JP2013051794A - Movable body drive device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a movable body drive device for driving a movable body provided to a game machine and being capable of reducing a load of a superordinate control device.SOLUTION: A movable body drive device 1 has: a communication unit 2 receiving a control command prescribing a moving destination of a movable body provided to a game machine; a storage unit 63 storing a current position of the movable body; and a controller (61, 62 and 7) determining a movement direction in the next operation of the movable body on the basis of a difference between the moving destination and the current position of the movable body or a movement direction in the last operation of the movable body, and controlling a drive unit driving the movement so as to move the movable body in the movement direction in the next operation until the movable body reaches the movement destination.

Description

  The present invention relates to a movable body driving device for driving a movable body provided in a gaming machine.

  In order to enhance the interest of the player, a device such as a spinning machine or a ball game machine has been devised to produce an effect that appeals to the player's visual, auditory, or senses. In particular, in order to perform an effect appealing to the player's vision, the game machine may be provided with a movable body that moves, for example, a movable accessory. Such a movable body is driven by, for example, a stepping motor. Then, the number of steps corresponding to the amount of movement of the processor unit for effecting (hereinafter simply referred to as the effecting CPU), which is an example of the higher-level control device, moves to the designated position according to the state of the game. A command to rotate the stepping motor is transmitted to the control circuit of the stepping motor.

  In recent years, in order to increase the interest of the player, there is a tendency for the number of control targets of the directing CPU mounted on the gaming machine to increase. For example, a gaming machine is equipped with a display device such as a large number of light sources and a liquid crystal display in addition to a movable accessory. Therefore, loads such as the number of terminals output from the effect CPU and the amount of calculation of the effect CPU tend to increase. Therefore, it is desired to reduce the amount of calculation required for calculation for causing the movable body to perform a desired operation. In response to such a demand, a technique for reducing hardware or software resources required for controlling the stepping motor has been developed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

For example, in the stepping motor drive control device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a microcomputer generates a four-phase drive control signal corresponding to an input signal such as forward / reverse rotation, speed switching, and mode switching. The excitation method, rotation direction, rotation speed, etc. can be changed without increasing the value.
Moreover, the movable body drive device disclosed in Patent Document 2 transmits an operation result of the movable body to a higher-level control device, and drives the movable body by a drive unit based on a command from the control device or the operation result. Let

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-1889597 JP 2009-247833 A

  However, in the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in order for the rendering CPU to move the movable body to a desired moving destination, the rendering CPU itself must grasp the current position of the movable body. Therefore, every time the moving CPU moves the movable body, it is necessary to receive information on the current position of the movable body from the control circuit of the stepping motor or the sensor for detecting the position of the movable body. Further, the directing CPU needs to perform calculations for determining the rotation direction, the number of steps, etc. of the stepping motor that drives the movable body based on the difference between the coordinates of the current position of the movable body and the coordinates of the moving destination. there were. Thus, every time the moving CPU moves the movable body, it must perform processing for receiving information on the current position of the movable body and determining the rotation direction, the number of steps, and the like of the stepping motor. Therefore, when driving the movable body, further reduction of the load of the host control device such as a CPU for rendering is desired.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the movable body drive device which can reduce the load of a high-order control apparatus more.

  As one embodiment of the present invention, a movable body drive device that controls a drive unit that drives a movable body provided in a gaming machine is provided. The movable body driving device includes a communication unit that receives a control command that defines a moving destination of the movable body, a storage unit that stores a current position of the movable body, and a difference between the moving destination and the current position of the movable body. Or the moving direction in the next operation of the movable body is determined based on the moving direction in the previous operation of the movable body, and the movable body is moved until the movable body reaches the moving destination along the moving direction in the next operation. And a control unit that controls the drive unit so as to be moved.

  In this movable body driving apparatus, the drive unit is a stepping motor, and the control command includes a first index indicating the rotation speed of the stepping motor and a second index indicating the acceleration or deceleration of the stepping motor, and the control unit Until the movable body moves a distance corresponding to the first step number of the stepping motor from the current position, to accelerate or decelerate the rotation speed of the stepping motor at the acceleration or deceleration indicated by the second index, It is preferable to control the stepping motor so that the rotation speed indicated by the first index is reached when the distance is moved.

  Further, in this movable body drive device, the drive unit is a stepping motor, and the control command includes a first index that represents the rotation speed of the stepping motor and a second index that represents the acceleration or deceleration of the stepping motor. The unit accelerates or decelerates the rotation speed of the stepping motor at the acceleration or deceleration indicated by the second index when the movable body approaches the moving destination more than the distance corresponding to the second step number of the stepping motor. Then, it is preferable to control the stepping motor so that the rotation speed becomes the rotation speed indicated by the first index when the movement destination is reached.

  Alternatively, in this movable body drive device, the drive unit is a stepping motor, and the control command includes a first index that represents the rotation speed of the stepping motor and a third index that represents the deceleration of the stepping motor. When the movable body is closer to the moving destination than the distance corresponding to the third number of steps of the stepping motor, the unit decelerates the rotation speed of the stepping motor at the deceleration indicated by the third index, It is preferable to control the stepping motor so that the rotation speed becomes zero when reaching the ground.

  Furthermore, in this movable body drive device, the drive unit is a stepping motor, and the control command is a fourth ratio representing a ratio of a period during which a voltage is applied to the stepping motor with respect to a first period corresponding to one-step operation of the stepping motor. It is preferable that an index of In this case, the movable body drive device sets the second period shorter than the first period as one cycle, and in the second period, a pulse having a predetermined voltage value by the ratio represented by the fourth index is obtained. It is preferable to further include a duty ratio control unit that generates a continuous pulse signal. The control unit preferably performs pulse width modulation on the drive signal for controlling the operation of each step of the stepping motor by the continuous pulse signal, and outputs the pulse width modulated drive signal to the stepping motor.

  Furthermore, in this movable body drive device, the movement destination specified by the control command is represented by the amount of movement of the movable body with reference to the current position, and the storage unit further determines the position of the movable body immediately before the operation. It is preferable that the control unit obtains the moving direction in the immediately preceding operation of the movable body from the difference between the position in the immediately preceding operation and the current position.

  The movable body drive device according to the present invention has an effect of further reducing the load on the host control device.

