JP2013154243A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of stably rotating a performance movable body even when the game machine is vibrated by impact.SOLUTION: A game machine decides whether to enter a game state advantageous to a player through predetermined lottery processing, and determines whether to enter the advantageous game state through performance operation corresponding to a result of the lottery processing. The game machine includes: a performance movable body AMU having a fixed member FIX held by a base body and a rotating member ROT supported by the fixed member FIX for rotation; and an original point switch ORG for detecting a reference position of the rotating member ROT when the rotating member ROT is rotated. When an output level of the original point switch ORG is changed, at least a subsequent predetermined angle β continues the rotation of the rotating member ROT, regardless of the output level.

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine that generates a big hit state by a lottery process caused by a gaming operation, and more particularly, to a gaming machine provided with an effect movable body that rotates as designed regardless of vibrations that the gaming machine receives.

  A ball game machine such as a pachinko machine has a symbol start opening provided on the game board, a symbol display section for displaying a series of symbol variation patterns by a plurality of display symbols, and a big winning opening for opening and closing the opening and closing plate. Configured. When the detection switch provided at the symbol start port detects the passage of the game ball, the winning state is entered, and after the game ball is paid out as a prize ball, the display symbol is changed for a predetermined time in the symbol display section. Thereafter, when the symbol is stopped in a predetermined manner such as 7-7-7, a big hit state is established, and the big winning opening is repeatedly opened to generate a gaming state advantageous to the player.

  Whether or not to generate such a gaming state is determined by a jackpot lottery executed on the condition that a game ball wins at the symbol start opening, and the above symbol variation operation is based on this lottery result. It has become a thing.

  For example, when the lottery result is in a winning state, an effect operation called reach action or the like is executed for about 20 seconds, and then the special symbols are aligned. On the other hand, a similar reach action may be executed even in the case of a lost state. In this case, the player pays close attention to the big hit state and pays close attention to the transition of the performance operation.

  Further, before the final result is finalized, a notice effect is also executed in which a character appears or the effect movable body starts to rotate, and a big hit state is invited. The effect movable body, for example, rotates for a predetermined angle in a predetermined direction during an effect operation that is likely to reach a big hit state, and notifies the lottery result with a predetermined reliability.

JP 2009-000411 A JP 2008-259920 A JP 2008-245679 A

  In the above-described production movable body, it is simplest to configure it in a cylindrical shape (see Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 3), but a large and complex shape that is not a simple cylindrical shape is more rotated. Power increases.

  However, in particular, when a large rotating body is rotated, the rotating body may not be rotated as intended because it is easily affected by an impact on the gaming machine. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining this trouble, and shows a case where a sensor for detecting the origin position of the rotating body is provided and the rotating body is rotated twice while confirming the rising edge and falling edge of the sensor output SN. ing.

  In this case, if chattering occurs in the sensor output at the timing of the first falling edge (T1), the sensor output SN that fluctuates due to chattering is mistakenly recognized as the sensor output SN at timings T2, T3, and T4. Immediately the rotation operation is completed.

  Here, if chattering is caused by signal reflection in a transmission path for transmitting the sensor output, it is not impossible to design a circuit for preventing the occurrence. However, chattering that physically occurs when the player strikes the gaming machine cannot be reliably prevented.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gaming machine that can stably move the effect movable body even when the gaming machine vibrates due to an impact. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention determines whether or not to shift to a gaming state advantageous to the player through a predetermined lottery process, and after performing an effect operation corresponding to the result of the lottery process A gaming machine that determines whether or not to shift to the advantageous gaming state, wherein the presentation operation is driven by a fixed member held by a base and a rotary motor held by the fixed member to move. A movable member; and a detecting means for detecting a reference position of the movable member when the rotary motor rotates. When the detection level of the detecting means changes, at least the predetermined angle β after that is An avoiding means for avoiding a malfunction is provided by continuing the rotation of the rotary motor while ignoring the change of the above.

  It is preferable that the reference position is configured to be detected only once for one cycle of the operation of the movable member. By adopting such a configuration, even if a large movable member is operated by a small motor with insufficient rotational torque, the completion of one cycle of operation can be reliably and easily detected. That is, for example, when a large movable member is rotated using a small stepping motor, the number of steps and the rotation angle do not correspond exactly, but it is not necessary to manage with the number of steps, and the movable member is reliably rotated once. Can do.

  The detection range of the reference position is preferably set to be not less than twice the predetermined angle β (rotation angle β at which continuous rotation is performed) when this is evaluated by the rotation angle of the rotary motor. More preferably, the reference position detection range (evaluated by the rotation angle of the rotary motor) should be set to be not less than three times the predetermined angle β. In the embodiment, the reference position detection (evaluated by the movable member) is performed. The range is 2 * 30.86 °, and is set to 4.2 times (= 21 * 2/10) with respect to a predetermined angle β = 14.7 ° corresponding to 10 steps.

  The detecting means is a light sensor that has a light emitting unit that emits inspection light and a light receiving unit that receives the inspection light, and a light shield that rotates integrally with the rotary motor and blocks the inspection light in the detection range. It is suitable to have a piece. Preferably, a holding means for stabilizing the stationary state of the rotary motor should be provided at substantially the center position of the detection range. In this case, it is simple that the holding means is constituted by permanent magnets arranged on both or one of the fixed member and the movable member.

  Further, it is preferable that the effect movable body is configured by gear-coupling a drive gear that is rotationally driven by the rotary motor disposed on the fixed member and a driven gear that rotates integrally with the movable member. is there. In this case, it is preferable that the movable member is accelerated from the rotational speed of the drive motor based on the gear ratio of the gear coupling.

