JP2001204946A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of preventing a service interruption countermeasure from being erroneously started by noises. SOLUTION: The game machine comprises a detecting means 104 for issuing a blackout signal when it detects a blackout, a receiving means 204 for receiving the service interruption signal output from the detecting means 104 and judging means 202 for judging that a service interruption has taken place when the receiving means 204 continuously receives the service interruption signal for a predetermined period of time or more.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine having a power failure signal output means for detecting a power failure and outputting a power failure signal, and more particularly, to the occurrence of a power failure based on a power failure signal output by the power failure signal output means. The present invention relates to a technique for determining the presence / absence.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in a gaming machine such as a so-called pachinko machine, when a power failure occurs during a game, information stored in a storage device such as a memory is protected, and after a power failure recovery, a game is started from a state before the power failure started. There is a request to resume. For this reason, a power failure detection circuit that outputs a power failure signal when a power failure is detected in a gaming machine is provided, and a gaming machine that protects the storage content of a storage device based on a power failure signal output from the power failure detection circuit has been developed. . In such a gaming machine, since it takes a certain amount of time to protect the storage contents of the storage device after detecting the power failure, the storage contents of the storage device are promptly restored based on the power failure signal output from the power failure detection circuit. Need to protect. On the other hand, in general control technology,
The power failure signal output from the power failure detection circuit
The signal is received at a special terminal called a non-mascarable interrupt terminal (hereinafter, referred to as an NMI terminal) provided at U. When a signal is received at the NMI terminal, the control device immediately executes the current processing. It is common practice to postpone and perform processing at the time of a power failure (protection of the storage contents of the storage device).

[0003]

However, various types of electric equipment are provided in a game store where a game machine such as a pachinko machine is installed, and these electric equipment generate a large amount of electromagnetic noise and the like. For this reason, when noise generated from various types of electrical equipment gets on the transmission line connecting the power failure detection circuit and the NMI terminal, the control device determines that a power failure has occurred even though no power failure has occurred, In some cases, processing during a power outage is performed.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and determines that a power failure has occurred on the condition that the power failure signal is continuously received, so that processing at the time of power failure is erroneously performed due to noise or the like. To provide a gaming machine which is prevented from being started.

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, a gaming machine outputs a power failure signal when a power failure is detected, and receives a power failure signal output from the detection means. A receiving unit that determines that a power failure has occurred when the receiving unit has received the power failure signal for a predetermined time or longer (claim 1).
In the above gaming machine, the detecting means detects the power failure and outputs a power failure signal. The power failure signal output from the detecting means is received by the receiving means. The determining means determines that a power failure has occurred when the power failure signal received by the receiving means has continued for a predetermined time or longer. Therefore, if the receiving means temporarily receives a signal due to noise or the like, it is not determined that a power failure has occurred.

Further, in the gaming machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, the gaming machine has an electric component and storage means for storing information for controlling the electric component, and the judgment means judges that a power failure has occurred. It is preferable that a protection means for protecting the information stored in the storage means be provided only when the information is stored. In the above-mentioned pachinko machine, the process at the time of power failure that protects the information stored in the storage device is performed only when the determination device determines that a power failure has occurred. Therefore,
If the receiving means temporarily receives the signal due to noise or the like, the process at the time of the power failure is not performed, and the game is not interrupted by the noise or the like.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of the first-type pachinko machine, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the pachinko machine shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is performed in each control unit. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the process, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the power failure signal detection process shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, on the game board surface 12 of the pachinko machine 10, a symbol display device 14, a first-type starting port 30, a special winning port 34, and the like are appropriately arranged. The first-type starting port 30 has a starting-port sensor (not shown), and detects the pachinko ball that has won the first-type starting port 30 by the starting-port sensor. The special winning opening 34 has an opening / closing lid 36, and the opening / closing lid 36 is opened and closed by a solenoid (not shown) under specific conditions. The period during which the opening / closing lid 36 is opened ends, for example, whichever comes first until a predetermined number (generally, 10) of pachinko balls are won in the special winning opening 34 or until 30 seconds elapse after opening. I do. The symbol display device 14 includes a symbol indicator 22 that displays a special symbol in a variable manner. The symbol indicator 22 has a special symbol under a specific condition (for example, a win of a pachinko ball into the first-type starting port 30). Perform variable display. The special symbol displayed fluctuating on the symbol display 22 is to make the player recognize that a transition to a so-called special game state (a state in which the special winning opening 34 is opened) is performed in a display mode when the fluctuation is stopped.
A pachinko ball that has won a winning opening such as the first-type starting opening 30 and the special winning opening 34 is detected by a winning ball sensor (not shown) provided on the back side of the game board surface 12, and similarly on the back side of the game board surface 12. Prize ball device (not shown)
Pachinko balls are paid out. The operation of the prize ball device is controlled by a prize ball control unit described later.

