JPH09325914A - Controller for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively prevent the quilt to get unjust profit through the illegal alteration or exchange of external ROM in a controller for game machine on which the external ROM for storing various control programs for various hardwares and a microcomputer circuit are mounted like a PACHINKO stand, a slot machine or the like in recent years. SOLUTION: A microcomputer circuit 1 is constituted of a one-chip microcomputer provided with a fuse type PROM 12, an inspection program for adding the control program data of all the addresses of an external ROM 2 and the regular arithmetic result Tc in the case that the external ROM 2 is proper are written in that fuse type PROM 12, and when starting a system, a CPU 11 is let execute the inspection program. Then, the inspection operated results Xn and Tc are compared and only in the case of Xn=Tc, an operating mode is started.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for a game machine, and in particular, it is applied to a pachinko machine, a throttle machine, etc., and is a measure for preventing unauthorized modification or replacement of a ROM storing the control program. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, pachinko has been widely established as a national leisure, but especially since it became possible to control hardware by mounting a microcomputer (hereinafter, "microcomputer") circuit on a pachinko machine. With the supply of pachinko machines with a wide variety of functions, the pachinko industry now stands out among the leisure industry in terms of its population and sales.

Here, a pachinko machine equipped with a microcomputer circuit is equipped with a microcomputer circuit and a ROM behind the game board surface, and a control program for controlling various hardware of the pachinko machine is written in the ROM. Every time, the microcomputer circuit receives the detection signal from the sensor or the like and controls the hardware. In particular,
Behind the game board, there are sensors and switches for detecting prizes and the fact that the ball has passed the starting chucker, etc. Each time the microcomputer circuit receives these signals, the ROM is read. Read the corresponding control data of the control program written in, and start / start the motor that rotates the rotary drum with the picture or number commonly called "digital"
Stop control, probability control of big hit when digital rotates, open / close control of attacker (plate receiving ball) at big hit, open / close control of electrically controlled tulip, variable control of ball launch force, hold ball (digital rotation) Various controls such as counting the number of balls that have passed through the starting chucker and controlling the turning on / off of the LED, counting the number of winning balls and controlling the number of balls, etc. are executed.

Therefore, a general-purpose L
The SI chip is used, but the ROM is EP (Electrica).
lly Programmable) ROM and EEP (Electrically Erasa)
bleand Programmable) ROM is used, and a control program according to the model of the pachinko machine is written and mounted in a state in which it is connected to the microcomputer circuit via a bus. Since the ROM stores various control programs as described above, it has a function of determining the jackpot probability and average payout of a pachinko machine, and the contents of the program are of most interest to both pachinko parlors and players. Is an important factor.

[0005]

By the way, pachinko can be exchanged for prizes according to the number of balls that are the result of playing the game, and although it is legally prohibited, there are many cases where cash is exchanged. As described above, the ROM that determines the jackpot probability and the average payout gives an excessive gambling property to the game depending on its content. For this reason, within the association organized by pachinko parlors, it is specified that a certain standard is set for the content of the control program in the ROM, and only the ROM certified by the association can be mounted on the pachinko machine.

However, recently, an outside person called a so-called "Goto master" invades a pachinko parlor at night, or collides with a pachinko parlor clerk, and is attached to a pachinko parlor.
RO that has been modified so that the jackpot probability and the average payout rate are increased, or the control program is written in advance as such.
The crime of switching to M has been a serious problem because it has left behind and gives unjust profits to the criminals as well as serious damage to pachinko parlors.

Therefore, the present invention was made for the purpose of providing a control device capable of preventing the pachinko machine itself from operating when the ROM is altered or replaced, and thus was created for the purpose of preventing the crime.