It is a schematic block diagram of the movable body drive device concerning one embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a figure showing an example of the relationship between the coordinate of the present position, and the coordinate of a movement destination in absolute coordinate designation | designated mode. (B) is a figure showing an example of the relationship between the coordinate of the present position, and the coordinate of a movement destination in relative coordinate designation | designated mode. (C) is a figure showing an example of the relationship between the coordinate of the present position, and the coordinate of a movement destination in inertial movement mode. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of the control command containing operation information. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the format of the control command containing setting information, (b) is a figure which shows an example of the format of the setting data when prescribed | regulated by individual setting mode, (c) () Is a diagram showing an example of a format of setting data when defined in the initial setting mode. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the relationship between writing of the command set used for control of a stepping motor, and an execution order. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the time change of the rotational speed when raising the rotational speed of a stepping motor, (b) is an example of the time change of the rotational speed when reducing the rotational speed of a stepping motor. FIG. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the time change of the rotational speed when raising the rotational speed of a stepping motor by a modification, (b) is a case where the rotational speed of a stepping motor by a modification is reduced. It is a figure which shows an example of the time change of the rotational speed of. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a bullet ball game machine including a movable body device according to one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic rear view of a bullet ball game machine including a movable body drive device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. (A) is a schematic front view of the movable accessory part seen through the fixed accessory part, and (b) is a movable accessory part movable from the back side of the fixed accessory part. It is a schematic rear view when located at one end of the range, and (c) is a schematic rear view when the movable accessory portion is located at the other end of the movable range, as viewed from the back side of the fixed accessory portion. is there.

  Hereinafter, a movable body driving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The movable body drive device obtains the current position of the movable body based on a detection signal from a sensor that detects the position of the movable body and the operation of a drive unit such as a stepping motor that drives the movable body, and stores the current position. . And this movable body drive device is the difference between the information representing the moving destination of the movable body and the current position of the movable body received from a higher-level control device such as a production CPU, or the previous operation at the current position of the movable body. Based on the moving direction at that time, the moving direction of the movable body is determined, and the movable body is driven until the moving destination is reached. As a result, the movable body drive device can move the movable body to a desired movement destination even if the upper control device does not know the current position of the movable body, Reduce.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a movable body driving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the movable body drive device 1 includes a communication circuit 2, a register 3, a duty ratio control circuit 4, a sensor interface unit 5, a motor control circuit 6, and a solenoid control circuit 7. Have.
Each of these units included in the movable body driving device 1 may be mounted on a circuit board (not shown) as a separate circuit, or may be mounted on the circuit board as an integrated circuit in which these units are integrated. May be.
In this embodiment, the movable body drive device 1 has a function of controlling a plurality of drive units. Each of the plurality of drive units includes two stepping motors and one solenoid. The solenoid drives the movable body by, for example, attracting the movable body made of a magnetic body by exciting a coil. Therefore, for example, the solenoid has a plurality of coils arranged at different positions along the movable range of the movable body, and these coils are sequentially excited along the moving direction of the movable body, The movable body moves along the moving direction.

  Moreover, in the movable body drive device 1, as a method of designating the coordinates of the moving destination relating to the movable body driven by the stepping motor, an absolute coordinate designation mode for designating the coordinates of the moving destination by an absolute coordinate value, Relative coordinate specification mode in which coordinates are specified by the relative movement amount and movement direction based on the current position, and inertia that specifies the coordinates of the moving destination of the movable body based only on the relative movement amount based on the current position There is a movement mode. First, these modes will be described.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the coordinates of the current position and the coordinates of the moving destination in the absolute coordinate designation mode. FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the coordinates of the current position and the coordinates of the moving destination in the relative coordinate designation mode. FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the coordinates of the current position and the coordinates of the moving destination in the inertial movement mode. 2A to 2C, the horizontal axis represents the position coordinates of the movable body by the number of steps of the stepping motor (−1023 to 1022). In this example, the movable body moves linearly along the horizontal direction. However, the movable body driven by the movable body drive device 1 may move linearly along an arbitrary method, or It may be one that rotates.

  In the absolute coordinate designation mode shown in FIG. 2A, the current position of the movable body is on the right side of the coordinate 201 of the moving destination designated by the absolute coordinates, as in the case where the coordinate 202 is the current position of the movable body. If it is located, the movable body drive device 1 determines the moving direction of the movable body as the left direction based on the comparison result between the coordinates of the movement destination and the coordinates of the current position. Then, the movable body driving device 1 automatically moves the movable body in the left direction until reaching the moving destination even if the rendering CPU does not designate the moving direction of the movable body. On the other hand, when the current position of the movable body is located on the left side of the coordinate 201 of the moving destination specified by the absolute coordinates, as in the case where the coordinate 203 is the current position of the movable body, the movable body driving device 1 The moving direction of the movable body is determined as the right direction, and the movable body is automatically moved rightward until reaching the moving destination.

  In the relative coordinate designation mode shown in FIG. 2B, the effect CPU designates the movement destination by the relative movement amount and movement direction of the movable body relative to the current position. The relative movement amount is represented by the number of steps of the stepping motor, for example. The movement direction is represented by a step number sign (+ or-). For example, if + m step (m is a positive integer) is designated as the relative movement direction and movement amount with respect to the coordinate 211 of the current position of the movable body, the movable body drive device 1 moves the movable body to the right. Move m steps in the direction. In addition, when −n step (n is a positive integer) is designated as the relative movement direction and movement amount with respect to the coordinate 211 of the current position of the movable body, the movable body driving device 1 moves the movable body to the left. Move n steps in the direction.

  In the inertial movement mode shown in FIG. 2C, the effect CPU designates only the relative movement amount with respect to the current position of the movable body. In this mode, the movable body drive device 1 sets the movement direction in the immediately previous operation of the movable body as the movement direction of the next operation, and moves the movable body by a movement amount k steps (k is a positive integer) designated from the current position 221. Move. Thereby, the movable body drive device 1 can make a movable body stand still, without changing the moving direction of a movable body rapidly. This inertial movement mode is applied, for example, when the movable body is urgently stopped.

The rendering CPU generates, for each movable body driven by the stepping motor, a control command for designating the moving destination of the movable body according to any of the above modes, and transmits the control command to the movable body driving device 1. As a result, the movable body can be moved to the moving destination.
Hereinafter, each part of the movable body drive device 1 will be described.

The communication circuit 2 connects, for example, an effect CPU of the gaming machine on which the movable body driving device 1 is mounted and the movable body driving device 1. Then, the communication circuit 2 sends a control command having a plurality of bits transmitted serially from the effect CPU and a clock signal for synchronizing with each of the plurality of bits included in the control command in order to analyze the control command. And receive.
The control command includes, for example, operation information for specifying the operation of the movable body driven by any one of the drive units or setting information for defining settings for the drive unit. A set of operation information and setting information for one drive unit is hereinafter referred to as a command set for convenience. One command set defines one operation of the movable body.
The clock signal can be, for example, a signal having a rectangular pulse for every predetermined number of bits in the control command.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a control command including operation information when the drive unit is a stepping motor. The control command 300 includes a START flag 301, a device address 302, an operation / setting switching flag 303, a system designation flag 304, control data 305, and an END flag 306 in order from the top. Further, the control command 300 may include a 1-bit spacer having a value of, for example, “0” between adjacent flags, addresses, and data.