The pachinko machine 10 has the above-mentioned gaming board surface 1
In addition to 2, a lower blood 40 for temporarily storing pachinko balls including prize balls and rental balls, an ashtray 42 for storing cigarette butts, and the like are provided. The structures and the like of these devices are the same as those of a well-known pachinko machine, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the structure of the control system of the pachinko machine 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG.
The control system of the pachinko machine 10 according to the present embodiment includes a power supply device 100 and a power supply device 100 similarly to the conventional pachinko machine.
(Hereinafter, referred to as a main control unit) 200 which is connected to the power supply device 100 and controls the pachinko machine as a whole, based on control information (command data) transmitted from the main control unit 200. A prize ball control unit 300 for controlling the prize ball 40; a prize ball sensor 50 electrically connected to the main control unit 200;
It comprises a symbol display 22, a solenoid 35 (for opening and closing the flat lid 36 of the special winning opening 34) and the like. The winning ball sensor 50, the starting port sensor 32, the symbol display 2
2. The solenoid 35 and the like may be those provided in a normal pachinko machine, and do not particularly characterize the present invention, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The main control unit 200 includes a CPU (processor) 202 and a ROM 202 connected to the CPU 202.
a, storage device such as RAM 202b, input processing circuit 20
4, an output processing circuit 208, a communication control circuit 206, and the like. The CPU 202 controls the pachinko machine 10 according to a control program stored in the ROM 202a. For example, when a winning detection signal is received from the starting port sensor 32, a lottery change instruction is given to the symbol display 22, and at the time of a big hit, the opening operation of the special winning opening 34 (that is, the solenoid 3
5). Also, ROM
The control program stored in 202a includes a program for realizing each process such as a power failure signal detection process and an initialization process described later. The winning ball information transmitted from the winning ball sensor 50, the starting port sensor 3
Various data, such as the start-up opening information transmitted from 2 and probability variation information indicating that the special symbol displayed on the symbol display 22 has a high probability of being a "big hit", are stored. In addition,
In the present embodiment, a certain amount of electric charge is stored in the capacitor during energization, and when the energization is cut off (during a power failure), the electric charge stored in the capacitor causes the RAM 20 to store the electric charge.
A constant current is passed through 2b, and the stored contents stored in RAM 202b are retained. As a method of retaining the stored contents of the RAM 202b at the time of a power failure or the like, a nonvolatile flash memory may be used for the RAM 202b in addition to the above-described method.
The storage contents stored in the storage 202b can also be held. The input processing circuit 204 includes a winning ball sensor 50, a starting port sensor 32, an initialization switch 102, and a power failure detection unit 106.
This is a circuit for processing a signal transmitted from the CPU or the like so that the signal can be handled by the CPU 202. Further, the output processing circuit 206
The communication control circuit 206 outputs a drive signal to the solenoid 35. The communication control circuit 206 includes a symbol display 22 and a prize ball control unit 300.
Etc. for transmitting command data. Further, a clock circuit (not shown) that defines a processing cycle of the main control unit 200 is connected to the main control unit 200.

The prize ball control unit 300 includes a main control unit 200
Receiving the command data (ball payout information) sent from the prize ball device 40, a prize ball payout process of paying out a predetermined number of prize balls from the prize ball device 40 is performed. The prize ball control unit 300 includes a CPU 3
02, a ROM 302a, a RAM 302b, a communication control circuit 303, an input processing circuit 304, an output processing circuit 306, and the like. The CPU 302 performs a prize ball payout control and the like of the prize ball device 40 according to a control program stored in the ROM 302a. Like the main control unit 200, the control program stored in the ROM 302a includes
A program for realizing a power failure signal detection process described later is included. The RAM 302b stores various data such as ball payout information and input / output signals. In the RAM 302b of the present embodiment, similarly to the main control unit 100, the contents stored in the RAM 302b are retained even during a power failure or the like by using the charge stored in the capacitor during energization. In addition, RA
The point that the storage content of M302b may be held is the same as that of the main control unit 100. Communication control circuit 303
Is a circuit for receiving data transmitted from the main control unit 200 and the like, and the input processing circuit 304 is a circuit for receiving signals output from the initialization switch 102, the power failure detection unit 104, and the like. And the output processing circuit 3
Reference numeral 06 denotes an output for receiving a data transmitted from the CPU 302 and outputting a drive signal for performing a prize ball payout control (drive control of a prize ball motor (typically a stepping motor)) to the prize ball device 40. Circuit. Further, a clock circuit (not shown) that defines a processing cycle of the prize ball control unit 300 is connected to the prize ball control unit 300. Timer 307
Is an interval circuit for determining an interval of prize ball control.

