JP2013212265A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine which not only performs novel performance actions by the minimum consumption of a memory space but also is smooth in action after the performance actions.SOLUTION: By executing appropriate notice performance prior to the stop of a rotating body, a state of internal winning can be suggested, and a management flag RESET for managing the progress of the notice performance is provided. While the notice performance is made to progress on condition that the management flag RESET maintains an initial value, the notice performance ends without transferring to a successively executable action or transfer to the notice performance at the next stage is performed when the management flag RESET is changed to a prescribed value.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic game machine with a built-in computer device, and is particularly preferably applied to a spinning game machine.

  In a spinning machine such as a slot machine, when a player inserts a medal into a medal slot and operates a start lever, the rotation of the rotating reel is started accordingly. When the player presses the stop button to stop the rotating reel, when the symbols are aligned on an effective stop line (hereinafter referred to as an effective line), a payout medal corresponding to the symbol is paid out.

  However, in reality, the success / failure state of each game is determined in advance by an internal lottery process (hereinafter also referred to as a symbol lottery process) in the main control unit before the player starts the stop operation. The payout medal is paid out when the player arranges the symbols won in the lottery process on the active line.

  Of the winning symbols, the combination of big bonus (BB) symbols is particularly valuable. When the player wins the BB role internally and the player aligns the BB symbol on the active line, a big bonus game is started. After that, the winning probability of the small role symbol is maintained extremely high. The number of dividend medals can be expected.

  However, since only one or two BB symbols are arranged on each rotating reel (1 / 21-2 / 21 of the entire symbol), in a state that does not know that the BB role is won internally, It is not easy to align the BB symbol with the effective line. Further, it is often not possible to align the small lines other than the BB combination with the effective line unless an appropriate stop timing is taken.

  For this reason, prior to the player's stop operation, a notice effect for notifying the internal winning state may be executed. As the notice effect, for example, an image effect that causes a special character or the like to appear on the liquid crystal display device, an audio notice that outputs a special sound effect during the start lever operation or during the subsequent image effect, or a special form of the LED lamp A lamp effect that flashes with is being executed.

  And it is devised not to make the player get tired by configuring so that the internal winning state can be inferred according to the mode of the notice effect. Further, when the notice effect includes a false notice, the validity (reliability) of the notice effect is changed according to the mode of the notice effect.

JP2012-019902A JP 2012-011096 A JP 2012-005569 A JP 2011-212363 A

  However, in order to entertain a player for a long time, it is desired to perform a production operation such as a novel notice production at an appropriate frequency. However, in this type of gaming machine, the memory space that can be used as a program area and a data area is legally restricted, and therefore it is not possible to execute an effect operation that consumes the memory space indefinitely.

  Also, even if the power is shut off during execution of the notice effect, it is possible to smoothly transition to the subsequent game operation when the power is restored thereafter, or the notice effect is accurately synchronized with other effect operations. It is desirable to have a configuration that can resume the process. Such a request is not limited to when the power is restored, but a configuration is also desired in which the presentation operation can be advanced based on the manual operation of the player at an appropriate timing during the game operation. In addition, this point is the same not only in a revolving game machine but also in a ball game machine.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and can not only execute a novel presentation operation with a minimum consumption of memory space, but also increase the opportunities for players to be involved in the game. The purpose is to provide a machine.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a main process that is repeatedly executed after a CPU reset, and an interrupt process that can measure the lapse of time by being executed by interrupting the main process every predetermined time. A game machine in which the internal winning state is activated when a plurality of rotating bodies stop corresponding to the internal winning state when the internal winning state is in any of a plurality of winning states. In addition, it is possible to suggest an internal winning state by executing an appropriate notice effect prior to the stop of the rotating body, and a management flag for managing the progress of the notice effect is provided, and the management flag has an initial value. While the notice effect is progressed on the condition that it is maintained, if the management flag is changed to a predetermined value, the notice effect ends without shifting to a continuously executable operation, or the next stage Move to notice production To be able to have been constructed.

  Preferably, the memory content after power shutdown is maintained by the backup power supply so that the game operation before power shutdown can be continued after power recovery, and the management flag executes a notice effect at power shutdown On the condition that it has been done, it is preferable that the value is automatically changed to a predetermined value in the initial operation after the power is restored. Further, it is preferable that the management flag is configured to be changed to a predetermined value in response to a player's manual operation executed during the execution of the notice effect. In this case, it is preferable that the manual operation for changing the management flag is repeatedly checked in the interrupt processing.

  The present invention also includes a main control unit that has the main process and the interrupt process to control various operations including a notice effect, and a control command received from the main control unit. When the production is executed, the production control unit is configured to control the production operation corresponding to the production operation. When the management flag is changed to a predetermined value, a control command indicating that is transmitted to the production control unit. It is preferable to perform the necessary operations.

  It is configured to be able to suggest the internal winning state by configuring a notice effect that is one of a plurality of irregular operations or a combination of a plurality of irregular operations for all or part of the rotating body. It is preferable. In this case, it is preferable that the main process is responsible for all of the progression of a series of anomalous actions that realize the notice effect, and whether or not the management flag has been changed is repeatedly determined in the main process.

  In addition, regarding the series of anomalous actions for realizing the notice effect, the main process is in charge of only the initial setting, and the timer interrupt process is in charge of the subsequent series of anomalous actions, and whether the management flag has been changed or not. It is also preferable that the determination is repeated in the main process.

  In the case of a ball game machine, the rotating body is configured to be able to stop without a stop operation by the player.

  According to the above-described present invention, it is possible to realize a gaming machine that can not only execute a novel presentation operation with a minimum consumption of memory space but also increase opportunities for the player to be involved in the game.

It is a front view of the slot machine which concerns on an Example. FIG. 2 is a right side view (a) and a plan view (b) of the slot machine of FIG. 1. It is the figure which illustrated the front panel of the slot machine from the back. It is an internal front view of the main body case of the slot machine. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the slot machine of FIG. 1. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of a main control board. It is a circuit diagram which shows a counter circuit. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of a power supply board. It is a flowchart explaining the main process in a main control part. It is a flowchart explaining a timer interruption process and the NMI interruption process at the time of a power failure. It is drawing explaining the rotation start setting process in a main process, and a rotation control flag. It is drawing explaining the reel production | presentation process and reel production | presentation table which are a part of rotation start setting process. It is drawing explaining a motor operation table and the driving method of a stepping motor. 13 is a flowchart for explaining in detail the reel effect process of FIG. 12. It is a flowchart explaining a part of spinning cylinder rotation control process in a timer interruption process. It is a flowchart explaining the whole rotation control process during a timer interruption process. It is a flowchart explaining another Example about a reel production | presentation process. It is a flowchart explaining another Example about a rotation rotation control process. It is a flowchart explaining a part of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the Example which performs a power interruption monitoring process during a timer interruption process. It is a flowchart explaining another Example about a reel production | presentation process. It is a flowchart explaining another Example about an electric power interruption return process. It is a flowchart explaining another Example about a reel production | presentation process. It is a flowchart explaining another Example about a reel production | presentation process.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on examples. 1 to 4 illustrate a slot machine SL according to an embodiment. In this slot machine SL, a rectangular box-shaped main body case 1 and a front panel 2 fitted with various game members are connected via a hinge 3 so that the front panel 2 can be opened and closed with respect to the main body case 1. (FIG. 2). 1 is a front view of the front panel 2, FIG. 2 is a right side view (a) and a plan view (b) of the slot machine SL, FIG. 3 is a rear view of the front panel 2, and FIG. A front view is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a symbol rotating unit 4 including three rotating reels 4 a to 4 c is disposed in the approximate center of the main body case 1, and a medal payout device 5 is disposed below the symbol rotating unit 4. On each of the rotating reels 4a to 4c, a BB symbol, an RB symbol, various fruit symbols, a replay symbol, and the like are drawn. The medal payout device 5 is provided with a medal hopper 5a for storing medals, a payout motor M, a medal payout control board 55, a payout relay board 63, a payout sensor (not shown), and the like. Here, the medal is derived from the payout opening 5b toward the front of the drawing based on the rotation of the payout motor M. Note that medals stored exceeding the limit amount are configured to fall into the auxiliary tank 6 through the overflow portion 5c.

  A power supply board 62 is arranged adjacent to the medal payout device 5, a main control board 50 is arranged above the symbol rotation unit 4, and a rotating drum setting board 54 is arranged adjacent to the main control board 50. ing. In addition, inside the symbol rotating unit 4, a rotating LED relay substrate 58 and a rotating relay substrate 57 are provided, and an external concentrated terminal plate 56 is disposed adjacent to the symbol rotating unit 4.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid crystal display unit 7 is disposed on the upper portion of the front panel 2. The display unit 7 displays various characters to effectively excite gaming operations. Under the liquid crystal display unit 7, three display windows 8a to 8c corresponding to the rotating reels 4a to 4c are arranged. Through the display windows 8a to 8c, about 3 symbols can be seen in the rotational direction of each of the rotating reels 4a to 4c, and a total of 9 symbols in the horizontal direction and 2 in the diagonal direction. Becomes a virtual stop line.

  On the left side of the display window 8a, an LED group 9 indicating a gaming state is provided. Below that, a payout display unit 10 for displaying the number of medals to be paid out as a gaming result, and the number of medals in a credit state are displayed. The storage number display part 11 to display is provided.

  The payout display unit 10 is configured by connecting two 7-segment LEDs, and specifies the number of payout medals, and also functions as an error indicator that displays abnormal contents when an abnormal situation occurs. .

  In the center of the front panel 2 in the vertical direction, a medal insertion slot 12 for inserting medals is provided, and adjacent thereto, a return button 13 for returning medals filled in the medal insertion slot 12 is provided. Also, a credit check button 14 for paying out a credit medal, an insertion button 15 for artificially inserting one credit medal in place of inserting a medal into the medal slot 12, and a credit medal in a pseudo manner A maximum loading button 16 for loading three sheets is provided.

  Below these game members, a start lever 17 for starting the rotation of the rotating reels 4a to 4c and stop buttons 18a to 18c for stopping the rotating reels 4a to 4c are provided.

  When the player operates the start lever 17, normally, the three rotating reels 4a to 4c start normal rotation in the forward direction. However, at the time of reel production for notifying the internal winning state, all of the rotating reels 4a to 4c or A part starts rotating normally after rotating irregularly.

  In this embodiment, for example, six types of irregular rotations illustrated in FIG. 12A are prepared as reel effects. The specific contents of the production are changed as appropriate. For example, (1) a slow production that rotates very slowly in the forward direction and stops still, and (2) after repeating forward and reverse rotations, the reverse production is performed for a predetermined time. Reverse rotation effect that rotates and stops, (3) Rattle effect 1 that stops after rotating forward and reverse for T1 time, (4) Rattle effect 2 that stops after repeating forward and reverse for T2 time, ( 5) Standing after repeating normal rotation and reverse rotation for T2 time, and further, rattling slow motion that stops very slowly after normal rotation, (6) Stopping after repeating normal rotation and reverse rotation for T2 time, and further, predetermined There are preparations such as a rattling reverse rotation effect that stops after reversing the time.

  At the time of such a reel effect, all or a part of the character effect in the liquid crystal display (LCD) unit 7, the lamp effect that blinks the LED lamp, and the sound effect that drives the speaker is appropriately selected and executed. . A specific method for controlling the reel effect will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a horizontally long tray 19 for storing medals and a medal outlet 20 communicating with the payout port 5 b of the payout device 5 are provided below the front panel 2. Speakers SP are arranged on the left and right sides of the medal outlet 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, on the back side of the front panel 2, a medal selection device 21 that selects medals inserted into the medal insertion port 12, and medals that are determined to be inappropriate by the medal selection device 21, A return passage 22 that guides the vehicle 20 is provided. A substrate case 23 that houses the effect control board 51, the effect interface board 52, the liquid crystal control board 61, and the like is disposed on the upper back side of the front panel 3. A game relay board 53 that relays signals between the various game members shown in FIG. 1 and the main control board 50 is provided on the medal sorting device 21.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of the slot machine SL according to the embodiment. As shown in the figure, this slot machine SL realizes an effect operation based on a main control board 50 that controls the operation of various game members including the rotating reels 4a to 4c and a control command received from the main control board 50. The control board 51 and a power supply board 62 that converts an alternating voltage (24V) into a direct voltage (5V, 12V, 24V) and supplies them to each part of the apparatus are mainly configured.

  The main control board 50 outputs, to the effect control board 51, control commands for realizing the sound effect by the speaker SP, the lamp effect by the LED lamp or the cold cathode ray tube discharge tube, and the symbol effect by the liquid crystal display unit 7. doing. Then, when the production control unit 51 receives a control command (game start command) for specifying the internal lottery result from the main control board 50, the AT lottery for determining whether or not to enter the assist time winning state corresponding to the internal lottery result. Running.

  In addition, when receiving a control command (freeze command) indicating that the reel effect is to be executed from the main control board 50, the effect control unit 51 is configured to perform an appropriate effect corresponding to the reel effect executed on the main control board 50. Start operation.

  For these operations, the effect control board 51 is connected to the liquid crystal control board 61 through the effect interface board 52, and the liquid crystal control board 61 realizes an appropriate symbol effect in the liquid crystal display (LCD) unit 7. ing.

  The effect control board 51 realizes lamp effects in various LEDs and cold cathode ray tube discharge tubes via the LED board 59, the inverter board 60, and the rotary LED drive board 58 together with the effect interface board 52. Yes. Furthermore, the effect control board 51 drives the speaker SP through the effect interface board 52 to realize an audio effect.

