JP2015196061A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine inhibiting deterioration of game taste by highly efficiently executing a high-probability hot performance with respect to electrical power of auxiliary power supply means.SOLUTION: An auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is charged by an actuation power supply generated by a power supply board 851, and power shortage thereof during a high-probability hot performance is supplemented by discharge. A power supply switching circuit 855, upon receiving a discharge permission signal, switches the auxiliary power supply circuit from a charge state to a discharge state, and when the discharge permission signal is cancelled, switches it from the discharge state to the charge state. A charge state monitoring circuit 858 monitors the charge state of the auxiliary power supply circuit and, when the charge is completed, outputs a charge completion signal. A peripheral control MPU outputs the charge permission signal when starting the high-probability hot performance and stops the output of the charge permission signal when terminating the high-probability hot performance. After the termination of the high-probability hot performance, the peripheral control MPU switches, as a substitute for the high-probability hot performance, to a state capable of executing another performance without discharging the auxiliary power supply circuit for a period until receiving the charge completion signal.

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine in which an effect is performed in accordance with the progress of a game using a game ball.

  Conventionally, in many gaming machines, as the game progresses, an image is displayed on a display device together with sound and light, and various moving accessories are operated in accordance with the displayed image. This gives the player a sense of expectation and achievement and enhances the interest of the game (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The gaming machine described in Patent Document 1 is based on alternating current (AC) 24 volts (24V) supplied from island facilities, and various operating power sources such as + 5.2V, + 5.25V, + 12V, and + 24V. , + 37V is provided on the main body frame of the gaming machine.

JP 2011-206129 A

  By the way, in recent pachinko machines, by providing a large number of movable objects for production on the game board, it provides the player with a gorgeous production and powerful attractive production. The number of objects tends to increase. These effectable movable objects usually use a motor or a solenoid as a drive source. Accordingly, the power consumption is increasing with the increase in the number of movable accessories for production, and the power supply board is becoming insufficient in capacity. However, although it is not impossible to increase the capacity further on the power supply board side, it is desirable to avoid an increase in capacity considering the recent ecological trend.

  Such an effect in which a plurality of movable objects for production move violently is intense for the player, and so-called big hit is highly expected. In addition, a production in which a plurality of movable actors work together does not perform a production operation over a long period of time, but the moment of production is more instantaneous when the production period is instantaneous. On the other hand, when a plurality of movable accessories are instantaneously operated together, for example, a heavy movable agent is driven at a high speed (hereinafter referred to as intense heat effect), the power consumption increases instantaneously. For this reason, when intense heat production is performed, there is a possibility that electric power may become insufficient.

  The above intense heat effect is an effect that there is a possibility that the maximum power that cannot be covered by the power generated by the power supply board may be insufficient. To supplement the power shortage, auxiliary power means are provided and accumulated in the auxiliary power means. It is conceivable to compensate for the power shortage with electric power. The intense heat effect is an effect that accompanies the discharge of the electric power stored in the auxiliary power supply means.

  Therefore, when the intense heat effect is started, it is possible to compensate for the power shortage by the discharge of the electric power accumulated in the auxiliary power supply means, and after the intense heat effect is finished, in order to accumulate electric power in the auxiliary power supply means, It will be necessary to charge the auxiliary power supply means. Note that the intense heat effect is usually set at a low appearance rate. However, since the appearance rate is only calculated, it is conceivable that some players continuously apply intense heat effects while charging the auxiliary power supply means.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to efficiently perform intense heat effects on the power of the auxiliary power supply means to suppress a decrease in the interest of the game. An object is to provide a gaming machine.

