JP2003144705A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of changing the version without changing a circuit board. SOLUTION: The game machine has a main control board 1 mainly in charge of the game control and a plurality of sub control boards 2-5 performing operation based on a control command transmitted from the main control board. A non-volatile memory which can be electrically reloaded is installed in every sub control board, and a serial number specific to the game machine is stored in the non-volatile memory.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine such as a pachinko machine, an arrange ball machine, a sparrow ball game machine, and a rotating type game machine, and more particularly to a game machine capable of version change in an on-board state. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A ball game machine is generally composed of a plurality of circuit boards separated by function, and the plurality of circuit boards cooperate to realize a complicated game operation as a whole. In such a gaming machine, it is generally composed of a main control board that is mainly in charge of game control, and a plurality of sub-control boards that individually operate based on a control command transmitted from the main control board. Target.

As the sub-control board, for example, a pattern control board for controlling the liquid crystal display, a payout control board for controlling the payout operation of the game balls, a lamp control board for flashing the game operation by blinking the LED lamps, and the like. There is a voice control board that boosts the game operation. These sub-control boards interpret the control commands sent from the main control board and perform the above-mentioned effects according to the control commands.

[0004]

By the way, in the gaming machine, although the respective control boards cooperate to perform the game effect as a whole, the main control board sends the necessary control commands at the optimum timing to send each control command. Only the operation type to be executed by the sub control board is instructed, and the specific effect operation is solely entrusted to the control program of the sub control board. Therefore, even if the control program of the main control board is not changed at all, even if the control program of the sub control board and the data (voice data, image data, etc.) referred to by the control program are changed, even the same gaming machine is completely Different performance operations are possible.

In order to change the version of the gaming machine, it is conceivable to send a serviceman to each gaming hall to replace the sub control board, but only to change the program and its reference data. Replacing the sub control board itself wastes resources.
Further, instead of dispatching service personnel one by one, if the game machine version can be changed by the work of a staff member in the game hall, it is possible to reduce the cost for the game hall.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine capable of version change without replacement of a circuit board.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is mainly responsible for game control in a game machine including a lottery process of whether or not to generate a profit state advantageous to a player. A main control board and a plurality of sub-control boards that operate based on a control command transmitted from the main control board are provided, and at least a part of the plurality of sub-control boards excluding the main control board is electrically connected. A rewritable non-volatile memory is mounted, and a code unique to the gaming machine is stored in the non-volatile memory.

Further, the present invention provides a gaming machine including a lottery process of whether or not to generate a profit state advantageous to a player,
A main control board that is mainly in charge of game control and a sub control board that is a separate board from the main control board and that operates based on a control command transmitted from the main control board are provided as the sub control board. A composite function board having at least two of a symbol control circuit, a lamp control circuit and a voice control circuit formed on the same board, and the composite function board is provided with an electrically rewritable nonvolatile memory. .

The electrically rewritable non-volatile memory is generally called a flash ROM.
Since the flash ROM is not mounted on the main control board and the flash ROM is mounted on at least a part of the sub control board, it is possible to successively change the game effect without changing or changing the device. In the case of the circuit configuration as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable to mount the flash ROM on all of the sub control boards.

[0010]

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a pachinko machine according to an embodiment. This pachinko machine is a main control board 1 for mainly controlling the game operation, and a symbol control board 2 for controlling the operation of the liquid crystal display 8,
It is controlled by a voice control board 3 that boosts the game operation by voice, a lamp control board 4 that blinks the lamps to boost the game operation, a payout control board 5 that pays out game balls, and a payout control board 5. And a launch control board 7 that launches a game ball
The power supply board 6 receives C24V and supplies a DC voltage to each part of the device. The sub control boards 2 to 5 realize individual control operations based on the control command from the main control board 1.

The main control board 1, the symbol control board 2, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, and the payout control board 5 are composed of computer circuits each having a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM. Here, on the main control board 1, a normal P
A one-chip microcomputer with a built-in ROM (Programmable Read Only Memory) is installed, but each sub-control board 2 to 5 is equipped with a one-chip microcomputer with a built-in flash ROM (Flash Memory). A flash ROM is an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable).
and Programmable Read Only Memory) means an electrically erasable and writable flash EEPROM.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a one-chip microcomputer mounted on the sub control boards 2 to 5. As shown, this one-chip microcomputer 50 is a CP
U core 51, flash ROM 52 described above, RA
An M (Random Access Memory) 53, a timer unit 54 used for specifying interrupt timing, a system clock generating unit 55 that determines the operation timing of the CPU, and a parallel I / O unit that is an input / output port for parallel data. 56
And a serial I / O unit 57 capable of transmitting and receiving serial data.

