Amusement devices: games – Including means for processing electronic data – In a chance application
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-22
2001-03-27
Sager, Mark (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Including means for processing electronic data
In a chance application
C463S016000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206781
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a slot machine, and more particularly to a slot machine in which an unusual demonstration signals that a player has won a prize.
BACKGROUND
Game machines, such as slot machines and poker game machines, that pay back tokens, such as coins or token coins, for winning game results have been very popular. Herein, such a slot machine will be used as an example of a game machine and will be described below.
Players start a game by pulling a start lever, for example, after putting a token into the slot machine. A plurality (three, for example) of reels with numerous types of symbols arranged on the circumference rotate at high speed in the slot machine, and the prize status is determined by the combination of the symbols on the reels displayed at a given location in the window when the reels have stopped. The number of tokens that are paid out is determined by the combination of symbols when the reels have stopped, that is, the prize status.
Slot machine prizes include “bigjackpots,” where 1000 or more tokens, for example, are paid back, and so-called “small jackpots.” The player plays the slot machine in anticipation of increasing the number of tokens in the player's possession, but since the number of tokens in the player's possession does not increase significantly with “small jackpots,” the player plays the slot machine while hoping for a “big jackpot” that will quickly increase the number of tokens in the player's possession.
In one type of slot machine, the prize status is determined by random selection using random numbers for each game. This type of slot machine is described below.
In the type of slot machine in which the prize status is determined by random selection using random numbers for each game, for example, the prize status is randomly selected when a token is put into the slot machine and the start lever is pulled, and the current game prize status is determined. When the current game prize status has been determined, the reels are rotated to begin the game.
However, among the types of slot machines in which the prize status is determined by random selection using random numbers for each game, there are those in which the player can stop the reels by operating a stop button provided in the slot machine. In this type of slot machine, the reels are not immediately stopped according to the timing by which the player operates the stop button, but are instead stopped when the reel symbols appear at the locations corresponding to the prize status previously determined by random selection.
However, when too long a time passes until the reels stop after the player has operated the stop button, unnatural reel stopping operations can result, and the reels can be stopped regardless of the prize status previously determined by random selection. Accordingly, there can be cases where the prize status might end up as a “lose” due to the timing with which the player actuates the stop buttons, even when the prize status previously determined by random selection would have been a “big jackpot.”
Among the types of slot machines in which the prize status is determined by random selection using random numbers for each game, there are also those in which no stop button is provided to stop the reels, but the reels are automatically stopped by a control in the slot machine. In this type of slot machine, the reels are stopped when the reel symbols appear at the position corresponding to the prize status previously determined by random selection after the reels have rotated for a specific period of time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the type of slot machines in which the prize status is determined by random selection using random numbers for each game, the prize status is randomly selected when a token has been put into the slot machine and the start lever has been pulled, so the prize status of the current game is already known when the reels begin to rotate. As described above, the player plays slot machines hoping for a “big jackpot” to quickly increase the number of tokens in the player's possession, and when it is known that the current game will result in a “big jackpot,” for example, as a result of the previous random selection, it would be significant to make a demonstration alerting the player to that fact before all the reels have stopped.
In the type of slot machine in which the prize status is determined by random selection using random numbers in the present invention, a demonstration is made by unusual lights or sounds or by unusual operations when the randomly selected prize status is a “big jackpot” or when a “big jackpot” is missed by one reel symbol among all the reels, i.e., all but one of the reels are aligned in positions that would correlate to a “big jackpot” result (this condition of two matching symbols out of three reels, or of three matching symbols out of four reels if there are four reels, etc., is referred to as a “one-shy” condition). In one method for making this demonstration, reel lights are provided on the reverse side of reel belts on which are imprinted the symbols around the reels, and these reel lights, which in conventional slot machines are flashed only when the prize status has been confirmed after all the reels have stopped, are flashed before all the reels stop.
A slot machine according to the systems and methods described herein randomly selects game result conditions from among a plurality of conditions before a plurality of reels, which are rotated at the start of a game, come to a stop. Such a slot machine is characterized by comprising reel light control means for flashing the reel lights on the inside, which illuminate the symbols imprinted on the circumference of the aforementioned plurality of reels when the randomly selected game results correspond to specific conditions, such as “big jackpot” or “small jackpot.” A player is alerted by said reel light control means to the fact that the aforementioned randomly selected game results correspond to the aforementioned specific conditions.
The systems and methods set forth herein also describe a slot machine in which the aforementioned reel light control means flashes the aforementioned reel lights when there are quasi-specific conditions, including, for example, one or more game result conditions, such as “one-shy”, “two-shy”, and “second game free,” which are similar to the aforementioned specific conditions, among the aforementioned plurality of conditions, and the aforementioned quasi-specific conditions are randomly selected from among the aforementioned plurality of conditions.
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Danjo Hiroyuki
Inamura Yukinori
Sunaga Isao
Aruze Corporation
Hotaling II John M.
Hutchins, Wheeler & Dittmar
Sager Mark
LandOfFree
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