  In addition, in a predetermined number of games (during AT) after winning the AT lottery on the effect control board 51, the stop order of the three rotating reels is arranged so that the symbols can be aligned with the stop line in the small role winning state. To inform.

  The main control board 50 is connected to various game members of the slot machine through the game relay board 53. Specifically, a start switch for the start lever 17, a stop switch for the stop buttons 18a to 18c, a closing switch for the closing buttons 15 and 16, a clearing switch for the clearing button 14, a door sensor for recognizing opening / closing of the front panel 2, an upstream sensor Lever detection sensor constituting S0, photointerrupters PH1, PH2 constituting medal passage sensors S1, S2, blocker solenoid 30 for ON / OFF control of blockers for preventing passage of illegal medals, and various LED elements 9-11, etc. It is connected to the.

  The medal sorting device 21 according to the present embodiment includes an upstream sensor S0 (lever detection sensor), medal passage sensors S1 and S2 (photointerrupters PH1 and PH2), and a blocker solenoid 30. An upstream sensor S0 is disposed at the most upstream position in the vicinity of the medal slot 12, and a pair of medal passage sensors S1, S2 are disposed at a downstream position via a blocker (see FIG. 6). ).

  Specifically, the upstream sensor S0 is configured to include a lever LV that swings when pressed by the medal surface, and a photointerrupter PH that performs ON / OFF operation in response to the swing of the lever LV. Yes. The upstream sensor S0 is configured to be in the ON state when the medal surface passes the medal when the lever LV is pressed, and is returned to the OFF state after the medal passes.

  The blocker is arranged at a downstream position of the upstream sensor S0 described above, and is in an introduction posture that allows passage of medals when the blocker solenoid 30 is energized, and in a return posture that refuses passage of medals when not energized.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main control board 50 detects the three stepping motors that rotate the rotating reels 4 a to 4 c and the reference positions of the rotating reels 4 a to 4 c via the rotating relay board 57. Connected to the index sensor. Then, by rotating or stopping the stepping motor, the rotating operation of the rotating reels 4a to 4c and the stopping operation at the target position are realized.

  The main control board 50 is also connected to the medal payout device 5 through the payout relay board 63. The medal payout device 5 is provided with a medal payout control board 55, a medal full sensor, a medal payout sensor, and a payout motor M. The medal payout control board 55 receives a control command from the main control board 50. Based on this, the payout motor M is rotated to pay out a predetermined amount of medals.

  The medal full sensor detects an overflow error when the auxiliary storage is full of medals, and the medal payout sensor detects a shortage error that the number of payout medals is insufficient or an abnormal payout that is not accompanied by a payout operation by a gaming machine. ing. In addition, the main control board 50 is also connected to the external concentration terminal board 56 and the rotary setting board 54. The external concentrated terminal board 56 is connected to, for example, the hall computer HC, and the main control board 50 outputs the number of inserted medals and the number of paid out medals through the external concentrated terminal board 56.

  Further, the rotating drum setting board 54 outputs a setting key signal indicating a setting value set by the staff using the setting key. Here, the set value defines the winning probability of the lottery process executed on the gaming machine in six stages from setting 1 to setting 6, and is appropriately set based on the sales strategy of the gaming hall. . For example, a gaming machine set to the highest rank is most advantageous to the player because the expected value of the number of medals to be paid out is the highest level.

  FIG. 6 illustrates the circuit configuration of the main control board 50. As shown in the figure, the main control board 50 includes a one-chip microcomputer 64, an I / O port circuit 65 for inputting / outputting 8-bit parallel data, a counter circuit 66 for generating random numbers in hardware, an effect control board 51, and the like. The interface circuit with the external board is mainly configured. Here, the one-chip microcomputer 64 incorporates a CTC (Counter / Timer Circuit) 64b, an interrupt controller 64c, and the like in addition to a Z80 equivalent CPU core 64a, ROM, RAM, and the like.

  The CTC 64b is a circuit in which an 8-bit counter and a timer are integrated, and adds a periodic interrupt, a pulse output creation function (bit rate generator) and a time measurement function to the Z80 system. Therefore, in this embodiment, a timer interrupt (FIG. 10A) is applied to the Z80 CPU 64a at a time interval τ of 1.5 mS using the CTC 64b.

  As an interface circuit, an interface circuit 67 with a power supply circuit, an interface circuit 68 with a game relay board 53, a rotating motor driving circuit 69, an interface circuit 70 with an effect control board 51, and the like are provided. Yes. When the power is shut off (at the time of power interruption), a voltage drop interrupt is applied to the Z80 CPU 64a through the interface circuit 67.

  The interface circuit 70 is an 8-bit parallel port for outputting a control command to the effect control board 51, and the rotating motor driving circuit 69 is a circuit that generates a driving signal for the stepping motors of the rotating reels 4a to 4c. . Each of the three stepping motors that rotate the rotating reels 4a to 4c is a two-phase motor having two sets of drive windings, and is driven by 1-2 phase excitation that repeats one-phase excitation and two-phase excitation. (See FIG. 13C).

  FIG. 13D is a principle diagram showing the rotational position of the rotor (arrow) in 1-2 phase excitation. Note that there are four stators, which are simplified when driven by signals Φ4 to Φ1 of A, B, A bar, and B bar, respectively. In this principle diagram, when the excitation pointer PT circulates in the range of 0 to 7, the rotor indicated by the arrow moves intermittently to the position of 0 → 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 → 7 → 0. Therefore, the step angle can be halved as compared with the two-phase excitation that intermittently moves to the position of 0 → 2 → 4 → 6 → 0.

  In this embodiment, 21 types of symbols are drawn at equal intervals on each rotating reel, and the reference rotation angle of the stepping motor for changing the symbol on the effective line to the next symbol is 24 of the step angle θs. It is set to double. Here, since the reference rotation angle for one symbol corresponding to 21 types of symbols is 360 ° / 21, the step angle θs is set to θs = 360 ° / 21/24.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the interface circuit 68 of the main control board 50 is connected to the medal sorting device 21 via the game relay board 53. The sensor signal S0 of the upstream sensor S0 is input to the input circuit IN0, and the sensor signals S1 and S2 of the medal passage sensor S1 and the medal passage sensor S2 are input to the input circuits IN1 and IN2. The energization state of the blocker solenoid 30 is controlled by the output circuit.

  FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram illustrating the counter circuit 66 in more detail. The counter circuit 66 shown in the figure includes an input unit 24 that receives a start switch signal SG indicating ON operation of the start lever 17, a signal acquisition unit 25 by two D-type flip-flops 25a and 25b, and the lower 8 bits of hardware random numbers ( LOW) and an IC counter 26H that generates upper 8 bits (HI) of hardware random numbers. The output terminals (QA to QH) of the IC counters 26H and 26L are connected to the one-chip microcomputer 64 (CPU core 64a) through a data bus.

  The input unit 24 includes a low-pass filter including a resistor and a capacitor, and a Schmitt trigger type inverter. Therefore, the negative logic start switch signal SG is logically converted and supplied to the signal acquisition unit 25.

  The signal acquisition unit 25 includes two D-type flip-flops 25a and 25b connected in series. A reference pulse Φ is supplied to each clock terminal CLK, and data at the D input terminal is acquired and output to the Q output terminal at the rising edge timing of the reference pulse Φ. Therefore, after the start switch signal SG changes to L level, the lock terminal RCLK of each IC counter 26L, 26H rises to H level at the rising edge of the second reference pulse Φ.

  The reference pulse Φ is preferably oscillated separately from the system clock by a dedicated oscillation circuit, but for simplicity, a system clock for operating the one-chip microcomputer 64 may be substituted for the reference pulse Φ.

  Each of the two IC counters 26 includes an 8-bit binary counter and an 8-bit output register. When the clock signal supplied to the clock terminal CCLK is binary counted, when the holding signal is received at the lock terminal RCLK, the counter value of the binary counter at that moment is stored in the built-in output register. Yes. The counter value stored in the output register is output to the external output terminals (QA to QH) on condition that the output enable terminal OE is at the L level.

  As illustrated, in the counter circuit 66, as long as the power supply voltage value (DC5V) is a normal value, the reference pulse Φ is supplied to the clock terminal CCLK of the lower IC counter 26L via the NAND gate. On the other hand, the carry signal RCO of the lower IC counter 26L is supplied to the upper IC counter 26H. Therefore, the two IC counters 26 function as a 16-bit counter as a whole, and the two internal counters circulate between 0000H to FFFFH (decimal number 65535) counter values. The subscript H means a hexadecimal number including the following cases.

  As described above, when the start switch signal SG changes to L level, the lock terminal RCLK of each IC counter 26L, 26H rises to H level correspondingly, and the value of the internal binary counter is held in the output register. Is done. On the other hand, chip select signals CS0 and CS1 are supplied from the one-chip microcomputer 64 to the output enable terminals OE of the IC counters 26L and 26H. Therefore, the one-chip microcomputer 64 can acquire the data QA to QH held in the output registers built in the IC counters 26L and 26H by changing the chip select signals CS0 and CS1 to L level when necessary.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the power supply board 62. The power supply board 62 includes a rectifying unit 80 that receives AC 24V and converts it into a pulsating voltage, a first voltage converting unit 81 that converts the pulsating voltage into DC 5V, and a second that converts the pulsating voltage into DC 12V. A voltage conversion unit 82; a third voltage conversion unit 83 that converts the pulsating voltage into 24V DC; a power storage unit 84 that stores the output voltage of the first voltage conversion unit 81; And a power supply monitoring unit 85 that outputs

  The power storage unit 84 includes a capacitor C having a large capacity (about 1 Farad), limiting resistors r1 and r2 for overcurrent, and a diode D that blocks reverse current. The limiting resistance r1 is about 75Ω, and the limiting resistance r2 is about 10Ω. The voltage across the capacitor C is supplied to the one-chip microcomputer 64 as a backup power source.

  This backup power is supplied to an SRAM (static ram) built in the one-chip microcomputer 64, and even if the power supply voltage is cut off, the stored contents of the RAM (Random Access Memory) are usually held for 7 to 8 days. I have to. In this embodiment, the storage capacity of the RAM is about 512 bytes used as a work area for the gaming machine.

  The power supply monitoring unit 85 monitors the voltage level of the AC input voltage 24V and the voltage level of the DC power supply voltage 5V. Then, when any one level falls below a predetermined value, the detection signal RES changes to the L level. When an abnormality such as a momentary power failure or a power failure occurs, first, the detection signal RES is quickly output in response to the voltage drop of the AC input voltage.

  This detection signal RES is supplied to the interface circuit 67 (FIG. 6) of the main control board 50, and becomes a positive logic power supply abnormality signal ALM and a negative logic power supply abnormality signal ALM bar. A positive logic power supply abnormality signal ALM is supplied to the I / O port circuit 65, while a negative logic power supply abnormality signal ALM bar is supplied to an interrupt terminal NMI (Non Maskable Interrupt) of the one-chip microcomputer 64. Therefore, the NMI interrupt processing corresponding to the voltage drop (FIG. 10B) is started based on the negative logic power supply abnormality signal ALM bar regardless of whether or not the CPU core 64a is in the interrupt enabled state. become.

  The interface circuit 67 in FIG. 6 also includes a power reset circuit. When the power is turned on, the reset signal generated by the interface circuit 67 is supplied to the reset terminal RST1 of the one-chip microcomputer 64. As a result, the CPU core 64a is reset, and execution of the control program after the head address of the ROM is started.

  Next, the control operation realized by the one-chip microcomputer 64 (hereinafter referred to as the main control unit 50) of the main control board 50 will be described. 9 to 10 are flowcharts for explaining a control program executed by the main control unit 50. The control program of the main control unit 50 includes an infinite loop main process (FIG. 9A) that is started when the power is turned on, and a maskable interrupt that is started at regular intervals τ by a periodic interrupt from the CTC. ) Timer interrupt processing (FIG. 10 (a)) and non-maskable interrupt (Non Maskable Interrupt) NMI interrupt processing (FIG. 10 (b)) activated by the detection signal RES from the power supply board 62 when power is interrupted. ing.

  First, the main process shown in FIG. 9A will be described. When the power is turned on, after the appropriate initial processing (ST1), the processing executed before the power interruption is resumed and hot start is performed, or the processing proceeds to step ST2 and cold start is performed.

  For example, if the clerk operates the setting key and sets the winning probability of the lottery process before the start of business, it becomes a cold start process, but there is no such clerk operation and no abnormality is detected. In such a case, the power interruption recovery process shown in FIG. 10B is executed in order to hot start the game operation. It should be noted that the power interruption recovery process is executed by checking the checksum value (ST53), backup flag value (ST54), and stack pointer value (ST52) stored in the NMI interrupt process (see FIG. 10B). ) Is not an irrational value.

  If each of the values stored in the NMI interrupt process (FIG. 10B) is a normal value, the stack pointer value is restored (ST20), and the operation parameter for the timer interrupt is set (ST21). .

  Next, the checksum value confirmed to be a normal value and the value of the backup flag are cleared (ST22). This is because the gaming machine is cold-started when the CPU is abnormally reset without turning off the power thereafter.

  Subsequently, all the bit2 (rotating sensor ON flag F2) of the three spinning control flags FG1 to FG3 that respectively control the rotational operations of the three rotating reels 4a to 4c are cleared (ST23). As shown in FIG. 11 (b), each of the spinning cylinder control flags FGj is 1 byte long (j = 1 to 3). From the MSB of bit 7 to the LSB of bit 0, the spinning cylinder stop flag F7 and the spinning cylinder start. A middle flag F6, a spinning cylinder activated flag F5, a stop button detection flag F4, a stop command flag F3, a spinning cylinder sensor ON flag F2, a reel production flag F1, and a control flag F0 are provided.

