Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a chance application
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-24
2004-11-30
Harrison, Jessica (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a chance application
C463S016000, C463S021000, C463S022000, C273S14300R, C273S14800B, C273S14800B
Reexamination Certificate
active
06824466
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game machine which can provide a game player with a thrilling and exciting fun in a game, and in particular to a game machine which comprises shift and display means for shifting and displaying various kinds of symbol marks and awarding means for awarding a winning prize to a game player when a predetermined set of symbol marks are stopped and displayed on a prize winning line.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has so far been proposed a game machine such as a slot machine which generally comprises a start lever to be operated by a game player, a plurality of rotation reels forming part of the shift and display means, and a plurality of stop buttons for selectively stopping the respective rotation reels after all the rotation reels are driven to rotate simultaneously with the operation of the start lever by a game player. The stopping of each of the rotation reels will result in awarding a winning prize to the game player when a predetermined set of symbol marks are stopped and displayed on an effective prize winning line of the observation window. At this time, a predetermined number of game medals are paid out to the game player in proportion to a winning state resulted from a lottery action run in the slot machine. The winning state is determined in accordance with the segment of a prize probability table to which a random number sampled by the lottery action belongs. More specifically, the segment having the random number generated as a result of the lottery action belong defines a winning state, which in turn defines a kind of the prize winning request flag.
The stop positions of the rotating rotation reels are controlled to have the set of symbol marks representative of the type of the prize winning request flag stopped and displayed in the observation window. For instance, if the set of symbol marks representative of the winning state are currently not displayed in the observation window, however, located within four symbol marks to be displayed subsequently, the concerned rotation reels, outside of which the target symbol marks are drawn, are controlled to rotate with the result that the target set of symbol marks are stopped and displayed (the control operation is hereinafter referred to as “stop and display control operation”).
There is provided a slot machine called “CT (Challenge Time) machine” which is designed to interrupt the stop and display control operation for one or more specific rotation reels (hereinafter referred to as “specific rotation reels”) with the certain winning conditions completed for a certain period. The period is hereinafter referred to as “CT period”. For instance, the condition for the small winning prize satisfied causes the CT machine to interrupt the stop and display control operation for the specific rotation reels. This results in the fact that the stop positions of the specific rotation reels are determined merely by the operation timing of a game player. During a CT period in which the stop and display control operation is interrupted, the stop and display control operation is still active for some rotation reels (hereinafter referred to as “remaining rotation reels”) other than the specific rotation reels. The remaining rotation reels are controlled to have the target set of symbol marks stopped and displayed as long as they are located within four symbol marks to be displayed subsequently at the time when the game player operates the stop button.
The CT machine of this type is disclosed by the Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-238888 which is laid open in 1989.
For the aforesaid CT machine, the stop position of the specific rotation reel determined during the CT period totally depends upon the operational skill of the stop button by a game player. It is generally difficult for unskilled game players to operate the stop button at a right timing with a visual observation of the symbol marks appeared on the observation window so as to stop and display the desired set of the symbol marks on any of the effective prize winning lines of the observation window. This operation of the stop button by the game player with the careful observation of the symbol marks is hereinafter simply referred to as “observation push” for brevity. As a consequence, experienced game players like and enthusiastically play the CT machine while the inexperienced game players tend to refrain from playing it.
The conventional slot machine other than the CT machine can be operated to perform the stop and display control operation. However, the stop and display control operation merely serves as one help means for the game players to perform the aforesaid observation push. The stop and display control operation allows operation error only up to four symbol marks to be adjusted. Accordingly, it is still difficult for the inexperienced game player to perform the observation push to stop and display the desired set of symbol marks on any of the effective prize winning lines of the observation window even with the conventional slot machine provided with the stop and display control function.
In order to make it possible for the inexperienced game players to facilitate the operation of the foregoing observation push, there may be considered another improvement having a specified symbol mark relatively large in compassion with the other symbol marks. Among other thing, the specified symbol mark has a lateral width laterally extending enough to the lateral width of the rotation reels forming part of the shift and display means to ensure that the observation plush can easily be performed, thereby enabling the lateral edges of the specified symbol mark to readily be watched by the game payer. The specified symbol mark targeted by the game player is frequently apt to be changed in response to the game conditions of the game machine. For example, the game machine is operated under the bonus inner winning game condition, it is necessary to stop and display the set of symbol marks representative of the bonus prize winning state (e.g., seven) on the prize winning line by the observation push. Or otherwise, the current game condition of the game machine is the CT period, the game player should stop and display the set of symbol marks representative of the small prize winning state on the prize winning line by the observation push.
This leads to the fact that the aforementioned game machine is required to be provided with a plurality of specified symbol marks each having a relatively large lateral width in the lateral direction, i.e., horizontal direction of the rotation reels. If the number of such specified symbol marks is increased, the specified symbol marks tends to be watched and recognized by the game player as being interfered with one another, thereby resulting in loss of the effect stemming from the large sizes of the specified symbol marks.
The symbol mark themselves are formed to have a lateral width as large as the lateral edges of the rotation reels. It is therefore impossible for the symbol marks to be designed to have a length in the rotation direction, i.e., vertical direction of the rotation reels. This means that the symbol marks each having a human body horizontally extending on a bed can be drawn while the symbol marks each having a human body vertically erected is difficult to be drawn.
On the other hand, the specified symbol marks may be considered to be relatively large in the vertical direction of the rotation reels as compared with the other symbol marks for the inexperienced game player to be able to complete the observation push. The specified symbol marks are each exemplified by a specified symbol mark having a size two times as large as those of the other symbol marks in the vertical direction of the rotation reels. This large sized specified symbol mark causes such a problem that the large sized specified symbol mark extend across at least adjacent two winning lines of the observation window.
As an alternative way, there may be considered to make every symbol
Aitken Andrew C.
Aruze Corporation
Cherubin Yveste G.
Harrison Jessica
Venable LLP
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