  The present invention comprises a main control unit that comprehensively controls gaming operations including the lottery process, and a sub-control unit that executes the effect operations based on control commands from the main control unit, The movable effect is preferably executed based on the control command in the sub-control unit.

  In any case, the base body may be the game board itself, but is preferably a member separated from the game board and configured to be able to reciprocate vertically or horizontally. .

  According to the above-described present invention, the effect movable body can be stably moved even if the gaming machine vibrates due to an impact.

It is a perspective view of the pachinko machine shown in an example. It is the front view which illustrated the game board of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the pachinko machine of FIG. It is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of an effect control unit. It is drawing explaining the structure and operation | movement of a rotation motor and an origin switch. It is drawing explaining the structure of a production movable body. It is drawing explaining the structure and operation | movement of an effect movable body. It is drawing explaining an origin switch. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of an effect control part. It is a flowchart explaining a motor process. It illustrates a rotation control table. It is drawing explaining the subject of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on examples. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pachinko machine GM of the present embodiment. This pachinko machine GM includes a rectangular frame-shaped wooden outer frame 1 that is detachably mounted on an island structure, and a front frame 3 that is pivotably mounted via a hinge 2 fixed to the outer frame 1. It is configured. A game board 5 is detachably attached to the front frame 3 from the front side, not from the back side, and a glass door 6 and a front plate 7 are pivotally attached to the front side so as to be openable and closable.

  On the outer periphery of the glass door 6, an electric lamp such as an LED lamp is arranged in a substantially C shape. On the other hand, a speaker is disposed below the glass door 6.

  The front plate 7 is provided with an upper plate 8 for storing game balls for launching, and a lower plate 9 for storing game balls overflowing or extracted from the upper plate 8 and a launch handle at the lower part of the front frame 3. 10 are provided. The launch handle 10 is interlocked with the launch motor, and a game ball is launched by a striking rod that operates according to the rotation angle of the launch handle 10.

  A chance button 11 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the upper plate 8. The chance button 11 is provided at a position where it can be operated with the left hand of the player, and the player can operate the chance button 11 without releasing the right hand from the firing handle 10. The chance button 11 does not function normally, but when the game state becomes the button chance state, the built-in lamp is turned on and can be operated. The button chance state is a game state provided as necessary.

  On the right side of the upper plate 8, an operation panel 12 for ball lending operation with respect to the card-type ball lending machine is provided, a frequency display unit for displaying the remaining amount of the card with a three-digit number, and a ball of game balls for a predetermined amount A ball lending switch for instructing lending and a return switch for instructing to return the card at the end of the game are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a guide rail 13 made of a metal outer rail and an inner rail is provided in an annular shape on the surface of the game board 5, and a central opening HO extending toward the back side is provided in the approximate center. It has been. A display device DISP composed of a liquid crystal color display is arranged at the bottom of the central opening HO.

  In addition, an effect movable body AMU (see FIGS. 6 to 7) is arranged to be movable up and down in a space formed in front of the display device DISP. The effect movable body AMU includes a fixed member FIX that is held up and down by being held by the lifting mechanism ALV, and a rotating member ROT that is supported and rotated by the fixed member FIX. In the normal state, the effect movable body AMU stands by in a state of being lifted by the lifting mechanism ALV.

  A symbol starting port 15, a big winning port 16, a normal winning port 17, and a gate 18 are arranged at appropriate positions in the game area 5a. Each of these winning openings 15 to 18 has a detection switch inside, and can detect the passage of a game ball.

  The display device DISP is a device that variably displays a specific symbol related to the big hit state and displays a background image and various characters in an animated manner. This display device DISP has a special symbol display part Da to Dc in the center and a normal symbol display part 19 in the upper right part. And, in the special symbol display parts Da to Dc, a reach effect is executed that expects a big hit state to be invited, or in the special symbol display parts Da to Dc and the surroundings, a notice effect that informs the result of the success / failure is executed. Is done.

  The normal symbol display unit 19 displays a normal symbol. When a game ball that has passed through the gate 18 is detected, the normal symbol fluctuates for a predetermined time, and the lottery extracted at the time when the game ball passes through the gate 18 is extracted. The stop symbol determined by the random number for use is displayed and stopped.

  For example, the symbol start opening 15 is configured to be opened and closed by an electric tulip having a pair of left and right opening and closing claws, and when the stop symbol after the fluctuation of the normal symbol display unit 19 hits and the symbol is displayed, the opening and closing claws are displayed. It is opened only for a predetermined time or until a predetermined number of game balls are detected.

  When a game ball wins the symbol start port 15, the display symbols of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc change for a predetermined time and are determined based on the lottery result corresponding to the winning timing of the game ball to the symbol start port 15. Stop at the stop symbol. In addition, in special symbol display parts Da-Dc and its circumference, a notice effect may be performed between a series of symbol effects. In addition, as a kind of notice effect, the effect movable body AMU may descend to the position of the central opening HO. Then, the lowered effect movable body AMU is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise and then raised to the original position.

  The big winning opening 16 is controlled to open and close by, for example, an opening / closing plate 16a that can be opened forward, but when the stop symbol after the symbol change of the special symbol display portions Da to Dc is a big hit symbol such as “777”, the “big hit game” Is started, and the opening / closing plate 16a is opened.