  The significance of each of the flags F7 to F0 is as illustrated in FIG. 11C. The in-control flag F0 indicates that the rotating reel 4 is performing the rotation control operation, and the start lever 17 is turned on. From the start of rotation to the complete stop state due to the ON operation of the stop button 18, F0 = 1. The reel effect in-progress flag F1 indicates that a reel effect in which the rotating reel is irregularly rotated is being performed by F1 = 1. The spinning cylinder activation flag F6 indicates F6 = 1 that the rotating reel is in an accelerated rotation as an initial operation for normally rotating the rotating reel. The spinning cylinder activated flag F5 indicates that the rotating reel that has finished the acceleration rotation is rotating normally by F5 = 1.

  The stop button detection flag F4 is set to F4 = 1 when it is detected that the player has operated the stop button 18, and the stop command flag F3 is subjected to the subsequent slip control and the predetermined symbol is set to the active line. After stopping, F3 = 1. In the state of F3 = 1, the same driving data is repeatedly supplied to the stepping motor that rotationally drives the rotating reel, so that the stopped state is reliably maintained regardless of the rotating inertia force of the rotating reel.

  The spinning stop flag F7 becomes F7 = 1 when the stop state (F3 = 1) in which the same drive data is repeatedly supplied is changed to a free state in which the stepping motor is not driven.

  Further, the cylinder sensor ON flag F2 is set to F2 = 1 corresponding to the ON operation of the index sensor every time the rotating reel reaches the reference position after starting to rotate (SP60, SP61 in FIG. 16). reference). The rotation sensor ON flag F2 defines whether or not a stop operation by the player is accepted. In step ST23, the rotation sensor ON flag F2 is cleared to zero, so that rotation is resumed after the power is restored. The stopping operation is ignored until the rotated reel reaches the reference position and the index sensor is turned on. Therefore, even when the stop position of the rotating reel is deviated from the original position when the power is shut off due to the inertial force of the rotating reel, correct stop control is realized after the power is restored.

  On the other hand, when the index sensor is turned on after the power is restored, the number of symbol steps and the symbol counter DUj are initialized correspondingly (see SP62 in FIG. 16). Even at this timing, accurate stop control based on the reset number of symbol steps and the symbol counter DUj is possible.

  When the clear process (ST23) of the second bit (rotor sensor ON flag F2) of the spinning cylinder control flag FGj having the above significance is completed, the value of the above-described reel effect flag F1 is determined (ST24). Since there are three spinning control flags FG1 to FG3 corresponding to the number of the rotating reels 4a to 4c, there are three reel production flag F1, but if any one of them is F1 = 1. That is, the reel effect was being performed with any of the rotating reels when the power was cut off.

  Therefore, in such a case, the reset flag RESET is set to 1 in order to restart the reel effect from the beginning instead of restarting the interrupted reel effect after finishing the power interruption recovery process of FIG. Set (ST25).

  In addition, a cancel command is set in the transmission buffer to instruct the effect control board 51 (hereinafter referred to as effect control unit 51) not to resume the effect operation performed when the power is shut off, and the process of step ST33 is performed. (ST26). The cancel command set in the transmission buffer is transmitted to the effect control unit 51 in the command output process (ST44) of the timer interrupt process shown in FIG.

  In this way, in this embodiment, the reel effect that was interrupted when the power was turned off is not restarted from the middle, but is restarted from the beginning, so that the effect control unit 51 uses, for example, the liquid crystal display unit 7 to Character effects that are correctly synchronized with the irregular motion can be executed, and the player does not feel uncomfortable.

  As described above, the case where any rotating reel is producing a reel when the power is shut off (any F1 = 1) has been described, but the case where no reel producing is performed on any rotating reel (all Next, a reel variable j for independently controlling the three reels 4a to 4c is initialized to 1 (F1 = 0) (ST27). In this embodiment, while increasing the reel variable j from 1 → 2 → 3, the rotating reels are controlled in the order of the left rotating reel 4a → the middle rotating reel 4b → the right rotating reel 4c.

  Therefore, when the reel variable j = 1, the following control operation is executed for the left rotating reel 4a. That is, with respect to the spinning cylinder control flag FG1 for the left rotating reel 4a, it is determined whether or not the in-control flag F0 is FO = 1. Is determined (ST28). When the in-control flag F0 is F0 = 1 and the left rotating reel 4a is in the rotation control operation, the spinning stop flag F7, the stop button detection flag F4, and the stop command flag F3 are further set. Determination is made (ST29).

  In this case, the case where F1 = 0 and F7 = F4 = F3 = 0 even though the in-control flag F0 is F0 = 1 is different from the case where F1 = F4 = F3 = 0. F6 = 1) or means that it was in a steady rotation operation (F5) (see arrow in FIG. 11C). Therefore, in such a case, the spinning cylinder control flag FG1 of the left rotating reel 4a is set to 01H (ST30). As a result, the left rotating reel 4a that was in the starting operation (F6 = 1) or in the steady rotating operation (F5 = 1) is then operated parameters before power-off (the number of symbol steps, symbol counter, error timer, etc.) In the first timer interruption after power recovery, the rotation operation from the start of rotation is restarted through the path of step SP10 → SP11 → SP12 → SP34 → SP35 → SP36 → SP53. Become.

  On the other hand, if any one or more of F7, F4, and F3 is 1, then the rotation control before power interruption is resumed. The case where one or more of F7, F4, and F3 is 1 means an area after “stop operation detection” shown in FIG. 11C. In short, the power interruption is after the operation of the stop button 18a. Means that. Therefore, in the case of such a stop button detection flag F4 = 1, the stop control operation of the left rotating reel 4a is resumed after the power is restored. That is, for example, the slip control is resumed after the power is restored for the left rotating reel 4a.

  As described above, when the power interruption recovery process for the left rotating reel 4a is completed, the reel variable j is then incremented (ST31), and the power interruption recovery process for the middle rotation reel 4b is performed in the same manner as described above. Subsequently, the power interruption recovery process for the right rotating reel 4c is executed. Therefore, at the time of power interruption, for example, if the middle rotation reel 4b and the right rotation reel 4c have already been stopped (control flag F0 = 0), the rotation reels 4b and 4c start to rotate after the power interruption is restored. Without stopping it.

  In any case, if the reel variable j after the increment is j = 4, the values of all the registers are restored after the level of the output port before power interruption is restored, and the jump is made to the execution address at the time of power interruption. Then, the game operation is resumed (ST33, ST34). The execution address at the time of power interruption is saved in the stack area at the time of the NMI interruption, and the stack pointer for designating the stack area is saved at the time of power interruption (ST52) and restored at the time of power recovery (ST20). .

  If the main process is being executed at the time of power interruption, the process is resumed in a CPU interrupt enabled state. On the other hand, if the timer interruption process is in progress at the time of power interruption, the timer interruption process is resumed in the CPU interruption disabled state. When the timer interruption process is completed, the CPU automatically enters the CPU interruption enabling state. Become. Therefore, after this, the timer interrupt process (FIG. 10A) is periodically executed, and the rotating operation of the rotating reel that was rotating before the power interruption is resumed. (Refer to ST42 and ST46).

  The power interruption recovery process (hot start process) shown in FIG. 9B has been described above. Next, the cold start process after step ST2 will be described. When the process proceeds to step ST2, the main control unit 50 regularly repeats a series of main loop processes (ST2 to ST17). First, the work area of the RAM is appropriately cleared, and various flags for managing game control are appropriately initialized (ST2). Next, a game state flag in the game is generated (ST3). Here, the gaming state flag is a flag that specifies a gaming state such as whether the current game is “in bonus game”, “in a bonus internal winning”, or “in normal game”.

  Subsequently, the inserted medal management process for the medal actually inserted from the medal insertion slot 12 and the medal inserted in a pseudo manner by pressing the insertion buttons 15 and 16 is executed (ST4). In the inserted medal management process (ST4), a medal inserted or pseudo inserted by the player is detected to determine the number of inserted medals, and then the subroutine process is terminated when the start lever 17 is turned on. In this case, each time one medal is inserted, a control command (insertion command) indicating that is set in the transmission buffer, and in the command output process (ST44) of the timer interrupt process shown in FIG. It is transmitted to the control unit 51. At this timing, a clearing command indicating a clearing operation by the player may be transmitted.

  When the start lever 17 is turned on and the medal insertion management process is completed, the start switch signal SG changes to the L level in response to the ON operation of the start lever 17, and the counter value at that moment becomes the IC counter 26H, It is held and stored in an output register built in 26L (see FIG. 7). Therefore, when the start lever 17 is turned on, random numbers stored in the IC counters 26H and 26L are acquired (ST5). Specifically, the one-chip microcomputer 64 changes the chip select signals CS0 and CS1 to the L level to acquire the counter value held in the counter circuit 66, which is a random value RND (numerical range: 0 to 0). 65535) and stored in the corresponding address of the RAM.

  Next, an internal lottery process (symbol lottery process) is executed based on the stored random number value RND (ST6). In this symbol lottery process, it is determined whether or not the bonus symbol is won, whether or not the small role symbol is won, and whether or not the replay symbol indicating replay is won, and a control command indicating the determined lottery result (Game start command) is set in the transmission buffer and transmitted to the effect control unit 51 by the command output process (ST44) of the timer interrupt process. Examples of the small role symbol include “cherry symbol”, “bell symbol”, “watermelon symbol”, “chance symbol”, and the like.

  When such an internal lottery process (ST6) with a winning probability is completed, a reel effect lottery process for determining whether or not to execute a reel effect is executed (ST7). The effects that can be selected in the reel effect lottery process are defined as shown in FIG. 12A, for example, corresponding to the result of the internal lottery process (ST6). As described above, in this embodiment, six types of reel effects are prepared. However, which effect can be selected is defined in accordance with the internal winning state. If either the chance A symbol or the BB symbol is in the internal winning state, the “slow effect that rotates extremely slowly in the positive direction and stops” can be selected based on a predetermined winning probability. In addition, the same applies to “reverse rotation effect”, “rattling effect 1”, “rattling effect 2”, “rattling effect” and “reverse rotation effect”, and it is selected with a predetermined probability corresponding to the internal winning status etc. It becomes possible. When the reel effect lottery is won, the corresponding bit of the reel effect specifying flag RF is set to 1. Although not limited in any way, any one of Bit 1 to Bit 6 of the reel effect specifying flag RF is set corresponding to the six types of reel effects. Also, a control command (freeze command) for specifying the reel effect content is set in the transmission buffer, and is transmitted to the effect control unit 51 in the command output process (ST44) of the timer interrupt process shown in FIG.

  When the reel effect lottery (ST7) is finished, the spinning start setting process is executed to start the rotation of the rotating reels 4a to 4c (ST8). In the spinning start setting process, the operation contents differ depending on whether or not the reel production lottery is won. If the reel production lottery is not won (reel production specific flag RF = 0), FIG. ) Is set to FG = 01H so as to start the acceleration rotation operation shown in the time chart. Thereafter, the three rotating reels 4a to 4c start accelerating rotation based on the rotating cylinder rotation control process (ST42) of the timer interruption process (FIG. 10A).

  On the other hand, when the reel effect lottery is won (reel effect specific flag RF ≠ 0), effect rotation (anomalous rotation) shown in the time chart of FIG. 11C is executed. That is, in this embodiment, a series of irregular rotation operations (reel effects) are managed in the spinning drum start setting process (ST8). A specific control method for realizing the reel effect will be described later.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 12 (a), in this embodiment, for example, when the reel effect of "rattle effect 2" is executed, the internal winning of the cherry A symbol or the cherry B symbol is selected. . Therefore, the player performs a stop operation so that the target cherry symbols are aligned on the active line after inferring which cherry symbol is won internally. Then, depending on the arrangement of the cherry symbols on the rotating reel, the internal winning state is made effective and a predetermined medal is paid out only when the reasoning is hit and the stop timing is appropriate. Of course, the cherry symbols may be arranged so that the internal winning state is made effective regardless of whether the player's reasoning is lost or not, and whether or not the stop timing is appropriate.

  When the rotating reels 4a to 4c start accelerating rotation through the reel effect as described above, or when the rotating reels 4a to 4c start accelerating rotation without executing the reel effect, a rotation start command is sent to the effect control unit 51. After the rotation start command is set in the transmission buffer, the process proceeds to the spinning cylinder stop process (ST9).

  And if stop button 18a-18c is pushed, in order to transmit a stop reception command to production control part 51, a stop reception command is set to a transmission buffer, and it responds so that the success or failure result of internal lottery processing (ST6) may be met. The rotating reels 4a to 4c to be stopped are controlled to be stopped (ST9). That is, as a result of the internal lottery process (ST6), if there is any internal winning state, the symbols of the rotating reels 4a to 4c are aligned so as to match the winning result on condition that the player performs an appropriate stop operation. However, if the timing at which the player presses the stop button or the order of the stop operation is inappropriate, the player is stopped in a lost state pattern. As a result, the small winning combination at the corner is wasted, but the bonus winning is carried over after the next game. However, when a reel effect is executed, if a correct stop operation is executed in accordance with the suggestion, it is possible to avoid missing a medal.

  It should be noted that in this spinning cylinder stop process (ST9), every time stop control for each of the rotating reels 4a to 4c is completed, a stop command is sent to the effect control unit 51 to send a control command (stop result command) indicating the stop position. The result command is set in the send buffer.

