JP2006110150A - Control method for apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the complicated control of apparatus with a plurality of control units while simplifying the installation of the equipment and the maintenance work along with the curtailment of the number of bundle wires for connection of the plurality of control units by monitoring the normal action of the apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The control method has the process in which a slave side control unit transmits the task execution signal to a master side control unit at a prescribed cycle through a communication line, the process in which the master side control unit transmits the initialization command to the WDT at a prescribed cycle through a communication line (steps S6-1), the process in which the master side control unit monitors the normal transmission of the task execution signal from the slave side control unit (steps S6-3), the process in which the master side control unit cuts off the communication with the slave side control unit when an abnormal signal is received from the slave side control unit or when the reception of the existence confirmation signal fails beyond the prescribed period of time and the process in which the WDT resets the slave side CPU based on the initialization program when the communication with the master side control unit is cut off (steps S6-5). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for controlling a device such as a crane type game machine.

  Currently, crane-type game machines are installed and widely used in game centers, shopping centers, and the like (hereinafter referred to as “game halls”). This crane type game machine is generally configured as follows. That is, the game hall manager arranges a plurality of prizes in advance in the play space of the upper housing surrounded by a transparent acrylic board or the like. The player puts coins or coins into the coin insertion slot of the control panel to enter the play state, and the position of the horizontally movable catcher is operated with the operation buttons or control lever of the control panel to stop above the desired prize. Next, the catcher descends toward the prize, and the prize is caught by an arm provided with a hook or a plurality of claws provided at the tip of the catcher. The catcher automatically ascends while the prize is caught by the arm, moves horizontally to the prize discharge port, pays out the prize, and then returns to a predetermined origin position and stops. Such operations of the catcher and the arm are controlled by a control unit built in the lower casing of the game machine.

  As a control method of the crane type game machine as described above, for example, those disclosed in the following patent documents are helpful.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-346877

  By the way, in a crane-type game machine, there is a demand for more advanced (intelligent) operation and decoration of catchers and arms in order to keep the player's interest. For example, the catcher or arm can be moved freely in all three-dimensional directions and angles like a human hand, and different sounds and light can be output depending on the distance and angle between the arm and the prize, and the type of prize. It is desired to have a complicated behavior such as. When all such complicated processing is controlled only by the control unit of the lower casing, the output of a large number of motors that drive the catchers and arms of the upper casing and various sensors ( It is necessary to connect a large number of dedicated lines such as input / output of position sensors, rotation sensors, arm opening / closing sensors, etc., LED display for decoration, and audio output. The increase in the number of bundled wires leads to complicated, complicated, and connection errors when installing or moving the game machine, and the cover that conceals the bundled wires is enlarged to reduce the appearance and restrict the layout of the play space. It also leads to.

  In order to solve such a problem, for example, it is conceivable to control the catcher or arm by a second control unit (catcher side control unit) independent of the control unit of the lower housing. Since a program must be prepared and installation and ROM exchange must be performed for each control unit, it is not practical in terms of cost and maintainability.

  Therefore, by configuring the control unit of the lower housing as a master control unit and configuring the catcher side control unit as a slave side control unit that is remotely controlled by the master side control unit, the number of bundled wires can be reduced while reducing the number of bundles. It can be considered to be intelligent. That is, the control program is transmitted from the master side control unit to the catcher side (slave side) control unit via a bundled line at the time of startup or the like, and the subsequent control is performed independently of the master control unit. As a result, the number of bundles can be limited to a necessary and sufficient number for transmitting an operation instruction signal from the control program or the control panel, and the number of bundles can be greatly reduced.

  On the other hand, the control unit monitors itself whether the operation and the communication state are normal. Such an operation is often monitored by a watch dog timer (WDT) in the control unit. Here, WDT is an initialization process that loads a predetermined initial value (for example, 3 seconds) every time an initialization command (survival confirmation signal) is received at a predetermined period (for example, every 100 ms) from a task executed by the CPU. The initial value countdown and initialization process are always repeated, and normal operation of the CPU is performed by forcibly interrupting or resetting the system when it counts down to 0 (that is, when the survival confirmation signal has not been received for 3 seconds). It is a circuit that monitors and maintains. In some cases, the initial value is set to 0 and counted up to a predetermined value (3 seconds or the like).