  After the opening / closing plate 16a of the big prize opening 16 is opened, the opening / closing plate 16a is closed when a predetermined time elapses or when a predetermined number (for example, 10) of game balls wins. In such an operation, the special game is continued up to 15 times, for example, and is controlled in a state advantageous to the player. In addition, when the stop symbol after the change of the special symbol display parts Da to Dc is a specific symbol of the special symbols, a privilege that the game after the end of the special game is in a high probability state is given.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overall circuit configuration of the pachinko machine GM of the present embodiment. A one-dot broken line arrow in the figure mainly indicates a DC voltage line.

  As shown in the figure, this pachinko machine GM includes a power supply board 20 that receives AC 24V and outputs various DC voltages, a system reset signal SYS, etc., a main control board 21 that plays a central role in game control operations, and a main control board. An effect control board 22 that executes a lamp effect and an audio effect based on the control command CMD received from the control board 21; a liquid crystal control board 23 that drives the display device DISP based on the control command CMD ′ received from the effect control board 22; Based on a control command CMD "received from the main control board 21, a payout control board 24 for controlling the payout motor M to pay out the game ball, and a launch control board 25 for firing the game ball in response to the player's operation, , It is structured around.

  However, in this embodiment, the control command CMD output from the main control board 21 is transmitted to the effect control board 22 via the command relay board 26 and the effect interface board 27. Further, the control command CMD ′ output from the effect control board 22 is transmitted to the liquid crystal control board 23 via the effect interface board 27, and the control command CMD ″ output from the main control board 21 is set to the main board relay board 28. Is transmitted to the payout control board 24. The effect interface board 27 and the effect control board 22 are directly connected by a connector without using a cable.

  The main control board 21, the effect control board 22, the liquid crystal control board 23, and the payout control board 24 are each equipped with a computer circuit including a one-chip microcomputer. Accordingly, the circuits mounted on the control boards 21 to 24 and the operations realized by the circuits are collectively referred to as a function. In this specification, the main control unit 21, the effect control unit 22, and the liquid crystal control unit 23 are used. , And the payout control unit 24. All or part of the effect control unit 22, the liquid crystal control unit 23, and the payout control unit 24 is a sub-control unit.

  By the way, the pachinko machine GM is roughly divided into a frame side member GM1 surrounded by a broken line in FIG. 3 and a board side member GM2 fixed to the back of the game board 5. The frame side member GM1 includes a front frame 3 on which a glass door 6 and a front plate 7 are pivotally attached, and a wooden outer frame 1 on the outside thereof. Is fixedly installed. On the other hand, the board side member GM2 is replaced in response to the model change, and a new board side member GM2 is attached to the frame side member GM1 instead of the original board side member. All except the frame side member GM1 is the panel side member GM2.

  3, the frame side member GM1 includes a power supply board 20, a payout control board 24, a launch control board 25, a frame relay board 32, an external terminal board OT, and a ball lending machine UT. Interface board IF, and these circuit boards are respectively fixed at appropriate positions of the front frame 3. On the other hand, on the back of the game board 5, a main control board 21, an effect control board 22, and a liquid crystal control board 23 are fixed together with the display device DISP and other circuit boards. And the frame side member GM1 and the board | substrate side member GM2 are electrically connected by the connection connectors CN1-CN4 concentratedly arranged in one place.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the power supply board 20 is connected to the main board relay board 28 through the connection connector CN2, and is connected to the power supply relay board 30 through the connection connector CN3. The main board relay board 28 outputs the system reset signal SYS, the RAM clear signal, the voltage drop signal, the backup power supply, DC12V, and DC32V received from the power board 20 to the main controller 21 as they are. Similarly, the power supply relay board 30 also outputs the system reset signal SYS received from the power supply board 20 and the AC and DC power supply voltages to the effect interface board 27 as they are. The production interface board 27 outputs the received system reset signal SYS to the production control unit 22 and the liquid crystal control unit 23 as they are.

  On the other hand, the payout control board 24 is directly connected to the power supply board 20 without going through the relay board, and receives the same system reset signal SYS, RAM clear signal, voltage drop signal, backup power supply as the main control unit 21 receives. Directly with other power supply voltages.

  Here, the system reset signal SYS output from the power supply board 20 is a signal indicating that the AC power supply 24V is supplied to the power supply board 20, and the one-chip microcomputer or other IC element of each of the control units 21 to 24 by this signal. The power is reset. The RAM clear signal received from the power supply board 20 by the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 is a signal that determines whether or not to initialize all areas of the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcomputer of each control unit 21 and 24. Thus, it has a value corresponding to the ON / OFF state of the initialization switch operated by the staff.

  The voltage drop signal received from the power supply board 20 by the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 is a signal indicating that the AC power supply 24V has started to drop. By receiving this voltage drop signal, each control unit 21, In 24, a necessary termination process is started prior to a power failure or business termination. The backup power source is a DC 5V DC power source that retains data in the built-in RAM of the one-chip microcomputer of the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 even after the AC power source 24V is shut off due to business termination or power failure. Therefore, the main control unit 21 and the payout control unit 24 can resume the game operation before power-off after power-on (power backup function). This pachinko machine is designed to retain the stored contents of the RAM of each one-chip microcomputer for at least several days.

  On the other hand, the effect control unit 22 and the liquid crystal control unit 23 are not provided with the power supply backup function described above. However, the system reset signal SYS is commonly supplied to the effect control unit 22 and the liquid crystal control unit 23, and the power reset operation is realized at a timing substantially synchronized with the other control units 21 and 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the effect interface board 27 includes a command relay board 26, a power supply relay board 30, a frame relay board 31, an effect control board 22, a lamp connection board 34, and a liquid crystal control board 23. Are connected to the inverter board 33.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the effect control unit 22 stores a one-chip microcomputer 40 that executes processing such as a sound effect, a lamp effect, a notice effect by an effect movable body, and data transfer, a control program for the one-chip microcomputer 40, and the like. EPROM 41 to be played, an audio reproduction output circuit 42 for reproducing and outputting an audio signal based on an instruction from the one-chip microcomputer 40, and an audio memory 43 for storing compressed audio data which is original data of the audio signal to be reproduced And a watchdog timer WDT.