The power supply device 100 is provided with a voltage transformer 106 for supplying electric power of a predetermined potential to each of the electric devices mounted on the pachinko machine 10, a power failure detection unit 104 for detecting a power failure, a power switch 108, and the like. . Voltage transformer 106
Supplies electric power of a predetermined potential to the main control unit 200 and the prize ball control unit 300, while various electric devices (prize ball sensor 50, starting port sensor 32, symbol display 22, solenoid 35, prize ball device 40, etc. ) Is supplied with power of a predetermined potential. That is, the voltage transformer 106 rectifies and smoothes the AC input from the AC power supply of the hall by a rectifier circuit, converts the rectified and smoothed DC power supply into a voltage suitable for each electrical device by a regulator, and Supply to equipment. In FIG. 2, the main control unit 200 and the prize ball control unit 30
Power supply lines to electrical equipment other than 0 (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 2)
Are not shown. The power failure detection unit 106 monitors an AC input from the hall AC power supply, and determines that a power failure has occurred when the waveform of the power supply has become 0, and the main control unit 200,
A power failure signal is supplied to the prize ball control unit 300. The power switch 108 is used to turn on AC input from the Hall AC power supply.
/ OFF switch. The voltage transformer 106, the power failure detector 106, the power switch 1
Reference numeral 06 is only required to be provided in an ordinary pachinko machine, and does not particularly characterize the present invention, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the main control unit 200 and the prize ball control unit 300 in the pachinko machine 10 configured as described above.
(Part related to power failure) will be described. First,
3 and FIG.
This will be described using 4. Power switch 1 of power supply device 100
When the pachinko machine 10 is turned on by turning on 08, first, the access prohibition state of the RAM 202a of the main control unit 200 is released (S10). The access prohibition state of the RAM 202a is released when the power is turned on.
This is because in the pachinko machine according to the present embodiment, when power to the pachinko machine is cut off (at the time of a power failure), access to the RAM 202a is prohibited in order to protect information stored in the RAM 202a. RAM 202a in S10
Is released, the main control unit 200 starts a power failure detection process (S12).

In the power failure detection process, as shown in FIG. 4, first, 2 is set in the count register of the RAM 202a (S30). This count register is for counting the number of times the power failure signal is received, and the time when the power failure signal is received is determined based on the number counted in the count register. When 2 is set in the count register in S30, next, the main control unit 200 determines whether the power failure signal has been received by the input processing circuit 204 (S32). The input processing circuit 204 that receives the power failure signal in step S32 includes an NMI terminal that is generally used for receiving the power failure signal and an interrupt terminal (hereinafter, referred to as an NMI terminal) for performing interrupt processing in the same manner as the NMI terminal. I
Rather than an NT terminal), a normal input processing circuit 204 having the same function as the input processing circuit 204 for receiving an output signal output from the winning ball sensor 50, the starting port sensor 32, or the like.
It is. Then, the CPU 202 executes the input processing circuit 204
The state of the power failure signal connected to the
Is determined at a fixed cycle from the terminal described as.
Therefore, even if the power failure signal is received by the input processing circuit 204, the CPU 202 immediately performs processing specified based on the received power failure signal (power failure processing, which will be described later).
Is not done. If the power failure signal is not received at the receiving port (NO in S32), the power failure signal detection processing is terminated as it is, and if the power failure signal is received at the receiving port (YES in S32), It is determined whether the value of the count register is 0 (S3).
4). When the value of the count register is 0 [YE in S34]
In the case of S], the main control unit 200 determines that a power failure has occurred, and prohibits access to the RAM 202a (S38). On the other hand, if the value of the count register is not 0 (NO in S34), the value of the count register minus 1 is set as the count register value (S3
6) Return to step S32. Therefore, the main control unit 200 determines that a power failure has occurred only when the value of the count register becomes 0, that is, when it is determined that the power failure signal has been received twice.