  As described above, when two master / slave control units are provided, the operation of the slave side control unit can be monitored by the slave side WDT, but the communication state with the master side control unit is monitored. Can not. Therefore, a control signal such as a catcher based on the operation of the player cannot be transmitted, or a forced reset from the master side control unit cannot be performed by communication. Also, when the operation of the slave side control unit is monitored by the master side WDT, if a communication abnormality occurs, it becomes impossible to transmit the initialization signal of the WDT, and a communication line dedicated to the initialization signal is required. The effect of reducing the number of bundled wires is reduced.

  In view of the above, there is a demand for a device control method that can make a catcher intelligent by utilizing a plurality of control units while reducing the number of bundled wires.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and monitors the operation of equipment such as a crane-type game machine, reduces the number of bundled wires connecting a plurality of control units, and installs equipment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method and a device that can simplify maintenance work and enable complex control of the device by a plurality of control units.

  According to the first main aspect of the present invention, a master-side control unit having a master-side CPU and a master-side control unit connected to the master-side control unit via a communication line and controlling a part of the device in cooperation with the master-side CPU. And a slave-side control unit having a watchdog timer (WDT) for monitoring the operation of the slave-side CPU, the slave-side control unit being connected via a communication line. A step of transmitting a survival confirmation signal to the master-side control unit at a predetermined cycle; and a step of the master-side control unit transmitting an initialization command to the WDT at a predetermined cycle via a communication line for initialization. The master side control unit monitoring whether the survival confirmation signal is normally transmitted from the slave side control unit, and the slave A process in which the master side control unit disconnects communication with the slave side control unit when an abnormal signal is received from the control unit or a survival confirmation signal has not been received for a predetermined time or more; and And a step of resetting the slave CPU based on an initialization program when the communication is disconnected.

  Here, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the device is composed of an upper housing that forms a play space, and a lower housing that is integrally or separately provided at the lower portion of the upper housing. The master-side CPU is built in the lower housing of the game machine, and the slave-side CPU is built in a catcher for catching a prize that is movably installed in the play space of the upper housing. Has been.

  Further, according to the second main aspect of the present invention, a master side control unit having a master side CPU, and a part of the equipment connected to the master side control unit through a communication line and cooperating with the master side CPU. And a slave-side control unit having a watchdog timer (WDT) for monitoring the operation of the slave-side CPU. The slave-side control unit is connected to the master via a communication line. Means for transmitting a survival confirmation signal to the side control unit at a predetermined cycle, and when receiving an abnormal signal from the slave side control unit or when the survival confirmation signal has not been received for a predetermined time or longer, the slave side control unit Means for cutting off communication with the WDT, and the master side control unit transmits the WDT at a predetermined cycle via a communication line. The WDT includes means for transmitting an initialization command and initializing, and means for monitoring whether the survival confirmation signal is normally transmitted from the slave side control unit. The WDT communicates with the master side control unit. An apparatus is provided that, when disconnected, resets the slave CPU based on an initialization program.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in apparatuses, such as a crane type game machine, complicated control of an apparatus can be enabled by the control unit of a master side and a slave side. At this time, even if a plurality of control units are not connected by a dedicated reset line, even if the CPU on the slave side is not operating normally or a communication failure occurs, The CPU can be reliably reset. Thereby, the number of bundled wires connecting a plurality of control units can be reduced.

  Other features and remarkable effects of the present invention will be understood more clearly by referring to the description of the best mode section for carrying out the present invention and the attached drawings.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a crane type game machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. This crane-type game machine (hereinafter abbreviated as “game machine”) 1 includes an upper housing 4 that is surrounded by a side wall 2 such as a transparent acrylic plate to form a play space 3, and a lower portion of the upper housing 4 And a lower housing 5 connected to the housing. The upper housing 4 and the lower housing 5 are transported to the game arcade in a divided state, and are coupled at the installation site to connect various wirings. Note that the present invention can also be suitably applied to an integrated game machine 1 in which the upper housing 4 and the lower housing 5 are connected in series.

  A crane mechanism 6 for lifting the prize P placed on the floor surface 3a of the play space 3 is disposed inside the upper housing 4. The crane mechanism 6 includes a catcher 11 that moves in the front-rear, left-right, right-and-left directions and the vertical direction along the guide rail 10 based on a player's operation, an arm 12 that catches a prize at a position where the catcher 11 descends and stops, and the catcher 11. And control units (slave side control units) 13 and 14 for controlling the operation of the arm 12, respectively.