  In this way, when the three stop operations and the stop control operation are completed and all the rotating reels 4a to 4c are stopped, it is determined whether or not the winning symbol (winning combination) is aligned on the active line. In order to transmit a control command (winning information command) indicating the result to the effect control unit 51, the winning information command is set in the transmission buffer (ST10). Further, when the winning symbols are available, a required number of medals are paid out, and a payout command is set in the transmission buffer so as to send a control command (payout command) indicating medal payout to the effect control unit 51. (ST11).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the player is in the replay winning state (ST12). If the player is in the replay winning state, a re-game operation start process (ST15) is executed, and the process proceeds to step ST2.

  If it is not in the replay winning state, it is determined whether or not the present is in the bonus game (ST13), and if it is in the bonus game, the corresponding process (ST16) is executed and the process proceeds to step ST2.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step ST13 is NO, it is determined whether or not the bonus symbol is aligned (ST14). If the bonus symbol is aligned, the bonus game start process (ST17) is executed. The process proceeds to step ST2.

  Next, timer interrupt processing that is started at predetermined time intervals (τ) will be described with reference to FIG. In the timer interrupt processing, after the CPU register is saved (ST40), data of the input port that receives various switch signals and sensor signals is acquired and stored (ST41). The sensor signal includes the sensor signal S0 of the upstream sensor and the sensor signals S1 and S2 of the medal passage sensor. In addition, the medal payout sensor, the medal passage sensor, the medal full sensor, the index sensor, the door sensor, etc. The sensor signal data is also stored in the memory.

  Next, a rotation control operation for rotation of the rotating reel is executed (ST42), and various timer variables are updated (ST43). The rotation control operation (ST42) will be described in detail later. The updated timer variables include an operation timer ATj (AT1 to AT3) and a motor output timer TMj (TM1 to TM3), which will be described later. Is done.

  Subsequently, a command output process (ST44) is executed for the control command stored in the transmission buffer (command buffer). Here, the command output process is a process of transmitting the control command set in the transmission buffer to the effect control unit 51 for each byte, and the transmitted control commands include various types shown in FIG. Contains control commands.

  When the command output process (ST44) is completed, information such as the paid-out medals is transmitted to the hall computer (ST45), the display operation of various lamps is updated, and excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 are sent to the stepping motor that drives the rotating reel. Output (ST46). Here, the lamp whose display is updated includes a game start LED, a medal insertion permission LED, and an insertion number LED.

  Next, the register saved in the process of step ST40 is returned to the CPU (ST47), and the timer interrupt process is completed.

  Next, the NMI interrupt shown in FIG. 10B will be described. When an active level power supply abnormality signal ALM bar is supplied to the NMI terminal of the CPU, the NMI interrupt processing is started unconditionally. First, a positive logic power supply abnormality signal ALM is obtained from the I / O port circuit 65, and it is confirmed that this is an active level (ST50). Here, if it is not the active level, it is determined that the malfunction is caused by noise or the like, and the interrupt processing is finished.

  On the other hand, if the power supply abnormality signal ALM is at the active level, it is determined that the power supply voltage has dropped, the CPU register is saved in the stack area, and the stack pointer SP for specifying the stack area is set in the predetermined area. (ST51, ST52). After the NMI interrupt processing is started, the CPU is in the interrupt disabled state and the timer interrupt is not executed. Therefore, the drive data Φ1 to Φ4 to the stepping motor remain in the stopped state with the previous drive data as it is. Become.

  Next, the output values of the various output ports at that timing are stored, and a checksum calculation is executed for a predetermined area of the RAM, and the calculation result (checksum value) is stored in the predetermined area (ST53). Further, the backup flag is set to the ON level (ST54). As described with reference to FIG. 9, the validity of the checksum value and the backup flag value is determined when the power is turned on.

  Next, in order to prohibit subsequent RAM access, the one-chip microcomputer is set, and the output port is set to the OFF state (ST55). As a result, the stepping motor enters a standby state from a stopped state to a non-excited state. Subsequently, after a predetermined amount of time is consumed, the subsequent processing is jumped to the zero address of the ROM.

  As a result, processing similar to that at the time of power reset (at the time of CPU reset) is executed. Specifically, as long as the power supply abnormality signal ALM is at an abnormal level, the CPU is repeatedly set to the interrupt disabled state (ST100), and the process of initializing each part of the one-chip microcomputer is repeated (ST101).

  It should be noted that the power supply abnormality signal ALM may exceptionally return to a normal level when the AC power supply is instantaneously reduced and then recovers, but in such an exception as well, the exception shown in FIG. The game operation before the NMI interruption is resumed through the power interruption recovery process.

  Incidentally, FIG. 10C illustrates the stack area at the end of the NMI interrupt process, for example, at the end of the subroutine process in step ST56. As shown in the drawing, return addresses of a plurality of subroutines that have been nested until the processing being executed at the time of the NMI interrupt is stored in the lower use area (the area indicated by the broken arrow) of the stack area. Since the NMI interrupt is activated at an arbitrary timing, the contents of the lower usage area of the stack area cannot be determined.

  However, assuming that the NMI interrupt is activated during the reel production, either the process of steps ST61 to ST66 in FIG. 12B or the timer interrupt process (FIG. 10A) is executed at the time of the NMI interrupt. Can be identified. Then, following the return address at the time of the NMI interruption, the value of the register saved in the process of step ST51 is saved, and the step pointer SP indicates the start address of the register saving area (FIG. 10C). See arrow).

  Therefore, in the instruction of step ST52, the address value indicated by the arrow in FIG. 10C is stored in another storage area (work area) of the RAM. Then, after the power is restored, the address value stored in the work area is restored to the stack pointer SP (ST20 in FIG. 9B), so that the state in FIG. 10C can be grasped by the CPU. The value of the register saved in the process of ST51 is returned to the register in the process of step ST34 in FIG. 9B.

  Next, the spinning start setting process (ST8) for realizing the reel effect and the subsequent spinning drive process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The main reels (ST8 to ST9) shown in FIG. 9 (a) and the timer interrupt routine shown in FIG. 10 (a) cooperate with each other in the rotating operation (irregular rotation or steady rotation) of the rotating reels 4a to 4c. It is realized by (cooperation).

  As shown in FIG. 11A, in the turning start setting process (ST8), first, a wait timer process is executed to wait until the game time interval exceeds a predetermined time (ST35). Although the game time interval is set as appropriate, for example, by setting it to 4.1 seconds, it is possible to prevent excessive consumption of medals even when luck is bad.

  Subsequently, the value of the reel effect specifying flag RF is determined whether or not the reel effect is won (ST36). If the reel production specific flag RF is RF = 0 and the reel production has not been won, each of the 1-byte length spinning control flags FG1 to FG3 is set to 01H (ST38). A spinning start command is set in the transmission buffer and the process is terminated (ST39). Since the rotation control flags FG1 to FG3 are set to 01H, in the subsequent rotation rotation process (ST42) of the timer interruption process, the acceleration rotation operation shown in FIG. 11C is performed for the three rotation reels 4a to 4c. (After SP53 in FIG. 16) is started.

  On the other hand, if the reel effect specific flag RF is RF ≠ 0 because the reel effect is won, reel effect processing is executed (ST37). The outline of the reel effect process will be described first based on the flowchart of FIG.

  In this embodiment, six types of reel effects are prepared (FIG. 12A), and the contents of each reel effect are specified by six types of reel effects tables Tr1 to Tr6 (FIG. 12C). ). And which reel effect table is selected is specified by the corresponding Bit of the reel effect specifying flag RF. For example, if the watermelon A symbol, chance A symbol, or BB symbol is in the state of internal winning, there is a possibility of winning the “slow effect” as the reel effect. When the “slow effect” is won, Bit1 of the reel effect specification flag RF is set to “1”, and the “slow effect” defined in the reel effect table Tr1 is realized.

  As shown in FIG. 12 (c), the reel performance tables Tr1 to Tr6 include a motor operation table Tm that specifically defines the operation of the rotating reels 4a to 4c, and an effect time of the reel performance executed by the motor operation table Tm. Are stored correspondingly. The effect time of the reel effect is defined by the value of the operation timer AT. For example, the “slow production” is realized by the SLOW operation and the HOLD operation shown in FIG. 13A, and the production time of the SLOW operation and the HOLD operation is defined by the initial value (3000, 500) of the operation timer AT. ing.

  In the timer interrupt process, the operation timer AT is decremented until it becomes zero every timer interrupt cycle τ (= 1.5 mS), thereby managing the presentation time. .5 seconds (= 3000 × 1.5 mS) SLOW operation and 0.75 seconds (= 500 × 1.5 mS) HOLD operation.

  Which motor operation table Tm is used is specified by the row pointer K, and NULL data is stored in the last row of each reel presentation table Tr1 to Tr6, thereby specifying that there is no more reel presentation. doing. The motor operation tables Tm specified by the row pointer K of the reel effect tables Tr1 to Tr6 are, for example, five types shown in FIG. 13A, and the SHAKE operation, the STAY operation, and the SLOW operation are performed according to each motor operation table. The HOLD operation and the REVERSE operation are specified. Note that the row pointer K is started from 1 for convenience of explanation, but actually it is preferable to start from 0.

  Each motor operation table defines a motor drive mode (status), an interrupt number TM, and an operation number CT, and which operation is to be executed is defined by a row pointer L. Here, the motor drive mode is divided into a rotation operation in the forward direction (forward rotation), a rotation operation in the reverse direction (reverse rotation), a standby operation, a stop operation, and a loop operation.

  The loop operation means returning to the position of the line number defined in the TM column of the number of interrupts. The stop operation means that all the drive windings of the two-phase motor are turned ON (all phase ON), and the standby operation is that all the drive windings of the two-phase motor are turned OFF (all phases). OFF). In the present embodiment, the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 are not maintained at the time of the stop operation, but are intentionally shifted to the all-phase ON drive (Φ1 to Φ4 = 0FH). An additional movement of about the step angle θs occurs, and as a result, a smoother stopping operation is realized. In addition, after the stop operation, all-phase OFF drive (Φ1 to Φ4 = 00H) is performed to control the standby operation that allows free rotation. The row pointer L is also started from 1 for convenience of explanation, but actually it is preferable to start from 0.

  The interrupt number TM defines the update cycle of the excitation pointer PT that manages the excitation data table (FIG. 13B), and the operation number CT indicates how many times the operation of the corresponding row defined by the row pointer L is executed. It stipulates. As shown in FIG. 13B, the excitation data table defines excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 for 1-2 phase excitation of the two-phase stepping motor that drives the rotating reel. Corresponding to the transition (0 to 7) of the pointer PT, it changes as shown in FIG. As described above, the all-phase ON drive is performed during the stop operation (Φ1 to Φ4 = 0FH), and the all-phase OFF drive is performed during the standby operation (Φ1 to Φ4 = 00H).

  The motor operation table will be described in detail. For example, at the time of reel production where the motor operation table SHAKE is used, the excitation pointer PT is incremented through six timer interruptions with the row pointer L = 1, and the stepping motor Advances in the forward direction by one step angle θs (forward rotation). When such a normal rotation operation is executed once (CT = 1), the row pointer L is incremented, and the normal rotation operation of the row pointer L = 2 is started.

  At the time of forward rotation with the row pointer L = 2, the excitation pointer PT is incremented through three timer interruptions, and the stepping motor advances in the forward direction by one step angle θs (forward rotation). When the operation is executed twice (CT = 2), the row pointer L is incremented. At the forward rotation operation of the row pointer L = 3, the excitation pointer PT is incremented through 16 timer interruptions, and the stepping motor advances in the forward direction by one step angle θs (forward rotation). When the operation is executed once (CT = 1), the row pointer L is incremented.

  As is clear from the above operation, the series of forward rotation operations are performed with the rotation speed doubled after the rotation of the rotation reel is started at the rotation speed V, and then the rotation speed is reduced to 6 / 16V. Finish. The subsequent reverse operation is the same. After the reverse rotation of the rotary reel is started at the rotational speed V, the rotational speed is reversed by 2 V (double), and then the rotational speed is reduced to 6/16 V and reverse rotation is performed. Finish the operation. In the motor operation table SHAKE, since the loop processing to the first row is defined in the last row, the above-described forward rotation operation and reverse rotation operation are repeated in an infinite loop.

  When such a SHAKE operation is selected in the reel effect table Tr2, the infinite loop-shaped forward rotation operation and the reverse rotation operation described above are repeated for the operation timer AT = 5000. The duration of the SHAKE operation is 7.5 seconds (= 1.5 * 5000 mS).

  Incidentally, each of the six types of reel effect tables Tr1 to Tr6 shown in FIG. 12C is configured such that the HOLD operation is executed as the final operation. The specific contents of the HOLD operation are as shown in FIG. 13A, and the stop operation for driving all the drive windings of the two-phase motor to ON is performed for a predetermined time (in the embodiment, 0.75 seconds = 1.5). * 500 mS). Therefore, regardless of which reel effect is executed, the rotating reel that has finished the reel effect is constrained to a stop state in which all phases are ON-driven, and the subsequent acceleration rotation operation (rotation start operation) is appropriately started. become.

  The above operation is realized by the reel effect process (ST37), and the flowchart of FIG. In the reel effect process, first, the reel effect table Tr (FIG. 12C) is selected corresponding to the reel effect specifying flag RF, and a freeze command for specifying the character effect corresponding to this is set in the transmission buffer ( ST60). The freeze command is transmitted to the effect control unit 51 at the subsequent timer interruption (FIG. 10A) (ST44).

  In the process of step ST60, the reset flag RESET is reset to zero, the row pointer K of the reel effect table Tr (FIG. 12C) is initialized to zero, and the rotation control flag FG is initialized to 03H. (ST60).

  As described with reference to FIG. 9B, the reset flag RESET is used to restart the interrupted reel effect from the beginning after the power failure recovery process is completed. Here, the reset flag RESET = 0. This avoids the re-operation of the reel effect process (see ST64).