The START flag 301 is a bit string indicating the head of the control command 300, and in this embodiment, is a bit string in which nine bits having a value of “1” are continuous. The START flag 301 may be a bit string that does not match any other bit string in the control command 300.
The device address 302 is identification information for specifying the movable body drive device to be controlled by the control command 300, and is represented by a bit string having an 8-bit length in this embodiment. The device address 302 is determined by the communication circuit 2 whether or not it matches the identification address separately received from the effect CPU. If they match, it is determined that the movable body drive device 1 is the control target of the control command 300. .

The operation / setting switching flag 303 is a 1-bit flag indicating whether the control command includes operation information or setting information. In the present embodiment, if the operation / setting switching flag 303 is “0”, the control command includes operation information, and if the operation / setting switching flag 303 is “1”, the control command includes setting information. In the example of FIG. 3, since the control command 300 includes operation information, the operation / setting switch flag 303 is “0”.
The system designation flag 304 is a 1-bit flag that indicates which of the two stepping motors that can be controlled by the movable body drive device 1 is controlled by the control command 300.

  The control data 305 includes operation information of the stepping motor controlled by the movable body driving device 1. Specifically, the control data 305 includes speed data 3051, a storage destination designation flag 3052, a wait flag 3053, an automatic correction flag 3054, an automatic acceleration / deceleration flag 3055, a coordinate designation mode flag 3056, and coordinate data 3057. Including.

  Speed data 3051 represents the rotation speed of the stepping motor. In the present embodiment, the speed data 3051 is a 6-bit length bit string and takes any value from “0” to “63”. If the speed data 3051 is “0”, the stepping motor is stopped, that is, the movable body driven by the stepping motor is stopped. If the speed data 3051 is “1” to “63”, the speed is This represents that the stepping motor is rotated at a rotation speed corresponding to the value of the data 3051.

  The save destination designation flag 3052 is a 1-bit flag that designates the save destination of the operation information in the register 3. In the present embodiment, if the save destination designation flag 3052 is '0', the operation information is stored in the first memory circuit 31 that stores the command set that defines the operation of the normal movable body in the register 3, If the storage destination designation flag 3052 is “1”, the operation information is stored in the second memory circuit 32 that stores a command set that defines the operation of the movable body in the register 3 at the time of emergency stop.

  The wait flag 3053 is a 1-bit flag indicating whether or not the wait mode is for stopping the stepping motor for a specified period. In the present embodiment, if the wait flag 3053 is “0”, the wait mode is turned off, and the movable body drive device 1 operates according to the rotational speed specified in the speed data 3051 and the number of steps specified in the coordinate data 3057. Control the stepping motor. On the other hand, if the wait flag 3053 is “1”, the wait mode is turned on, and the operation period of one step corresponding to the rotation speed specified in the speed data 3051 is multiplied by the number of steps specified in the coordinate data 3057. This means that the stepping motor is stopped for a period corresponding to the value. By using such a wait mode, for example, when moving a movable body that has moved along a specific direction in a reverse direction in the reverse direction of the specific direction, the period specified in the wait mode immediately before the reverse, By temporarily stopping the movable body, the movable body drive device 1 can prevent the stepping motor from being overloaded. Therefore, the movable body drive device 1 can prevent the movable body from following the rotation of the stepping motor or the stepping motor from stepping out.

  The automatic correction flag 3054 is a 1-bit flag indicating whether or not the current position of the movable body is automatically corrected by a detection signal from a sensor (not shown) that detects the position of the movable body. In the present embodiment, if the automatic correction flag 3054 is “0”, the movable body drive device 1 does not correct the current position of the movable body, while if the automatic correction flag 3054 is “1”, the movable body is driven. The apparatus 1 corrects the current position of the movable body when receiving a detection signal from the sensor.

  The automatic acceleration / deceleration flag 3055 is a 1-bit flag indicating whether the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode that automatically accelerates or decelerates when the movable body starts moving or ends moving is ON or OFF. In this embodiment, if the automatic acceleration / deceleration flag 3055 is “0”, the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is turned OFF, and the movable body drive device 1 is designated by the speed data 3051 from the start of the movement of the movable body to the end of the movement. The stepping motor that drives the movable body is rotated at the rotated speed. On the other hand, if the automatic acceleration / deceleration flag 3055 is “1”, the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is turned ON, and the movable body driving device 1 immediately after the start of the movement of the movable body or immediately before the end of the movement, The rotation speed of the stepping motor is adjusted according to the deceleration value. Details of the operation when the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is ON will be described later.

  The coordinate designation mode flag 3056 is a 1-bit flag that represents a mode that defines a method for designating a moving destination defined in the coordinate data 3057. In the present embodiment, if the coordinate designation mode flag 3056 is “0”, it indicates that the coordinates of the moving destination are absolute coordinate values (that is, the absolute coordinate designation mode is applied), while the coordinate designation mode is specified. If the mode flag 3056 is “1”, the coordinates of the movement destination are relative movement amounts based on the coordinates of the current position (that is, the relative coordinate designation mode or the inertia movement mode is applied). Represents. When the storage destination designation flag 3052 is “0”, the relative coordinate designation mode is selected. When the storage destination designation flag 3052 is “1”, the inertia movement mode is set.

  The coordinate data 3057 represents the coordinates of the moving destination by the number of steps of the stepping motor. In the present embodiment, the coordinate data 3057 is a bit string having an 11-bit length, and the coordinates of the moving destination are represented by any number of steps from −1024 to 1023. Note that when the inertial movement mode is applied, only the movement amount is defined, so the coordinate data 3057 takes any value between 0 and 1023.

  The END flag 306 is a bit string representing the end of the control command 300. The END flag 306 may be a bit string that does not match the START flag and other bit strings included in the control command.

  FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a control command including setting information when the drive unit is a stepping motor. The control command 400 includes a START flag 401, a device address 402, an operation / setting switching flag 403, a system designation flag 404, control data 405, and an END flag 406 in order from the top. Compared with the control command 300 including the operation information shown in FIG. 3, the control command 400 including the setting information indicates that the value of the operation / setting switching flag 403 is “1” and the content of the control data 405 is Different. Therefore, the control data 405 will be described below.