A gaming machine according to [Solution 1]
A game board having a plurality of winning holes in which a game area is partitioned and game balls rolling down the game area can be entered;
A body frame in which the game board is fitted and stored;
A hitting ball launcher that is arranged on the main body frame and launches a game ball toward the game area in accordance with a player's operation;
A main control board that is provided in the game board, controls the game, and outputs a control command based on the reception of the game ball in the winning opening;
A peripheral control board that is provided in the game board and performs effect control based on the control command output from the main control board;
A power supply board that is provided in the main body frame and generates various DC power supplies based on an AC power supply;
A plurality of movable accessories provided in the game board, controlled by the peripheral control board and movable by an electromagnetic drive source;
In order to solve the above problems,

In the main body frame,
Auxiliary power supply means for supplying power for operation to the electromagnetic drive sources of the plurality of movable accessories by being charged while being charged by the operating power supply,
Charging state monitoring means for monitoring a charging state of the auxiliary power source means and outputting a charging completion signal when charging is completed;
When the discharge permission signal output from the peripheral control board is received, the auxiliary power supply means is switched from the charged state to the discharged state, and when the discharge permission signal is erased, the auxiliary power supply means is switched from the discharged state to the charged state. Power supply switching means;
Is provided,

In the game board,
Intense heat production control means for producing an intense heat production accompanied by discharge of the auxiliary power supply means;
A discharge permission signal output control means for outputting the discharge permission signal when starting the intense heat effect, and stopping the output of the discharge permission signal when ending the intense heat effect;
While the intense heat effect is finished, until the charging completion signal is received, instead of the intense heat effect, a state where another effect with low power consumption without discharge of the auxiliary power supply means can be executed. When the charging completion signal is received, instead of the another effect, an effect change control means for making the intense heat effect executable,
Equipped with,
It is characterized by this.

  According to the gaming machine according to [Solution Means 1], on the main body frame side, the auxiliary power supply means is charged by the operating power generated by the power supply board. The charging state monitoring means monitors the charging state of the auxiliary power supply means, and outputs a charging completion signal when charging is completed. The discharge permission signal output control means outputs a discharge permission signal when the intense heat effect is started. The intense heat production control means performs an intense heat production accompanied by the discharge of the auxiliary power supply means. When receiving the discharge permission signal, the power supply switching means switches the auxiliary power supply means from the charged state to the discharged state. For this reason, the operation power is supplied to the electromagnetic drive sources of the plurality of movable accessories by the discharge of the auxiliary power supply means, and the power of the operation power generated by the power supply board is compensated during the intense heat production. Reliable and reliable. Therefore, even if the electromagnetic drive sources of a plurality of movable accessories are driven together during the intense heat production, power shortage does not occur.

  Further, the discharge permission signal output control means stops outputting the discharge permission signal when the intense heat effect is finished. The power source switching means switches the auxiliary power source means from the discharged state to the charged state when the discharge permission signal is erased. Therefore, when the intense heat effect is finished, the auxiliary power supply means is charged by the operating power generated by the power supply board, and the power used by the discharge can be replenished. In addition, charging is not hindered by performing the effect. For this reason, intense heat production can be efficiently performed with respect to the electric power of the auxiliary power supply means. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the interest of the game.

  In addition, during the period from when the intense heat effect is finished until the charge completion signal output from the charge state monitoring means is received, instead of the intense heat effect, another effect (alternative of low power consumption without discharge of the auxiliary power supply means) (Production) can be executed. Therefore, it is possible to produce without depending on the power of the auxiliary power supply means. On the other hand, when the charging completion signal is received, the intense heat effect can be executed instead of another effect.

  The charging state monitoring means monitors the charging state of the auxiliary power supply means, outputs a charging completion signal when charging is completed, and performs an intense heat effect depending on whether there is a charging completion signal, or auxiliary power supply means It is determined whether or not an alternative effect with low power consumption without discharging is performed. Therefore, it can be reliably determined whether or not power is stored in the auxiliary power supply means, and the reliability is high. Also, it is not necessary to ensure the state of charge before shipment.

A gaming machine according to [Solution means 2], in the gaming machine according to [Solution means 1], an auxiliary power supply abnormality detection means for detecting whether or not the auxiliary power supply means is abnormal;
When the auxiliary power supply abnormality detection means detects an abnormality, the notification means for notifying that effect,
It is characterized by this.

  According to the gaming machine according to [Solution Means 2], when the auxiliary power supply means is out of order for some reason, the abnormality is notified by the notification means. Therefore, the abnormality of the auxiliary power supply means can be reliably grasped, and the auxiliary power supply means can be maintained quickly.

