JP2009178579A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a highly reliable inspection for control of a CPU based on detection signals. <P>SOLUTION: In the game machine comprising a detection means for detecting the entry of a game ball to a winning part, a game controller for generally controlling a game on the basis of a detected result from the detection means, and a variable winning device provided to the winning part, a signal take-out region for outputting signals to be changed according to a game state to the outside of the game controller is formed by providing a prescribed wiring pattern to a circuit board, control command signals for driving the variable winning device are transmitted from the output part of an output port circuit to the signal take-out region at all times, and also the detection signals from the detection means are transmitted from the output part of an irreversible signal transmission circuit to the signal take-out region at all times. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in which a highly reliable inspection can be performed with respect to control of a CPU based on a detection signal in a gaming machine in which control related to a game is performed by a CPU based on a detection signal from a detection means.

  Some game machines (for example, ball game machines) perform control related to a game by a CPU (for example, a CPU of a game control device) based on a detection signal from a detection means (for example, a sensor for detecting a game ball). is there.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of such a conventional gaming machine.

  As shown in the figure, the detection signal from the ball detection switch 1 is input to the game control device 2, level-converted by the voltage conversion circuit 3, and then passed through the noise removal filter circuit 4 to the input port circuit 5. Entered. The one-chip microcomputer 6 of the game control device 2 includes a CPU 6A that executes game control for each interrupt signal from the interrupt signal generation circuit 7, and sends an R / W signal and an address signal to the address decode circuit 8. By transmitting, a detection signal is received from the input port circuit 5 at a fixed timing via the data bus 9 and a command signal is output to the output port circuit 10. The command signal from the output port circuit 10 is converted by the drive circuit 11, and various driven devices 12 of the gaming machine (for example, decorative lamps, variable winning devices, etc.) and various subordinate control devices 13 (for example, discharge control devices). , Display control device, etc.).

  By the way, in such a gaming machine, it is necessary to inspect whether correct control is performed based on the detection signal from the ball detection switch 1. For this reason, conventionally, an inspection signal is taken out by connecting an inspection device 15 to the output section 14 of the filter circuit 4, and it is inspected whether the CPU 6A of the one-chip microcomputer 6 is operating correctly with respect to this inspection signal. Was.

  However, when the inspection device 15 is connected to the output unit 14 of the filter circuit 4 in this way, the time constant of the filter circuit 4 changes due to the influence of the inspection device 15, and the detection signal itself changes.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the detection signal (FIG. 4A) input from the sphere detection switch 1 is converted into a voltage by the voltage conversion circuit 3 (FIG. 4B), and further filtered. When the noise is removed by the circuit 4, a waveform as shown in FIG. The scan by the CPU 6A is performed by reading this FIG. 4C with reference to a predetermined threshold voltage as shown in FIG. 4X (note that the voltage is inverted by the voltage conversion circuit 3). Therefore, the range that does not exceed the threshold voltage is low output, and the range beyond the threshold voltage is high output).

  However, when the inspection device 15 is connected, the signal waveform of the output section of the filter circuit 4 is deformed as shown in FIG. 4C from FIG. 4C (the signal transmission is delayed). 4) As shown in FIG. 4Y, a delay occurs in the scan timing by the CPU 6A.

  As described above, the detection signal input to the CPU 6A differs between the case where the inspection device 15 is attached and the case where the inspection device 15 is not attached to the same game situation (game ball winning) detected by the ball detection switch 1. Therefore, it cannot be said that the inspection accurately reproduces the control in the state where the inspection device 15 is not attached, and the reliability of the inspection has been reduced accordingly.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and in a gaming machine in which the CPU controls the game based on the detection signal from the detection means, the reliability of the CPU control based on the detection signal is reliable. It aims at providing what enabled high inspection.

  The present invention relates to a detecting means for detecting a winning of a game ball to a winning portion, a game control device for comprehensively controlling a game based on a detection result from the detecting means, and a variable winning device provided in the winning portion. And the game control device comprises: a microcomputer that controls the game; and an output port circuit that outputs a control command signal for controlling the variable winning device based on a command from the microcomputer. A drive circuit for driving the variable prize device based on the control command signal output from the output port circuit, an input port circuit to which a detection signal from the detection means is input, the detection means and the input port And an irreversible signal transmission circuit provided between the circuits, and by providing a predetermined wiring pattern on the circuit board, the circuit board can be changed according to the gaming state. A signal extraction region for outputting a signal to be output to the outside of the game control device, and the control command signal for driving the variable winning device is constantly transmitted from the output portion of the output port circuit to the signal extraction region. In addition, the detection signal from the detection means is always transmitted from the output portion of the irreversible signal transmission circuit to the signal extraction region.