The control data 405 includes a setting mode flag 4051 having a 2-bit length and setting data 4052.
The setting mode flag 4051 defines an individual setting mode for setting for each individual command or an initial setting mode for setting common to all control commands. In the present embodiment, if the setting mode flag 4051 is “00”, it represents the individual setting mode, while if the setting mode flag 4051 is “01”, it represents the initial setting mode.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of the setting data 4052 when the setting data 4052 is defined in the individual setting mode. In the individual setting mode, the setting data 4052 includes a storage destination designation flag 4053, a stopping torque 4054, an operating torque 4055, an excitation mode flag 4056, and acceleration data 4057 in order from the top.

  The save destination designation flag 4053 is a 1-bit flag that designates the save destination of the setting information in the register 3 in the same manner as the save destination designation flag 3052 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, if the save destination designation flag 4053 is “0”, the setting information is stored in the first memory circuit 31 in the register 3, while if the save destination designation flag 4052 is “1”, the register The setting information is stored in the second memory circuit 32 in FIG.

  The torque 4054 at the time of stop has a 3-bit length, and when the stepping motor is stopped, the duty ratio of the period during which voltage is actually applied in the operation period of one step of the stepping motor (hereinafter referred to as the duty at the time of stop) Called ratio). In this embodiment, the larger the value of the stop-time torque 4054, the higher the stop-time duty ratio. As a result, the torque for maintaining the stepping motor at the current step also increases. In the present embodiment, since the stop-time torque 4054 has a 3-bit length, the stop-time duty ratio is defined in eight stages. For example, if the value of the stop torque 4054 is “000”, the stop duty ratio is 0, that is, no voltage is applied to the stepping motor, and the torque is 0. On the other hand, if the stopping torque 4054 is '111', the stopping duty ratio is 1.

  The operating torque 4055 has a length of 2 bits, and when the stepping motor is rotating, the duty ratio of the period during which voltage is actually applied in the operating period of one step to the stepping motor (hereinafter referred to as the operating duty). Called ratio). In this embodiment, the larger the value of the operating torque 4055, the higher the operating duty ratio, and as a result, the torque for rotating the stepping motor also increases. In this embodiment, since the operating torque 4055 has a 2-bit length, the operating duty ratio is defined in four stages. For example, if the operating torque 4055 is “00”, the operating duty ratio is 0.5. On the other hand, if the operating torque 4055 is '11', the operating duty ratio is 1.

The excitation mode flag 4056 has a 2-bit length and defines the excitation method of the stepping motor. In this embodiment, if the excitation mode flag 4056 is “00”, it is 2-phase excitation, if it is “01”, it is 1-2 phase excitation, if it is “10”, it is W1-2 phase excitation, if it is “11”. Represents 2W1-2 phase excitation. An excitation method other than the above may be adopted as the excitation method for the stepping motor.
The acceleration data 4057 has a 4-bit length and represents the acceleration when the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is ON.

FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of the setting data 4052 when the setting data 4052 is defined in the initial setting mode. In this case, the setting data 4052 includes a default operation setting flag 4058, a stopping torque 4054, an operating torque 4055, an excitation mode flag 4056, acceleration data 4057, and deceleration data 4059 in order from the top. .
The stop torque 4054, the operation torque 4055, the excitation mode flag 4056, and the acceleration data 4057 are the same as the corresponding data shown in FIG.

The default operation setting flag 4058 is 1 bit indicating whether or not the setting information included in the setting data 4052 is default setting information applied when individual setting information corresponding to the operation information stored in the register 3 is not defined. Flag. In the present embodiment, if the default operation setting flag 4058 is “0”, it indicates that the setting information included in the setting data 4052 is default setting information.
The deceleration data 4059 has a 4-bit length and represents deceleration when the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is ON.

Further, the setting data 4052 includes the position coordinates of the movable body when a detection signal is input from the sensor that detects the position of the movable body, and any sensor when a plurality of sensors are installed for one movable body. It may include data defining a flag or the like for designating whether the position coordinates are for.
In addition, the control command when the drive unit is a solenoid may include data defining the moving destination or moving direction of the movable body, the duty ratio of the excitation signal output to each coil of the solenoid, and the like.

Furthermore, the communication circuit 2 receives an identification address for specifying the movable body drive device to be controlled by the control command from the effect CPU. When the identification address matches the device address included in the control command, the communication circuit 2 writes the operation information or setting information included in the control command into the register 3. On the other hand, when the identification address and the device address do not match, the communication circuit 2 discards the received control command.
The communication circuit 2 has a memory circuit for storing the identification address so that it can be determined whether or not the identification address and the device address match even when the identification address and the control command are received at different timings. You may do it.

  Further, when the communication circuit 2 receives a load command for urgently stopping the movable body from the effect CPU, the communication circuit 2 stores the emergency stop operation information and setting information stored in the register 3 into the duty ratio control circuit 4 and the motor. Output to the control circuit 6. Note that the format of the load command may be a format different from the above control command. For example, the load command includes, in order from the top, an identification code indicating that it is a load command and a flag indicating a target movable body. For example, the identification code may be a bit string that does not match any part of the control command.

Further, the communication circuit 2 indicates that the command set is executed every time one command set stored in the register 3 is executed for any of the drive units controlled by the movable body drive device 1. Outputs a command completion signal to the CPU for production. The command completion signal can be, for example, a single pulse signal output via a communication line set for each drive unit. Alternatively, the command completion signal is a signal having a different number of pulses depending on the drive unit, and may be output to the rendering CPU via a signal line common to each drive unit.
Further, when receiving a command for reading the command set stored in the register 3 from the effect CPU, the communication circuit 2 reads out all the command sets stored in the register 3 and transmits them to the effect CPU. It may be.

  The register 3 has a storage capacity capable of storing a plurality of command sets for each drive unit, a first memory circuit 31 of a so-called first-in first-out (FIFO) method, and a command set and default setting information at the time of emergency stop for each drive unit. And a second memory circuit 32 capable of storing data. These memory circuits included in the register 3 are constituted by, for example, volatile semiconductor memory circuits that can be read and written.

