020a through 1020d can accumulate medals
that are projected by the corresponding launching device 1016.
Furthermore, the medal accumulating part 1020a can accumulate
medals that are supplied from the medal accommodating part 1090
(see FIG. 11). The four medal accumulating parts 1020a through
1020d are sequentially disposed and ranged along the inclined
surface of the medal carrying location 1027 toward the player who
is playing the game in front.
[0178] Opening-and-closing doors 1021a through 1021d consisting of
a transparent material such as an acrylic resin or the like are
respectively disposed before the respective medal accumulating
parts 1020a through 1020d. The players playing the game in front of
the medal accumulating parts 1020a through 1020d can visually
observe the medals that have accumulated in the medal accumulating
parts 1020a through 1020d via these opening-and-closing doors 1021a
through 1021d.
[0179] The opening-and-closing doors 1021 (1021a through 1021d) are
respectively connected to a stepping motor 1032 (not shown in the
figures) via a transmission member or the like (not shown in the
figures) that can convert the rotational motion of the stepping
motor 1032 into a rectilinear reciprocating motion, so that the
opening-and-closing doors can be moved upward or downward and
placed in an open state or closed state by the operation of the
stepping motor 1032.
[0180] When the stepping motor 1032 operates so that the
opening-and-closing doors 1021a through 1021d are placed in an open
state, the medals that are blocked slide and move downward along
the inclined surface of the medal carrying location 1027 as a
result of their own weight.
[0181] LED lamps 1023a through 1023d that can emit light of a
plurality of different colors are respectively disposed on the left
and right sides of each of the opening-and-closing doors 1021a
through 1021d. If the entry of a medal into a medal receiving
opening 1022 is acknowledged, a drawing to determine the presence
or absence of a jackpot is carried out, and if it is ascertained
that a jackpot has been activated, then the LED lamps 1023 on the
left and right sides are lit with the same color, thus providing
notification that a jackpot has been activated.
[0182] For example, if the entry of a medal into one of the medal
receiving openings 1022 of the two medal receiving openings 1022
provided in a game field 1015 is acknowledged, a drawing for
determining the presence or absence of a jackpot is carried out,
and if a jackpot has been activated with respect to the paying out
of medals from a medal accumulating part 1020a of the four medal
accumulating parts 1020 (1020a through 1020d), then all of the LED
lamps 1023 (1023a-1023d) blink while sequentially changing colors,
and then all of the LED lamps 1023 are lit with a specified color,
after a specified period of time has elapsed. In this case, if the
color with which the two LED lamps 1023a relating to the medal
accumulating part 1020a are lit is the same color, then it is
reported that a jackpot has been activated, and the
opening-and-closing doors 1021a are driven by the stepping motor
1032 so that the opening-and-closing doors 1021a are placed in an
open state. Thereupon, the medals that were blocked by the
opening-and-closing doors 1021a slide downward along the inclined
surface of the medal carrying location 1027, and are accumulated in
the medal accumulating part 1021b located beneath the medal
accumulating part 1020a.
[0183] Furthermore, if the entry of a medal into the medal
receiving opening 1022 is acknowledged, a drawing for determining
the presence or absence of a jackpot is carried out, and if a
jackpot is activated with respect to the paying out of medals from
the medal accumulating part 1020a and the medal accumulating part
1020b of the four medal accumulating parts 1020, then all of the
LED lamps 1023 blink while changing color, whereupon they are lit
with a specified color. In this case, the two LED lamps 1023a
relating to the medal accumulating part 1020a and the two LED lamps
1023b relating to the medal accumulating part 1020b are lit
respectively with the same color. Thereupon, the
opening-and-closing doors 1021a and the opening-and-closing doors
1021b are placed in an open state.