In this embodiment, the pattern control board 2, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, and the payout control board 5, the game control program and its reference data (voice data and image data) are all flash ROM. Remembered in. Then, when changing the version of the game operation in the gaming machine, only the contents of the flash ROM are updated without changing each circuit board. In addition,
Since the main control board 1 only commands the operation type to be executed by each sub-control board with a 2-byte control command,
Unless the game play is changed drastically, it is not changed during normal version change.

Generally, when rewriting a flash ROM,
"Parallel rewrite mode" and "Serial rewrite mode"
And “CPU rewrite mode” can be used. However,
In this embodiment, the serial rewriting mode or the CPU rewriting mode is used in order to update the data in the on-board state without removing the one-chip microcomputer from the board. Here, the serial rewrite mode is a mode in which the flash ROM is rewritten using a dedicated serial writer SWr. On the other hand, the CPU rewrite mode is a mode in which the flash ROM is rewritten by a general-purpose serial interface such as RS232C, and the user personal computer PC and the CPU core 51 are connected via the serial I / O port 51.

FIG. 1 illustrates a case where a notebook type user personal computer PC and a sub control board are connected by an RS232C interface. The operation contents in the CPU rewriting mode will be specifically described below. Note that FIG.
Then, although it is connected to the symbol control board 2, if the version change of the program and the image data of the symbol control board 2 is completed, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, and the payout control board 5 are also sequentially connected to the personal computer. Of course, the version change is realized. Further, although the rewriting of the flash ROM is performed by a service person on the game machine manufacturer side, the processing is simplified and, as will be described later,
Since the use outside the contract is definitely excluded, it can be carried out by the staff of the game hall.

In order to realize the version change of the gaming machine in the connection of FIG. 1, it is necessary to first store the update data downloaded online or the update data provided by a medium such as a CD in the memory of the user personal computer PC. There is. This update data includes the program to be written in the flash ROM of each sub-control board and its reference data, as well as all the serial numbers of the gaming machines installed in the game hall. Hereinafter, these data may be collectively referred to as game software.

FIG. 3B shows the update data stored in the memory (transmission buffer) at the transfer processing stage. 00H is stored next to the serial number string,
The end of the data for each sub-control board is EOF (end of fil)
e) can be specified.

To change the version of each sub-control board using the CPU rewrite mode, the user personal computer side
It is necessary to execute the transfer processing program (WRITE.EXE) shown in FIG. In this transfer processing program, when 1-byte data is transmitted, the serial input port 51
Is waited for a response signal ACK from the sub-control board, and the next processing is performed on condition that the response signal ACK is received. The transfer process on the personal computer side will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The transfer processing program (Wr shown in FIG.
When you execute (ite.exe), the screen to specify the transfer destination sub control board is displayed first. Then, when the user specifies the sub-board to be the data transfer destination by keyboard input or the like, the transfer processing program specifies the data group to be transferred in the transmission buffer accordingly. Next, confirmation test data is output to the specified sub-control board (ST30).

The data output from the user personal computer PC, including this confirmation test data, is converted into a serial signal by the serial I / O port 51 (UART) of the sub control board.
When the serial data has been received and the serial data has been received, a reception interrupt occurs, and the transfer data is acquired by the interrupt processing program of the sub control board. Also,
In the sub control board that has acquired the transfer data, the serial I /
The reception response signal ACK is returned at an appropriate timing through the O port 51 (UART).

Therefore, the transfer processing program (Write.
exe) outputs the confirmation test data, waits for reception of the response signal ACK, and shifts to the next process when the response signal ACK is received (ST31). In addition, the first to send the confirmation test data from the user personal computer,
This is because the sub control board may cause a reception interrupt due to noise or the like. Further, the check of the response signal ACK includes a time management process, and when the response signal ACK is not received even after waiting for a predetermined time, the transfer process is finished.

After confirming the response signal ACK, the transfer processing program next outputs the serial numbers in order (ST32 to ST34). In other words, if you output the first serial number, wait for the response signal ACK from the gaming machine,
After receiving the response signal ACK, the next serial number is output. As described above, the serial number is a device serial number of all gaming machines installed in the game hall. There are a plurality of (n) serial numbers corresponding to the number of gaming machines installed in the game hall, but 00H is described after the final serial number.