  The register 3 writes operation information or setting information included in the control command to the first memory circuit 31 if the storage destination designation flag included in the received control command is a value indicating that the normal operation is specified. . At that time, if the register 3 receives the setting information about the movable body from the time when one movement information is received to the time when the next movement information is received, the register 3 stores the movement information and the setting information. Command set. On the other hand, if the register 3 does not receive the setting information about the movable body after receiving one operation information about the movable body of interest after receiving the next operation information, The default setting information stored in the second memory circuit 32 is copied to the first memory circuit 31, and a command set with the operation information is created.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the writing of a command set for controlling the stepping motor and the execution order. In FIG. 5, only the command set for one stepping motor is shown. The register 3 stores a command set as shown in FIG. 5 for each stepping motor controlled by the movable body driving device 1.
In FIG. 5, each command set 501 to 505 stored in the first memory circuit 31 includes operation information and setting information. Further, it is assumed that the command set located at the lower side is written earlier. Therefore, in this example, the command set 501 is written first, and the command set 505 is written last. Each command set is stored in one of the buffers 511 to 515, respectively. Then, the command set is read from the buffer closest to the reading side (the lowermost buffer 511 in FIG. 5), and the command set is transferred to the duty ratio control circuit 4 and the motor control circuit 6. And a movable body is driven by controlling a drive unit according to the command set. Each time one command set is executed, each command set is transferred to one read side buffer. When the command set is stored in all the buffers and the next operation information or setting information is received by the register 3, the operation information or setting information stored in the buffer 515 closest to the writing side is It is rewritten with newly received operation information or setting information.

  The second memory circuit 32 stores an emergency stop command set 506 and default setting information 507. When the movable body drive device 1 receives the load command, the emergency stop command set 506 is transferred to the buffer 511 closest to the reading side, read out from the buffer 511, and the duty ratio control circuit 4 and the motor control. It is transferred to the circuit 6. At this time, the command set stored in the other buffer of the first memory circuit 31 is erased.

  If only the operation information is stored in the buffer 511 closest to the reading side, the default setting information 507 is transferred to the buffer 511 to create a command set. Thereafter, the command set is read and transferred to the duty ratio control circuit 4 and the motor control circuit 6.

The duty ratio control circuit 4 has a predetermined voltage value only for a period corresponding to the duty ratio at the time of stop or the duty ratio at the time of operation, which is defined by the setting information of the command set for each predetermined unit period. A continuous pulse signal in which pulses having a voltage value different from the predetermined voltage value continues is generated. For this purpose, the duty ratio control circuit 4 includes, for example, a processor and a nonvolatile memory circuit. In the memory circuit, for example, a reference table that represents the relationship between the actual duty ratio and the values representing the duty ratio at stop and the duty ratio during operation specified by the setting information is stored. The processor included in the duty ratio control circuit 4 determines an actual duty ratio by referring to the reference table. Then, the processor generates the continuous pulse signal according to the determined duty ratio. Note that the predetermined unit period is set to, for example, 1/100 to 1/5 of the operation period of one step when the rotation speed of the stepping motor included in the operation information is maximum.
The duty ratio control circuit 4 supplies the generated continuous pulse signal to the motor control circuit 6 or the solenoid control circuit 7.

The sensor interface unit 5 includes an interface circuit that receives a detection signal from a sensor that detects the position of the movable body. The sensor interface unit 5 may have different input terminals for each sensor, for example.
Here, the sensor includes, for example, a light source such as a light emitting diode and a light receiving element such as a photodiode disposed so as to face the light source and receive light from the light source. For example, if the sensor is a movable body that can move in the horizontal direction, the sensor is installed at the left end or the right end of the movable range. And only when the movable body reaches the end where the sensor is installed, the light from the light source is blocked by the movable body, so that the amount of light detected by the light receiving element decreases, so that the sensor Detects that has reached its end. And if a sensor detects a movable body, it will output the detection signal showing having detected to the sensor interface part 5. FIG.
The sensor may be a proximity sensor based on another principle such as a magnet sensor. A plurality of sensors may be installed for one movable body. In this case, the sensors are installed at different positions within the movable range of the movable body. For example, when two sensors are installed for one movable body, the two sensors are respectively installed at both ends of the movable range of the movable body.

  When the sensor interface unit 5 receives a detection signal from a sensor that detects the position of the movable body driven by the stepping motor, the sensor interface unit 5 notifies the motor control circuit 6 of the detection signal. When the sensor interface unit 5 receives a detection signal from a sensor that detects the position of the movable body driven by the solenoid, the sensor interface unit 5 notifies the solenoid control circuit 7 of the detection signal. At that time, the sensor interface unit 5 receives the detection signal and then shifts the detection signal by a different delay time so that the detection signal of the sensor installed for which movable unit can be identified. You may transfer to the motor control circuit 6 or the solenoid control circuit 7. Alternatively, the sensor interface unit 5 may transfer the detection signal to the motor control circuit 6 or the solenoid control circuit 7 together with an identification code that is different for each sensor.

  The motor control circuit 6 controls a stepping motor, which is an example of a drive unit, according to the command set read from the register 3. In the present embodiment, the motor control circuit 6 includes a first control circuit 61 for controlling one stepping motor and a second control circuit 62 for controlling the other stepping motor. Each of the control circuits 61 and 62 includes, for example, a processor, receives a command set from the register 3 separately, and controls a stepping motor that drives a corresponding movable body. The motor control circuit 6 further includes a memory circuit 63 that stores the current position of each movable body and the position at the start of the operation of the previous step. The memory circuit 63 is an example of a storage unit that stores the current position of the movable body.

  Each control circuit 61, 62 has six output terminals so that, for example, a unipolar stepping motor can be controlled. Or each control circuit 61 and 62 may have four output terminals so that a bipolar stepping motor can be controlled, for example. Furthermore, each of the control circuits 61 and 62 has six output terminals, and the output terminals for outputting the signals are made different according to the identification signal representing the unipolar type or bipolar type received from the effect CPU. Also good.

  For example, each control circuit 61, 62 compares the coordinates of the current position of the movable body with the coordinates of the movement destination when the coordinates of the movement destination included in the operation information are designated as absolute values. Each control circuit 61, 62 determines the moving direction of the movable body according to the sign of the difference between the coordinates of the moving destination and the coordinates of the current position. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the movable body moves straight along the horizontal direction, and as the number of steps representing the position coordinates of the movable body is a larger positive value, the movable body Is close to the right end of the movable range, each control circuit 61, 62 determines to move the movable body to the right if the difference obtained by subtracting the coordinates of the current position from the coordinates of the movement destination is positive, On the other hand, if the difference is negative, it is determined to move the movable body to the left. In addition, the movable body rotates about a predetermined fixed point as a rotation axis, and the larger the number of steps representing the position coordinates of the movable body, the larger the positive value, the more the movable body moves in the clockwise direction of the movable range. When close to the end, each control circuit 61, 62 determines to move the movable body in the clockwise direction if the difference between the coordinates of the moving destination minus the coordinates of the current position is positive, If the difference is negative, it is determined that the movable body is moved in the counterclockwise direction.