  When the initial processing in step ST60 is completed as described above, the row pointer K is then incremented, and the Kth row of the selected reel presentation table Tr (FIG. 12C) is referred to as shown in FIG. One of the motor operation tables of (a) is selected (ST61). Subsequently, the row pointer L for the motor operation table is initialized to 1, and the motor output timer TM is initialized to 1 (ST62).

  Next, referring to the Kth row of the reel production table Tr, the operation time of the reel production by the selected motor operation table is initially set in the operation timer AT (ST63), and the reset flag RESET is not 1 (ST64), it waits for the operation timer AT to become zero (ST65). The reset flag RESET is initially set to zero (ST60), and the initialized operation timer AT is decremented to zero by the periodic update process (ST43) of the timer interrupt process. When the time corresponding to the initial setting value elapses, the operation timer AT = 0.

  Therefore, when the operation timer AT = 0, the process proceeds to step ST61 on condition that the K + 1th row is not NULL data. Therefore, thereafter, the operation specified by the motor operation table indicated by the row pointer K of the incremented reel effect table Tr is executed. Then, when such operation is repeated and the row pointer K is updated, the K + 1th row will eventually become NULL data, and the reel effect ends at that timing (ST66).

  The outline of the normal reel effect operation with the reset flag RESET = 0 has been described above. Next, the case where the power supply voltage is cut off during the reel effect operation (ST61 to ST66) will be described.

  At the time of the power interruption, the stack area is saved as shown in FIG. 10C due to the NMI interrupt, and this saved state is maintained even after the power interruption by the backup power source, and each operation parameter stored in the work area of the RAM. The value is also maintained for. The operation parameters to be maintained include a row pointer K, a row pointer L, an operation timer AT, a motor output timer TM, a flag specifying the reel effect table Tr and the motor operation table Tm in use, a reset flag RESET, and a rotation control flag. FG etc. are included. Note that the reel production flag F1 (first bit) F1 and the in-control flag F0 (0th bit) of the spinning control flag FG are both 1 (see ST60).

  When the power is turned on after power interruption, the process proceeds from step ST1 to ST20 in FIG. 9 to step ST24. In step ST24, the reel effect flag F1 is determined. At this time, since the reel effect flag F1 is F1 = 1, the reset flag RESET is set to 1 (ST25).

  Thereafter, the power interruption return processing (FIG. 9B) is completed, and the process returns to the processing position at the time of power interruption. The return address position is any of the loop processing in steps ST61 to ST66 (FIG. 12B). This is the start address of any instruction or the start address of any instruction during timer interrupt processing (FIG. 10 (a)), which is a random address position that cannot be specified.

  However, since the process of step ST64 will be executed regardless of the return address position, the process proceeds to the process of step ST60 based on the reset flag RESET set to 1 in the process of step ST25. (ST64). As a result, the reel effect is completely returned to the initial state (ST60), and the reel effect interrupted by the power interruption is restarted from the beginning.

  In addition, since the freeze command set in the process of step ST60 is promptly transmitted to the effect control unit 51 (ST44), the effect control unit 51 that receives this command performs an appropriate character effect corresponding to the reel effect, Re-start from the beginning, and the reel effect and the character effect related to each other are started in synchronization.

  Note that it is not always necessary to restart the reel effect interrupted by the power interruption, and the interrupted reel effect may be eliminated. In this case, the stepping motor excited by two phases is set to stop control in an all-phase ON state (ST67), and the reel effect is finished. Then, the process shifts from the reel effect (ST37) to the process of step ST38 (FIG. 11 (a)), and the rotation control flag FGi is set to 01H, thereby starting the starting rotation described later. . Since the cancel command is transmitted to the effect control unit 51 when the power is restored (ST26), no problem occurs even if the reel effect is extinguished in the main control unit 50.

  By the way, the reel effect operation shown in FIG. 13B is a case where the three rotary reels 4a to 4c execute exactly the same operation. However, in this embodiment, in order to enrich the variations of the production, actually, the three rotating reels 4a to 4c are independently controlled. In other words, in this embodiment, the reel effect type table shown in FIG. 12A is prepared in a maximum of three types for each of the rotating reels 4a to 4c. Therefore, while the left rotation reel 4a is executing the “slow effect”, the middle rotation reel can execute the “reverse rotation effect” and the right rotation reel can execute the “rattle effect 1”. Become. Further, it is also possible to produce an effect in which only a part of the three rotating reels starts the reel effect and the other rotating reels remain in the stopped state. If the reel effect is not executed, the fact is clearly indicated in the reel effect type table.

  FIG. 14A is a flowchart showing details of the reel effect processing (ST37) of the present embodiment that enables such an operation. First, corresponding to the reel effect specifying flag RF, the reel effect table Tri corresponding to each reel effect operation is specified for the three rotating reels 4a to 4c (ST70). When a reel effect is executed, a freeze command is set in the transmission buffer. Further, when the reel effect is executed for all the rotating reels 4a to 4c, the row pointers K1 to K3 and the operation timers AT1 to AT3 are initialized to zero and the reset flag RESET is initialized to zero for each rotating reel. In the set state, the spinning cylinder control flags FG1 to FG3 are initially set to 03H (ST70). On the other hand, for a rotating reel that does not execute a reel effect, its spinning control flag FG is initialized to 00H.

  Here, the set value 03H means that the in-control flag F0 and the reel effect flag F1 are set to 1 for the spinning control flag FG, and means that the reel effect is started from now. . On the other hand, the set value 00H means that the in-control flag F0 is F0 = 0 for the spinning control flag FG, so that the rotating reel is maintained in a stopped state (see SP11 in FIG. 16).

  When the above initial setting is completed, in this embodiment, the reel effects are started in the order of the left rotating reel 4a → the middle rotating reel 4b → the right rotating reel 4c, and the reel effects of the rotating reels 4a to 4c are ended. Wait (ST74).

  Specifically, first, the value of the reset flag RESET is determined (ST71). As described with reference to FIG. 12B, when the power interruption is restored after the interruption during the reel production, since the reel production flag F1 is F1 = 1, the reset flag RESET is set to 1. (ST26). Therefore, in such a case, the interrupted reel effect is re-executed from the beginning by returning to the process from step ST71 to step ST70. However, when canceling the interrupted reel effect, the reel effect is finished after setting the stepping motor to stop control in the all-phase ON state (ST75).

  On the other hand, in the determination of step ST71, when the reset flag RESET = 0 is normal, the reel effect flag F1 of the left rotating reel 4a is determined (ST72). Here, if the reel effect flag F1 = 0, it means that the reel effect is not originally executed for the left rotation reel 4a, or the executed reel effect is completed, and therefore the process proceeds to step ST72 ′. To do. On the other hand, if the reel effect flag F1 = 1, then the value of the operation timer AT1 is determined (ST73). The operation timer AT1 means the duration of the reel production in a specific row (= K1 row) of the reel production table Tri. Therefore, when the operation timer AT1 ≠ 0, the process proceeds to step ST72 '.

  On the other hand, when the operation timer AT1 = 0 and the reel effect of the specific line (= K1 line) of the reel effect table Tri ends, or immediately after the operation timer AT1 = 0 is initialized in the process of step ST70. In this case, the setting process of the reel effect table Tri (see FIG. 12C) is executed for the left rotating reel 4a in the procedure of step ST600.

  Specifically, first, the row pointer K1 for the reel effect table Tri is incremented (ST601), and it is determined whether the incremented row pointer K1 specifies valid data (ST602). As shown in FIG. 12C, invalid data NULL is stored in the last row of the reel effect table Tr1. Therefore, if NULL data is detected in the determination in step ST602, it means that a series of reel effects have ended. Therefore, when NULL data is detected, the reel effect flag F1 is cleared to zero for the spinning control flag FG1 of the left rotating reel 4a, and the subroutine processing is completed (ST603).

  On the other hand, when valid data is detected in the determination in step ST602, the motor operation table Tm indicated by the updated row pointer K1 is specified (ST604). Next, the row pointer L1 of the motor operation table Tm (see FIG. 13A) is initialized to 1, the motor output timer TM1 is initialized to 1, and the operation number counter CT1 is initialized to zero ( ST605).

  The motor output timer TM defines the update interval of the excitation pointer PT by defining the number of interrupts in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 10A). Here, the update timing of the excitation pointer PT means the update timing of the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 to the stepping motor (see FIG. 13B), so that the initial value of the motor output timer TM is eventually the rotation of the motor In other words, the speed is defined. In short, the larger the initial setting value of the motor output timer TM, the slower the rotation speed of the motor.

  For example, the forward rotation operation in the first row in the motor operation table SHAKE shown in FIG. 13A is defined as the number of interrupts = 6, and is therefore 6 times (= 9 ms) the interrupt cycle τ (= 1.5 mS). After the time elapses, the stepping motor rotates by one step angle θs. As described above, in this embodiment, since the step angle θs of each stepping motor is set to θs = 360 ° / 504, the forward rotation operation of the first row in the operation table SHAKE is eventually θs / (6 * τ) ≈79 ° / sec.

  Further, the operation number counter CT of the motor operation table Tm (FIG. 13A) defines how many times the operation of a specific row (= L row) of the motor operation table is executed. For example, the forward rotation operation in the second row in the motor operation table SHAKE shown in FIG. 13A is defined as the number of interrupts = 3 and the number of operations = 2, so θs / (3 * τ) ≈159 ° / The rotation of about 2 seconds will continue for 3 * 2 * τ = 9 mS.

  In this sense, the number of interrupts defines the rotation speed of the motor as an initial setting value of the motor output timer TM, the number of operations defines the rotation angle in units of the step angle θs, and the number of interrupts * The value of the number of operations defines the constant speed rotation duration (rotation time) determined by the number of interrupts. In this embodiment, the rotation speed and the rotation angle are defined in the motor operation table, but it is the same as that in which the rotation speed and the rotation time are defined.

  When the initial setting process (ST605) of the motor output timer TM1 and the operation number counter CT1 is completed in relation to the number of interrupts and the number of operations having the above significance, next, the reel effect table Tri (FIG. 12C). For the reference), the timer value indicated by the row pointer K1 is initially set in the operation timer AT1, and the subroutine processing ends (ST606). The operation timer AT1 means the duration of the reel production in the specific row (= K1 row) of the reel production table Tri, and is decremented until it becomes zero in the periodic update process (ST43) of the timer interruption process. The

  When the process for the left rotation reel 4a is completed as described above, the same process (ST72 'to ST73', ST72 "to ST73") is also performed for the middle rotation reel 4b and the right rotation reel 4c. When the above control processing is completed for the three rotating reels 4a to 4c, it is determined whether or not the reel effect flags F1 of the spinning control flags FG1 to FG3 are all zero for all the rotating reels. (ST74).

  As described above, the reel effect flag F1 of the spinning cylinder control flags FG1 to FG3 is cleared to zero at the timing when the reel effect for the corresponding rotating reel is finished (ST603). Therefore, the process of step ST74 means waiting until all the reel effect flags F1 for the three rotary reels 4a to 4c are finished. When all the reel effects are finished, the subroutine process shown in FIG. Will finish.

  The reel production process (ST37) executed in the spinning start setting process (ST8) of the main loop process (ST2 to ST17) has been described above in detail, and then the motor operation table (see FIG. 13A). A rotating rotation control process (ST42) that is time-managed by the motor output timer TM that is initially set based on the above will be described. As shown in FIG. 10 (a), the rotating rotation control process (ST42) is intermittently executed every predetermined time (τ = 1.5 mS) as a part of the timer interruption process. As shown in

  As shown in FIG. 15, in the spinning rotation control process, first, a reel variable j for managing a rotating reel is initially set to 1 (SP10). As described with reference to FIG. 14, in this embodiment, the reel variable j is controlled in the order of the left rotating reel 4a → the middle rotating reel 4b → the right rotating reel 4c while increasing the reel variable j from 1 → 2 → 3.

  Next, based on the value of the in-control flag F0 of the spinning cylinder control flag FGj, it is determined whether or not the rotating reel specified by the reel variable j is in control operation (SP11). Here, if F0 = 0 and the control operation is not in progress, the reel variable is updated (SP26). If the in-control flag F0 = 1, the reel effecting flag F1 for the three rotating reels is updated. Are all zero (SP12). Here, if the reel production flag F1 is F1 = 1 for any of the rotating reels, the processing after step SP13 is executed, but if the reel production flags F1 for the three rotation reels are all zero. Shifts to the subsequent spinning cylinder rotation control process. Subsequent rotation control processing means acceleration rotation operation at start of rotation → steady rotation operation → slip rotation operation after stop operation → stop control operation, etc., and will be described later with reference to FIG.

  If it is determined in step SP12 that the reel effect flag F1 is F1 = 1 for any of the rotating reels, the value of the motor output timer TMj for the rotating reel specified by the reel variable j is decremented (SP13). It is determined whether or not the subsequent motor output timer TMj is zero (SP14). As described above, the motor output timer TMj defines the update interval of the excitation pointer PT by defining the number of interrupts of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 10A).

  If the motor output timer TMj after decrement is not zero, the process proceeds to step SP26 without doing anything. However, since the motor output timer TMj = 1 is initially set at the start of the reel production or when the motor operation table Tm is changed (ST605 in FIG. 14B), in such a case, the motor after decrementing is performed. The output timer TMj becomes zero. Therefore, when the motor output timer TMj = 0, the motor operation table Tm specified in the process of step ST604 in FIG. 14B is referred to the Lj line and the line indicated by the line pointer Lj is set. The prescribed number of interrupts is set in the motor output timer TMj (SP15). The row pointer Lj is incremented each time the operation number counter CT expires after being initially set to 1 in the process of step ST605 in FIG. 14B (see SP25 in FIG. 15).