When the processes of steps ST32 and ST33 are repeated, the user personal computer eventually comes to the final data (00
H) will be output, and after this final data is output, the block variable i indicating the block number is initialized (ST35) and the game software transfer processing is started.

In this embodiment, the game software to be transferred is divided into a plurality of blocks each having a predetermined byte length, and the CRC value for the block is transmitted at the end of each block. Then, every time one byte of data of each block is transmitted, a response signal ACK is sent from the sub control board.
(ST36, ST37), the response signal A for the CRC value transmitted at the end of the data for one block
CK is received and the processing for one block is completed.

As will be described later, the sub-control board that has received the data for one block determines whether or not the data has been correctly received by a CRC check, and if the data has been correctly received, the rewriting processing of the flash ROM is performed. After that, the response signal ACK is returned. On the other hand, if the CRC check results in an error, a response signal ACK is immediately sent.
To wait for the re-transmission of the same block of data.

Since the sub-control board carries out such processing, the user personal computer side retransmits the data of the same block or the data of the next block depending on the time required until the response signal ACK is received. It is determined whether to send. Specifically, first, the timer variable t is initially set to zero (ST39), and the timer variable t is incremented while waiting for the reception of the response signal ACK (ST4).
1). Then, the processing content on the sub-board side is determined according to whether the time required until reception is longer or shorter than the reference value Ts (ST42).

Specifically, if t <Ts, the process proceeds to the retransmission of data of the same block, and if t ≧ Ts, the block variable i.
Is incremented (+1) (ST43), and EOF (e
It is determined whether or not (nd of file) has already been recognized (ST44). If EOF is recognized in the block data that has been transmitted this time, all the processing is ended, but if not, the process returns to step ST36 to repeat the transfer processing of the next block.

Next, the reception interrupt processing in the sub control board will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. On the sub-control board, on the first receive interrupt, flash ROM
Processing after the AAAA address, which is an area, is executed,
After that, the necessary programs and data are transferred to the RAM area and the processes after the address aaaa are executed (FIG. 4).
(See (b)). That is, at the first reception interrupt, AAA
Processing of address A is started.

More specifically, when there is a reception interrupt corresponding to the transmission of confirmation test data from the user personal computer (ST30), it is confirmed by the program after the address AAAA that the interruption is not accompanied by noise. Grasping from the value of test data (ST50, ST5
1). Then, if the predetermined confirmation test data cannot be received, error processing is executed.
On the other hand, if the confirmation test data is received correctly,
Software for receiving data after address AAAA (ST50-S
T52), software for flash ROM (ST53-S
(T55, ST60 to ST79), and management data including the device serial number of the gaming machine are transferred to the RAM area (ST52).

After that, the process is jumped to the address aaa in the RAM area. Step ST5 in RAM area
The program transferred by the processing of No. 2 is stored, and specifically, the processing programs of step ST53 and thereafter are stored. Then, all the contents of the flash ROM are first erased by the program in this RAM area (ST53). Next, the state flag FG for distinguishing the subsequent processing contents is set to zero and the pointer variable P is set to n.
Initialize to nnn. nnnn address is receive buffer B
It is the head address of the UF (see FIG. 4B), and the capacity of the reception buffer BUF is set to a size corresponding to the data length of one block to be transmitted. Next, after changing the processing start address in the subsequent reception interrupt to the address bbbb, the response signal ACK is returned to the user personal computer (ST55).

The user personal computer that receives the response signal ACK sequentially transmits the device serial numbers of the gaming machines installed in the gaming hall (ST32 to ST).
34). Then, when a reception interrupt occurs due to the transmission of the device serial number, the sub-control board displays b shown in FIG.
The interrupt processing program after the address bbb is executed.

When a reception interrupt occurs, first the status flag F
G is checked (ST60). At this stage, since the state flag FG is zero, the process proceeds to step ST61, and whether it matches the device serial number of the gaming machine registered in the management data area of RAM (see FIG. 4B). It is determined whether or not. If they match, the judgment variable CHECK is set to 1, but if not, then it is judged whether the received data Di is zero (ST6).
3). Since the received data Di at the first stage is a serial number and Di ≠ 0, the process proceeds to step ST66 to return the reception response signal ACK and end the interrupt process. In response to this, the user PC transmits the following serial number.