  The catcher 11 is configured to be movable up and down by a plurality of pipes connected in a wire or nested manner, for example. An arm 12 composed of a pair of claws that can be opened and closed is provided at the tip of the catcher 11. When the catcher 11 descends and the arm 12 recognizes that the prize distance sensor (not shown) has approached the prize up to a predetermined distance, the arm 12 sandwiches and catches the prize P with a predetermined strength by the built-in stepping motor. Further, at one end of the floor 3a of the play space 3, there is a prize outlet 7 for discharging the caught prize P to the outside and a cylindrical cover 8 protruding above the prize outlet 7. It is arranged.

  The guide rail 10 is a pair of left and right guide rails 10a and 10a having a substantially U-shaped cross section fixed to the front and rear beams of the play space 3, and the front and rear ends of the left and right guide rails 10a and 10a are slidably held. And a front and rear guide rail 10b having a substantially U-shaped cross section downward. The catcher 11 can move in the play space 3 in the left-right direction by moving the front-rear guide rail 10b to the left and right along the left-right guide rails 10a, 10a by a motor (not shown) housed in the front-rear guide rail 10b. The catcher 11 can be moved in the front-rear direction (depth direction in FIG. 1) along the front-rear guide rail 10b by a motor (not shown) provided on the upper part of the catcher 11.

  Outside the lower housing 5 are an operation button switch 20 for the player to operate the horizontal position of the catcher 11 of the crane mechanism 7, a display unit 21 for displaying the number of plays, etc. with a 7-segment LED, and a coin insertion unit 22. Each has a control panel 23 and a prize outlet 24 communicating with the prize discharge port 7. In addition, a master side control unit 25 that integrally controls the operation of the game machine 1 is installed inside the lower housing 5 as indicated by a broken line in the drawing. The master-side control unit 25 is composed of a printed circuit board (PCB), and is connected to the panel 23, the catcher control unit 13, the arm control unit 14, and the like by bundle wires 26, respectively. A bundled wire 26 a that connects the master side control unit 25, the catcher control unit 13, the arm control unit 14, and the like is disposed at a corner of the play space 3 with its surface covered with a cover member 27.

  Since the basic structure of the game machine 1 including the catcher 11, the arm 12, and the guide rail 10 is well known in the art, further detailed explanation is omitted, and the following description focuses on the characteristic configuration of the present invention. To do.

  Next, the configuration of the catcher control unit 13 will be described as an example of the master side control unit 25 and the slave side control unit with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. Since the arm control unit 14 has the same configuration as the catcher control unit 13, the description thereof is omitted. In the following description, the catcher control unit 13 will be described as the slave-side control unit 13.

  First, the master side control unit 25 is an area in which the CPU 31 that controls the game machine 1 and the control program transmission process to the slave side control unit 13 is loaded with the ROM 31 storing the control program and the control program. To communicate input / output signals between the RAM 32, the communication port 33 for transmitting a predetermined control program to the slave-side control unit 13, and the operation button switch 20, the 7SEG display (the display unit 21), etc. The I / O port 34 and a watchdog timer (WDT) 35 that monitors the operation of the CPU 30 are connected via a bus line 36, respectively.

  The WDT 35 of the master side control unit 25 (hereinafter referred to as “master side WDT”) receives initialization commands at various intervals (for example, every 100 ms) from various tasks instructed by the CPU 30 in the same manner as general WDT. Based on the command, the initial value of the countdown (for example, the remaining 3 seconds) is loaded and initialized. Then, when there is no response from the device or the system malfunctions due to external noise or the like and the initial value is not loaded and the countdown proceeds to 0, the WDT 35 forcibly resets the CPU 30 to complete all the tasks being executed. Terminate.

  Further, the CPU 30 transmits an initial value to a slave-side WDT 45 to be described later when an initialization command is received from a task being executed by the slave-side control unit 13, and an initial value is received from the slave-side control unit 13. And a function of forcibly disconnecting communication with the slave-side control unit 13 when an activation signal cannot be received or when an abnormal signal is received. That is, when the master side control unit 25 and the slave side control unit 13 are operating normally, bidirectional communication is always repeated, and the operation or communication state of the slave side control unit is not normal. The communication is forcibly disconnected.

  The slave side control unit 13 sends a ROM 41, a RAM 42, a master side control unit 25, and various signals to the CPU (slave side CPU) 40 for storing the control program and initialization program transmitted from the master side control unit 25. A communication port 43 for communication, an I / O port 44 for communicating input / output signals between various sensors for detecting the position of the catcher 11 and a moving motor, and a watchdog timer (slave side WDT) 45 Are connected via a bus line 46, respectively. The slave-side control unit 13 is preferably constituted by a boot mode built-in chip that can shift to a boot mode that automatically accepts a program when the power is turned on.