Further, when the setting mode of the movement destination is the relative coordinate designation mode, each control circuit 61, 62 determines to move the movable body in the designated movement direction.
Further, when the moving destination setting mode is the inertial movement mode, each control circuit 61, 62 stores the sign of the difference between the current position of the movable body and the position in the previous step stored in the memory circuit. From the above, the moving direction in the operation immediately before the movable body is specified. Each control circuit 61, 62 determines to move the movable body in the specified movement direction.

When the moving direction of the movable body is determined, each control circuit 61, 62 determines an operation period corresponding to one step according to the rotation speed of the stepping motor.
At this time, if the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is ON, the control circuits 61 and 62 adjust the rotation speed of the stepping motor according to the acceleration data or the deceleration data included in the setting information.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of a temporal change in the rotation speed when the rotation speed of the stepping motor is increased. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating the rotation speed when the rotation speed of the stepping motor is decreased. It is a figure which shows an example of a time change. 6A and 6B, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the rotation speed of the stepping motor. The graph 601 represents the relationship between the passage of time and the rotation speed when the rotation speed increases, and the graph 602 represents the relationship between the passage of time and the rotation speed when the rotation speed decreases. Time t ₀ represents the time at which each control circuit 61, 62 starts executing the command set of interest. Further, rsd represents speed data defined in the speed data included in the operation information.

Prior to time t ₀ , the stepping motor rotates at the rotation speed specified in the command set immediately before the command set of interest. At time t ₀ , that is, when execution of the command set of interest starts, each control circuit 61, 62 has a predetermined first step number (for example, 5 to 5) of the stepping motor from the current position of the movable body. The rotation speed of the stepping motor is gradually accelerated or decelerated at the acceleration or deceleration specified by the acceleration data or deceleration data included in the setting information until the distance corresponding to 20 steps) is moved. Then, at time t ₁ which has finished moving the distance, the rotational speed of the stepping motor is adjusted to be defined in the speed data included in the operation information rotational speed. Also after time t _1, the rotation speed of the stepping motor is maintained at a rotational speed that is specified for the speed data.

  Each of the control circuits 61 and 62 indicates, for example, the rotational speed indicated in the speed data specified in the command set to be executed in the speed data specified in the command set executed immediately before. If it is faster than the rotation speed, the stepping motor is accelerated. On the other hand, if the rotation speed indicated in the speed data specified in the command set to be executed is slower than the rotation speed indicated in the speed data specified in the previous command set, each control is executed. Circuits 61 and 62 decelerate the stepping motor.

FIG. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of a temporal change in the rotation speed when the rotation speed of the stepping motor is increased according to the modification, and FIG. 7B is a rotation speed of the stepping motor according to the modification. It is a figure which shows an example of the time change of the rotational speed in the case of reducing. 7A and 7B, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the rotation speed of the stepping motor. A graph 701 represents the relationship between the passage of time and the rotational speed when the rotational speed increases, and a graph 702 represents the relationship between the passage of time and the rotational speed when the rotational speed decreases. Time t ₀ represents the time at which each control circuit 61, 62 starts executing the command set of interest. Further, rsd represents speed data defined in the speed data included in the operation information.

According to this modified example, each control circuit 61, 62 causes the movable body to reach a position in front of the target coordinates by a distance corresponding to a predetermined second step number (for example, 5 to 20 steps) of the stepping motor. and time t ₂ subsequent to gradually accelerate or decelerate the rotation speed of the stepping motor in the acceleration or deceleration corresponding to the acceleration or deceleration of the information included in the setting information. And each control circuit 61 and 62, so that at time t ₃ when reaching the target coordinate the rotational speed of the stepping motor becomes a rotation speed indicated in the speed data, adjusting the rotational speed of the stepping motor.

  Furthermore, the movable body drive device 1 may start the movement of the movable body when starting an operation corresponding to one command set, and stop the movable body when completing the operation. In this case, if the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is ON, the control circuits 61 and 62 gradually increase the rotation speed of the stepping motor with the acceleration included in the setting information from the start of the movement when starting the movement of the movable body. When the movable body moves a distance corresponding to a predetermined third step number (for example, 5 to 20 steps) of the stepping motor, the rotation speed of the stepping motor is equal to the rotation speed specified in the speed data. The rotational speed of the stepping motor is adjusted so that Each of the control circuits 61 and 62 maintains the rotational speed until the movable body reaches the deceleration start position just before the target coordinate by a distance corresponding to the third step number of the stepping motor. Then, after the movable body reaches the deceleration start position, each of the control circuits 61 and 62 gradually reduces the rotation speed of the stepping motor at a deceleration according to the deceleration information included in the setting information. The control circuits 61 and 62 adjust the rotation speed of the stepping motor so that the rotation speed of the stepping motor becomes 0 rpm when the target coordinates are reached.

  As described above, when the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is used, the movable body drive device 1 is suddenly accelerated when the movable body starts moving from the stopped state, or when the operation designated in the operation information is finished. Thus, it is possible to prevent sudden braking from being applied when the movable body is stopped, and to prevent the stepping motor from being overloaded. Therefore, the movable body drive device 1 can prevent the movable body from following the rotation of the stepping motor or the stepping motor from stepping out.

  The first to third step numbers, acceleration, and deceleration are, for example, the values of the index of acceleration and deceleration in the setting information stored in the memory circuit 63 and the number of steps, acceleration, and deceleration. It is determined by referring to a reference table representing the relationship.

  On the other hand, when the automatic acceleration / deceleration mode is OFF, the control circuits 61 and 62 rotate the rotation speed of the stepping motor as shown by the graphs 603 and 604 indicated by dotted lines in FIGS. Is set to the rotational speed defined in the speed data included in the motion information from the start of movement of the movable body until the target coordinates are reached.

  For example, each control circuit 61, 62 refers to a reference table that is stored in the memory circuit 63 and represents the relationship between the rotational speed and the operation period per step. To decide.

  Thereafter, each of the control circuits 61 and 62 applies a pulse-form to be applied to each terminal of the stepping motor corresponding to the determined operation period according to the excitation method and the moving direction corresponding to the value of the excitation mode flag included in the setting information. A drive signal is generated. In this case, each control circuit 61, 62 is stored in, for example, the memory circuit 63 and is executed by each control circuit 61, 62 according to a program for generating a drive signal. The drive signal corresponding to the moving direction may be generated. In addition, since the signal waveform of the drive signal according to the excitation method output to each terminal is known as disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Furthermore, each control circuit 61, 62 performs pulse width modulation on the drive signal applied to each terminal by multiplying the continuous pulse signal received from the duty ratio control circuit 4 and its drive signal. Thereby, the movable body drive device 1 can suppress the amount of heat generated by the stepping motor to be controlled by reducing the duty ratio of the pulse signal, while controlling by increasing the duty ratio of the pulse signal. The torque of the target stepping motor can be increased. Each control circuit 61, 62 outputs a drive signal for each terminal subjected to pulse width modulation.