In this way, the sub-control board receives the serial numbers transmitted from the user personal computer one after another and performs the collation process with the device serial number of the gaming machine.
On the other hand, the user personal computer transmits the final data 00H after transmitting all the serial numbers. Therefore, on the sub-board side, when the reception data Di is 00H, the status flag FG
After changing 1 to 1 (ST64), the judgment variable CHECK is checked (ST65).

At the stage when the received data Di = 0 is received,
The reception of the serial numbers of all the gaming machines installed in the gaming hall has been completed. Therefore, originally CHECK
It should be = 1, but if CHECK ≠ 1, by chance, error processing is performed. The case of CHECK ≠ 1 is, for example, a case where the game software received by specifying a game hall is to be installed in a game machine other than the game hall. Such an action is performed by checking this serial number. Will be surely eliminated.

When the game software is properly installed, the response signal ACK is returned in the state of the state flag FG = 1 (ST66), and the interrupt process can be finished. Therefore, in the next reception interrupt, after the determination in step ST60, the process proceeds to step ST67, the received data is stored in the storage area designated by the pointer P, and the pointer P is incremented (ST68). The pointer P points to the address of the buffer area BUF.

It is determined whether or not the incremented pointer P has exceeded the maximum value MAX (= the final address of the reception buffer + 1) (ST69). If P <MAX, the response signal ACK is returned and the interrupt processing is terminated. in this way,
Each time a reception interrupt occurs, the reception data is stored in the reception buffer area BUF, but at the end of the transmission data for one block, the CRC value of the block data up to that point is transmitted.

Therefore, the CRC received by the sub control board
A CRC check is performed based on the value (ST71), and if a CRC error should occur, a response signal ACK for CRC reception is returned (ST72), the pointer P is returned to the initial value nnnnn, and the response is made again. A signal ACK is returned (ST74). The user personal computer side can recognize the transmission / reception error because the response signal ACK is returned earlier than the original timing (ST42), and therefore the data of the same block is retransmitted.

In the normal case, the determination in step ST71 is OK, so that the flash ROM writing process is subsequently performed (ST75). Specifically, all the data except the CRC value stored in the buffer area BUF is written in the corresponding address of the flash ROM area. Next, it is determined whether or not all the write processing of the transfer data has been completed (ST76), and if there is still data to be received, the pointer P is initialized and
The response signal ACK is returned to complete the interrupt processing (ST7
8).

In this way, the received data is stored in the buffer area BUF (ST67 to ST70), the CRC check after storing one block of data (ST71), and the writing of one block of data into the flash ROM (ST7).
When step 5) is repeated, the writing process of all the transfer data ends. Therefore, in this case, step ST52
Data reception software (ST50 to ST52), flash ROM software (ST53 to ST55, ST60 to ST79), and management data including device serial data transferred to the RAM area by the process Write to ROM (ST79).

When the above processing is completed, the processing start address of the reception interrupt is changed from the address bbbb to the address AAAA, and then the address is jumped to the corresponding address of the flash ROM. By this processing, the sub-control board starts the initial processing after the power is turned on. Then, the user personal computer is connected to the next sub control board, and the processing of FIG. 3 is re-executed.

Although omitted in the above description, the CPU automatically enters the interrupt disabled state due to the reception interrupt, and is returned to the interrupt enabled state by software when the interrupt processing program ends. Further, the data in the registers is saved at the start of the interrupt process, and the saved data is restored to the registers at the end of the interrupt.

In addition, the above-described contents specifically described do not particularly limit the present invention, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the embodiment, the flash ROM is erased collectively, but the flash ROM may be erased for each block when writing data for one block.

In this case, since the processing of step ST53 is moved to the position of step ST75, the penalty for illegal installation is exempted. That is, in the case of the flowchart of FIG. 4, if it is originally attempted to illegally install the distributed update data for another game hall, after all the contents of the flash ROM are erased (ST53), the determination in step ST65 is made. Since the installation is prohibited by, the game machine becomes inoperable thereafter.

Further, in the case of the embodiment, the collation process (ST61) with the serial number is performed by each sub-control board, but instead of this configuration, the collation process may be performed on the user personal computer side. In this case, the data transfer processing program Write.exe may first read the serial number in communication with the gaming machine, and then determine whether to start the data transfer processing based on the result of the subsequent verification processing. .