  Next, for the motor operation table Tm specified in the process of step ST604 of FIG. 14B, the operation mode (status) defined in the row indicated by the row pointer Lj is specified (SP16). If the operation mode is specified as the stop state, excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 = 00H are set in the output buffer (SP17). The excitation data set in the output buffer is output in the data output process (ST46) of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 10A). When excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 = 00H is output, The stepping motor is in a non-driven state in which it can freely rotate.

  Further, when the operation mode (status) is specified by the row pointer Lj in the motor operation table Tm as the normal rotation operation or the reverse rotation operation, the value of the excitation pointer PTj specifying the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 is Update by incrementing or decrementing (SP18). As shown in FIG. 13B, the excitation pointer PTj is updated cyclically in the range of 0-7. Then, the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 indicated by the updated excitation pointer PTj are set in the output buffer (SP19). Thereafter, the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 are output in the data output process (ST46), whereby the stepping motor advances by one step angle θs in the forward direction or the reverse direction.

  Next, when the operation mode (status) is specified as the standby state by the row pointer Lj in the motor operation table Tm, the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 = 0FH are set in the output buffer (SP20). After that, the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 are output in the data output process (ST46), and the stepping motor stops in a state where all phases are driven. In addition, at the time of starting the stop which shifts to the all-phase drive state for the first time, the smooth stopping operation is ensured by the stepping motor moving slightly from the previous rotational position.

  Further, when the operation mode (status) is specified as loop designation by the line pointer Lj in the motor operation table Tm, the start line of the motor operation table is specified by rewriting the line pointer Lj. The process proceeds to step SP15 (SP21).

  On the other hand, when necessary processing is executed by the processing of steps SP18 to SP20, the operation number counter CTj is incremented and updated in response to the motor output timer TMj = 0 (see SP14). (SP22).

  Then, it is determined whether or not the updated operation number counter CTj matches the expiration value. If not, the process proceeds to step SP26 (SP23). On the other hand, when the updated operation number counter CTj matches the expiration value, the operation number counter is initialized again to zero (SP24), and the row pointer Lj is incremented and updated (SP25). The expiration value of the operation number counter CTj is a value that defines how many times the operation of the corresponding row in the motor operation table Tm is executed, and is specified in the instruction row of the row pointer Lj in the motor operation table Tm. (See FIG. 13 (a)).

  As a result of the above processing, one unit of the reel effect is finished for the specific rotation reel specified by the reel variable j. Next, the reel variable j is incremented and updated (SP26), and all the rotation reels are processed. Until the process is completed, the processes of steps SP11 to SP26 are repeated. As described above, when the reel variable j is updated as 1 → 2 → 3, one unit of reel effect is executed in the order of the left rotating reel 4a → the middle rotating reel 4b → the right rotating reel 4c. The

  Therefore, at the next timer interruption, the reel variable j is initialized to 1 again as the spinning rotation control process (SP10), and the reels are rotated in the order of the left rotating reel 4a → the middle rotating reel 4b → the right rotating reel 4c. One unit of operation following the production will be executed. After such a unit of operation is repeated, whether or not all reel effects have been completed is determined by the rotation setting process (ST8) in the main loop process (ST2 to ST17), more specifically, the reel. It is determined in the process of step ST602 of FIG. 14B in the effect process (ST37).

  Then, at the timing when all the reel effects are completed, the reel effect flags F1 of the three spinning control flags FG1 to FG3 are all zero (see ST603 in FIG. 14B). Note that all in-control flags F0 remain 1 (see ST70 in FIG. 14A). Therefore, after all reel effects are completed, the determination in step SP12 in the timer interruption process (rotational rotation control process in FIG. 14A) is Yes, and in the subsequent timer interruption process (FIG. 10A). Then, the normal rotation rotation control operation (ST42) is executed.

  Further, in the main loop process (ST2 to ST17), the reel effect control process FG1 to FG3 is set to 01H by completing the reel effect process (ST37) shown in FIG. 11A (ST38). In addition, in order to transmit the rotation start command to the effect control unit 51, the rotation start command is stored in the transmission buffer (ST38), and the turning start setting process (ST8 in FIG. 9) is ended.

  Since the three spinning cylinder control flags FG1 to FG3 are set to FGj = 01H by the processing of step ST38, among the various flags (F7 to F0) that define the operating state of the rotating reels 4a to 4c, the in-control flag F0 Only becomes 1. Note that the process of step ST38 is executed regardless of whether or not the reel effect is executed.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the rotation control operation after the three rotation control flags FG1 to FG3 are set to FGj = 01H. The process of FIG. 16 includes the process of the flowchart of FIG. 15, and the processes of steps SP10 to SP12 and steps SP26 to SP27 are common. Further, the processing of steps SP13 to SP26 in FIG. 15 is made into a subroutine in FIG. 16 as reel production processing (SP33).

  The processing of FIG. 16 will be described based on the above. When the spinning control flags FG1 to FG3 are in the state of FGj = 01H, the processing after step SP34 is executed, and the spinning control of 1 byte length defined by the reel variable j is performed. Regarding the flag FGj, the values of the spinning cylinder stop flag F7, the spinning cylinder activation flag F6, the spinning cylinder activation flag F5, the stop button detection flag F4, and the stop command flag F3 are determined in this order ( SP34-SP38).

  As shown in FIG. 11C, the spinning reel stop flag F7 defines whether or not the rotation reel to be controlled is after stop excitation, and the spinning reel startup flag F6 indicates that the reel is rotating. Whether or not acceleration rotation at the start is in progress is defined, and the spinning reel start flag F5 defines whether or not the rotating reel is in steady rotation after acceleration rotation. The stop button detection flag F4 defines whether or not the stop button 18 corresponding to the controlled reel is turned on, and the stop command flag F3 indicates whether or not the slip control has been completed for the rotary reel. It stipulates.

  As described above, since the case where the spinning cylinder control flags FG1 to FG3 are FGj = 01H has been described here, first the LSB (Least of the excitation pointer PTj is determined through the determination of SP34 → SP35 → SP36. Significant Bit) is cleared to zero (SP53).

  As shown in FIG. 13B, the excitation pointer PTj indicates eight types of excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, three stepping motors that drive the rotating reels 4a to 4c are two-phase motors, and the two-phase motors are subjected to 1-2 phase excitation. For the two sets of excitation windings, one-phase excitation and two-phase excitation are alternately repeated. When the LSB of the excitation pointer PTj is LSB = 0, the two-phase excitation mode is selected. When LSB = 1, 1-phase excitation mode. Therefore, the excitation pointer PTj is in the two-phase excitation mode through the processing of step SP53.

  Next, the rotating cylinder activation flag F6 of the rotating cylinder control flag FGj is set to F6 = 1, and the rotating cylinder sensor ON flag F2 is set to F2 = 0 (SP54). Note that the rotation sensor ON flag F2 set to zero in the process of step ST38 is reset to F2 = 0 even after the start of steady rotation (F2 = 1). This is to re-execute the processing after SP53.

  When the processing of step SP54 is completed, the symbol step number counter is initialized to 24 (SP55). In this embodiment, the stepping motor is driven 24 steps to move one symbol drawn on the rotating reel (rotate by the reference rotation angle), so the symbol step number counter is set to zero corresponding to this operation. By decrementing (SP63, SP64), the rotational movement of each symbol is grasped.

  Next, an error timer ETj and a symbol counter DUj each having a 1-byte length are initialized to zero, and a row pointer Nj and a motor output timer TMj are initialized to 1 (SP56). Here, the error timer ETj detects a rotation abnormality (rotation stopped state) in which the reference position of the rotating reel 4 cannot be detected by the index sensor even though the excitation pointer PTj has been updated a predetermined number of times (for example, 21 * 24 + α). Used for.

  The symbol counter DUj is used to grasp the current position of each symbol drawn on the rotating reel. That is, every time the index sensor is turned ON, the symbol counter DUj is cleared to zero (SP62), and every time the stepping motor is driven for 24 steps, that is, every time one symbol (reference rotation angle) is rotated, the symbol counter DUj is set. By incrementing (SP66), the current position of each symbol is grasped.

  The row pointer Nj is used to specify a use column of the time table TBL (see the upper part of FIG. 16) that realizes acceleration rotation at the start of rotation. For convenience of explanation, the initial value of the row pointer Nj is set to 1, but in practice it is preferable to initially set it to zero. The motor output timer TMj is used for the purpose of counting the number of interruptions and defining the stepping motor stepping timing and the like.

  When the above initial setting is completed, the process proceeds to step SP43, the motor output timer TMj is decremented, and it is determined whether or not the value of the motor output timer TMj after decrement is zero (SP44). As described above, since MYj = 1 is initially set at the time of rotation start (SP56), the timer value specified by the row pointer Nj is acquired for the time table TBL, and the motor output timer TMj is obtained. It is set (SP45), and the row pointer Nj is incremented and updated (SP46). The initialized motor output timer TMj (see SP45) is decremented for each subsequent interrupt process, and the process transition of step SP45 is waited until TMj = 0.

  By the way, the time table TBL shown in FIG. 16 defines the accelerated rotation operation of the rotating reel at the time of starting rotation, and at the timing of TMj = 0 by the row pointer Nj updated every interrupt cycle τ (SP46), By resetting the motor output timer TMj (SP45), the acceleration rotation of the stepping motor is realized. In the 1-2 phase driving in which the 1-phase driving and the 2-phase driving are alternately repeated (see FIG. 13C), the 1-phase driving inferior to the rotating torque is finished in one interrupt cycle τ, and the rotating torque is surpassed. Smooth acceleration rotation is realized by shifting to the two-phase drive.

  That is, in the time table TBL shown in the figure, the timer value is changed as follows: minimum value → number of rotation standby → minimum value → number of rotation standby → minimum value → number of rotation standby. The two-phase excitation is repeated to realize the accelerated rotation of the rotating reel. In the embodiment, the minimum value is 1 corresponding to the interrupt cycle τ (= 1.5 mS), and the rotation standby number is a value larger than 1.

  In the embodiment, the rotational speed is gradually increased from an extremely slow low-speed rotation by decreasing the rotation standby number in stages. Incidentally, at the initial stage of rotation, the 2-step angle 2 * θs is rotated taking time 34 * τ, and the rotation angular velocity is θs / 17 / τ (≈28 [° / S]). Then, by increasing the subsequent rotational angular velocity as θs / 4.5 / τ → θs / 2.5 / τ → θs / 2 / τ → θs / 1.5 / τ, the steady rotational angular velocity θs / τ ( Smooth acceleration operation toward ≈ 476 [degree / S]) is realized. In the final column of the time table TBL, an extremely large value (151) for realizing the stop operation of all-phase excitation (Φ1 to Φ4 = 0FH) is stored.

  Corresponding to such a configuration, in step SP47, it is determined based on the value of the incremented row pointer Nj whether or not the acceleration rotation control at the time of activation has been completed. If the acceleration rotation control is in progress, the process of step SP48 is skipped and the excitation pointer PTj is incremented (SP49), and excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 corresponding to the incremented excitation pointer PTj are set in the output buffer (SP50). ). Then, the reel variable j is updated, and the same processing as described above is performed for the next rotating reel (SP26).

  By the way, since the LSB of the excitation pointer PTj is set to zero at the start of rotation of the rotating reel (SP53), the LSB of the excitation pointer PTj after being incremented in the process of step SP49 is always 1. Yes. Accordingly, each rotating reel is always started to rotate in a one-phase excitation state, and a smooth rotation starting operation is ensured.

  When the initial operation for all of the rotating reels 4a to 4c is completed in this way, in the next timer interruption, the rotation start flag F6 is F6 = 1 (see SP54), so that steps SP34 → SP35 → SP43 are satisfied. Processing is executed. Since the timer value set in the motor output timer TMj in the first setting process (SP45) is 1, the excitation data Φ1 for two-phase excitation is passed through the processes of steps SP44 → SP45 → SP46 → SP47 → SP49. ~ Φ4 are set in the output buffer (SP50).

  Then, when the number of interrupts corresponding to the timer value set in the motor output timer TMj is passed in the process of step SP45, the process proceeds to the next driving operation with a slightly increased rotational speed. The next rotational angular velocity is θs / 4.5 / τ. The subsequent processing is the same for each rotating reel, and the rotational angular velocity is θs / 4.5 / τ → θs / 2.5 / τ → θs / 2 / τ → θs corresponding to the increase in the row pointer Nj. It gradually increases to /1.5/τ.

  Then, when the row pointer Nj reaches the last row (= 26) by the processing of step SP46, the rotating cylinder activation flag F6 is cleared, while the rotating cylinder activation flag F5 is set to 1, and the line pointer Nj indicates The timer value (= 151) to be set is set in the motor output timer TMj (SP48). Note that, since the spinning cylinder start flag F6 = 0 and the spinning cylinder startup flag F5 = 1 are set (SP48), the value of the motor output timer TMj is executed after the stop operation unless a rotation abnormality occurs thereafter. There is no change until the processing of step SP40.

  In the timer interrupt process after the spinning cylinder activation flag F6 = 0 and the spinning cylinder activation flag F5 = 1 are set, the determination process proceeds through the path of step SP34 → SP35 → SP36 → SP37 → SP57 each time. Then, based on the value of the LSB of the excitation pointer PTj, it is determined whether it is 1-phase excitation or 2-phase excitation (SP57). If it is 1-phase excitation, the 1-byte length error timer ETj is incremented (SP58), It is determined whether the value of the error timer ETj after the increment exceeds the predetermined value (maximum value 255 of 1 byte length) and overflows (SP59).