  Each time each control circuit 61, 62 outputs a drive signal corresponding to one step, it updates the current position of the movable body stored in the memory circuit 63 and the position at the start of operation in the previous step. . Specifically, when the movable body moves in the direction in which the number of steps increases, each of the control circuits 61 and 62 sets 1 to the number of steps representing the current position and the number of steps representing the position in the previous step. Is added. On the other hand, when the movable body moves in the direction in which the number of steps decreases, each control circuit 61, 62 subtracts 1 from the number of steps representing the current position and the number of steps representing the position in the previous step. .

  When the absolute value is designated as the target coordinate, each time the output of the drive signal corresponding to one step is completed, the control circuits 61 and 62 each have the coordinate representing the current position of the movable body as the coordinate of the moving destination. It is determined whether or not they match. If the coordinate value representing the current position of the movable body does not coincide with the coordinate of the moving destination, each control circuit 61, 62 again generates a pulse width modulated drive signal for one step and sends it to each terminal. Output and update the current position. On the other hand, if the coordinate value representing the current position of the movable body matches the target coordinate, each control circuit 61, 62 determines that the operation of the movable body corresponding to one command set has been completed.

  On the other hand, when the coordinates of the moving destination are designated with relative values, the control circuits 61 and 62 output the drive signals for the number of steps designated by the relative values to the respective terminals, and for the number of steps. Only update the current position etc. Thereafter, the control circuits 61 and 62 determine that the operation of the movable body corresponding to one command set has been completed.

  When each control circuit 61, 62 determines that the operation of the movable body has ended, it sends a command completion signal to the effect CPU via the communication circuit 2.

  Each control circuit 61, 62 receives a detection signal from a sensor that detects the position of the movable body driven by the stepping motor corresponding to the control circuit from the sensor interface unit 5 when the automatic correction flag is ON. When received, the coordinate value representing the position of the movable body stored in the memory circuit 63 is rewritten to the coordinate value representing the detection position where the sensor corresponding to the detection signal detects the movable body. As a result, every time the movable body reaches the detection position of the sensor, the current position of the movable body stored in the movable body driving device 1 is corrected to the correct position, so that the movable body cannot follow the rotation of the stepping motor. However, the movable body drive device 1 can grasp the exact position of the movable body.

  In accordance with the control command received from the register 3, the solenoid control circuit 7 generates an excitation signal for each coil in accordance with the moving direction or the moving destination of the movable body included in the control command. Output to the coil. Similar to the motor control circuit 6, the solenoid control circuit 7 may have a memory circuit that stores the current position of the movable body driven by the solenoid. When the moving destination of the movable body is included in the control command, the solenoid control circuit 7 also determines the moving direction of the movable body by comparing the coordinates of the moving destination with the coordinates of the current position, and the movement An excitation signal for each coil may be generated so that the coils are sequentially excited along the direction from the closest position to the current position.

  As described above, since this movable body drive device grasps the current position of the movable body driven by the stepping motor, a higher-level control device such as a production CPU designates the target coordinates of the movable body. Only by doing this, the moving direction of the movable body can be determined, and the movable body can be moved to the target coordinates. Therefore, the host control device does not need to grasp the current position of the movable body and does not need to determine the moving direction of the movable body according to the difference between the coordinates of the current position and the target coordinates. Therefore, this movable body drive device can reduce the load of the host control device related to the drive of the movable body.

In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment. For example, according to the modification, the movable body drive device may not have a solenoid control circuit. According to another modification, the movable body driving device accepts a control command for specifying the target coordinates only by the amount of relative movement with respect to the current position, such as the inertial movement mode shown in FIG. It does not have to be. In this case, since the movable body drive device does not need to obtain the current moving direction of the movable body, the memory circuit of the motor control circuit need only store the current position of the movable body.
According to still another modification, the register may store the coordinates of the current position of the movable body and the coordinates of the position when the previous step is executed.
According to still another modification, one control command may include both operation information and setting information.

The movable body drive device according to the above-described embodiment or modification may be mounted on a gaming machine such as a ball game machine or a spinning game machine.
FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of the ball game machine 100 including the movable body driving device according to the above-described embodiment or modification. FIG. 9 is a schematic rear view of the ball game machine 100. As shown in FIG. 8, the ball game machine 100 is provided in a large area from the top to the center, and includes a game board 101 that is a main body of the game machine, and a ball receiving part that is disposed below the game board 101. 102, an operation unit 103 having a handle, and a display device 104 provided in the approximate center of the game board 101.
Further, the ball game machine 100 is provided between the fixed board part 105 disposed below the game board 101 on the front surface of the game board 101 and the game board 101 and the fixed game part 105 for the production of the game. And a movable accessory part 106 arranged. A rail 107 is disposed on the side of the game board 101. On the game board 101, a number of obstacle nails (not shown) and at least one winning device 108 are provided.

  The operation unit 103 launches a game ball with a predetermined force from a launching device (not shown) according to the amount of rotation of the handle by the player's operation. The launched game ball moves upward along the rail 107 and falls between a number of obstacle nails. When it is detected by a sensor (not shown) that a game ball has entered any of the winning devices 108, the main control circuit 110 provided on the back surface of the game board 101 determines a predetermined value corresponding to the winning device 108 containing the game balls. The game balls are paid out to the ball receiving unit 102 via a ball payout device (not shown). Further, the main control circuit 110 displays various images on the display device 104 via the effect CPU 111 provided on the back of the game board 101.

  The movable accessory part 106 is an example of a movable body that moves according to the state of the game, and is driven by the movable body driving device 112 according to the embodiment of the present invention or a modification thereof provided on the back surface of the game board 101. The In addition, when the gaming machine 100 has a movable body other than the movable accessory part 106, for example, when the opening part of the prize winning device 107 has a movable body that makes the size of the opening variable, the movable body is also It may be driven by the movable body driving device 112.

  FIG. 10A is a schematic front view of the movable accessory portion 106 driven by the movable body driving device 112 as seen through the fixed accessory portion 105, and FIG. It is a schematic rear view when the movable accessory part 106 is located at one end of the movable range, as viewed from the rear side of the movable part, and (c) is a movable accessory part as viewed from the rear side of the fixed accessory part 105. It is a schematic back view in case 106 is located in the other end of the movable range.