  In the present invention, a detection means for detecting a winning of a game ball to the winning portion, a game control device for comprehensively controlling the game based on a detection result from the detecting means, and a variable winning device provided in the winning portion And the game control device comprises: a microcomputer that controls the game; and an output port circuit that outputs a control command signal for controlling the variable winning device based on a command from the microcomputer. A drive circuit for driving the variable prize device based on the control command signal output from the output port circuit, an input port circuit to which a detection signal from the detection means is input, the detection means and the input port An irreversible signal transmission circuit provided between the circuits, and by providing a predetermined wiring pattern on the circuit board, corresponding to the gaming state A signal extraction region for outputting a signal to be output to the outside of the game control device, and the control command signal for driving the variable winning device is constantly transmitted from the output portion of the output port circuit to the signal extraction region. In addition, since the detection signal from the detection means is always transmitted from the output part of the irreversible signal transmission circuit to the signal extraction area, a highly reliable inspection is performed by reproducing the actual game as it is. be able to.

It is a block diagram which shows a part of control system of the game machine in embodiment of this invention. It is a timing chart which similarly shows the game ball detection signal in each place in a game control apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the conventional game machine. It is a timing chart which similarly shows the game ball detection signal in various places in a game control device

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a part of a control system of a gaming machine.

  The ball detection switch 1 is provided in various winning portions of the gaming machine, and detects a game ball winning in the winning portion. A detection signal (see FIG. 2A) from the ball detection switch 1 is input to the game control device 2.

  The game control device 2 is a main control device that performs overall control of the game by performing lottery drawing, transmission of command signals to various subordinate control devices, and the like based on the game ball detection signal from the ball detection switch 1 and the like. is there. The game ball detection signal input to the game control device 2 is first subjected to level conversion in the voltage conversion circuit 3 (see FIG. 2B), and then noise is removed by the filter circuit 4 (FIG. 2C). reference).

  A buffer circuit 21 is provided at the subsequent stage of the filter circuit 4, and the output of the buffer circuit 5 is input to the input port circuit 5. In this case, the same type of IC element (74HC244 in this embodiment) is used as the buffer circuit 21 and the input port circuit 5.

  The input port circuit 5 converts the IN side signal to the OUT side only when a low level signal (selection signal) is transmitted from the address decode circuit 8 to the select terminals (1G and 2G terminals in FIG. 1). It is configured to transmit to. On the other hand, the buffer circuit 21 is configured to always transmit the signal on the IN side to the OUT side by connecting the select terminal to the ground.

  Further, a signal (see FIG. 2D) at the output portion of the buffer circuit 5 can be taken out from the signal terminal attachment region 22. Here, the signal terminal attachment region 22 is, for example, a specific region on the substrate pattern, and is a region where a signal terminal (connector) can be provided by soldering or the like. At the time of inspection using an inspection device (not shown), the signal at the output part of the buffer circuit 5 is taken out from the signal terminal attached to the signal terminal attachment region 22 for inspection. As described above, the signal terminal mounting region 22 is provided on the board pattern because the signal terminal for the inspection apparatus is not required when operating at an amusement store or the like. On the other hand, the signal terminal can be removed during business hours. If the signal terminal mounting area 22 is accommodated in the board case so that the board case cannot be opened (or difficult to open), a signal is sent from the signal terminal mounting area 22 to the game control device 2 at the time of business. It is possible to prevent illegal acts to be entered.

  In this way, an irreversible signal transmission circuit such as the buffer circuit 21 is provided in the subsequent stage of the filter circuit 4 and the output of the buffer circuit 21 is taken out to the inspection device. Does not affect the time constant of the filter circuit 4. Therefore, the signal at the output of the buffer circuit 21 does not change between when the inspection device is connected and when it is not connected (no time delay occurs), so the same game ball detected by the ball detection switch 1 Even when the inspection device is connected to the detection state (game ball detection timing), the same signal waveform as that when the inspection device is not connected is input to the input port circuit 5.