  The one-chip microcomputer 40 includes a parallel input / output port PIO. The parallel port PIO also outputs drive data Φ1 to Φ4 for causing the effect movable body AMU to function together with the control command CMD ′ and the strobe signal STB ′. The effect movable body AMU is moved up and down by a lift motor MOa constituting the lift mechanism ALV, and is driven to rotate by a rotary motor MOb disposed on the fixed member FIX. The elevating motor MOa and the rotating motor MOb are composed of stepping motors and are driven via driver circuits 45A and 45B, respectively. Further, an origin switch ORG is provided in relation to the rotary motor MOb, and the switch signal SN is input to the parallel port PIO.

  The watchdog timer WDT is reset by a clear pulse periodically supplied from the one-chip microcomputer 40. When the clear pulse is interrupted due to a program runaway or the like, a reset signal RESET is output. As a result, the one-chip microcomputer 40 is forcibly reset to the initial state, and the program runaway state is solved.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the control command CMD and the strobe signal (interrupt signal) STB output from the main control board 21 are sent to the one-chip microcomputer 40 of the presentation control board 22 via the buffer 48 of the presentation interface board 27. Have been supplied. The interrupt signal STB is supplied to the interrupt terminal INT of the one-chip microcomputer. Then, the effect control unit 22 acquires the control command CMD by the reception interrupt process activated by the strobe signal STB.

  In addition to (a) error notification and other notification control commands, the control command CMD acquired by the effect control unit 22 includes (b) control for specifying an outline of various effect operations resulting from winning at the symbol start opening. Commands (variation pattern commands) are included. Here, the outline of the production operation specified by the variation pattern command includes the production total time from the production start to the production end, and the result of winning or failing in the big hit lottery. In addition to these, the change pattern command including the presence or absence of the reach effect or the notice effect may be specified, but even in this case, the specific content of the effect content is not specified.

  Therefore, when the effect control unit 22 acquires the variation pattern command CMD, the effect lottery is subsequently performed, and the effect outline specified by the acquired variation pattern command is further specified.

  For example, the specific contents of the reach effect and the notice effect are determined. Then, in accordance with the determined specific game content, a lamp effect by blinking the LED group or the like and a sound effect preparation operation by the speaker are performed, and the liquid crystal control unit 23 is synchronized with the effect operation by the lamp or the speaker. The control command CMD ′ related to the rendered symbol effect is output. Further, at the time of the advance notice operation using the production movable body AMU, the rotary motor MOb is rotated after the elevating motor MOa is rotated.

  It should be noted that at the timing when the elevating motor MOa is rotated, drive control to the rotary motor MOb is also started, and the rotary motor MOb changes from a non-drive state in which free rotation is possible to a drive state in which a stationary posture is maintained. Therefore, even if the effect movable body AMU is moved up and down quickly, there is no possibility that the horizontal posture of the effect movable object AMU is broken when stopped.

  In order to realize such a design effect synchronized with the effect operation, the effect control unit 22 outputs a control command CMD ′ to the effect interface board 27 together with a strobe signal (interrupt signal) STB ′ for the liquid crystal control unit 23. . When the notification control command related to the display device and other control commands are received, the effect control unit 22 outputs the control command to the effect interface board 27 together with the interrupt signal STB ′.

  Corresponding to the configuration of the effect control board 22 described above, the effect interface board 27 is configured to receive an 8-bit control command CMD 'and a 1-bit interrupt signal STB'. These data CMD ′ and STB ′ are output to the liquid crystal control board 23 as they are via the buffer circuit 46. The effect interface board 27 receives the lamp driving signal output from the effect control unit 22 and supplies the signal to the LED lamp group via the lamp connection board 34. As a result, a lamp effect corresponding to the control command CMD output from the main control unit 21 is realized.

  FIG. 5A is a circuit diagram showing a connection relationship between the driver circuit 45B mounted on the effect control board 22 and the rotary motor MOb. The rotary motor MOb is configured by, for example, a two-phase excited stepping motor, and the driver circuit 45B is configured to include a Darlington-connected transistor Tr and a damper diode Dp. In this embodiment, the rotary member ROT geared to the rotary motor MOb rotates at a 360/245 ° pitch, and when the rotary motor MOb receives 245-step drive pulses Φ1 to Φ4, the rotary member ROT is rotated. Will rotate once.

  The rotational speed of the rotary motor MOb increases in proportion to the drive speed at which the drive pulses Φ1 to Φ4 are changed, while the rotational torque of the rotary motor MOb decreases corresponding to the rotational speed. In order to increase the rotation speed, it is necessary to rapidly change the excitation current flowing in the excitation coils Lx and Ly of the rotary motor MOb. However, the rotation is caused by the inertia due to the magnetic energy accumulated in the excitation coils Lx and Ly. This is because the contributing excitation current is substantially reduced.