  In this embodiment, the movable accessory part 106 includes a star-shaped decorative member 121 and a rod-shaped support member 122 that holds the decorative member 121 at one end. The support member 122 engages with a rail 123 provided on the back side of the fixed accessory portion 105 so as to contact the lower end of the support member 122 in an oblique direction from the lower left end of the game board 101 toward the upper right. It is held so as to be able to move straight along the rail 123. In this example, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the movable accessory part 106 is located at the lower left end of the movable range, the decorative member 121 is viewed from the front side of the game board 101. Is hidden behind the fixed accessory part 105 and is not visible to the player. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10C, when the movable accessory part 106 is located at the upper right end of the movable range, the entire decorative member 121 is more than the fixed accessory part 105. Thus, the player can visually recognize the entire decorative member 121.

  Teeth as linear gears are formed on the upper surface side of the support member 122, and these teeth are located on the lower left side of the support member 122 when the movable accessory part 106 is located at the upper right end of the movable range. It engages with a reduction gear 124 installed in the vicinity of the end position on the end side. The reduction gear 124 is engaged with a gear 127 attached to the rotation shaft 126 of the stepping motor 125. Therefore, when the stepping motor 125 rotates by a predetermined angle, the movable accessory portion 106 moves by a predetermined movement amount corresponding to the rotation angle via the gear 127 and the reduction gear 124. The stepping motor 125 is controlled by the movable body driving device 112.

  Further, a sensor 128 is provided in the vicinity of the position of the end portion on the lower left side of the support member 122 when the movable accessory portion 106 is located at the lower left end portion of the movable range, and the movable accessory portion 106 is provided. When the movement reaches the lower left end of the movable range, a detection signal is generated, and the detection signal is transmitted to the movable body driving device 112. The sensor 128 is, for example, a magnet sensor, and the movable accessory portion 106 reaches the lower left end of the movable range by detecting a magnetic body attached to the end portion on the lower left end side of the support member 122. Can be detected. Alternatively, the sensor 128 may be an optical sensor having a light emitting diode and a light receiving element.

  On the basis of the state signal indicating the state of the game transmitted from the main control circuit 110 to the effect CPU 111, the effect CPU 111 determines the target coordinates of the movable accessory part 106 and generates a control command according to the determination. . Then, the production CPU 111 outputs the generated control command to the movable body driving device 112. For example, before the game ball enters the winning device 107, the directing CPU 111 moves the movable accessory portion 106 to the lower left end of the movable range so that the movable accessory portion 106 is hidden by the fixed accessory portion 105. Is transmitted to the movable body driving device 112 as a moving destination. On the other hand, when it is detected that the game ball has entered the winning device 107 and a state signal indicating this is input from the main control circuit 110 to the effect CPU 111, the effect CPU 111 moves the movable accessory part 106. A control command for designating the upper right end of the possible range as the moving destination is generated, and the control command is transmitted to the movable body driving device 112.

  As described above, those skilled in the art can make various modifications in accordance with the embodiment to be implemented within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Movable body drive device 2 Communication circuit 3 Register 31 1st memory circuit 32 2nd memory circuit 4 Duty ratio control circuit 5 Sensor interface part 6 Motor control circuit 61, 62 Control circuit 63 Memory circuit 7 Solenoid control circuit 100 Bullet ball game machine DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Game board 102 Ball receiving part 103 Operation part 104 Display apparatus 105 Fixed part part 106 Movable part part 107 Rail 108 Prize-winning apparatus 110 Main control circuit 111 CPU for presentation
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 112 Movable body drive device 121 Decoration member 122 Support member 123 Rail 124 Reduction gear 125 Stepping motor 126 Rotating shaft 127 Gear 128 Sensor

Claims (6)

A movable body drive device for controlling a drive unit for driving a movable body provided in a gaming machine,
A communication unit that receives a control command that defines a moving destination of the movable body;
A storage unit for storing a current position of the movable body;
Based on a difference between the moving destination and the current position, or a moving direction in the previous operation of the movable body, a moving direction in the next operation of the movable body is determined, and along the moving direction in the next operation A control unit for controlling the drive unit to move the movable body until the movable body reaches the moving destination;
A movable body drive device comprising: The drive unit is a stepping motor;
The control command includes a first index representing a rotation speed of the stepping motor and a second index representing an acceleration or deceleration of the stepping motor,
The controller controls the stepping motor at an acceleration or deceleration indicated by the second index until the movable body moves a distance corresponding to the first step number of the stepping motor from the current position. The movable body drive device according to claim 1, wherein the stepping motor is controlled so that the rotation speed is accelerated or decelerated and the rotation speed indicated by the first index is reached when the distance is moved. The drive unit is a stepping motor;
The control command includes a first index representing a rotation speed of the stepping motor and a second index representing an acceleration or deceleration of the stepping motor,
When the movable body is closer to the moving destination than the distance corresponding to the second step number of the stepping motor, the control unit performs the stepping motor at the acceleration or deceleration indicated by the second index. 2. The stepping motor is controlled according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed of the stepping motor is controlled so that the rotation speed becomes the rotation speed indicated by the first index when the movement destination is reached. Movable body drive device. The drive unit is a stepping motor;
The control command includes a first index representing a rotation speed of the stepping motor and a third index representing a deceleration of the stepping motor,
The control unit rotates the stepping motor at a deceleration indicated by the third index when the movable body is closer to the moving destination than a distance corresponding to a third step number of the stepping motor. The movable body drive device according to claim 1, wherein the stepping motor is controlled so that the rotational speed becomes zero when the speed is reduced and the moving destination is reached. The drive unit is a stepping motor;
The control command includes a fourth index representing a ratio of a period during which a voltage is applied to the stepping motor with respect to a first period corresponding to one-step operation of the stepping motor.
A second period shorter than the first period is defined as one cycle, and in the second period, a continuous pulse signal in which pulses having a predetermined voltage value corresponding to the ratio represented by the fourth index are continued. It further has a duty ratio control unit to generate,
The control unit performs pulse width modulation on a drive signal for controlling the operation of each step of the stepping motor by the continuous pulse signal, and outputs the pulse width modulated drive signal to the stepping motor.
The movable body drive apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4. The movement destination included in the control command is represented by a movement amount based on the current position,
The storage unit further stores a position at the time of the immediately preceding operation of the movable body,
6. The movable body drive device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit obtains a moving direction in the immediately preceding operation of the movable body based on a difference between the position at the time of the immediately preceding operation and the current position. .

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