JP2583767B2 - Gaming machine system - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a gaming machine system in which gaming machines such as a plurality of gaming machines connected in series transmit and receive data via a transmission path.

[Related Art] In recent years, a system for centrally managing each game machine by a host has been developed in order to sequentially grasp the use status of each game machine in a game center. There is also known a system in which when playing, a magnetic card or the like that can be used in common for various game machines is purchased without using coins and the card is used. Such a game system, for example,
No. 60-2581.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above conventional game system, each game machine has a built-in central processing unit (CPU) and exchanges parallel signals with a host via a bus. Therefore, it is necessary to route a thick communication cable from the host to a large number of game machines in the game center, which not only complicates installation and maintenance but also increases the risk of disconnection as the number of signal lines increases, and reduces noise. There was a problem that it was easy to pick up. This problem becomes more pronounced as the number of terminals increases. In arcades, the number of game consoles can be as high as 100, and this problem cannot be overlooked.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the related art, and a game machine system in which a plurality of game machine devices such as game machines are sequentially connected in series to reduce the number of signals on a transmission line and is not easily affected by noise. It is intended to be offered.

Further, there is provided a gaming machine system capable of transferring data through a plurality of gaming machines connected in series even if one of the gaming machines is defective or the power is not turned on. The purpose is to:

[Means for Solving the Problems] In a gaming machine system according to the present invention, a plurality of gaming machine devices are sequentially connected in series via a transmission line, and each of the plurality of gaming machine devices is connected to the transmission line. A data transmitting / receiving unit for transmitting / receiving data between the data transmitting / receiving units, a bypass line arranged to bypass the data transmitting / receiving unit, and selecting one of the data transmitting / receiving unit and the bypass line and connecting to the transmission line And a switching unit that switches between the data transmission / reception unit and the bypass line according to an operation state of the gaming machine device. Things.

As a preferred embodiment of each of the above gaming machine devices,
The gaming machine further includes a diagnostic unit, and the switching unit of the gaming machine that has been diagnosed as malfunctioning operates to disconnect the data transmission / reception unit of the gaming machine from the transmission line and connect the bypass line to the transmission line. It is configured as follows.

Further, as a preferable mode of the gaming machine system, the plurality of gaming machine devices detect a power-on state of each of the gaming machine devices, and a switching unit of the gaming machine device in a state where the power is not turned on causes the switching of the gaming machine device. A data transmission / reception unit is disconnected from the transmission line, and the bypass line is connected to the transmission line.

As the method of serial data transmission, a serial interface such as RS232C or RS422 is preferable in order to reduce the number of signal lines, and RS422 is suitable in terms of transmission speed, transmission distance, and noise resistance.

The gaming machine system of the present invention is not limited to application to a game system, but can be applied to other uses, for example, a ball rental machine at a driving range.

[Operation] In the present invention, since a plurality of gaming machine devices are sequentially connected in series by the serial data transmission line, the number of signal lines of the connection cable can be reduced, and as a result,
The possibility of disconnection and the influence of noise can be minimized.

In particular, in each gaming machine device of a gaming machine system in which a plurality of gaming machine devices are managed by a host computer, a configuration in which data received from the host is directly transmitted to a subsequent terminal device as it is, so that a large number of terminal devices can be connected in series. Even if connected, the host always communicates only with the terminal device at the front end in terms of hardware, so that problems such as fan-out do not occur.

When the power of the terminal device is turned off or when the terminal device is defective, the terminal device can be communicated without any adverse effect by bypassing the terminal device.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a game system will be described as an example.

<System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a gaming machine system of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a plurality of gaming machine devices 4 are sequentially connected to a host 2 via a serial data transmission line 5 in series. That is, the transmission line 5a is connected from the host 2 to the terminal A, the transmission line 5b is connected from the gaming machine A to the gaming machine B, and the transmission line 5c is connected from the gaming machine B to the gaming machine C. Similarly, the terminals are sequentially connected in series from the gaming machine device C to the subsequent terminals in a one-stroke manner. Each terminal 4 does not need to have the same configuration. For example, a card vending machine or the like can be included in addition to various game machines.

The serial data transmission method according to the present embodiment includes transmission speed,
The RS422 standard was adopted in terms of transmission distance and noise resistance.

<Operation of the System> Each gaming machine 4 is assigned a unique address, and the host 2 sends and receives necessary data by designating each gaming machine according to the address. That is, when each of the gaming machine devices 4 receives the address from the host 2, it compares the address with its own address and, when the addresses match, receives further data from the host 2 or sends data to the host 2. In the present embodiment, the host 2 accesses each gaming machine device 4 periodically (for example, repeats the operation of sequentially specifying all gaming machine devices 4 at a rate of once every five minutes) to thereby obtain each gaming machine device 4.
, Or grasp the state and use state of each gaming machine device 4.