  Here, the slave side control unit 13 is connected to the master side control unit 25 by a bundle 26b for supplying power, transmitting a control application program, and transmitting an initialization command. That is, control signals such as various sensors and drive motors provided on the catcher 11 and the arm 12 are not connected to the master side control unit 25. These control signals are directly controlled by the control program transmitted to the catcher control unit 13 and the arm control unit 14. Thereby, the number of bundled wires spanning the lower housing 5 and the upper housing 4 can be minimized, and the connection work can be simplified. Also, if you want to change the behavior of the catcher 11 or arm 12, you can replace the ROM 31 of the master side control unit 25, read the changed program, and transmit it to the catcher control unit 13 and the arm control unit 14. The control details can be changed easily and quickly. Therefore, it is possible to easily change the prize payout rate during business without lowering the operating rate of the game machine 1.

  The slave side WDT 45, like the master side WDT 35, monitors the operation of the slave side CPU 40 by constantly repeating initialization and countdown. In this embodiment, the slave side CPU 40 sends an initialization command. Rather, it is characterized in that it is acquired from the master side CPU 30 via a bundled line (communication line) 26. Further, the slave side WDT 45 starts the initialization program stored in the ROM 41 and initializes the slave side CPU 40 when communication is cut off from the master side control unit 25 and the initialization command cannot be received. It also has functions.

  Hereinafter, detailed functions of the master side control unit 25 and the slave side control unit 13 will be described together with actual operations with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In addition, S1-S15 of these figures is a code | symbol which shows a process order, and respond | corresponds to step S1-S15 of the following description.

  The following control process is started by turning on the power of the game machine 1 when the game hall is opened or when the game machine 1 is initially installed.

  First, the CPU 30 of the master-side control unit 25 initializes the settings of the game machine 1 so that the program can be read (step S1). Further, the slave side control unit 13 receives the supply of power, shifts to the boot mode, and waits for transmission of the control program from the master side control unit 25 (step S2).

  Next, the master side control unit 25 reads the slave side control program from the ROM 31 and transmits it to the slave side control unit 13 (steps S3 and S4). When receiving the program, the slave side control unit 13 stores the transmitted control program in the ROM 41 (memory) (step S5). In the course of the transmission and storage processing in the memory, the communication state between the master side CPU 30 and the slave side control unit 13 and the execution state of each process are monitored by the master side WDT 35 (step S6). The monitoring process of the WDT 35 will be described later.

  When the program transmission / save process is completed normally (Yes in step S7), the master-side control unit 25 controls the other controls of the game machine 1 (LED display, sound output, various counts, monitoring of fraudulent activity). Etc.) is started (step S8). Thereby, the game machine 1 shifts to a standby mode for starting play and enters a playable state. In addition, when the program reception / save process ends normally (Yes in step S9), the slave-side control unit 13 initializes the program and starts control of the catcher and the like (steps S10 and S11).

  On the other hand, if any abnormality occurs during the program transmission / storage process (No in step S7), the master side CPU 30 forcibly disconnects communication with the slave side control unit 13 (step S12). Then, an error message is output to a display (not shown), and this process is terminated (step S13). The manager of the game hall confirms this message and reacts by restarting the game machine 1 or the like.

  Further, in the slave side control unit 13, when an abnormality occurs in the process of program reception / save processing (No in step S9), if communication with the master side control unit 25 is maintained, this is handled. Stop (step S14) and wait until a reset command is issued (step S15).

  As a result, even if the slave side control unit 13 becomes uncontrollable for some reason, the slave side WDT 45 can forcibly reset it. Therefore, a dedicated line for transmitting a reset signal from the master side control unit 25 to the slave side control unit 13 which has been necessary in the prior art can be omitted, and the number of bundled wires can be reduced.

Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4, the monitoring process of the slave side WDT 45 will be described.
First, the slave-side WDT 45 initializes the timer to a predetermined value (n = 30) set in advance and then starts to count down the timer and starts monitoring the slave-side control unit 13 (steps S6-1 and S6). -2). The slave-side CPU 40 transmits a task execution signal (survival confirmation signal) for receiving and saving a program to the master-side CPU 30 as needed. The master-side CPU 30 receives the task execution signal, thereby issuing an initialization command for the slave-side WDT 45. Send. Each time the slave side WDT 45 receives an initialization command from the master side CPU 30, the slave side WDT 45 always repeats initialization and countdown of the timer (step S6-3).