  In the present embodiment, an origin switch ORG that detects that the rotation axis AX of the rotary motor MOb has reached the origin position is disposed. Therefore, even if the rotational torque of the rotary motor MOb is insufficient with respect to the effect member ROT, the effect member ROT can be rotated exactly once. That is, if the rotational torque of the rotary motor MOb is insufficient, the 245-step drive pulse may not be able to rotate the effect member ROT exactly once. However, by providing the origin switch ORG, the rotation angle It is not necessary to control 360 ° with the number of steps of the driving pulse. In this embodiment, since the rotational torque is reduced by the amount that the rotational speed is increased by the gear coupling, it is significant to provide the origin switch ORG.

  Specifically, the origin switch ORG is composed of a photo interrupter PH having a light emitting part and a light receiving part, and a light shielding piece SHi that blocks inspection light emitted from the light emitting part. Note that the light emitting unit is configured by a photodiode, and the light receiving unit is configured by a phototransistor (see FIG. 5B). Therefore, the detection switch signal SN is normally at the L level (OFF level) as the output of the phototransistor, but is at the H level (ON level) when the origin position is detected and light is blocked.

  However, the ON level detection switch signal SN has a predetermined pulse width corresponding to the plate width of the light shielding piece SHi (see FIG. 7B). In this embodiment, the inspection signal is blocked by the light shielding piece SHi within a range of about ± 30.9 ° with respect to the original origin position. As described above, since the step angle of the rotating member ROT is 360/245 °, the origin detection state is established while about ± 21 steps from the true origin position and the drive pulse is supplied.

  By the way, the origin switch ORG arranged on the game board may be subjected to mechanical vibration due to a player's operation or the like. For example, the possibility that an excited player may hit a gaming machine cannot be denied. In such a case, chattering may occur at the rising edge or the falling edge of the detection signal SN due to a slight change in the positional relationship between the photo interrupter PH and the light shielding piece SHi. In addition, since the detection switch signal SN is transmitted to the effect control board 22 through a relatively long transmission path, chattering may occur in this sense.

  Here, the latter chattering that occurs in an electronic circuit is solved by matching the characteristic impedance of the transmission line and the termination resistance in the production control board, but the former chattering that occurs mechanically, It cannot be resolved without taking the measures adopted in this embodiment. The chattering countermeasure adopted by this embodiment will be described later.

  6-8 is drawing which shows the structure of effect movable body AMU. As shown in FIG. 6A, the effect movable body AMU is composed of a fixed member FIX that holds the rotation motor MOb and a rotation member ROT that is rotated by being coupled to the rotation motor MOb. The drive gear G1 is fixed to the drive shaft of the rotation motor MOb, and the driven gear G2 is fixed to the rotation shaft AX of the rotation member ROT.

  In this embodiment, the speed increasing operation is realized by setting the gear ratio N: 1 of the drive gear G1 and the driven gear G2 to N> 1. Therefore, a relatively fast rotating operation can be realized by the small rotating motor MOb. However, it is also preferable to set N <1 to realize a deceleration operation and increase the rotational torque.

  The left and right ends of the fixing member FIX are held by a lifting mechanism ALV (not shown). Therefore, when the elevating motor MOa (not shown) rotates, the fixing member FIX is raised and lowered while maintaining a horizontal state. Further, a permanent magnet MG1 is arranged on one side (left side in front view) of the fixing member FIX.

  On the other hand, the rotating member ROT is configured to rotate integrally with a rotation shaft AX that is driven to rotate, and the base end of the rotating shaft AX is pivotally supported by the fixed member FIX. Further, the rotating member ROT is provided with a magnetic body MG2 at a position facing the permanent magnet MG1 of the fixed member FIX. Therefore, the permanent magnet MG1 and the magnetic body MG2 are attracted to each other, and as a result, the horizontal posture of the rotating member ROT is stabilized by the magnetic attraction force (magnetization force). At the start of the rotation effect, the rotary motor MOb is in a driving state that maintains a stationary state.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the rotating member ROT in the horizontal posture is securely held by the magnetic force or the like, the rotating member ROT can be moved up and down quickly regardless of the inertial force at the time of stopping even if the effect movable body AMU is quickly raised and lowered. The horizontal posture of the will not collapse. However, when the rotation of the rotating member ROT is started, a starting torque exceeding the magnetic adhesion force is required. In this embodiment, the torque is applied in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front in the stationary state (horizontal posture) due to the relationship of the gear coupling and the magnetic body MG2. A larger starting torque is required than when rotating clockwise. Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, the clockwise rotation that requires a large starting torque is the reverse direction, and the counterclockwise rotation is the forward direction (FIG. 10B). )reference).

  As shown in FIG. 7B, a light shielding piece SHi is mounted on the rotation axis AX, and an origin switch ORG is configured by arranging a photointerrupter PH on the rotation path of the light shielding piece SHi. When the rotating member ROT is in the horizontal posture, the light shielding piece SHi is positioned at the origin and the origin switch ORG is turned on (FIG. 7B), but when the rotating member ROT rotates (see FIG. 7C). ), The origin switch ORG is turned off. However, as described above, the origin switch is maintained in the ON state in the range of about ± 31 ° from the accurate horizontal posture from the plate width of the light shielding piece SHi and the light receiving characteristics of the photo interrupter PH.

  The horizontal posture of the rotating member ROT is held by the magnetic force of the two magnetic bodies MG1 and MG2, but when the rotating member ROT starts to rotate, the range where the magnetic force is actually applied is that the origin switch ORG is ON. The range is narrower than the state range (see FIG. 5B). That is, if the origin switch ORG is in the OFF state, it can be considered that no magnetic force is acting between the fixed member FIX and the rotating member ROT. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the rotating member ROT is rotated 90 ° in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front from the horizontal posture.