[0184] The medals that are paid out from the medal accumulating
parts 1020a through 1020c respectively move under their own weight
into the medal accumulating parts 1020b through 1020d that are
adjacent on the side of the medal discharge opening 1017, and that
are positioned lower than the medal accumulating parts 1020a
through 1020c, and are accumulated in these medal accumulating
parts 1020b through 1020d. The medals that are paid out from the
medal accumulating part 1020d that is located closely to the medal
discharge opening 1017 slide downward, and are either carried on
the field plate 1034 (described later), or caused to drop into the
medal discharge opening 1017 from the field plate 1034 and given to
the player, or caused to drop into the medal dropping opening 1037
(described later) and conveyed by the abovementioned transporting
device 1050.
[0185] Next, the moving unit 1100 will be described.
[0186] FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional view schematically showing a
moving unit 1100.
[0187] The moving unit 1100 comprises a frame body 1101 fixed to
the ceiling body 1011, a raising and lowering motor 1102 provided
inside the frame body 1101, and a winding part 1103 installed on a
shaft of the raising and lowering motor 1102. One end of a rope
1104 is wound about the winding part 1103 and the other end of the
rope 1104 is fixed to a coupling bar 1106 coupled to the medal
receiving opening 1022.
[0188] The moving unit 1100 is composed so that raising and
lowering of the medal receiving opening 1022 is performed in a
repeated fashion by switching the raising and lowering motor 1102
between forward rotation and reverse rotation, at a prescribed
timing.
[0189] The timing at which the rotation of the raising and lowering
motor 1102 is switched may be constant at all times, or it may be
changed in specified conditions. Moreover, the rotational speed of
the raising and lowering motor 1102 may be constant at all times,
or it may be changed in specified conditions.
[0190] The medal receiving opening 1022 comprises a medal sensor
1028, which is an infrared sensor, provided inside the opening. A
medal that has entered the medal receiving opening 1022 is detected
by the medal sensor 1028 and then continues to fall downwards as
indicated by the arrow with the double-dotted line in the drawing.
The medal sensor 1028 functions as detecting means which detect a
medal that has entered into the medal receiving opening 1022.
Furthermore, the medal sensor 1028 is not limited to being an
infrared sensor, but may also be a magnetic proximity type sensor
or a mechanical sensor, or the like.
[0191] The abovementioned transporting devices 1050, medal
accommodating part 1090 and launching devices 1016 are similar to
the transporting devices 50, medal accommodating part 90 and
launching devices 16 in the embodiment in accordance with the first
aspect of the present invention, and hence detailed description
thereof is omitted here.
[0192] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic view of the
internal composition of a gaming machine of this embodiment.
[0193] As shown in FIG. 14, a control part 1060 is provided inside
the frame body 1012 of the gaming machine 1010. The control part
1060 comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 1066, a ROM 1062 and
a RAM 1064.
[0194] The ROM 1062 stores game programs that control the flow of
the overall games of the gaming machine 1010, programs relating to
the drawing that is conducted in order to establish the presence or
absence of a jackpot, programs used to conduct the supply drawing
that is used to select the medal carrying location 1027 that is the
object of medal supply, audio data that is required in order to
generate background music, sound effects, and the like in
accordance with the game conditions, and other data. Furthermore,
the ROM 1062 also stores drawing probability tables that are
required in order to conduct the drawing that is used to determine
the presence or absence of a jackpot, supply drawing probability
tables that are required in order to conduct the supply drawing
used to select the medal carrying location 1027 that is the object
of medal supply among the six medal carrying locations 1027, and
the like.
[0195] The CPU 1066 is connected to the medal sensors 1028 and the
LED lamps 1023 (1023a through 1023d) via an interface circuit 1061.
When it is detected by a medal sensor 1028 that a medal has entered
a medal receiving opening 1022, a detection signal is sent to the
CPU 1066 via the interface circuit 1061. Thereupon, if a drawing
for determining the presence or absence of a jackpot is conducted
and the jackpot is activated, then a control signal is sent to the
two LED lamps 1023 relating to the medal accumulating part to which
it is determined to pay out medals on the basis of the drawing
result, and this control signal causes the two LED lamps 1023 to be
lit with the same color.