  When the countdown has progressed to 0 without receiving an initialization command from the master side CPU 30 (Yes in step S6-4), that is, the processing by the slave side CPU 40 did not end normally for some reason, or the master side control When an abnormality occurs in communication with the unit 25, the slave side WDT 45 forcibly resets the slave side CPU 40 (step S6-5). As a result, it can be determined that both the master-side control unit 25 and the slave-side control unit 13 have not ended normally in steps S7 and S9 in FIG. At this time, the control information already received may be cleared. When the WDT 45 operates in this way, the WDT operation history is held in a status register (not shown), so that the administrator can perform a recovery process from this information.

  The above processing is performed in the same manner after the play is started. For example, when the slave-side control unit 13 controls the operation of the catcher 11, the arm 12, etc., the task-in-execution signal is transmitted to the master-side CPU 30 at a predetermined cycle, and the master-side CPU 30 transmits an initialization command to the slave-side WDT 45. To do. The slave side WDT 45 receives the initialization command, returns the counter to the initial value, and restarts the countdown. As a result, devices such as the catcher 11 can be remotely controlled by the master side control unit 30, and the slave side control unit 13 can be reliably reset by the slave side WDT 45 even when a communication failure or the like occurs.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible in the range which does not change the summary of invention.

  For example, although the crane type game machine has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention can be suitably applied to any device that is desired to be controlled by a plurality of control units of a master and a slave.

1 is an overall perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a crane type game machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a functional block diagram of the control unit. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a control unit equally. 4 is a flowchart showing a WDT monitoring process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Crane-type game machine 3 ... Play space 4 ... Upper housing | casing 5 ... Lower housing | casing 6 ... Crane mechanism 10, 10a, 10b ... Guide rail 11 ... Catcher 12 ... Arm 13 ... Catcher control unit (slave side control unit)
14 ... Arm control unit 25 ... Master side control unit 26, 26a, 26b ... Bundling wire 30, 40 ... CPU
31, 41 ... ROM
32, 42 ... RAM
33, 43 ... Communication port 34, 44 ... I / O port 35 ... Master side watchdog timer (WDT)
36, 46 ... bus line 45 ... slave side watchdog timer (WDT)

Claims (4)

A master-side control unit having a master-side CPU, a slave-side CPU that is connected to the master-side control unit via a communication line, controls a part of the device in cooperation with the master-side CPU, and monitors the operation of the slave-side CPU. A device having a slave-side control unit having a watchdog timer (WDT)
The slave-side control unit transmits a survival confirmation signal at a predetermined cycle to the master-side control unit via a communication line;
The master-side control unit initializes the WDT by transmitting an initialization command to the WDT at a predetermined cycle via a communication line;
A step in which the master side control unit monitors whether the survival confirmation signal is normally transmitted from the slave side control unit; and
When receiving an abnormal signal from the slave side control unit, or when the master side control unit has not received the survival confirmation signal for a predetermined time or more, disconnecting the communication with the slave side control unit;
A control method comprising: a step of resetting a slave CPU based on an initialization program when the communication with the master control unit is disconnected. The control method according to claim 1, comprising:
The device is a crane-type game machine including an upper housing that constitutes a play space, and a lower housing that is integrally or separately provided below the upper housing.
The master side CPU is built in the lower case of the game machine, and the slave side CPU is built in a catcher for catching a prize installed movably in the play space of the upper case. Control method. The control method according to claim 1, comprising:
The master-side control unit acquires a control application program transmitted from the master-side control unit and controls a slave-side device connected to the slave-side control unit. A master-side control unit having a master-side CPU, a slave-side CPU that is connected to the master-side control unit via a communication line, controls a part of the device in cooperation with the master-side CPU, and monitors the operation of the slave-side CPU. A slave-side control unit having a watchdog timer (WDT)
The slave side control unit transmits a survival confirmation signal at a predetermined cycle to the master side control unit via a communication line, and when an abnormal signal is received from the slave side control unit, or the survival confirmation is performed for a predetermined time or more. Means for disconnecting communication with the slave side control unit when the signal could not be received,
The master-side control unit monitors whether a survival confirmation signal is normally transmitted from the slave-side control unit, and means for initializing the WDT by transmitting an initialization command to the WDT via a communication line at a predetermined cycle. And means for
The WDT is a device that resets the slave side CPU based on an initialization program when communication with the master side control unit is cut off.

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