When the above-described power failure detection processing is completed, returning to FIG. 3, the main control unit 200 determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the RAM 202a (S14). RAM2
If an abnormality has occurred in the main controller 200a (YES in S14), the RA is controlled so that the main control unit 200 does not malfunction.
The storage contents of M202a are initialized (S18). on the other hand,
When no abnormality has occurred in the RAM 202a [N in S14
In the case of O], a normal main process (game progress process) is performed (S16). When the main process of S16 and the initialization process of S18 are completed, the main control unit 200 performs a standby process until receiving a reset signal transmitted at a predetermined cycle from a clock circuit connected to the main control unit 200. (S20). In the standby process, for example, a process of calculating an initial value of a big hit random number is performed. When the main control unit 200 receives the reset signal (S2
2) Returning to the power failure detection processing of S12, the subsequent processing is repeated. Thus, the main control unit 2
At 00, a power failure detection process is performed when the power is turned on and when a reset signal is received, and it is determined whether a power failure has occurred.

In the award ball control unit 300 as well, when the power is turned on and the reset signal is received, the above-described power failure detection processing is performed. When a power failure is detected, access to the RAM 302a is prohibited, and the data is stored in the RAM 302a. Stored contents are retained.

As described in detail above, in the pachinko machine according to the present embodiment, each control unit receives the power failure signal output from power failure detection unit 104 a predetermined number of times (the number set in the count register). In this case, it is determined that a power failure has occurred for the first time. Therefore, when each control unit temporarily determines that a power failure signal has been received due to noise or the like, it is not determined that a power failure has occurred, and the processing at the time of power failure due to noise or the like is prevented. . In particular, in the pachinko machine according to the present embodiment, by changing the value set in the count register, it is possible to easily change and correct the time for continuously receiving the power failure signal necessary for determining that the power failure has occurred. Can be. Therefore, fine adjustment and the like can be easily performed based on the situation of the gaming shop where the gaming machine is installed (frequency of occurrence of noise).

As described above, a preferred embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes many modifications. For example, in the power failure detection processing of the above-described embodiment, it is determined that a power failure has occurred when a power failure signal is detected for two consecutive periods, but such a condition is determined by the main control unit 200 and the prize ball control unit 300. And the like, and the length of the processing cycle defined by the clock circuit of these control units, and the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, the value of the count register set in S30 of FIG. 4 may be set to 3 or 4 or more.

In addition, the power failure detection unit 1 of the above-described embodiment
In 04, the AC input from the hall AC power supply is monitored, the power failure is detected based on the waveform, and a power failure signal is output. However, the present invention is not limited to such a form, and any processing (voltage, Any monitoring device may be used as long as it detects a power failure and outputs a power failure signal to each control unit. Therefore, for example, after converting the Hall AC power supply into the DC power supply by the rectifier circuit, the voltage of the DC power supply may be monitored to detect the power failure.

In the above-described embodiment, the control unit for performing the power failure detection process and the process of protecting the storage contents of the storage device includes the main control unit 200 and the prize ball control unit 300.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other control units installed in the gaming machine may perform these processes. As another control unit, for example, the symbol display 22
1 corresponds to a display control unit that controls the symbols and the like to be displayed, and a sound control unit that controls the sound output from a speaker not shown in FIG.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a pachinko machine. However, the present invention is applied to other game machines (for example, slot machines, arrange hall machines, sparrow ball machines, video game machines). Etc.).

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples, and the present invention can be implemented in various modified and improved forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a first-class pachinko machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining processing in a main control unit;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a power failure detection process;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10. Pachinko machine 100 Power supply unit 104 Power failure detection unit 200 Main control unit 300 Display control unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A detecting means for outputting a power failure signal when a power failure is detected, a receiving means for receiving a power failure signal output from the detecting means, and the receiving means keeping the power failure signal for a predetermined time or more. And a determining means for determining that a power outage has occurred due to the reception of the power outage. 2. The gaming machine has an electrical component, and storage means for storing information for controlling the electrical component, and stores the information only when the determining means determines that a power failure has occurred. 2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a protection means for protecting information stored in the means.