  9 to 10 are flowcharts for explaining the operation content of the effect control unit 22 that realizes the effect operation of the effect movable body AMU described above.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the operation of the effect control unit 22 includes a main process (a) started after power-on, a timer interrupt process (b) activated every 4 mS, and an effect movable body activated every 2 mS. A timer interrupt process (c) for controlling the operation of the AMU and a reception interrupt process (not shown) activated by the strobe signal STB are executed. FIG. 9D shows the details of the received command analysis process.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, in the main process, after the initial setting inside the one-chip microcomputer 40 is executed (ST1), the necessary initial setting is executed for the audio reproduction output circuit 42 (ST2). Thereafter, the CPU of the one-chip microcomputer 40 is set to the interrupt permitting state (ST3), and a timer interrupt at an interval of 4 mS is waited (ST4).

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the interrupt flag INT is set every time a timer interrupt occurs at intervals of 4 ms (ST9). Therefore, in the process of step ST4 of the main process, the interrupt flag INT is repeatedly set to 1. Will be checked. When the interrupt flag INT = 1, the received command analysis process is executed (ST6) after resetting the interrupt flag (ST5).

  The received command includes a variation pattern command, a notice effect command, a notification control command, and the like. Therefore, in the received command analysis processing, as shown in FIG. 9D, first, it is determined whether or not a variation pattern command is newly received (ST10). An effect lottery that specifically specifies the contents is executed (ST12). Then, an initial setting process is executed for the production scenario to be executed (ST13). In addition, when a notice effect command is received, initial setting is made for the notice effect scenario (ST11, ST13). The notice effect includes an effect of rotating the effect movable body AMU. The effect scenario initially set in this way is advanced at intervals of 4 mS in the main process together with other lamp effect processes (ST7 to ST8).

  In parallel with the main process, the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 9C is executed every 2 mS. When a timer interrupt occurs at intervals of 2 mS, it is first determined whether or not it is time to start the effect of the effect movable body AMU (ST20). If it is the rotation start timing, the motor operation flag FLG is set to 1 (ST21), and then the pointer PT is initialized to specify the corresponding column of the rotation control table TBL (ST22). In this embodiment, since each row of the rotation control table TBL is composed of N bytes, the initial value of the pointer PT is set to START-N for the first row (START) of the corresponding column.

  In addition, during the production of the production movable body AMU, the initial level drive data Φ1 to Φ4 are continuously supplied to the rotary motor MOb until the actual rotation operation is started, so that the horizontal posture of the rotary member ROT is strong. Maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the rotation control table TBL specifically specifies the rotation effect of the effect movable body AMU, and specifies the rotation speed, the rotation direction, the rotation angle, and the like. The rotation control table TBL is partitioned by EOF (end of file) data, and specifies the rotation speed SPD of the effect movable body AMU, the upper limit value TMR of the rotation angle, and the rotation mode (status) STS.

  Here, the status value STS is 8 bits long, and as shown in FIG. 9E, a QUT operation (quiet) that means a stop state and a PO_ED operation that continues to rotate until the rising edge of the switch signal SN is detected. (positive edge), NG_ED operation (negative edge) that continues to rotate until the falling edge of the switch signal SN is detected, and CONT operation (continuous) that continues to rotate regardless of the ON / OFF state of the switch signal SN, It is specified by the upper 2 bits of the status value STS.

  Also, in the lower 2 bits of the status value STS, the STP operation (Stop) indicating the stop state, the FR operation (Forward) indicating the forward rotation, and the RV operation (Reverse) indicating the reverse rotation are specified. Has been.

  For example, in the first row of FIG. 11, the NG_ED operation and the FR operation are instructed by the status value STS. Further, it is specified that the speed value SPD is 12/2 and the timer upper limit value TMR is 200. Therefore, the first line is (a) rotating in the forward direction with the speed value SPD = 6 until the timer upper limit value TMR = 200. However, (b) if the switch signal SN falls in the middle, Therefore, it is prescribed that the operation of the first row is finished at that timing. The speed value SPD becomes slower as the value increases.

  The second line in FIG. 11 defines the operation following the first line, and the speed value SPD = 4 in the forward direction until the timer upper limit value TMR = 10, regardless of whether the switch signal SN is ON / OFF. It means to rotate. The subsequent operation is also interpreted in the same way. In the third line, (a) the motor rotates in the forward direction at the speed value SPD = 2 until the timer upper limit value TMR = 400, but (b) the switch signal It is stipulated that when the SN rises, the operation of the third row is finished at that timing. As shown in FIG. 5C, in this embodiment, the rotating member ROT rotates once in response to the driving pulses Φ1 to Φ4 of 245 steps. Therefore, the operation of the third row described above is the effect movable body AMU. Is rotated almost once and returned to the vicinity of the origin.

  In the following fourth row, it is specified that the motor rotates in the forward direction at the speed value SPD = 2 until the timer upper limit value TMR = 21 regardless of whether the switch signal SN is ON / OFF. As shown in FIG. 5B, in this embodiment, since the switch signal is turned on in the range of the drive pulse ± 21 steps centering on the origin position, the effect movable body AMU is moved by the operation in the fourth row. In this case, the initial position is determined.

  The following fifth line stipulates that the stop operation is continued until the timer upper limit value TMR = 250. In this stop operation, the drive pulses Φ1 to Φ4 of the same level are continuously supplied to the rotary motor MOb for a predetermined time (1 second = 4 * 250 mS), which is combined with the magnetizing force by the magnetic bodies MG1 and MG2. The movable body AMU can be reliably maintained in a horizontal posture. Therefore, for example, even if the effect movable body AMU is rapidly raised, the horizontal posture does not shift.