As described above, when changing the version of the gaming machine, C
Although the embodiment using the PU rewriting mode has been described, the present invention is not particularly limited, and the serial rewriting mode may be used. In this case, for example, a dedicated serial writer SWr (FIG. 1) equipped with the PCMCIA standard, which is a PC card interface, is connected to the user personal computer P.
It is interposed between C and the game machine. Then, if the serial write program stored in advance in the Boot ROM of the one-chip microcomputer is used, the rewriting process of the ROM can be easily completed.

However, the serial writing program stored in advance is not used as it is, but the serial number is transmitted from the user personal computer prior to the rewriting of the flash ROM, and the flash ROM of the sub control board is received.
It is preferable to perform the check process of the serial number of the device stored in the memory and shift to the memory rewrite process on the condition that they match. In this case, it goes without saying that the rewritten game software includes the serial number of the device.

The data for version change does not necessarily have to be supplied by a storage medium such as a CD, but may be provided through the Internet line. Figure 6
Is a block diagram of the game software distribution system in this case.
It is possible to receive the distribution of the control program of the gaming machine and its related data through ET.

As shown in the figure, this distribution system has a server device SV which opens a home page and accepts a distribution request for game software of a gaming machine, a user personal computer PC capable of operating a browser, and an internet line connecting the two devices. It is composed of NET and. The server device SV includes
A server program for reading a software distribution page and the like from the WEB database DB in response to a request from the browser and transmitting it, and a CGI program for realizing user authentication, software distribution, and user management are installed. Note that the user personal computer is a notebook personal computer and also executes the distributed programs Check.exe and Write.exe.

FIG. 7 outlines a series of processes executed between the server device SV and the user personal computer PC. HT for delivery request by browser of user PC
When the ML file is requested, the server device SV returns the top page provided with the text box requesting the user ID and the password in response to the request (step a). Next, when the user ID and password are transmitted from the user, the validity of the combination is verified, and then the server device SV returns a distribution screen (HTML file) in which the user ID of the user is written ( Step b).

This distribution screen has a structure in which the model of the gaming machine can be specified to request the distribution of the game software. When the distribution software is specified and a predetermined operation is performed on this distribution screen, the request is passed to the transmission program (Trans.cgi) together with the user ID written in the HTML file (step c). Transmission program (Trans.cgi)
Then, after performing the encryption processing for each user for the requested game software, the execution file (Ch
eck.exe) and send it to the user (step c).

An executable file (Ch
eck.exe), the CRC check of the received file is performed, and if the reception is successful, the reception completion data is transmitted to the server side (step d). Then, in the CGI program (History.cgi) that has received the reception completion data, after registering the information to that effect in the database, the decryption key for decrypting the game software transmitted earlier is transmitted and the processing is terminated ( Step d).

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the concrete contents of the processing of the CGI program (Trans.cgi) for realizing the processing of step c described above. When the user requests the distribution of the game software, the transmission history table TBL1 (FIG. 9A) of the game hall is checked to see if it has already been transmitted (ST1). Then, if it has already been transmitted, a screen indicating this is transmitted and the process is terminated (ST3). This is because it is generally unlikely that the same user will make duplicate transmission requests, so the duplicate request is pretended to be an illegal transmission request and the delivery is rejected.

There is a possibility that the illegal user may have completed the distribution first and the authorized user may request the distribution after the leakage of the user ID and the password. However, in such cases, it is possible to deal with individual negotiations by phone or email,
There is also an advantage that the leaked user ID and password can be changed quickly.

Since the determination in step ST2 is normally NO, Trans.cgi next reads the requested game software from the WEB database (ST4), and the device serial read from the device management table TBL2. A number is added to form one file (ST5). Figure 9
As illustrated in (b), in the device management table TBL2, the device serial numbers of all the game machines in which the game software can be rewritten by this system among the game machines installed in the game hall are registered. Has been done. The device serial number is a code (number and / or symbol) that can uniquely identify the game machine.

When the processing of step ST5 is completed, subsequently, the file in which the game software and the device serial number are linked is encrypted by the encryption key unique to the user (ST
6). Then, a program (Check.exe) to be executed on the user side is linked to this encrypted data (ST7),
The concatenated data is packetized and transmitted as an execution file to the client side, and the processing is completed (ST8). It should be noted that FIG. 8B schematically shows the data to be transmitted.