[0196] Furthermore, the CPU 1066 is connected to the medal
accommodating part 1090 via an interface circuit 1063. Each time
that a specified period of time has elapsed, the CPU 1066 sends a
driving signal to the opening-and-closing motor 1092, and causes
the opening-and-closing motor 1092 to operate. When the CPU 1066
receives a detection signal from the lowering limit position sensor
1097 during the lowering of the opening-and-closing part 1091 by
the rotation of the opening-and-closing motor 1092, the CPU 1066
sends a control signal to the opening-and-closing motor 1092 and
stops the opening-and-closing motor 1092. Then, after a fixed
period of time (5 seconds) has elapsed, the CPU 1066 again sends a
control signal to the opening-and-closing motor 1092 and causes the
opening-and-closing motor 1092 to rotate in the reverse direction
so that the opening-and-closing part 1091 is raised. Furthermore,
when the CPU 1066 receives a detection signal from the raising
limit position sensor 1096 during the raising of the
opening-and-closing part 1091, the CPU 1066 sends a control signal
to the opening-and-closing motor 1092 and stops the
opening-and-closing motor 1092.
[0197] Furthermore, the CPU 1066 is connected to a stepping motor
1032, motor 1035, raising and lowering motor 1102, and speaker 1046
via an interface circuit 1065. The stepping motor 1032 is used to
open and close the opening-and-closing doors 1021 (1021a through
1021d) of the medal accumulating parts 1020 (1020a through 1020d),
and the motor 1035 is used to cause a reciprocating motion of the
abovementioned field plate.
[0198] As described above, the raising and lowering motor 1102 is
used to move the medal receiving opening upwards and downwards in
the vertical direction.
[0199] As described above, the speaker 1046 is used to output
background music, voice, sound effects, or the like, in accordance
with the game conditions.
[0200] The game that is played in the gaming machine constituting
this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 15
and 16.
[0201] FIG. 15 is a flow chart which shows the game execution
processing routine that is executed in the gaming machine 1010
shown in FIG. 11. This subroutine is called up and executed when
the power supply of the gaming machine 1010 is switched on.
[0202] First, the CPU 1066 determines whether or not a medal has
entered either of the two medal receiving openings 1022 (step
S110). More specifically, the CPU 1066 determines whether or not a
detection signal has been received from the medal sensor 1028
provided in the medal receiving opening 1022 detecting a medal that
has entered one of the two medal receiving openings 1022. In cases
where it is determined in step S110 that no medal has entered
either of the two medal receiving openings, this subroutine is
ended.
[0203] On the other hand, in cases where it is determined that a
medal has entered one of the two medal receiving openings 1022, the
CPU 1066 next executes drawing processing (step S112). At this step
S112, the CPU 1066 performs a drawing on the basis of the
abovementioned drawing probability table in order to determine the
presence or absence of a jackpot. The results of this drawing are
stored in the RAM 1064 as drawing data. In this drawing, a drawing
is performed that determines whether a jackpot has been activated
or missed with respect to paying out of medals from one or more of
the four medal accumulating parts 1020 (medal accumulating parts
1020a through 1020d). When the processing of this step S112 is
executed, the control part 1060 functions as drawing means.
[0204] FIG. 16 shows one example of the drawing probability table
described above. Here, a case is described where the probability of
a jackpot being activated with respect to the paying out of medals
from one or more of the four medal accumulating parts is 1/32. Of
course, in the second aspect of the present invention, the table
used in the drawing for establishing the presence or absence of a
jackpot activation is not limited to the example shown in FIG.
16.
[0205] In the drawing probability table shown in FIG. 16, the type
of medal accumulating part to which medals are to be paid out is
established in accordance with a random drawing value drawn within
a range of 0 to 16383.
[0206] For example, no medals are paid out from any of the medal
accumulating parts, if the random drawing value is in the range of
0 to 15871. In this case, it is ascertained that the jackpot has
been missed.