[0008]

The present invention provides a ROM (hereinafter referred to as "external ROM") storing various control programs for various hardware of a game game machine, and various sensors provided in the game game machine. In a control device for a game game machine, which includes a microcomputer circuit that outputs a control signal to the hardware of the game game machine based on a control program of the external ROM while detecting signals of switches and switches, at least the microcomputer circuit is provided. , CPU, and PROM that cannot be erased and rewritten after writing information (hereinafter,
"Internal PROM") and an I / O port are built in as a one-chip microcomputer, and a fixed algorithm for the internal PROM using all the data written in the external ROM as substitution data. And a calculation result when the inspection program is executed for the control program data of the external ROM to be mounted on the game machine are written, and the microcomputer circuit executes the game game. When the system start-up of the machine is detected, the inspection program of the internal PROM is executed, and only when the calculation result by the execution matches the pre-written calculation result, the game game machine can be operated. The present invention relates to a control device for a game gaming machine characterized by:

According to the present invention, the microcomputer circuit is configured as a one-chip microcomputer equipped with an internal PROM that cannot be erased and rewritten, and the internal PROM has an inspection program for executing a calculation with a certain algorithm and a regular external ROM.
And the operation result data when the above inspection program is executed for the control program data of 1.

Therefore, it is impossible to rewrite the inspection program of the internal PROM of the microcomputer circuit and the operation result data. Then, the microcomputer circuit executes the inspection program by using the control program data of the external ROM as the substitution data when the system is started up, and confirms whether the calculation result and the calculation result data written in advance match. If the external ROM is modified or replaced, it is almost impossible to see the coincidence of the calculation results. That is, if there is an illegality in the external ROM, the game machine cannot shift to the operating state. Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to a pachinko machine, for example,
Microcomputer circuit and external ROM such as throttle machine
It can be applied to general game machines equipped with.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the "control device for a game machine" of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, in this embodiment, a pachinko machine control device will be described as an example. First, FIG. 1 shows a circuit diagram of a control device mounted on the back of the game board surface of the pachinko machine, 1 is a microcomputer circuit, 2 is an EEPROM (corresponding to an external ROM) storing various control programs for the hardware of the pachinko machine.
It is.

Here, the microcomputer circuit 1 is a one-chip microcomputer, and a CPU 11 and a fuse type PR are provided in the chip.
OM (corresponding to internal PROM) 12, RAM 13 and I / O port
14 is mounted, and the CPU 11 and other built-in units are connected to the bus. It should be noted that the I / O port 14 receives signals from various sensors and switches arranged on the pachinko machine, and the CPU 11 causes various hardware such as a motor to rotate the digital signal via the bus and the I / O port 14. The control signal is output to. On the other hand, EEPRO
M2 is microcomputer circuit 1 via connector 3 and bus cable
, And the control program of the pachinko machine is written in the addresses A0 to An as machine language data D0 to Dn.

The feature of the present embodiment is that the microcomputer circuit 1 is configured as a one-chip microcomputer in which the fuse type ROM 12 is mounted as described above, and the fuse type ROM 12 has the inspection program and the normal operation result Tc. Is written. The inspection program is EE when the pachinko machine system is started up (when the power is turned on).
The control program data of the PROM2 is sequentially added in the forward address direction to obtain total data. Also,
The normal operation result Tc is the total data when the inspection program is executed for the EEPROM 2 in which the normal control program corresponding to the pachinko machine is written.

Next, the operation of the control device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the power is turned on at the pachinko parlor before opening the store and all the pachinko parlor systems are started up, in the conventional method, each pachinko parlor shifts to the operation mode as it is. In the microcomputer circuit 1 of, the inspection mode is set before that.
(S1, S2).

In the inspection mode, the microcomputer circuit 1
Is based on the fuse ROM12 inspection program.
The control program data of the head address A0 of the EPROM2 are sequentially read, and the results are sequentially added and the result is saved in the internal register of the CPU 11 while the control program data of the final address An is summed (S3 to S6 → S7 → S3 to S).
6). In this embodiment, since the microcomputer circuit 1 also has the RAM 13 built therein, the data may be saved in the RAM 13.