  As described above, the rotating reel 4 of the present embodiment is set to rotate once by receiving the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 sequentially updated 21 * 24 times (= 504). Therefore, at the timing when the LSB = 1 state is detected 252 times (= 504/2) for the LSB of the excitation pointer PTj, the rotating reel should be rotated once. Further, in this embodiment, every time the index sensor is turned on, the error timer ETj is cleared to zero (SP61), so that the error timer originally does not exceed 252.

  Therefore, when the error timer ETj overflows and becomes zero again, it is determined that the rotating reel is not rotating normally, and the process proceeds to step SP53. As a result, after that, the starting rotation based on the time table TBL is executed again. Since the starting rotation is started from an ultra-low speed rotation (rotational angular velocity 28 ° / S) with a high driving torque, it can be expected that the motor abnormality is automatically recovered.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step SP59 that the error timer ETj ≠ 0, it is determined whether or not the index sensor has changed to the ON state (SP60). The sensor output of the index sensor is acquired for each timer interruption (ST41 in FIG. 10), and it is determined whether or not the state has changed from the OFF state to the ON state. If the rotating reel has passed the reference position and the index sensor has changed to the ON state, the error timer ETj is cleared to zero, and the rotation sensor ON flag F2 is set to 1 (SP61). Further, the symbol step number counter is initialized to 24, and the symbol counter is cleared to zero, and the process proceeds to step SP49 (SP62).

  On the other hand, if the index sensor has not changed to the ON state, the symbol step number counter initially set to 24 is decremented (SP63), and it is determined whether or not this is zero (SP64). As described above, the symbol step number counter determines whether or not the rotating reel 4 has rotated by one symbol, and it is determined that the symbol has been rotated by the reference rotation angle (= 24 * θs). Resets the symbol step number counter to 24 (SP65) and increments the symbol counter DUj (SP66). After the incremented symbol counter DUj reaches 21, the symbol counter DUj is cleared to zero so that the symbol drawn on the rotating reel can be grasped at all times (SP67 to SP68). That is, when the rotating reel reaches the reference position, the index sensor is turned ON, the symbol counter DUj becomes zero, and then the symbol counter DUj is incremented for every rotation of the reference rotation angle for one symbol. The symbol counter DUj specifies the symbol numbers 0 to 20 of the symbols existing at the reference position (index sensor position) in real time.

  After the processing of steps SP68 and SP62 is completed, the excitation pointer PTj is updated, and after the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 indicated by the updated excitation pointer PTj are set in the output buffer (SP49 to SP50), another rotation is performed. The process proceeds to the rotation control process for the reel (SP26). As described above, in the timer interrupt processing after the spinning cylinder activation flag F6 = 0 and the rotation cylinder activated flag F5 = 1 are set, the excitation pointer Φ1 is updated by updating the excitation pointer PTj for each timer interruption. Since [Phi] 4 is updated, each of the rotating reels 4a to 4c constantly rotates at the angular velocity [theta] s / [tau]. In this steady rotation, the one-phase driving and the two-phase driving are repeated at the same time interval (τ).

  If such steady rotation is repeated, the player eventually turns on the stop button 18 to set the rotation reel stop signal detection flag F4 corresponding to the stop button that has been turned on. In this state, the spinning cylinder activated flag F5 remains F5 = 1.

  Therefore, in each subsequent timer interrupt process, the determination process proceeds in the path of steps SP34 → SP35 → SP36 → SP37 → SP38. Then, the value of the stop instruction flag F3 is determined. After the stop button 18 is turned on, the control for stopping the winning symbol in the internal lottery state on the active line or the control for stopping the off symbol is the turning stop processing (ST9) of the main processing (FIG. 9A). Executed in The stop instruction flag F3 is set to F3 = 1 when the symbol to be stopped reaches the valid line. In consideration of the inertial force of the rotating reel that is rotating at a high speed, the stop command flag F3 = 1 is set at a timing with sufficient margin before stopping the rotation.

  Therefore, when the stop command flag F3 = 1, it is determined from the symbol step counter or the symbol counter DUj whether or not the rotating reel can actually be stopped (SP69), and until the actual stop timing. Wait (refer to SP63 and below). Then, when the stop timing is reached, the spinning stop flag F7 of the spinning reel to be stopped is set to 1, and the process proceeds to step SP39 (SP70).

  In step SP39, it is first determined whether or not the value of the motor output timer TMj is zero. As described above, the final timer value (= 151) of the time table TBL is set and maintained in the motor output timer TMj at the end of the start rotation. Therefore, next, the motor output timer TMj is decremented, and the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 are set to 0FH in order to drive the stepping motor to all phases ON.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the value of the motor output timer TMj is zero (SP41). If TMj ≠ 0, the process proceeds to step SP26 to execute the rotation control process for another rotating reel.

  Since the final timer value of the time table TBL is 151, the all-phase ON drive for setting the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 to 0FH is continued by 151 timer interruptions, and eventually 151 * τ During the period of (≈0.2 seconds), all the phases of the drive winding of the steppin motor are continuously excited, so that the rotating reel is stopped. In the present embodiment, in order to adopt such all-phase ON drive, the rotating reel can be stopped at a target position and can be stopped regardless of the inertial force at the time of steady rotation that rotates at a high speed.

  After starting all-phase ON driving, the motor output timer TMj is decremented through the path of step SP10 → SP11 → SP12 → SP34 → SP39 in the timer interruption (SP40). Therefore, after about 0.2 seconds, the motor output timer TMj = 0, and at that time, the excitation data Φ1 to Φ4 are set to 00H to drive the stepping motor being controlled to OFF for all phases, and the rotation control flag is set. The in-control flag F0 of FGj is set to zero (SP42). As a result, the rotating reel shifts to a non-driven state and becomes a complete stop state (see FIG. 11). Since the in-control flag F0 of the spinning cylinder control flag FGj becomes F0 = 0, the control process is not executed for the rotating reel in the spinning cylinder rotation control process (ST42) of the subsequent timer interrupt process. .

  As described above, in this embodiment, each 1-byte length of the spinning control flags FG1 to FG3 is prepared corresponding to the three rotating reels, and the rotating operation from the start rotation (at the start of acceleration rotation) to the complete stop is performed. As a result, the memory area is not wasted. In addition, a configuration that enables a reel effect operation without wasting a memory area is realized, and furthermore, the three rotating reels can be controlled independently, and the player can be excited more effectively. it can.

  In addition, by devising start-up rotation at the start of rotation and stop operation at the time of rotation stop, smooth transient operation is realized without wasting a memory area. Furthermore, the smooth rotation operation of the rotating reel is ensured even when the rotation is abnormal or when returning from a power failure.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described in detail, the concrete description content does not specifically limit this invention. For example, in the embodiment, the processing contents are shared by the main process and the timer interrupt process to realize the reel effect, but the shared contents can be changed as appropriate.

  FIGS. 17 to 18 illustrate another method for realizing the reel effect. Here, the reel effect start setting process (ST8) of the main process (FIG. 9) is responsible for only the reel effect activation process. The reel production control thereafter (ST42) of the timer interruption process (FIG. 10 (a)) is in charge of all subsequent reel effects.

  Specifically, in the embodiment of FIG. 17, in the reel effect process (ST37) in the spinning start setting process (ST8), the reset flag RESET is zero after the initial setting process (ST60A to ST60B). Under certain conditions (ST67), the process waits until the reel effect flag F1 becomes zero for all the reels (ST68).

  When the reset flag RESET is set to 1 at the time of power failure recovery, the process proceeds from step ST67 to step ST60A, and the initial effect is re-executed to restart the reel effect from the beginning. Note that the reel effect interrupted by power-off may be canceled as in the previous embodiment (see ST69).

  By the way, in the initial setting process, the reel effect table Tri corresponding to the reel effect specifying flag RF is specified for the three rotating reels 4a to 4c (ST60A). Next, in order to clearly show that the reel effect is to be executed, the spinning control flags FG1 to FG3 are set to 03H, and the operation timers AT1 to AT3, the row pointers K1 to K3, and the reset flag RESET are cleared to zero (ST60B). ). Note that FG1 to FG3 = 03H means that the in-control flag F0 and the reel effect flag F1 are 1, as in the previous embodiment.

  By this initial setting, the reel effect is executed by executing the operation of FIG. 18 in the rotation rotation control process (ST42) of the subsequent timer interruption process (FIG. 10A). When all the reel effects are completed, the reel effect in-progress flags F1 are all set to zero in the rotating rotation control process (ST42) (see SP86 in FIG. 18). Therefore, after completing the initial setting in step ST60B, on the condition that the reset flag RESET is zero (ST67), it waits for the reel effect flag F1 to become zero for all the rotating reels ( ST68).

  Specifically, the spinning cylinder rotation control process (ST42) included in the timer interrupt process is as shown in FIG. 18, and for the rotating reel specified by the reel variable j, the in-control flag F0 is F0 = 1. (SP81), and the processing of steps SP83 to SP89 is executed on the condition that any reel effect flag F1 is F1 = 1 for the three rotating reels 4a to 4c. For all the three reels 4a to 4c, when all the reel effect flags F1 are F1 = 0, that is, when no reel effect is executed or all the started reel effects are finished, The process shifts to the rotating cylinder rotation control process (SP82). Therefore, in this embodiment as well, as in the embodiment of FIG. 16, it is possible to execute a reel effect using only a specific rotating reel.

  In the process of step SP83, it is determined whether or not the reel effect flag F1 is F1 = 1 for the rotating reel specified by the reel variable j. If F1 = 1, the value of the operation timer ATj is determined ( SP84). The operation timer ATj is initially set to zero in the reel effect processing (ST37) shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B (ST60B in FIG. 17B). The reel effect table setting process is executed for the rotating reel specified by the reel variable j (SP85).

  This table setting process (SP85) is the same as the process of FIG. 14B, and increments the row pointer K1 for the reel effect table Tri (ST601), and the incremented row pointer Kj specifies valid data. It is determined whether or not there is (ST602). If NULL data stored in the last line of the reel effect table Tr1 is detected, the reel effect flag F1 for the rotating reel is cleared to zero and the subroutine process is terminated (ST603).

  On the other hand, when valid data is detected in the determination in step ST602, the motor operation table Tm indicated by the updated row pointer Kj is specified (ST604). Next, the row pointer Lj of the motor operation table Tm is initialized to 1, the motor output timer TMj is initialized to 1, and the operation number counter CTj is initialized to zero (ST605). Next, for the reel effect table Tri (see FIG. 12C), the timer value indicated by the row pointer Kj is initialized to the operation timer ATj, and the subroutine processing is terminated (ST606).

  When the subroutine processing of step SP85 is completed as described above, it is next determined in the table setting processing whether or not the reel effect flag F1 is cleared to zero. If the reel effect flag F1 is F1 = 1. Then, the process shifts to the reel effect in-process (SP87) and starts or continues the reel effect (SP86). On the other hand, if the reel effect flag F1 is F1 = 0, it means that the reel effect has ended for the rotating reel, and therefore the reel effect in-process (SP87) in step SP87 is skipped, and the reel variable j Is updated (SP88).

  Note that the operation timer ATj initialized in the process of step ST606 is decremented in the periodic update process (ST43) for each timer interrupt, so that the motor operation specified by the row pointer Kj is determined until the operation timer ATj becomes zero. The execution of the reel effect in-process (SP87) defined in the table Tm is continued (SP84). Further, the reel effect processing (SP87) in step SP87 is as shown in FIG. 19, and is the same as the processing in steps SP13 to SP25 in FIG.

  Incidentally, in each of the above-described embodiments, the NMI interrupt process (FIG. 10B) is executed when the power supply is abnormal. However, the configuration is not necessarily limited to such a configuration, and it is also preferable to monitor the power supply abnormality signal in the timer interrupt process (FIG. 10A).

  FIG. 20 shows an embodiment in such a case, and the power interruption monitoring process (ST47) is executed following the data output process (ST46). The power interruption monitoring process (ST47) may be arranged anywhere in the timer interrupt process.

  Regardless of the location of the timer interrupt process, the content of the power interruption monitoring process (ST47) is substantially the same as the content of the NMI interrupt process (FIG. 10B). However, in the power interruption monitoring process (ST47) executed during the timer interrupt process, it is not necessary to save the register. Therefore, the processes of steps ST50 to ST56 except for the register saving process (ST51 in FIG. 10B) are performed. (See FIG. 20B).

  For reference, FIG. 20C shows the contents of the stack area at the end of the process in step ST56. As shown in the figure, in the stack area, the return address of the subroutine nested prior to the timer interrupt process (FIG. 20A), the return address after the timer interrupt process, and the registers saved in the process of step ST40 And the return address after the power interruption monitoring process (ST47) is completed without detecting a power supply abnormality signal, are PUSHed (stored) in that order. Note that the return address after the power interruption monitoring process (ST47) is nothing but the start address (address AA) of the register return process (ST48) in the case of the program configuration shown in the figure.

  Also in this embodiment, after the power is restored, the power interruption restoration process similar to that shown in FIG. However, in the power failure recovery processing of this embodiment, there is no register recovery processing (ST34) corresponding to the fact that there is no register saving processing in the power failure monitoring processing (ST47). That is, the process of step ST34 shown in FIG.

  If the power is cut off during the reel production, after the power supply is restored, the power supply restoration process (ST34) does not exist and the power interruption restoration process (FIG. 9B) is performed, and the reels shown in FIGS. The process returns to the effect process (ST37). In this regard, as long as the reset flag RESET is used, does the NMI interrupt respond to the power supply abnormality (FIG. 10 (b)), or is the power supply abnormality monitored during the timer interruption process (FIG. 20 (b))? Regardless of.