The browser which has received the execution file stores the execution file in an appropriate location according to the user's operation. Then, when the user executes the execution file, the check process shown in FIG. 10A is started. In the check processing, first, for all the transmitted data, a CR check is performed to check the consistency of the received data.
A C check is performed (ST20). The CRC value is stored in the received file.

Here, the case where the CRC check is not OK is the case where the game software cannot be normally received due to a bad communication environment or the like. Therefore, in such a case, all the files are deleted and the process ends (ST2
2). However, since the CRC check is OK in the normal case, the reception completion data is transmitted to the server side in this case (ST23).

This reception completion data is shown in FIG. 8 (c).
It is passed to History.cgi. And His
In tory.cgi, the transmission history table TBL1 is filled in with the software ID for identifying the distributed game software, the distribution date, etc., and the table contents are updated (ST10). After that, the process shifts to a charging process (not shown), but after that, the distribution request for the same game software from the same user is rejected. Next, History.cgi transmits the decryption key corresponding to the encryption unique to each user to the user and ends the process (ST11). In this embodiment, since the decryption key is transmitted every time the game software is distributed, there is an advantage that the encryption key can be changed every time. However, instead of this configuration, a configuration may be adopted in which the encryption key and the decryption key for each user are fixed and the user is notified in advance.

Next, returning to the processing on the user personal computer side, when the user inputs the decryption key in response to the request from Check.exe (ST24), the encrypted distribution data is decrypted and serialized. The number sequence and the game software are restored (ST25). Therefore, after saving the file of the data transfer processing program (Write.exe) to be executed later, the decrypted serial number sequence and the game software, Chec
The process ends by deleting k.exe (ST26). In this way, the execution program Check.exe delivered to the user is
Since it is executed only once, reception completion data will not be transmitted in duplicate.

Incidentally, FIG. 10C shows a data transfer processing program (Write.exe) stored in the user personal computer.
And a serial number sequence and game software are schematically illustrated. This data transfer processing program (Write.
exe) is a program for changing the version of the game software of the gaming machine, and the subsequent transfer processing is executed as described above.

Next, a gaming machine which is a target of the above-mentioned software distribution system will be described. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a pachinko machine 21 that is a target of the software distribution system, and FIG. 12 is a side view of the pachinko machine 21. A plurality of pachinko machines 21 are arranged in the length direction of the island structure of the pachinko hall in a state of being electrically connected to the card type ball lending machine 22.

The pachinko machine 21 shown in the figure has a rectangular wooden outer frame 23 detachably mounted on the island structure, and an outer frame 23.
And a front frame 24 that is pivotally mounted to be openable and closable via a hinge H fixed to the front frame 24. A game board 25 is detachably attached to the front frame 24 from the back side, and a glass door 26 and a front plate 27 are pivotally attached to the front side so as to be openable and closable.

An upper plate 28 for storing game balls for launching is mounted on the front plate 27, and a lower plate 29 for storing game balls overflowing or removed from the upper plate 28 is attached to the lower portion of the front frame 24.
And a firing handle 30 are provided. The firing handle 30 is interlocked with a firing motor, and a game ball is fired by a batting mallet 31 (see FIG. 14) that operates according to the rotation angle of the firing handle.

On the right side of the upper plate 28, the card type ball lending machine 2 is provided.
An operation panel 32 for renting a ball for 2 is provided,
On the operation panel 32, a card balance display portion 32a for displaying the card balance as a 3-digit number, a ball lending switch 32b for instructing a ball lending of a predetermined amount of game balls, and a command for returning the card at the end of the game A return switch 32c is provided.

On the upper part of the glass door 26, a big hit LED lamp P1 showing a big hit state is arranged. Further, in the vicinity of the big hit LED lamp P1, the abnormality notification LED lamps P2, P3 indicating the supply-out condition or the lower plate full condition.
Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 13, the game board 25 has a guide rail 33 composed of an outer rail and an inner rail made of metal.
Is provided in an annular shape, and the liquid crystal color display 8 is arranged in the approximate center of the game area 25a inside thereof. Further, in appropriate places in the game area 25a, a symbol starting opening 35, an opening / closing type special winning opening 36, a plurality of ordinary winning openings 37 (six on the left and right of the large winning opening 36 other than the top row), two passage openings A gate 38 is provided. These winning holes 35-3
Each 8 has a detection switch inside, so that passage of a game ball can be detected.

The liquid crystal display 8 is a device for variably displaying a specific symbol related to the big hit state and for displaying a background image and various characters in an animation manner.
The liquid crystal display 8 has three symbol display portions Da to Dc arranged in the left-right direction, and when a game ball is won in the symbol starting port 35, the symbols displayed on the symbol display portions Da to Dc are changed for a predetermined time. , Stop with a stop symbol pattern determined based on the lottery result according to the winning timing of the game ball to the symbol starting port 35.

In the case of this embodiment, a large number of LED lamps P4, which are utilized for notice presentation of a big hit state, are arranged around the liquid crystal display 8 in series. The LED lamp P4 is arranged so as to surround the liquid crystal display in a U-shape, and not only the simple blinking operation, but also the amount of light emission is increased or decreased from the U-shaped lower base point toward the open upper part, and the subsequent game is performed. Indicating the progress to the player.

Immediately above the liquid crystal display 8, a normal symbol display section 39 is provided. Normal symbol display section 39
Is for displaying one normal symbol, and when the game ball that has passed through the gate 38 is detected, the displayed normal symbol fluctuates for a predetermined time, and the lottery is performed when the game ball passes through the gate 38. It is arranged to stop by displaying a stop symbol determined by the random number for lottery.

In the vicinity of the normal symbol display portion 39, a hold display LED lamp P5 indicating the number of held winning balls to the symbol starting port 35 and the normal winning port 37 is provided. Further, side LED lamps P6 are provided at the left and right positions of the game area 25a, and a wind turbine LED lamp P7 is built in the wind turbine, which is a game component.

The symbol starting port 35 is a pair of left and right opening and closing claws 35.
When the stop symbol after the change in the normal symbol display portion 39 displays a winning symbol, the opening / closing claw 35a is opened only for a predetermined time.

The opening / closing type special winning opening 36 is controlled to be opened / closed by an opening / closing plate 36a which can be opened to the front.
When the stop symbol after the change of is a hit symbol such as "777", a special game called "big hit" is started, and the opening / closing plate 3
6a is opened. Opening-and-closing type big prize hole 3
6, there is a specific area 36b, and the specific area 36b
When the winning ball passes through, the special game advantageous to the player is continued.

After the opening / closing plate 36a of the opening / closing type winning port 36 is opened, a predetermined time has passed, or a predetermined number (for example, 10
When the game balls of (individual) are won, the opening / closing plate 36a is closed. At this time, if the game ball has not passed through the specific area 36b, the special game ends, but if it has passed through the specific area 36b, the special game is continued up to, for example, 16 times, which is advantageous to the player. It is controlled to a different state. Note that flashing flashing illumination lamps are attached to the left and right positions of the opening / closing plate 36a.

As shown in FIG. 14, a back mechanism plate 40 for holding the game board 25 from the back side is detachably attached to the back side of the front frame 24. This back mechanism plate 40 has an opening 4
0a is formed, and a prize ball tank 41 and a tank rail 42 extending from the prize ball tank 41 are provided on the upper side thereof. A dispensing device 43 connected to the tank rail 42 is provided on a side portion of the back mechanism plate 40, and a passage unit 44 connected to the dispensing device 43 is provided below the back mechanism plate 40.
The game ball paid out from the payout device 43 is the passage unit 4
4 through the upper plate discharge port 28a (Fig. 11)
Will be paid out.

In the opening 40a of the back mechanism plate 40, the back cover 45 mounted on the back side of the game board 25 and the winning openings 35 to 35 are provided.
37 is fitted with a winning ball discharge gutter (not shown) that discharges the winning game balls. The main control board 1 is arranged inside the case CA1 mounted on the back cover 45, and the symbol control board 2 is arranged on the front side thereof (see FIG. 12). The lamp control board 4 is provided below the main control board 1 inside the case CA2 mounted on the back cover 45,
The voice control board 3 is provided inside the adjacent case CA3.

Below the cases CA2 and CA3, inside the case CA4 mounted on the back mechanism plate 40, a power supply board 6 and a payout control board 5 are provided. A power switch 53 and an initialization switch 54 are arranged on the power board 6. Portions corresponding to both switches 53 and 54 are cut out so that both switches can be simultaneously operated with a finger.