As a result of the above operation, the total data Xn of the control program data written in the machine language of the EEPROM 2
Then, at that stage, the normal operation result Tc written in advance is immediately compared with the obtained total data Xn, and it is confirmed whether or not they match (S6, S8). And Xn =
When Tc is confirmed, it immediately exits the inspection mode and shifts to the normal operation mode (S9, S10), but when Xn ≠ Tc, the save data is cleared and the inspection mode is maintained as it is. Then, the inspection program is re-executed (S9 → S11 → S3).

Therefore, when the EEPROM 2 stores a certified and authorized control program, the operating mode is set only by executing the inspection program once in the inspection mode, but if the EEPROM 2 is illegal When it is changed or replaced, the condition of Xn = Tc can hardly be satisfied. Therefore, the state in which the calculation is repeatedly executed in the inspection mode does not continue and does not shift to the operation mode. As a result, it is impossible for a master Goto who has illegally altered or replaced the EEPROM 2 to make an unreasonable profit, and it is possible to prevent such a criminal act.

Further, since the microcomputer circuit 1 is configured as a one-chip microcomputer and the inspection program and the normal operation result Tc are stored in the fuse type PROM 12, the inspection is performed in correspondence with the alteration or replacement of the EEPROM 2. It is completely impossible to rewrite the operating program and the regular operation result Tc, and the security in that sense is completely ensured.

Although the addition method is applied to the inspection program in this embodiment, any arithmetic algorithm such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, or a combination thereof can be adopted. Further, in this embodiment, the fuse type PR is added to the internal PROM of the microcomputer circuit 1.
Although the OM12 is applied, a diode junction destruction type PROM can be used, and a PROM that cannot be erased / rewritten after information writing is generally sufficient.

[0020]

The "control device for game machine" of the present invention is
The following effects are achieved by having the above-mentioned configuration. An external ROM storing various control programs for various hardware, such as a pachinko machine or a throttle machine in recent years, and hardware based on the control program of the external ROM while detecting signals of various sensors and switches. In a control device of a game machine equipped with a microcomputer for controlling, a criminal act that attempts to obtain an unreasonable profit due to unauthorized modification or replacement of an external ROM is effectively prevented, and the high security of the game machine Enable proper operation.
Further, the microcomputer circuit of the present invention has the peculiarity of using a fuse type PROM or a diode junction destruction type PROM as an internal PROM of a one-chip microcomputer, but the technology for incorporating those PROMs into the chip has been established from before. However, there is no problem in manufacturing technology, manufacturing cost, and mass productivity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a pachinko machine controller according to an embodiment of a “game machine controller” of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an execution procedure of an inspection program.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Microcomputer circuit, 2 ... EEPROM, 3 ... Connector, 11
... CPU, 12 ... Fuse type PROM, 13 ... RAM, 14 ...
I / O port.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A ROM that stores various control programs for various hardware of a game machine (hereinafter, referred to as "external R
OM ") and the external ROM while detecting signals from various sensors and switches provided in the game machine.
Which outputs a control signal to the hardware of the game machine based on the control program of
(Hereinafter, referred to as "microcomputer") In the control device of the game machine provided with a circuit, at least the microcomputer circuit,
CPU and P that cannot be erased and rewritten after writing information
A ROM (hereinafter referred to as "internal PROM") and an I / O port are built as a one-chip microcomputer, and all the data written in the external ROM is substituted into the internal PROM. As a test program for executing a calculation with a certain algorithm and a calculation result when the test program is executed for the control program data of the external ROM to be mounted on the game machine, the microcomputer is written. The internal PROM when the circuit detects the system start-up of the game machine.
2. The control device for a game gaming machine, wherein the inspection program is executed, and the game gaming machine is put into the operable state only when the calculation result obtained by the execution matches the previously written calculation result. 2. The game program according to claim 1, wherein the inspection program for the internal PROM is a program for sequentially adding data stored in respective addresses of the external ROM by a sequential addressing method to obtain an addition result of data at all addresses. Machine control device.