  Note that since the EOF data is stored in the sixth row, there is no further drive operation, and after the operation in the fifth row, the rotary motor MOb maintains the non-drive state.

  To summarize the above operations, first, forward rotation is started at a low speed (SPD = 6) from the origin position where the origin switch ORG is ON, and then when the origin switch ORG is turned OFF, the rotational speed is slightly increased (SPD = 4) After a little forward rotation, the rotation speed is further increased (SPD = 2), and the rotation is made to the origin position at that speed. FIG. 5C illustrates this relationship. A state is shown in which the CONT operation (continuous) is executed slightly after the forward rotation from the origin position HP is detected and the falling edge of the switch signal SN is detected.

  The rotation control table TBL in FIG. 11 defines various types of rotation effect operations of the effect movable body AMU. In this way, in this embodiment, the production movable body AMU is started and rotated at a low speed, so that it can be started at a high torque (see FIG. 5 (a)), and the stationary magnet can be brought into a stationary state by increasing the magnetizing force of the permanent magnet. Even if it stabilizes, there will be no problems at start-up.

  Further, since the CONT operation is always executed as a transient operation or an end operation after the switch signal is changed, no malfunction occurs regardless of the occurrence of chattering. This point will be further described later in connection with the description of FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the motor processing (ST23) shown in FIG. 9D in more detail. In the motor processing, first, it is determined whether or not the value of the motor operation flag FLG is 1 (ST31). If FLG = 0, the processing is ended as it is. The motor operation flag FLG is set to 1 in the process of step ST21 at the start of the rotation effect.

  Therefore, when the motor operation flag FLG = 1, it is determined whether or not the value of the rotation time variable TMR is zero (ST32). Here, the rotation time variable TMR is updated (decremented) every 2 mS in the process of step ST49 after the timer upper limit value of the rotation control table TBL is set in the process of step ST34.

  If it is determined in step ST32 that TMR = 0, the value of the pointer PT indicating the corresponding row of the rotation control table TBL is updated in the forward direction (ST33). Next, necessary data is read from the corresponding row of the rotation control table TBL indicated by the pointer PT, and each variable is initialized (ST34). Specifically, a speed value is set in the rotation speed variable SPD, a timer upper limit value is set in the rotation time variable TMR, and a status value is set in the status variable STS.

  Next, if the value set in the rotation speed variable SPD is EOF data, the motor operation flag FLG is set to zero, clear data is output to the driver circuit 45B, and the process ends (ST35, ST36). As a result, the rotary motor MOb is not driven and the stop torque disappears. However, in the present embodiment, the horizontal posture of the rotating member ROT and the fixed member FIX are magnetized by the magnetic bodies MG1 and MG2, so that the horizontal posture of the rotating member ROT will not collapse.

  On the other hand, if SPD ≠ EOF, rotational speed variable SPD is determined again (ST37), and if rotational speed variable SPD = 0, the value of the lower 2 bits of status variable STS is determined (ST38). The presence / absence of rotation and the rotation direction are specified by the lower two bits of the status variable STS (see FIGS. 9E and 10B), so that the rotation motor MOb corresponds to the specified rotation direction. The drive data Φ1 to Φ4 to be output are updated (ST39, ST40). When the stop operation STP is instructed, the update process of the drive data Φ1 to Φ4 is skipped.

  Subsequently, the updated or maintained values of the drive data Φ1 to Φ4 are transferred to the output buffer (ST41). Further, in the rotation control table TBL, the speed value indicated by the pointer PT is initially set in the rotation speed variable SPD (ST42). Next, the value of the rotation speed variable SPD is decremented by 2 (ST43). Here, the reason why the rotation speed variable SPD is decreased by 2 is that the motor processing is started every 2 mS.

  In this embodiment, (a) the rotation speed variable SPD is decreased by 2 every 2 ms, and (b) the drive data Φ1 to Φ4 are updated every time the rotation speed variable SPD becomes zero (ST37 to ST41). The speed variable SPD defines the rotation speed of the effect movable body AMU.

  For example, in the starting operation initially set to SPD = 12/2, the drive data Φ1 to Φ4 are updated once every 12 mS. In this embodiment, since the step angle θ of the rotating member ROT is 360/245 °, the effect movable body AMU is started at a low speed that makes one revolution in 2.94 seconds (= 12 * 245). become. As described above, high speed driving torque is exhibited by this low speed rotation and the magnetic bodies MG1 and MG2 can be smoothly detached from the restraint.

  When the update process for the rotational speed variable SPD having such significance is completed (ST43), the upper 2 bits of the status variable STS are determined (ST44). Depending on the upper 2 bits, either a QUT operation that means a stop state, a PO_ED operation that continues to rotate until the rising edge of the switch signal SN is detected, an NG_ED operation that continues to rotate until a falling edge of the switch signal SN is detected, or a switch signal Whether the CONT operation rotates regardless of whether the SN is ON or OFF is specified (see FIGS. 9E and 10B).

  Therefore, when the NG_ED operation for detecting the falling edge is instructed, the switch signal SN of the origin switch ORG is determined (ST46), and in the OFF state, the rotation time variable TMR is cleared to zero ( ST48). Conversely, when switch signal SN is in the ON state, rotation time variable TMR that is initially set to the timer upper limit value is decremented (ST49).

  If the PO_ED operation for detecting the rising edge is instructed, the switch signal SN of the origin switch ORG is determined (ST45), and if it is in the ON state, the rotation time variable TMR is cleared to zero (ST47). ). On the contrary, when the switch signal SN is in the OFF state, the rotation time variable TMR initially set to the timer upper limit value is decremented (ST49). Note that even when a QUT operation meaning a stop state or a CONT operation meaning unconditional rotation is instructed, the rotation time variable TMR initially set to the stop time or rotation time is decremented (ST49).