A firing control board 7 is provided inside the case CA5 mounted on the rear side of the firing handle 30. The circuit boards 1 to 7 are independently configured, and the control board 2 except the power supply board 6 and the firing control board 7 is provided.
6 to 6 are equipped with a computer circuit including a one-chip microcomputer. Further, the main control board 1 and the other control boards 2 to 6 are electrically connected to each other via a connector by a plurality of signal lines.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been specifically described above, the symbol control board 2, the voice control board 3, the lamp control board 4, the payout control board 5 and the like are separately arranged as shown in FIG. You don't have to. FIG. 15 exemplifies a case in which a composite function board that realizes the functions of the symbol control board 2, the voice control board 3, and the lamp control board 4 is adopted. In the case of such a composite function board, it is not necessary to provide a one-chip microcomputer for each of the symbol control circuit 2 ', the voice control circuit section 3', and the lamp control circuit 4 ',
All functions can be realized by a single high-performance CPU. Further, when the multi-function substrate as shown in FIG. 15 is used, as in the case of FIG. 1, the pattern control circuit 2 ′,
It is not necessary to provide a communication section for each of the voice control circuit 3'and the lamp control circuit 4 ', which is also preferable in this respect.

Further, in the circuit configuration of FIG. 1 and FIG.
Sub control boards 2, 3, 4 and sub control circuits 2 ', 3',
It is preferable to store the effect lottery program in the 4'flash ROM. In this case, instead of performing uniform game control based on the control command received from the main control board 1, it becomes possible to increase variations of the game control individually by the program of the flash ROM.

[0080]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to realize a gaming machine capable of changing the version without changing the circuit board.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a gaming machine according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a one-chip microcomputer mounted on a sub control board.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a transmission process of a user personal computer performed when rewriting a flash ROM.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of a sub control board of the gaming machine, which is performed when rewriting a flash ROM.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of a sub control board of the gaming machine, which is performed when rewriting a flash ROM.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a distribution system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an outline of operation of the distribution system according to the embodiment.

8 is a flowchart illustrating the operation contents of the CGI program of FIG.

FIG. 9 illustrates a part of a database on the server side.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of a check process executed by the user personal computer.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a pachinko machine according to the embodiment.

12 is a side view of the pachinko machine of FIG. 11. FIG.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the pachinko machine of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a rear view of the pachinko machine of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a circuit block diagram illustrating a case where a multi-function substrate is used.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Main control board 2-5 Sub control board 52 Non-volatile memory (flash ROM)

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. In a gaming machine including a lottery process for generating a profit state advantageous to a player, a main control board mainly responsible for game control and a main control board are separate boards. A plurality of sub control boards that operate based on a control command transmitted from the main control board are provided, and at least a part of the plurality of sub control boards excluding the main control board is electrically rewritable nonvolatile. Memory is mounted, and a code unique to the gaming machine is stored in the nonvolatile memory. 2. The non-volatile memory stores reception software for receiving a game processing program executed by the gaming machine, and rewriting software for erasing and writing the non-volatile memory. The game machine described. 3. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein a collation process with the unique code is performed prior to erasing or writing the nonvolatile memory. 4. The sub-control board is provided with a dedicated port circuit for receiving a program and / or data used by the control board, and when a reception data is acquired through the dedicated port circuit, a response signal is transmitted. The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is configured to return to a transmission source. 5. The gaming machine according to claim 6, wherein the dedicated port is a serial port that transmits and receives a serial signal. 6. The sub-control board is provided with at least a pattern control board, a voice control board, and a lamp control board separately, and the non-volatile memory is mounted on at least one of the boards. The gaming machine according to any one of 5. 7. In a gaming machine including a lottery process for generating a profit state advantageous to a player, a main control board mainly responsible for game control and a main control board are different boards. A sub control board that operates based on a control command transmitted from the main control board is provided, and as the sub control board, at least two of a symbol control circuit, a lamp control circuit, and a voice control circuit are configured on the same board. A gaming machine comprising a multi-function substrate, wherein the multi-function substrate is provided with an electrically rewritable non-volatile memory. 8. The game machine according to claim 1, wherein the nonvolatile memory of the sub-control board stores a program for drawing lots of effect control contents. 9. A ball-and-ball game machine equipped with a payout device for paying out a prize ball to a player by detecting a game ball falling in a game area with a predetermined detection means, wherein the payout device is used as the sub-control board. The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a payout control board for controlling, wherein the non-volatile memory is mounted on the payout control board.