[0207] Moreover, if the random drawing value is in the range of
15872 to 15935, then medals are paid out from the medal
accumulating part 1020a, among the four medal accumulating parts
1020.
[0208] Moreover, if the random drawing value is in the range of
16128 to 16159, then medals are paid out from the two medal
accumulating parts 1020a and 1020b among the four medal
accumulating parts.
[0209] In this way, if a drawing is performed on the basis of the
drawing probability table shown in FIG. 16, then depending on the
result of the drawing, a jackpot is activated with respect to
paying out medals from two or more medal accumulating parts of the
four medal accumulating parts.
[0210] When the processing in step S112 is executed, the CPU 1066
next executes processing that causes the LED lamps 1023 to blink
(step S114). When the processing of this step S114 is executed, all
of the LED lamps 1023 (1023a through 1023d) blink while
sequentially changing color. Furthermore, the blinking of these LED
lamps 1023 is performed for a fixed period of time (e.g., 3
seconds).
[0211] When the processing of step S114 has been executed, the CPU
1066 next executes processing for causing all of the LED lamps 1023
(1023a through 1023d) to light on the basis of the drawing data
stored in the RAM 1064 as a result of executing the processing in
step S112 (step S116).
[0212] When the processing in step S116 has been executed, the CPU
1066 next determines whether or not the lit colors of the left and
right-hand LED lamps 1023 are the same (step S118). In this step
S118, the CPU 1066 determines whether or not the lit colors of the
left and right-hand LED lamps 1023 are the same, for all of the
four medal accumulating parts 1020.
[0213] If it is determined in step S118 that the lit colors of the
left and right-hand LED lamps 1023 are different in the case of all
of the medal accumulating parts 1020, then this subroutine is
ended.
[0214] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S118 that the
lit colors of the left and right-hand LED lamps 1023 are the same
in the case of any of the four medal accumulating parts 1020, then
the CPU 1066 next executes processing for opening the
opening-and-closing doors of the medal accumulating part 1020 at
which the lit colors of the left and right-hand LED lamps 1023 are
the same (step S120). In this step S120, the CPU 1066 sends a
driving signal to the stepping motor 1032 and causes the
opening-and-closing doors 1021 to be lowered and placed in an open
state. When this processing by the stepping motor 1020 is executed
and the opening-and-closing doors 1021 are placed in an open state,
the medals that have accumulated in the medal accumulating part
1020 are paid out.
[0215] When the processing of this step S120 is executed, the
control part 1060 and the stepping motor 1032 function as pay-out
means.
[0216] When the processing in step S120 has been executed, this
subroutine is ended.
[0217] As described with reference to FIG. 15, in the gaming
machine 1010 of this embodiment, the entry of a medal into either
of the two medal receiving openings 1022 is acknowledged, a drawing
for the purpose of determining the presence or absence of a jackpot
is performed, and if the drawing results indicate that a jackpot
has been activated, then the activating of the jackpot is notified
to the player by means of the two LED lamps 1023 lighting up with
the same color, and medals are paid out from the medal accumulating
part 1020. On the other hand, if the drawing result indicates that
a jackpot has not been activated (in other words, that it has been
missed), then the two LED lamps 1023 light up with different
colors, thereby notifying the player that the drawing result
indicates a miss.
[0218] The medal supply processing routine that is executed in the
gaming machine 1010 shown in FIG. 11 is similar to the medal supply
processing routine of the embodiment in accordance with the first
aspect of the present invention, and therefore detailed description
thereof is omitted here.
[0219] As described with reference to FIG. 11 to FIG. 16, in the
gaming machine 1010 relating to the embodiment of the second aspect
of the present invention, since the medal receiving openings 1022
can be moved upwards and downwards by means of the moving unit
1100, the game is played while sequentially changing the speed,
direction, and the like, at which the medals enter into the moving
medal receiving openings 1022. Consequently, it is possible to
achieve game contents having a rich sense of movement. Moreover, in
order to increase the frequency at which the medals enter into the
medal receiving openings 1022, it is necessary to adjust the speed,
direction, and the like, at which the medals are introduced into
same, and hence the skill of the player is reflected in the game
results. Therefore, the player can become absorbed in the game,
without feeling boredom.