  Then, the drive data Φ1 to Φ4 stored in the output buffer in the process of step ST41 are output to the driver circuit 45B, thereby generating a drive pulse. The rotating motor MOb that has received the updated driving pulse rotates by the step angle of the stepping motor, and the rotating member ROT that is gear-coupled to the rotating motor MOb rotates by the unit angle θ = 360/245 °.

  By the way, as is apparent from the processing in step ST47 and step ST48, in the PO_ED operation and NG_ED operation, a sufficiently large numerical value is initially set in the rotation time variable TMR, and when the level of the switch signal SN changes, rotation is performed at that timing. The time variable TMR is cleared to zero. When the rotation time variable TMR becomes zero, the reference row of the rotation control table TBL advances (ST33). Therefore, if chattering occurs at the rising edge or the falling edge, the reference row of the rotation control table TBL may be skipped without being executed.

  However, in this embodiment, a 10-step CONT operation (unconditional rotation operation) is always provided after edge detection. Therefore, since the rotation operation is continued regardless of the level of the switch signal SN, even if chattering occurs, the reference row of the rotation control table TBL is not skipped. In other words, after the edge is detected, the transient rotation and the end rotation are executed by the “CONT, FR operation” and “CONT, RV operation” in FIG. 11, so that the rotation operation as designed can be correctly realized.

  Here, if the unconditional rotation operation (CONT) is too short, the influence of chattering may not be avoided. On the other hand, if the unconditional rotation operation (CONT) is too long, the original edge to be detected thereafter may be missed.

  According to the inventor's experiment based on this point, it is confirmed that the origin sensor ORG is not displaced by ± 5 ° or more (± 3.4 steps for the drive pulse), no matter how strongly the game machine is hit. It was. Therefore, the rotation angle β of the effect movable body AMU to be rotated by the CONT operation should be 10 ≦ β, and when this is converted into the number of steps NUM, 7 ≦ NUM is obtained. The value is set to NUM = 10 or more within a range where the original edge to be detected is not likely to be missed.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described concretely, the concrete description content does not specifically limit this invention. For example, in the embodiment, the effect movable body AMU is rotationally driven in the effect control unit 22, but it is needless to say that the effect interface board and the main control board may be driven to rotate instead of this configuration.

  Moreover, although the rotation effect which has the rotation member ROT was illustrated in the Example, it is also suitable to perform a movable effect using a rack and a pinion, for example. In this case, the pinion is rotationally driven by the rotary motor MOb, and the movable body is connected to the rack that meshes with the pinion. And a movable production | presentation is performed because this movable body moves.

  In any embodiment, the game machine that executes the movable effect is not limited to the ball game machine, and the present invention can be suitably applied to a slot machine or the like.

ORG detection means FIX fixed member ROT rotation member AMU production movable body GM game machine

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a gaming machine capable of performing an effect operation corresponding to a result of a predetermined lottery process using an effect movable body, and the effect movable body is driven by a rotary motor. And a movable member that moves, and a detection member that can detect the position of the movable member. The movable member is moved from a predetermined position where the detection level of the detection member is a first level to a target position. In the case of moving, starting means for defining a set value exceeding the moving distance from the predetermined position to the target position and starting the moving operation, and then repeatedly detecting the detection member in response to the movement of the movable member. determination to, before reaching the set value, it is determined that the detection level reaches changing the target position from the first level to the second level, is constructed by providing a shifting unit for shifting the subsequent processing, the Yes .

Claims (10)

It is determined whether or not to shift to a game state advantageous to the player through a predetermined lottery process, and whether or not to shift to the advantageous game state after performing the rendering operation corresponding to the result of the lottery process A game machine that determines
The effect operation includes a fixed member held by a base, a movable member that is driven and moved by a rotary motor held by the fixed member, and a detection that detects a reference position of the movable member when the rotary motor rotates. Means, and
When the detection level of the detection means changes, at least the subsequent predetermined angle β is provided with avoidance means for ignoring the malfunction by ignoring the change of the detection level and continuing the rotation of the rotary motor. A featured gaming machine.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the reference position is configured to be detected only once with respect to an operation of one cycle of the movable member.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the detection range of the reference position is set to be equal to or more than twice the predetermined angle β when this is evaluated based on a rotation angle of the rotary motor.   The detecting means is a light sensor that has a light emitting unit that emits inspection light and a light receiving unit that receives the inspection light, and a light shield that rotates integrally with the rotary motor and blocks the inspection light in the detection range. The gaming machine according to claim 3, comprising a piece.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, further comprising a holding unit that stabilizes a stationary state of the rotary motor at a substantially central position of the detection range.   The gaming machine according to claim 5, wherein the holding means is constituted by a permanent magnet disposed on at least one of the fixed member and the movable member.   The said effect movable body is comprised by the gear coupling of the drive gear rotated by the said rotation motor arrange | positioned at the said fixed member, and the driven gear which rotates integrally with the said movable member. A gaming machine according to any one of the above.   The gaming machine according to claim 7, wherein the movable member is accelerated from a rotational speed of the rotary motor motor based on a gear ratio of the gear coupling. A main control unit that comprehensively controls the game operation including the lottery process, and a sub-control unit that executes the rendering operation based on a control command from the main control unit;
The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the movable effect is executed based on the control command in the sub-control unit.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the base body is configured to be reciprocally movable in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction.