JP2002282440A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of reducing the influence of noise even when the noise is generated. SOLUTION: The game machine is provided with a main control board 50 controlling game contents and three sub control boards 60a, 60b and 60c controlling the presentation of a game. Three differential line drivers 51 are provided on the side of the main control board 50 and differential line receivers 61 are provided on the side of the respective sub-control boards 60a, 60b and 60c. The sub-control boards 60a, 60b and 60c are respectively connected to the main control board 50 by connecting the prescribed differential line driver 51 provided on the side of the main control board 50 and the differential line receiver 61 provided on the side of the sub-control board by a twisted pair line 81. Data communication from the main control board 50 to the respective sub-control boards 60a, 60b and 60c is performed by a serial communication system using differential signals.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a main control board for controlling game contents and a plurality of sub-control boards for controlling game effects. The main control board and each sub-control board are connected by a communication cable line. The present invention relates to a gaming machine connected to transmit data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a game machine such as a pachinko machine is provided with a main control board for controlling game contents and a plurality of sub-control boards for controlling game effects. The main control board and each sub-control board incorporate a ROM, a RAM, a CPU, and the like. Each sub-control board controls, for example, a special symbol display section or a normal symbol display section, or controls a lamp disposed on a game board, based on a command (data) sent from the main control board. I do.

[0003] The main control board and each sub-control board are mounted on the back side of the game board and connected by communication cable lines.
Conventionally, data communication between a main control board and each sub-control board is mainly performed by a parallel communication method using level communication. Here, the level communication uses, for example, a line driver that outputs a signal of +5 V when the input signal is high and outputs a signal of 0 V when the input signal is low, and uses the output signal level. And perform data communication.

[0004]

However, when data communication is performed at a level between the main control board and each sub-control board, noise is picked up from the communication cable line, and the data taken in at the time of noise generation is garbled. There is.
In this case, there is a possibility that the game content and the effect of the game do not match, and a misunderstanding is given to the player. For this reason, it is necessary to take some noise countermeasures.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a gaming machine capable of reducing the influence of noise even when noise occurs.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a gaming machine comprising: a main control board for controlling game contents; and a plurality of sub-control boards for controlling game effects. A differential line driver provided on the side of the main control board and a differential line receiver provided on the side of each of the sub-control boards are connected by a twisted pair line, and from the main control board to each of the sub-control boards Is performed by a serial communication method using differential signals.

[0007] The plurality of sub-control boards include at least a sub-control board for controlling display means for displaying symbols, a sub-control board for controlling illumination provided on a game board, and a speaker. And a sub-control board for controlling the audio output of the sub-controller.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a gaming board of a gaming machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the gaming machine.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gaming machine of this embodiment includes a gaming board 10, a speaker 40, a main control board 50, and three sub-control boards 60a, 60b, and 60c. The game board 10 has a special symbol display section 11, a special symbol starting port 12, a special symbol starting switch 13, a special electric accessory 14, a special electric accessory solenoid 15,
An ordinary symbol display section 21, an ordinary symbol starting area 22, an ordinary symbol starting switch 13, an ordinary electric accessory 24, an ordinary electric accessory solenoid 25, an illuminated display section 31, and an out port 32 are provided. Have been.

The main control board 50 and each sub-control board 60a,
60b and 60c are attached to the back side of the game board. Each sub-control board 60a, 60b, 60c is connected to the main control board 50 via a communication cable line. The main control board 51 and the sub-control boards 60a, 60
ROM, RAM, CPU and the like are incorporated in b and 60c.

The functions of the gaming machine can be roughly divided into two. That is, a function directly related to the game and a function related to the production of the game. In the present embodiment, the main control board 50 realizes the former function, and the sub-control boards 60a,
60b and 60c realize the latter function. That is, the main control board 50 mainly controls and manages game contents and payout of game balls. The sub-control board 60a controls the special symbol display unit 11 and the ordinary symbol display unit 21 according to the progress of the game. The sub-control board 60b is connected to the illumination display section 31.
, And the sub-control board 60 c controls the speaker 40.

At a slightly upper portion of the center of the game board 10, a special symbol display section 11 is provided. Special symbol display section 11
Has three (left, middle, and right) display areas, and in each display area, identification information composed of symbols and figures by characters can be individually and variably displayed.
Usually, the identification information displayed on the special symbol display section 11 is
We call them special symbols. Then, after the special symbol is variably displayed, when the variable display is stopped, for example, when the symbols displayed in the three display areas match, the gaming machine shifts to the jackpot gaming state. The control of the special symbol display unit 11 is performed by the sub control board 60a based on a command from the main control board 50.

Below the special symbol display section 11, a special symbol starting port 12, a special electric accessory 14, a normal symbol display section 21 and an out port 32 are arranged in this order.