  As described above, in the embodiments described so far, the reel effect is resumed or canceled after the power failure is restored by using the reset flag RESET. However, as long as a power supply abnormality is monitored in the timer interrupt process (see FIG. 20B), a configuration using the reset flag RESET or a similar configuration is not necessarily required.

  FIG. 21B illustrates a reel effect process (ST37) in which the reset flag RESET is not required, and corresponds to the reel effect process in FIG. FIG. 21 (a) is the same as FIG. 17 (a), and is also shown for convenience of explanation.

  As is apparent from a comparison between FIG. 17B and FIG. 21B, the process of step ST60A is the same as step 60A of FIG. 17B. However, in the process of step ST60B of FIG. 21B, there is no reset flag RESET setting process. Correspondingly, in the configuration of FIG. 21B, step ST67 of FIG. No judgment process exists.

  The process of step ST68 in the reel effect process is specifically configured as shown in FIG. 21 (c) and FIG. 21 (d). Since the CPU core of the main control unit 50 is equivalent to Z80 CPU, it is displayed with a mnemonic corresponding thereto. Further, in the illustrated program, F1a, F1b, and F1c are reel production in-progress flags of the left rotating reel 4a, the middle rotating reel 4b, and the right rotating reel 4c, and specifically, storing the flags F1a to F1c. Indicates an address. Further, “***” in the instruction “LD HL, *****” indicates the start address (storage address of F1a) of three consecutively arranged reel effect flags F1a, F1b, F1c. .

  Based on the above, the case where a power supply abnormality occurs during the reel production will be described. When the reel effect process (ST37) is configured as shown in FIG. 21 (b), random processing is performed during the process of step ST68 configured as shown in FIG. 21 (c) and FIG. 21 (d). A timer interrupt occurs at the timing. If the power supply abnormality signal at that time is an abnormal level, the gaming machine is disconnected through the process of FIG.

  When the state after the power interruption is confirmed with respect to FIG. 20C, the BB address is stored in the stack area as the return address of the nested subroutine, and subsequently, the return after the reel effect processing is performed. The address, the return address after the timer interruption, the register saved in the process of ST40, and the return address (AA address) after the power interruption monitoring process are stored. The address BB is the start address of the process of step ST38 shown in FIG. 21A, and the return address after the timer interrupt is any of the processes of step ST68 shown in FIG. 21C or FIG. Address.

  Then, the power interruption recovery process that does not use the reset flag RESET is configured as shown in FIG. In the power interruption recovery process of FIG. 22A, if any of the reel effect flag F1 is 1 (ST24), the initial setting process similar to the case of steps ST60A and ST60B of FIG. (ST25A, ST25B) and the process proceeds to step ST33.

  Then, after the output port before power interruption is restored (ST3), the POP instruction is executed, so that the process shifts to address AA stored at the top of the stack area shown in 20 (c), By executing the register restoration process (ST48), the CPU registers are restored to the state before power interruption.

  Of course, the CPU registers that are restored before the power interruption includes a CPU flag register, an A register, a B register, an H register, and an L register. Then, when the RETI instruction of the timer interrupt process is executed, the process proceeds to the process of step ST68 in FIG.

  The process of step ST68 is the infinite loop process illustrated in FIG. 21C and FIG. 21D, but all the operation parameters are returned to the initial state after the power failure recovery (ST25A, ST25B). In the subsequent reel interruption rotation control process (ST42) of the timer interruption, the reel effect is restarted from the beginning (see FIG. 18).

  In this embodiment, the power supply abnormality is monitored in the timer interruption process (FIG. 10A), and the reel effect flag F1 is monitored in the process of step ST68 in FIG. 21B during the reel effect. Therefore, even if the power is interrupted during the reel production, there is no possibility that the process will be resumed from the middle of the operation of the rotating rotation control process (ST42) after the power interruption is restored, and the program runaway or malfunction is ensured. Is prevented.

  On the other hand, when dealing with a power failure by an NMI interrupt or adopting the configuration of FIG. 12B, for example, in the state of Kj = 0, step ST61 in FIG. 12B or FIG. When the process of step ST604 of (b) is executed, the program may run away. On the other hand, if the processing position of Kj ← Kj + 1 is changed, the operation on the first line of the reel effect table Tr may be skipped.

  As described above, the configuration in which the reel effect that was interrupted by the power interruption is re-executed from the beginning has been described, but in order to disappear without resuming the interrupted reel effect, the configuration of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 22 (b), if any of the reel effect flag F1 is 1 (ST24), all the reel effect flags F1a to F1c are cleared to zero (ST25) and a cancel command is set ( ST6), the process proceeds to step ST33. Note that there is no processing corresponding to step ST34 in FIG.

  In the process of step 68 that has returned, since F1a = F1b = F1c = 0, the reel effect process (ST37) ends, and the process proceeds to step ST38 of FIG. In this case, before the reel effect process (ST37) is completed, all the phases of the drive windings of the stepping motor are driven ON to generate a restrained stop state. It is suitable for this purpose.

  Since various examples have been described above, embodiments of the present invention are organized. The specific configuration of the reel production process (ST37) is that the main process is in charge of the configuration (configuration A) of FIG. It is roughly divided into the configuration (configuration B) in FIG. 17B in which the timer interrupt process is in charge of the progress of a series of irregular operations thereafter.

  Regardless of the above configuration, if the reset flag RESET is used, the reel effect can be resumed or canceled after the power interruption is restored. As long as it corresponds to the above, there is an advantage that the reset flag RESET can be made unnecessary.

  Regardless of the configuration, the reel effect that was executed before the power interruption is resumed halfway, and the adverse effect of being asynchronous with the character effect resumed by the liquid crystal display unit 7 is eliminated. That is, the reel effect can be restarted in synchronization with the beginning, or the interrupted reel effect can be canceled.

  In particular, in the case of adopting the configuration shown in FIGS. 20 to 22, the determination process (ST67) in FIG. ) Can be eliminated.

  On the other hand, if the configuration using the reset flag RESET is adopted, it is possible to increase the chance that the player is involved in the game progress. That is, for example, it is possible to give an opportunity to cancel a notice effect in the middle of execution to a game master who knows the internal winning state without seeing the notice effect until the end. In addition, for a precious notice effect that appears very rarely regardless of whether or not the game is proficient, the notice effect including the character effect by the liquid crystal display unit 7 can be re-executed from the beginning. It is possible to increase the opportunities for players to be involved.

  Here, the notice effect includes not only the reel effect controlled by the main control unit 50 but also a notice effect without the reel effect, for example, a notice effect controlled solely by the effect control unit 51. In other words, the player can be involved in the advancement of the notice effect that arbitrarily combines the character effect by the liquid crystal display unit 7, the sound effect by the speaker, the lamp effect by the lamps, and the like.

  FIG. 23 shows an embodiment in which the reel effect as the notice effect can be changed or canceled. Here, in the port input process (ST41) of the timer interrupt process (FIG. 10 (a)), it is determined that the effect button is constantly turned ON (ST400 in FIG. 23 (b)). In addition, although an effect button may be provided separately, for example, the start lever 17 is also used as the effect button for simplicity. However, any button that can be operated by the player, such as a stop button or a settlement button, can be used.

  When the start lever (effect button) 17 is turned on, the reset flag RESET is set to 1 when the rising edge (ON edge) is detected (ST401).

  The reset flag RESET is repeatedly determined in the reel effect process (ST37) shown in FIGS. 12B and 17B. FIG. 23C is a modified example of the reel effect process (ST37) in FIG. 12B, and FIG. 23D is a modified example of the reel effect process (ST37) in FIG. is there.

  In any case, if RESET = 1 at the time of determination (ST64, ST67), it is next determined whether or not the timing is a permission timing at which an ON operation can be accepted (ST600). Since the reel production in progress is managed by the row pointer K, for example, during the HOLD operation, the production button ON operation is permitted, and otherwise, the production button ON operation is not accepted. Can be configured to.

  If it is the permission timing, a cancel command is set (ST601), then all the phases of the drive windings of the stepping motor are set to be ON-driven, and the reel effect processing ends. Therefore, after that, the process proceeds to an activation process in which the rotating reel is accelerated and rotated without continuing the reel effect. The effect control unit 51 can stop the character effect, the sound effect, and the lamp effect that are being executed based on the received cancel command.

  As described above, the operation for canceling the reel effect being executed has been described. It can also be re-executed from the beginning. In order to realize such an operation, when the determination in step ST600 in FIG. 23C or FIG. 23D is YES, step ST60 in FIG. 12B or step in FIG. What is necessary is just to make it transfer to the process of ST60A.

  In either case, since the freeze command is retransmitted based on the initial setting operation in the transferred processing (ST60, ST60A), the valuable character effect by the liquid crystal display unit 7 can be reviewed from the beginning. In addition, when a very important notice operation or notification operation is executed by a character effect, a sound effect, a lamp effect, etc., the missed operation can be reconfirmed, and the subsequent operation of stopping the rotating reel can be mistaken. Absent.

Here, in the transferred processing (ST60, ST60A), the row pointer K is initially set to 0. However, for example, by appropriately setting the row pointer K to a value (*), a reel effect can be achieved. Can be re-executed from the middle (see ST60 ', ST60A', ST60B ')
Further, according to this embodiment, the notice effect can be stepped up in response to the player's operation. FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining such an embodiment. As shown in the drawing, the reel production tables Tr1 to Tr6 of this embodiment are provided with a transition column, in which a transition destination table is described. When migration is not possible (step-up is not possible), NULL data (−) is described instead of the migration destination table.

  In such an embodiment, when the player turns on the start lever (effect button) 17, following the determination in step ST64 of FIG. 24 (a), the timing permits permission to accept the ON operation. It is determined whether it is timing (ST67).

  Since the contents of the ongoing reel effect are managed by the row pointer K, for example, while the reel effect table Tr3 is selected, the HOLD operation for 1.5 seconds (AT = 1000) is being executed. In this case, the ON operation of the effect button is permitted to be accepted. During the HOLD operation for 1.5 seconds (AT = 1000), the liquid crystal display unit 7 displays that a step-up operation is possible.

  If there is an ON operation, the reel effect table Tr2 is set with reference to the transition column of the row pointer K = 2 in the reel effect table Tr3, and a freeze command corresponding to this is set (ST68). ), The process proceeds to step ST60B. As a result, after that, a step-up reel effect is executed together with a character effect controlled by the effect control unit 51. Note that a player who does not want a step-up effect can finish the reel effect only by waiting for 1.5 seconds during the HOLD operation. In addition, when there is an ON operation of the effect button while the reception is permitted, it is preferable not to accept it unconditionally but to determine whether or not to shift to the step-up effect by a predetermined random number lottery.

  As described above, the transition process of the notice effect has been described based on FIG. 24 in which the reel detection process of FIG. 12B is modified. However, the same transition process is also provided in the reel effect process shown in FIG. Of course you can.

  In this specification, only the slot machine has been described, but the same operation is also possible in a ball game machine. In the bullet ball game machine, an effect symbol (special symbol) that fluctuates in the liquid crystal display device functions as a rotating body. In other words, immediately after the game ball wins the symbol start opening, the effect of changing the effect of the effect is not started immediately, but the effect of the effect is irregularly operated, so that the notice effect using the rotating body (effect design) is performed. Can be executed.

  In addition, in a ball game machine, the player can be involved in a notice effect that appears as appropriate during the changing operation of the effect symbol. Note that the notice effect includes a moving object driven by a motor.

SL gaming machine 4 rotating reel ESET management flag

Claims (9)

After a CPU reset, the main process is repeatedly executed, and an interrupt process that can measure the elapsed time by interrupting the main process at predetermined time intervals is executed. In a case where the internal winning state is activated when the plurality of rotating bodies stop in response to the internal winning state,
By performing an appropriate notice effect prior to the stop of the rotating body, it is possible to suggest an internal winning state, and a management flag for managing the progress of the notice effect is provided,
While the notice effect is advanced on condition that the management flag maintains the initial value, if the management flag is changed to a predetermined value, the notice effect ends without shifting to a continuously executable operation. Alternatively, the gaming machine is configured to be able to shift to the next stage notice effect. By maintaining the memory content of the memory after power shutdown by the backup power supply, it is possible to continue the game operation before power shutdown after power recovery,
The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the management flag is automatically changed to a predetermined value in an initial operation after the power is restored on condition that a notice effect is executed when the power is shut off.   The gaming machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the management flag is configured to be changed to a predetermined value in response to a player's manual operation executed during execution of the notice effect.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the manual operation for changing the management flag is repeatedly checked in the interrupt processing. The main process and the interrupt process have a main control unit that mainly controls various operations including the notice effect, and a control command received from the main control unit. A production control unit that controls the corresponding production operation,
The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the management flag is changed to a predetermined value, a control command indicating that is executed to perform an operation necessary to transmit to the effect control unit. .   It is configured to be able to suggest the internal winning state by configuring a notice effect that is one of a plurality of irregular operations or a combination of a plurality of irregular operations for all or part of the rotating body. The gaming machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   The gaming machine according to claim 6, wherein the main process is responsible for all of the progress of the series of irregular operations for realizing the notice effect, and whether or not the management flag has been changed is repeatedly determined in the main process. .   For the series of irregular operations that realize the notice effect, the main process is in charge of only the initial setting, and the timer interruption process is in charge of the subsequent series of irregular operations, while whether the management flag has been changed, The gaming machine according to claim 6, which is repeatedly determined in the main process.   The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the rotating body is configured to be able to stop without a stop operation by a player.

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