  Note that the circuit disposed in the subsequent stage of the filter circuit 4 is not limited to the buffer circuit 21 because it may be a circuit having a configuration that does not transmit an electrical signal on the output side to the input side, that is, an irreversible signal transmission circuit. For example, a relay circuit or a photocoupler circuit may be used.

The signal input to the input port circuit is taken into the CPU 6A of the one-chip microcomputer 6 via the data bus 9 based on the selection signal from the address decoding circuit 8. Here, the selection signal from the address decoding circuit 8 is switched based on the R / W signal from the CPU 6A and the address signal on the address bus.
The one-chip microcomputer 6 includes a CPU 6A, ROM, and RAM. The ROM stores invariant information for game control, and stores various programs and constants such as probability of jackpot in game control. The RAM is used as a work area at the time of game control by the CPU 6A, and stores a jackpot determination counter (random number counter) and the like.

  The CPU 6A executes game control by scanning and acquiring the signal level of the game ball detection from the input port circuit 5 for each interrupt from the interrupt signal generation circuit 7. In this game control, for example, a jackpot lottery is performed. Specifically, a random number counter value at the detection timing (for example, the rising timing of the signal waveform) of the game ball detection signal input to the CPU 6A is acquired, and whether or not this random number counter value is a predetermined jackpot value. Based on this, the jackpot is determined.

  An output signal from the CPU 6A is taken into the output port circuit 10 via the data bus 9. In this case, the output port circuit 10 takes in the signal from the data bus 9 in accordance with the selection signal from the address decoding circuit 8 based on the R / W signal from the CPU 6A and the address signal.

  An output signal from the output port circuit 10 is converted by the drive circuit 11 and input to various driven devices 12 and various subordinate control devices 13. Thereby, the driven device 12 and the subordinate control device 13 are controlled by the game control device 2 in an integrated manner. Here, the driven device 12 includes an opening / closing mechanism of a variable winning device provided in the winning portion. The subordinate control device 13 controls a display control device that controls the image display device, a sound control device that controls the sound output device, a decoration control device that controls blinking of a decoration lamp, and the like, and controls the discharge of the game ball from the discharge mechanism. There is a discharge control device.

  The output signal from the output port circuit 10 can be taken out from the signal terminal attachment region 22. Thereby, if an output signal is taken out from the signal terminal attachment region 22, the port output timing of the CPU 6A can be accurately grasped. For example, as compared with the case where a signal is acquired from the output unit of the drive circuit 11, the accuracy of output timing acquisition is increased by the amount that does not include the signal transmission delay that occurs in the drive circuit 11.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the game ball detection signal of the ball detection switch 1 shows a high level (12V) when a game ball is detected and a low level (4V) when it is not detected. When this game ball detection signal is input to the game control device 2, as shown in FIG. 2 (B), it is converted into an inverted signal (high level 5V, low level 0V) in the voltage conversion circuit 3, and further FIG. As shown in (C), the signal waveform from which noise has been removed in the filter circuit 4 is obtained.

  A buffer circuit 21 is provided at the subsequent stage of the filter circuit 4, and a signal (FIG. 2D) that has passed through the buffer circuit 21 is input to the input port circuit 5, or a signal terminal mounting region 22. The signal is taken out as an inspection signal. In this case, the signal waveform in FIG. 2D shows a low level (0 V) when the voltage in FIG. 2C is larger than the threshold value, and a high level (5 V) when the voltage is lower than the threshold value. Compared with the signal waveforms of FIGS. 2A and 2B, the signal waveform has a delay based on the time constant of the filter circuit 4 at the rise and fall of the signal waveform. It does not change between when the inspection device is connected to and when it is not connected. That is, even when the inspection device is connected, the electrical influence from the inspection device side is blocked by the buffer circuit 21, so that the time constant of the filter circuit 4 is not affected, and the signal based on the time constant of the filter circuit 4 is not affected. The delay is unchanged.

  Therefore, the scan timing of the game ball detection signal by the CPU 6A as shown in FIG. 2 (X) is the same when the inspection device is connected and when it is not connected. Therefore, even when the inspection device is connected, the same detection (detection timing) by the ball detection switch 1 is exactly the same as when the inspection device is not connected (for example, based on the game ball detection timing). The jackpot lottery) will be reproduced.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the buffer circuit 21 is provided at the subsequent stage of the filter circuit 4 and the output of the buffer circuit is taken out as an inspection signal. Therefore, even when the inspection device is connected, the CPU 6A takes in the data. There is no change in the detected game ball detection signal, and the reliability of the inspection is improved.

  Further, since the buffer circuit 21 is composed of the same elements as those of the input port circuit 5, it is difficult for elements to be mistaken when the game control apparatus 2 is assembled, the assembly is facilitated, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the signal terminal mounting region 22 is formed so that the inspection signal can be taken out from the output part of the buffer circuit 21. The formation of the region 22 is not necessarily required, and any configuration can be adopted as long as the inspection signal can be extracted from the output portion of the buffer circuit 21. For example, the signal cable of the inspection device can be directly connected to the output signal pin of the IC package constituting the buffer circuit 21, and the case for housing the board of the game control device 2 is opened at the time of inspection, and the signal cable is connected to the output signal pin. You may make it connect.

  In the present invention, the voltage conversion circuit 3, the filter circuit 4, the input port circuit 5, the buffer circuit 21, and the like can be configured such that all or part of them are contained in one IC package.

  Moreover, the embodiment disclosed this time is illustrative in all points and is not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and includes all modifications within the scope of the claims.

  The following are typical examples of aspects of the present invention other than those described in the claims.

  (1) Detection means for detecting game ball winning, a filter circuit for removing noise from a detection signal from the detection means, an input port circuit to which a signal from the filter circuit is input, and the input port circuit In a gaming machine comprising: a CPU that is connected through a bus and that controls a game based on a detection signal from the detection means that is input through the input port circuit, between the filter circuit and the input port circuit A gaming machine comprising an irreversible signal transmission circuit and an inspection signal can be taken out from an output portion of the irreversible signal transmission circuit.

  (2) The gaming machine according to (1), wherein the irreversible signal transmission circuit is a buffer circuit.

  (3) The gaming machine according to (1) or (2), wherein a signal terminal mounting region to which a terminal for an inspection device can be mounted is provided at an output portion of the irreversible signal transmission circuit.

  (4) The gaming machine according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the irreversible signal transmission circuit and the input port circuit are configured by the same element.

  As described above, from these viewpoints, an irreversible signal transmission circuit is provided in the subsequent stage of the filter circuit, and the output of this irreversible signal transmission circuit is taken out as an inspection signal. There is no change in the time constant of the filter circuit depending on whether or not it is connected. Therefore, even when the inspection device is connected, the same detection (detection timing) by the detecting means as in the case where the inspection device is not connected (for example, a big hit lottery based on the game ball detection timing) Will be reproduced. Therefore, the inspection is highly reliable as a reproduction of an actual game as it is.

  In addition, since the irreversible signal transmission circuit and the input port circuit are composed of the same elements, it is difficult for the elements to be mistaken during assembly, the assembly is facilitated, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

1 ball detection switch 2 game control device 4 filter circuit 5 input port circuit 6 one-chip microcomputer 6A CPU
9 Data bus 21 Buffer circuit 22 Signal terminal mounting area

Claims (1)

A detecting means for detecting a winning of a game ball to the winning portion;
A game control device for comprehensively controlling a game based on a detection result from the detection means;
In a gaming machine equipped with a variable winning device provided in the winning section,
The game control device includes:
A microcomputer for controlling the game,
An output port circuit that outputs a control command signal for controlling the variable winning device based on a command from the microcomputer;
A drive circuit for driving the variable prize device based on the control command signal output from the output port circuit;
An input port circuit to which a detection signal from the detection means is input;
An irreversible signal transmission circuit provided between the detection means and the input port circuit;
With
By providing a predetermined wiring pattern on the circuit board, a signal extraction region for outputting a signal that changes according to the gaming state to the outside of the gaming control device is formed,
The control command signal for driving the variable winning device is constantly transmitted from the output portion of the output port circuit to the signal extraction region, and the detection signal from the detection means is transmitted to the irreversible signal transmission circuit. A gaming machine characterized in that it is always transmitted from the output section to the signal extraction area.

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