[0220] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 1010 of this embodiment,
medals are paid out from two or more of the four medal accumulating
parts 1020, depending on the results of a drawing that is used to
determine the presence or absence of a jackpot, and hence there is
an opportunity of acquiring a large number of medals at one time,
thereby creating a strong sense of anticipation.
[0221] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 1010 of this embodiment,
the medals that are transported by the transporting devices 1050
and rails 1045 are accommodated in the medal accommodating part
1090, and these medals that are accommodated in the medal
accommodating part 1090 are supplied to the medal carrying
locations 1027 that are selected on the basis of the supply
drawing. Accordingly, in the stage in which the medals are
transported by the transporting devices 1050 and rails 1045, the
medal carrying locations 1027 to which the medals are being
supplied cannot be recognized. Accordingly, all of the players
playing the game using six game fields 1015 can be enveloped by a
feeling of anticipation regarding the supply of the medals, so that
the interest of the game can be sustained.
[0222] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 1010 of this embodiment,
since the machine is constructed so that the medals that are
transported by the transporting devices 1050 and rails 1045 can be
visually recognized by the players, the quantity of medals that are
transported by the transporting devices 1050 and rails 1045 can be
recognized. Accordingly, all of the players playing the game can be
more strongly enveloped by a feeling of anticipation regarding the
supply of the medals.
[0223] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 1010 of this embodiment,
the medal accumulating parts 1020a through 1020c are respectively
disposed at higher levels than the medal accumulating parts 1020b
through 1020d that are adjacent on the side of the medal discharge
opening 1017, so that the medals that are paid out from the medal
accumulating parts 1020a through 1020c move as a result of their
own weight, and are respectively accumulated in the medal
accumulating parts 1020b through 1020d. Accordingly, there is no
need for a device that is used to move the medals or the like, and
as a result, the cost of manufacturing the gaming machine can be
reduced.
[0224] In the gaming machine 1010 of this embodiment, notification
that a jackpot has been activated is made by lighting both of the
two LED lamps that are installed in each of the four medal
accumulating parts 1020 with the same lit color. Accordingly, the
activating of a jackpot can be perceived directly. Furthermore, the
feeling of achievement at having activated a jackpot can be
sufficiently experienced as a result of such notification that a
jackpot has been activated, and overlooking of the scenario in
which the medals are paid out can be prevented. As a result, the
players can thoroughly enjoy the game.
[0225] Furthermore, in the gaming machine 1010 of this embodiment,
the players are notified of the drawing results of the drawing that
is used to determine the presence or absence of a jackpot by means
of LED lamps which are highly visible, and hence, the activating of
jackpots can be confirmed more reliably.
[0226] In the example described above, a gaming machine is
constructed in such a manner that the medal receiving openings can
be moved upwards and downwards, but in the second aspect of the
present invention, the direction of movement of the medal receiving
openings is not limited in particular. For example, the gaming
machine may also be constructed in such a manner that the medal
receiving openings can be moved rightwards and leftwards, or
forwards and backwards, and mover, the gaming machine may also be
constructed in such a manner that the medal receiving openings move
in a circular fashion.
[0227] Moreover, it is also possible to provide openable and
closable lids in the opening sections of the medal receiving
openings where the medals enter into same, these lids being placed
in an open state or a closed state at prescribed timings. By this
means, it is possible to make it more difficult for medals to enter
into the medal receiving openings, and hence the difficulty of the
game can be adjusted.