With this system configuration, the number of signal lines of the transmission cable is reduced (four in the example of FIG. 3 described later), and
The influence of noise can be reduced.

<Configuration of gaming machine> FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of the gaming machine 4 of FIG.

The gaming machine device 4 shown in FIG. 2 includes a power-on detection unit 10, a self-diagnosis unit 12, a data transmission / reception unit 14, switching units 16 and 18.
And a bypass line 17. The transmission / reception data passing through the data transmission / reception unit 14 is used by another circuit unit (not shown).

The self-diagnosis unit 12 may be realized using a CPU. The switching units 16 and 18 can be configured using a relay of a type that automatically returns to one contact side when not driven.

<Operation of gaming machine device> When the power of the gaming machine device 4 is turned off, the switching unit 16
And 18 are in the return state, and the serial data transmission line is switched to the terminal on the side that bypasses the gaming machine device 4. That is, the terminal a of the switching unit 16 connected to the transmission line 5a is connected to the terminal c of the switching unit 16 connected to the bypass line 17. Similarly, the terminal a of the switching unit 18 connected to the transmission line 5b is connected to the terminal c of the switching unit 18 connected to the bypass line 17.

When the power of the gaming machine 4 is turned on, the power-on detecting section 10 detects this and activates the self-diagnosing section 12. The self-diagnosis unit 12 checks a predetermined check item, and when it determines that it is normal, drives the switching units 16 and 18 to switch both switching units to the terminal b. As a result, the data transmission / reception unit 14 is inserted into the serial data transmission line 5, and the gaming machine 4 can communicate with the host 2. As will be described later, the data transmission / reception unit 14 has means for receiving data from the host 2 and retransmitting the data to the subsequent terminal device 4 as it is.

When the self-diagnosis unit 12 diagnoses that it is abnormal, the switching units 16 and 18 maintain the state set on the terminal c side.

According to such a configuration, in a system in which a plurality of gaming machine devices 4 are connected in series in a single-stroke manner as shown in FIG. 1, even if the power supply of the preceding gaming machine device 4 is turned off, the bypass line is provided. 17 allows the subsequent gaming machine device 4 to communicate with the host 2 without any problem. Furthermore, even if the power of the gaming machine 4 is turned on, if the operation is not normal, the gaming machine 4 is disconnected from the serial data transmission line 5, so that the gaming machine 4 in an abnormal state can Risk of adversely affecting the system can be avoided.

<Specific Example of Data Transmitting / Receiving Unit and Switching Unit> FIG. 3A shows the data transmitting / receiving unit 14 and the switching unit 1 of FIG.
Specific examples of 6 and 18 are shown below. This example employs an RS422 interface and shares one parallel line composed of two signal lines for transmission and reception.

The data transmitting / receiving unit 14 includes the drivers 22 and 32 and the receiver
Consists of 24 and 34. The driver 22 is for transmitting transmission data of the gaming machine device 4 to the host 2 and receives transmission data of the gaming machine device 4. Driver 22 also
It also receives the output of the receiver 24 that receives the transmission data to the host 2 of the gaming machine device 4 at the subsequent stage, and retransmits this to the host 2. The receiver 34 is for receiving data from the host 2 and is provided to the gaming machine 4 as received data. This data is simultaneously retransmitted as transmission data from the host 2 to the subsequent gaming machine device 4 via the driver 32. Driver 22 and receiver 24 transmit enable signal
Enabled by TE. Period not enabled,
The output goes into a high impedance state. Similarly, the driver 32 and the receiver 34 are enabled by the reception permission signal RE, and the output is in a high impedance state during a period in which the driver 32 and the receiver 34 are not enabled.

The complementary output terminal of the driver 22 is connected to the transmission line 5a via relays 63 and 64, and the complementary input terminal of the receiver 24 is connected to the transmission line 5b via relays 83 and 84.

Similarly, a complementary output terminal of the driver 32 is connected to the transmission line 5b via relays 83 and 84, and a complementary input terminal of the receiver 34 is connected to the transmission line 5a via relays 63 and 64.

As described above, when the gaming machine device 4 is powered off and in an abnormal state, each relay is set to bypass the data transmission / reception unit 14, that is, the relays 63, 64 and 83, 84 are respectively bypassed. It is driven to select the terminal c connected to the lines 37 and 38.

An operation example of the circuit of FIG. 3A will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. 3B. It should be noted that timing waveforms other than the signals RE and TE in this figure do not show actual specific signal waveforms, but show temporal changes in the state.