The special symbol opening 12 is provided in the special symbol display section 1.
1 is located just below. A special symbol start switch 13 is provided inside the special symbol start port 12. The special symbol start switch 13 detects that the game ball has passed through a specific area, that is, has entered the special symbol start port 12 in this case. The detection signal from the special symbol start switch 13 is sent to the main control board 50. Then, when the main control board 50 sends a command to the sub-control board 60a, the sub-control board 60a starts changing the special symbol display on the special symbol display section 11.

The special symbol starting port 12 is one of winning ports. When a game ball enters the special symbol starting port 12, a predetermined number of game balls are paid out.

The special electric accessory 14 is a special winning opening that opens and closes in a predetermined pattern during a jackpot game state. Specifically, the special electric auditors product 14 ends the opening operation once when a predetermined number of game balls win or a predetermined time elapses after the opening. Then, when a condition such as when the winning game ball has passed a specific area in the special electric auditors goods 14 is satisfied, the special electric auditors goods 1
4 opens again. Such opening and closing operations are performed a predetermined number of times. The opening and closing of the special electric accessory 14 is performed by the main control board 50.
Is performed by the solenoid 15 for the special electric accessory based on the signal from

The normal symbol display section 21 is provided with a special electric accessory 14.
It is located below. Such a normal symbol display unit 21
For example, two light emitting diodes (LEDs) 21a, 21
b. Each of the light emitting diodes 21a and 21b emits, for example, red light, and is protected by a transparent case. The character "hit" is printed on the surface of the transparent case corresponding to the light emitting diode 21a, while the character "out" is printed on the surface of the transparent case corresponding to the light emitting diode 21b. Light emitting diode 21
The characters "hit" and "missing" that appear when a and 21b are turned on are usually called symbols. Each of the light emitting diodes 21a and 21b is independently controlled by the sub-control board 60a, and can normally change and display a symbol alternately. When the switching between the lighting and the extinguishing stops, the light emitting diode 21a is turned on, and when the light emitting diode 21b is turned off, a normal symbol "hit" is displayed, whereby the gaming machine shifts to the small hitting gaming state.

On the left and right sides of the special symbol starting port 12, a normal symbol starting area 22 is provided. A normal symbol start switch 23 is provided on the back side of each normal symbol start area 22. The normal symbol start switch 23 detects that a game ball has passed the normal symbol start area 22. The detection signal from the normal symbol start switch 23 is sent to the main control board 50. Then, the main control board 50
Sends a command to the sub-control board 60a, the sub-control board 60a starts changing the display of the ordinary symbols on the ordinary symbol display section 21 (during lottery state display).

The special symbol starting port 12 is provided with an ordinary electric accessory 24. The ordinary electric accessory 24 is a pair of opening / closing members which are separately attached to the entrance of the special symbol starting port 12. The normal electric accessory 24 is opened for a predetermined time in the small hitting game state. When the ordinary electric accessory 24 is opened, a game ball easily enters the special symbol starting port 12, and therefore, the operation frequency of the special symbol display unit 11 increases. The opening and closing of the ordinary electric accessory 24 is performed by an ordinary electric accessory solenoid 25 based on a signal from the main control board 50.

An out port 32 is provided at the lowermost portion of the game board 10, and game balls that have not been won are collected through the out port 32. In addition, an illumination display section 31 is provided around the game board 10. This illumination display section 31
Is composed of a large number of lamps, light-emitting diodes and the like, and mainly performs game effects. When the main control board 50 sends a command to the sub-control board 60b according to the progress of the game, the sub-control board 60b controls the illuminated display unit 31. In addition, the speaker 40 performs a game effect by sound. The main control board 50 is used as a sub control board 60 according to the progress of the game.
When a command is sent to c, the sub-control board 60c controls the speaker 40.

Next, a method of data communication between the main control board 50 and each of the sub-control boards 60a, 60b, 60c in the gaming machine according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 (a)
Is a diagram for explaining a communication circuit between the main control board 50 and three sub-control boards 60a, 60b, 60c in the gaming machine, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing only one of them. is there.

Each of the sub-control boards 60a, 60b, 60c is independently connected to the main control board 50 as shown in FIG. The main control board 50 is provided with three differential line drivers 51 corresponding to the respective sub-control boards 60a, 60b, 60c.
A differential line receiver 61 is provided at b and 60c. Here, as the differential line driver 51, for example, AM26LS31C manufactured by TI, etc. is used.
As the differential line receiver 61, for example, A
M26LS32C or the like is used.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the sub-control boards 60a, 60b and 60c are respectively provided with a predetermined differential line driver 51 provided on the main control board 50 side and the sub-control board. The main control board 50 is connected to the differential line receiver 61 provided on the side of the main control board 50 by connecting with a twisted pair line 81. Here, the twisted pair wire 81 is a combination of two insulated wires. Twisted pair line 81 and differential line driver 5
1, a twisted pair line 81 and a differential line receiver 61
Are connected to a 2-pin connector.

The differential line driver 51 has one input terminal and two output terminals, and the differential line receiver 61 has two input terminals and one output terminal. The + output terminal of the differential line driver 51 is a twisted pair wire 8
1 through one of the insulated conductors.
Is connected to the + input terminal. Differential line driver 5
The negative output terminal 1 is connected to the negative input terminal of the differential line receiver 61 via the other insulated conductor of the twisted pair line 81. A terminating resistor 82 is provided on the side of the differential line receiver 61.

The main control board 50 includes sub-control boards 60
The data (command) is transmitted to a, 60b and 60c as a differential signal by a serial communication method. That is, the serial data sent from the serial controller of the main control board 50 to the differential line driver 51 is converted into a differential signal by the differential line driver 51. For example, when a high signal is input to the differential line driver 51, a + 5V signal is output from a positive output terminal of the differential line driver 51, and a 0V signal is output from a negative output terminal. These signals are input to the differential line receiver 61,
The differential line receiver 61 outputs a signal of + 5V. On the other hand, when a low signal is input to the differential line driver 51, a 0V signal is output from the positive output terminal of the differential line driver 51, and a + 5V signal is output from the negative output terminal. These signals are input to the differential line receiver 61, and the differential line receiver 61 outputs 0
A signal of V is output.

Since the twisted pair wire 81 is formed by twisting two electric wires, noise occurs in both signals at the same time, and does not occur in only one signal. Since the differential line receiver 61 outputs the difference between the two input signals, even if noise occurs, almost no noise occurs in the output signal of the differential line receiver 61. For this reason, the main control board 50 switches the sub-control boards 60a, 60
When performing data communication with b and 60c, there is almost no fear that data will be corrupted even if noise occurs.

In the gaming machine of this embodiment, the differential line driver provided on the main control board side and the differential line receiver provided on each sub-control board side are connected by a twisted pair line, By performing data communication from the control board to each of the sub-control boards by a serial communication method using differential signals, there is almost no fear that data is garbled due to noise, and the influence of noise can be reduced.

If data is sent from the main control board to the three sub-control boards using a parallel communication system, for example, when sending 8-bit data, eight data lines and one strobe line are required. And a total of 27 communication cable lines must be used. However, in the gaming machine of this embodiment, by transmitting data in a serial communication system, it is only necessary to provide two data lines for each sub-control board, so that the number of communication cable lines can be significantly reduced. it can.

In this embodiment, each sub-control board and main control board are connected in a one-to-one relationship. For this reason, for example, it is also possible to send commands (data) from the main control board to each sub-control board all at once, or to send different commands at the same time. In particular, compared to a case where a plurality of sub-control boards and a main control board are connected in a many-to-one relationship, it is not necessary to add an identification number of each sub-control board to the command, so that transmission / reception of commands is simplified. There is an advantage that is.

Further, in this embodiment, since the one-way communication from the main control board to each sub-control board cannot transmit a signal from the sub-control board to the main control board, the sub-control board is modified. Even if it is, the program related to the game content cannot be changed. For this reason, the gaming machine of the present embodiment has a structure that is difficult to be tampered with.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention.

[0032]

As described above, according to the gaming machine of the present invention, between the differential line driver provided on the main control board side and the differential line receiver provided on each sub-control board side. Are connected by a twisted pair line, and data communication from the main control board to each sub-control board is performed by a serial communication system using differential signals. Thus, even if noise occurs, no noise occurs in the output signal of the differential line receiver, so that the influence of the noise can be reduced. Also, by transmitting data in a serial communication system, it is only necessary to provide two data lines for each sub-control board.
The number of communication cable lines can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a game board of a gaming machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the gaming machine.

FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a communication circuit between a main control board and three sub-control boards in the gaming machine;
(B) is a diagram showing only one of the communication circuits.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Game board 11 Special symbol display part 12 Special symbol starting port 13 Special symbol start switch 14 Special electric accessory 15 Solenoid for special electric accessory 21 Ordinary symbol display parts 21a, 21b Light emitting diode 22 Ordinary symbol start area 23 Ordinary symbol start switch Reference Signs List 24 Ordinary electric accessory 25 Ordinary electric accessory solenoid 31 Illuminated display unit 32 Out port 40 Speaker 50 Main control board 51 Differential line driver 60a, 60b, 60c Sub-control board 61 Differential line receiver 81 Twisted pair wire 82 Terminating resistor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A gaming machine comprising: a main control board for controlling game contents; and a plurality of sub-control boards for controlling the production of a game, wherein: a differential line driver provided on the main control board side; A differential line receiver provided on the side of the sub-control board is connected with a twisted pair line, and data communication from the main control board to each of the sub-control boards is performed by a serial communication method using a differential signal. A gaming machine characterized by the following. 2. The plurality of sub-control boards include at least a sub-control board that controls display means for displaying a symbol, a sub-control board that controls an electric decoration provided on a game board, and a speaker. 2. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a sub-control board for controlling an audio output of the game machine.