[0228] Furthermore, in the abovementioned example, a case is
described where a common medal receiving opening is provided for a
plurality of medal accumulating parts, entry of medals into the
medal receiving opening is acknowledged, and a drawing is performed
in order to establish the presence or absence of a jackpot with
respect to the paying out of medals from any one of the plurality
of medal accumulating parts, but in the second aspect of the
present invention, for example, medal receiving openings are
provided corresponding respectively to each of the plurality of
medal accumulating parts, entry of medals into a medal receiving
opening is acknowledged, and a drawing can be performed in order to
establish the presence or absence of a jackpot with respect to the
paying out of medals from the medal accumulating part relating to
that medal receiving opening.
[0229] In the abovementioned example, a case is described in which
medal accumulating parts are respectively disposed at higher levels
than the medal accumulating parts that are adjacent on the side of
the medal discharge opening, and the gaming machine is constructed
so that the medals from the respective medal accumulating part move
as a result of their own weight from the respective medal
accumulating parts, and are accumulated in the medal accumulating
parts that are adjacent on the side of the medal discharge opening.
However, in the second aspect of the present invention, as long as
the respective medal accumulating parts are disposed so that these
medal accumulating parts are sequentially disposed and ranged along
the medal discharge opening, there are no particular restrictions
on the positional relationship of the respective medal accumulating
parts; for example, the gaming machine may be constructed so that a
medal accumulating part A among a plurality of medal accumulating
parts is positioned beneath a medal accumulating part B that is
adjacent on the side of the medal discharge opening, in such a
manner that medals that are paid out from the medal accumulating
part A are moved into the medal accumulating part B by means of a
moving device, such as a conveyor or the like.
[0230] In the abovementioned example, a case is described in which
medals that are supplied from a medal accommodating part are
accumulated in the uppermost medal accumulating part of a plurality
of medal accumulating parts provided in the medal carrying
location, but in the second aspect of the present invention, there
is no particular restriction on the medal accumulating part where
the medals that are supplied from the medal accommodating part are
accumulated, and these medals may be accumulated in any medal
accumulating part of the plurality of medal accumulating parts.
[0231] Moreover, in the second aspect of the present invention, it
is also possible to provide no medal accumulating part in the medal
carrying location; for example, medals that are supplied from the
medal accommodating part 1090 may be caused to slide down an
inclined surface of the medal carrying location so that they can be
given to the player via the medal discharge opening.
[0232] In the second aspect of the present invention, for example,
the gaming machine may be constructed in such a manner that the
collision of a medal with a movable target provided in a prescribed
position inside the game space is acknowledged, and a drawing is
performed in order to determine the presence or absence of a
jackpot.
[0233] Furthermore, in the abovementioned example, a case is
described in which notification of the activating of a jackpot is
made in cases where the lit color of two LED lamps disposed in the
medal accumulating part is the same color. In the second aspect of
the present invention, however, there are no particular
restrictions on the method that is used to notify the players of
the activating of a jackpot. For example, such notification can be
accomplished by increasing the brightness of all of a plurality of
LED lamps corresponding to the medal accumulating part, or such
notification can be accomplished by causing all of a plurality of
LED lamps corresponding to the medal accumulating part to blink.
For example, the activating of a jackpot can also be reported by
displaying a stopped combination of patterns or the like displayed
by respective display devices comprising a plurality of LED pattern
display devices corresponding to the medal accumulating parts as a
specified combination (e.g., a combination in which all of the
patterns are "7").
[0234] Furthermore, in the abovementioned example, a case is
described in which the passage of a fixed period of time (e.g., 5
minutes) is acknowledged, a supply drawing for the purpose of
selecting the medal carrying location constituting the object of
medal supply is performed, and medals are supplied to the medal
carrying location selected in accordance with the results of this
supply drawing. In the second aspect of the present invention,
however, there are no particular restrictions on the conditions
used to select the medal carrying location to which medals are
supplied; for example, the activating of a jackpot and resulting
pay-out of medals from one of the four medal accumulating parts are
acknowledged, and the selection of the medal carrying location to
which medals are to be supplied is performed accordingly.
* * * * *