Now, assuming that all the gaming machine devices are powered on and operating normally, the terminal b is selected in each relay of the switching units 16 and 18 in FIG. 3A, and the transmitting / receiving unit 14 of each gaming machine device transmits the serial data. The transmission line 5 is inserted. Therefore, communication between the gaming machine device 4 and the host 2 becomes possible.

First, during the period t1, when all the gaming machines are in the reception permitting state due to the “high” state of the signal RE, the host 2 attaches the address of the gaming machine A to, for example, the number of times the game of the gaming machine has been executed. Contact All gaming machines receive the address and compare it with their own address. Signal during period t2
RE and TE are both low, and the outputs of all drivers and receivers are high impedance. This period is for avoiding inconvenience due to variation in the timing of switching the relay.

In the next period t3, the signals TE of all the gaming machines become "high", the gaming machines A having the matching addresses transmit data to respond to the inquiry, and the host 2 receives this data. The reason why the signal TE of the gaming machine that does not transmit is also set to “high” is to allow transmission data of the subsequent gaming machine to pass.

After the signals RE and TE both become “low” again in the period t4, the signals RE of all the gaming machine devices become “high” in the period t5, and the reception is permitted. Then, the host 2 gives the address of the gaming machine A again and issues a command to reset the number of game executions to zero. Only this gaming machine A whose address matches is responded to this command. After the period t6 when both the signals RE and TE are “low”, the signals of all the gaming machines
TE becomes “high”, and the transmission becomes possible. During this period, the effect that the gaming machine device A has responded to the previous command is returned to the host 2.

After a period t8 when the signals RE and TE are both “high”, the signal RE becomes “high” in a period t9. After this period t9, communication between the host 2 and the gaming machine device B and the other subsequent gaming machine devices are performed sequentially in the same manner as in the gaming machine device A. However, the types and the number of transmission / reception data described above are merely examples, and are not actually limited thereto, and may take various different forms.

FIG. 4 shows the data transmitting / receiving unit 14 and the switching unit 1 shown in FIG.
Other specific examples of 6, 18 are shown. This example also employs the RS422 interface, but has two parallel lines, two for signal transmission and another for signal reception.
Therefore, the configuration of FIG. 4 is different from that of FIG. 4 in that four signal lines are individually connected to the corresponding terminals a of the relays 61 to 64 and 81 to 84, and the bypass lines 37 and 38 are newly provided. For example, the configuration is the same as that of FIG. 3A.

In the example of FIG. 3A, since one parallel line is shared by the host 2 and each gaming machine device 4, the gaming machine device 4 cannot normally transmit data while the host 2 is transmitting data. 4, the host 2 and the terminal device 4 can transmit data at the same time. Therefore,
The above-mentioned signals RE and TE are not required, and the gaming machine device that has obtained the transmission right can immediately transmit data.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, since a plurality of gaming machine devices of a gaming machine system are sequentially connected in series by a serial data transmission line, the number of signal lines of a communication cable can be reduced, and as a result, In addition, the possibility of disconnection of the signal line and the influence of noise can be reduced, and the installation cost and maintenance cost of the gaming machine system can be reduced.

Further, even when the power of the gaming machine is turned off and when it is defective, the gaming machine is configured to bypass the gaming machine, so that the subsequent gaming machine can communicate data without any adverse effect. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the gaming machine device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3A is a specific configuration of a data transmitting / receiving unit and a switching unit of FIG. 3B is an operation timing diagram of the circuit of FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing another specific configuration of the data transmitting / receiving unit and the switching unit of FIG. 2 host computer 4 gaming machine 5 serial data transmission line 10 power-on detection unit 12 self-diagnosis unit 14 data transmission / reception unit 16, 18 switching unit 17 bypass line 22 , 32… Driver 24, 34… Receiver 37, 38… Bypass line 61-64… Relay 81-84… Relay

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of gaming machine devices are sequentially connected in series via a transmission line, and each of the plurality of gaming machine devices includes a data transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving data to / from the transmission line. A bypass line arranged so as to bypass the data transmission / reception unit; and a switching unit for selecting one of the data transmission / reception unit and the bypass line and connecting to the transmission line. A gaming machine system characterized in that the switching unit operates in accordance with an operation state to select one of the data transmission / reception unit and the bypass line. Each of the plurality of gaming machine devices further includes a diagnosis unit, and a switching unit of the gaming machine device that has been diagnosed as having a malfunction is operated, and the data transmission / reception unit of the gaming machine device transmits the data transmission / reception unit. The gaming machine system according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine system is configured to be cut off from a road and connect the bypass line to the transmission line. 3. The gaming machine device detects a power-on state of each of the plurality of gaming machines, and a data transmission / reception unit of the gaming machine device is connected to the transmission line by a switching unit of the gaming machine device in a power-off state. The gaming machine system according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine system is configured to be cut off from the transmission line and to be connected to the transmission line.