  According to the gaming machine of the first aspect, on the main body frame side, the auxiliary power supply means is charged by the operating power generated by the power supply board. The charging state monitoring means monitors the charging state of the auxiliary power supply means, and outputs a charging completion signal when charging is completed. The discharge permission signal output control means outputs a discharge permission signal when the intense heat effect is started. The intense heat production control means performs an intense heat production accompanied by the discharge of the auxiliary power supply means. When receiving the discharge permission signal, the power supply switching means switches the auxiliary power supply means from the charged state to the discharged state. For this reason, the operation power is supplied to the electromagnetic drive sources of the plurality of movable accessories by the discharge of the auxiliary power supply means, and the power of the operation power generated by the power supply board is compensated during the intense heat production. Reliable and reliable. Therefore, even if the electromagnetic drive sources of a plurality of movable accessories are driven together during the intense heat production, power shortage does not occur.

  Further, the discharge permission signal output control means stops outputting the discharge permission signal when the intense heat effect is finished. The power source switching means switches the auxiliary power source means from the discharged state to the charged state when the discharge permission signal is erased. Therefore, when the intense heat effect is finished, the auxiliary power supply means is charged by the operating power generated by the power supply board, and the power used by the discharge can be replenished. In addition, charging is not hindered by performing the effect. For this reason, intense heat production can be efficiently performed with respect to the electric power of the auxiliary power supply means. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the interest of the game.

  In addition, during the period from when the intense heat effect is finished until the charge completion signal output from the charge state monitoring means is received, instead of the intense heat effect, another effect (alternative of low power consumption without discharge of the auxiliary power supply means) (Production) can be executed. Therefore, it is possible to produce without depending on the power of the auxiliary power supply means. On the other hand, when the charging completion signal is received, the intense heat effect can be executed instead of another effect.

  The charging state monitoring means monitors the charging state of the auxiliary power supply means, outputs a charging completion signal when charging is completed, and performs an intense heat effect depending on whether there is a charging completion signal, or auxiliary power supply means It is determined whether or not an alternative effect with low power consumption without discharging is performed. Therefore, it can be reliably determined whether or not power is stored in the auxiliary power supply means, and the reliability is high. An intense heat effect can be efficiently performed on the electric power of the auxiliary power supply means. Also, it is not necessary to ensure the state of charge before shipment.

It is a front view which shows the payment machine attached to the pachinko machine and pachinko machine which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed. It is a front perspective view which shows the main body frame which comprises a pachinko machine. It is a back perspective view which shows the main body frame which comprises a pachinko machine. It is a perspective view which shows an upper launcher, a deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit, and a sphere assembly part. It is a right view which shows an upper launcher, a ball supply path member, and a ball lifting device. It is the perspective view by the line of sight which looked up at the upper part of a game board from the front lower part of the game board which shows an upper launch device and a launch field. It is a front view showing an upper launcher (launching hammer hitting position). It is a perspective view which shows an upper launcher seen from the front left side. It is a perspective view which shows an upper launcher as seen from the rear left. It is a perspective view which removes the ball feeding unit cover and shows the upper launcher as viewed from the rear left. It is a figure which shows the open state of the upper launcher in the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed. It is a right view which shows the longitudinal cross-section of the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 2. It is the perspective view which showed the state which the junction part with the base plate in an upper launcher, and the projection part of the panel holder in a game board are contact | abutting. It is a perspective view which shows an upper launcher seen from the front right side. It is a front view which shows an upper discharge device (launch hammer standby position). It is a right view which shows an upper emission device (a ball feed solenoid is not excited, a ball feed member is a holding position and a return ball blocking position). FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device shown broken along the line B-B in FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid de-excited, ball feed member is held position and return ball blocking position). It is a perspective view which shows the ball | bowl feed member, ball | bowl feed shaft, and ball | bowl feed sheet metal in a ball | bowl feeder from diagonally back. It is a right view which shows an upper launcher (ball feed solenoid excitation, a ball feed member is a supply position and an allowable position). FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device shown broken along the line B-B in FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid excitation, ball feed member is in supply position and allowable position). It is sectional drawing which fractured | ruptured the main body frame to the vertical direction so that an upper launcher, a ball supply path member, and a ball lifting device could be shown. It is a time chart which shows the drive timing of a ball feed solenoid and a launch solenoid. It is a front perspective view of a ball exit opening and closing unit. It is a back perspective view of a ball exit opening and closing unit. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between an upper launch unit and the ball | bowl exit opening / closing unit in a main body frame. It is an external appearance perspective view explaining a deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure which isolate | separates and reverses a magnetic ball discharge part cover in FIG. It is a top view of a deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a rear view of a deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the base plate of a deformed sphere and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure which isolate | separates a deformed sphere and a magnetic sphere discharge unit into a deformed sphere discharge unit and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the path | route by which a deformed sphere and a magnetic sphere are discharged | emitted in a deformed sphere and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the situation where a magnetic ball is separated from the circulation path and discharged. It is a figure explaining the state where the magnetic sphere reached the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface. It is a front left perspective view of a ball gathering part and a ball lifting device. It is a front view of a ball gathering part and a ball lifting device. It is a front view which shows the state which removed the ball polishing cartridge in a ball gathering part. It is a back perspective view which shows the state which removed the case of the ball assembly part and the cover of the ball lifting device. It is the back perspective view which expanded the ball gathering part in Drawing 40. It is the figure which expanded FIG. 41 further. It is the top view which removed the case of the ball gathering part. It is a back perspective view showing the state where an upper gearbox and a lower gearbox were removed. It is a right view which shows the state which removed the cover of the ball lifting apparatus. It is an enlarged view of (A) in FIG. It is a figure showing the state which decomposed | disassembled the screw. It is a perspective view which shows the upper part of a ball lifting apparatus. It is a figure which shows the fitting / non-fitting state of a screw and a fitting member. It is a left view which shows the state with which the ball polishing cartridge was mounted | worn. It is a perspective view explaining the mechanism which fixes a ball polishing cartridge. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the middle of mounting | wearing a ball polishing cartridge. It is a perspective view which shows the state in which the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of a ball polishing cartridge are pressed. It is a left view which shows the state in which the ball polishing cloth of a game ball and a ball polishing cartridge is pressed. In FIG. 54, it is a left view which shows the state which removed the left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge. In FIG. 55, it is the figure which expanded the ball polishing cartridge vicinity. It is a perspective view which shows the state with which the ball polishing cartridge was mounted | worn. In FIG. 57, it is a perspective view which shows the state which removed only the right outer side cover for description. In FIG. 58, it is an upper perspective view which shows the state which opened the right side cover. It is a perspective view of a ball polish cartridge. It is a front view of a ball polish cartridge. It is a side view of a ball polish cartridge. In FIG. 62, it is a side view which shows the state which removed the left side cover. It is a perspective view of a ball polish cartridge mounting part. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between a ball polishing cartridge and a ball polishing cartridge mounting part. FIG. 40 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge of FIG. 39. It is a side view which shows the 2nd Example in a conveyance slope member. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd Example in a conveyance slope member. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the upper gear box in the lifting apparatus. It is a rear view which shows the state which removed the raising part cover in the raising apparatus. It is the schematic which shows the state in which the game ball | bowl thrown in when enclosing a game ball | bowl to an enclosure ball-type game machine is less than a predetermined number. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state where a predetermined number of game balls are inserted when a game ball is encapsulated in an encapsulated ball game machine. It is the schematic which shows the behavior of the game ball | bowl when the game ball | bowl thrown into the enclosure ball | bowl type game machine exceeds the predetermined number when thrown. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the game ball introduction member in the game panel protruded. It is a perspective view which shows the state which accommodated the game ball introduction member in a game panel. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part in embodiment of the main control board arrange | positioned at the enclosure ball-type pachinko machine. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the ball | bowl information control board arrange | positioned at the enclosure ball-type pachinko machine. It is a block diagram which shows each element connected to the payment machine. It is a flowchart which shows the main control side power-on process which the main control MPU of the main control board performs. 80 is a flowchart showing a continuation of main-control-side power-on processing in FIG. 79. It is a flowchart which shows the main control side timer interruption process which main control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the ball | bowl information control side power-on process which the ball | bowl information control MPU of a ball | bowl information control board performs. FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the power-on process on the ball information control side in FIG. FIG. 84 is a flowchart showing a continuation of power-on processing on the ball information sphere concession control side following FIG. 83. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of the sphere information control power-off which the sphere information control MPU of a sphere information control board performs. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a sphere information control side timer interruption process. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball rental process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of a ball | bowl hit possibility determination process which ball information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the number-of-balls counting process which ball information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball | bowl feed and discharge drive process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the shot ball detection process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the number-of-balls subtraction process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the lifting drive process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball clogging notification process performed by the ball information control MPU. It is the figure which showed the cushion and the follower member provided in the back surface side of the door frame, and the cushion receiving plate provided in the upper launcher. It is the figure which showed the positioning guide member arrange | positioned at the left side board inner wall of a main body frame. It is the figure which showed fitting of the game board in 2nd Example of a gaming machine. It is an example of the block diagram which showed the game board and main body frame with which drawer connector connection was carried out. It is an example of the block diagram which showed the game board and main body frame with which drawer connector connection was carried out. It is a figure which shows the prior art example in the signal output from a ball | bowl information control board to an external terminal board. It is a figure which shows the present Example in the signal output from a ball | bowl information control board to an external terminal board. It is a block diagram which shows a part of power supply system containing the power supply board in this embodiment. It is a principal part block diagram of an electric power compensation circuit and a periphery control board. (A) is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for the control performed by the peripheral control MPU mounted on the peripheral control board when the gaming machine is turned on, and (B) is the peripheral control main process. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a 16 ms steady process executed every 16 ms. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the effect control process which peripheral control MPU of a peripheral control board performs. (A) is a flowchart showing a subroutine of effect change determination processing executed by the peripheral control MPU of the peripheral control board, (B) is a flowchart showing a subroutine of signal output start processing executed by the peripheral control MPU, (C) These are the flowcharts which show the subroutine of the signal output end process which peripheral control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the charging abnormality detection process which peripheral control MPU of a peripheral control board performs.

[Outline of gaming machine]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The gaming machine 1 (encapsulated ball type gaming machine) according to the present embodiment can be installed in the current island facility in the hall (pachinko game hall), and the game content is the same as a known gaming machine. However, it is a gaming machine that does not use the ball supply mechanism or ball discharge mechanism of the island facility. That is, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment, a predetermined number of game balls formed of a non-magnetic material (for example, stainless steel) are accommodated in the game machine, and the predetermined number of game balls are played by a launching device. The game balls that have been pre-enclosed in the gaming machine are played so that the game balls that have been played are collected, the game balls that have been played are collected, and the game balls are led to the launching device and circulated for use. It is like that. Then, it becomes possible to launch game balls corresponding to the number of game balls (data on the number of balls held) based on the data on the number of rented balls input from a storage medium such as a card via a checkout system. Then, the data on the number of possessed balls is subtracted corresponding to the number of game balls that have been fired.

  In addition, when the launched game ball wins a winning opening in the game area and a prize ball (game ball) is generated, the actual game ball is not paid out, and the number of prize balls is included in the number-of-balls data. Is added. Further, when the data on the number of possessed balls becomes “0”, the game ball cannot be launched. In this state, when a numerical value (number of rented balls) is added to the data of the number of balls based on the amount data stored in a storage medium such as a card or the data of the stored balls, the game balls can be launched again. It becomes. In addition, the launched game balls are collected in the game machine, sent to the launch position again, and circulated in the game machine. That is, the gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment is an enclosed ball type gaming machine that collects gaming balls that have been launched into the gaming area and supplies them to the game again.

  First, the main body frame 2 (FIG. 3) and the door frame 3 (FIG. 1) constituting the gaming machine 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the game machine 1 of FIG. 1 is provided with a settlement machine 4 as an external device.

The gaming machine 1 is formed in a rectangular frame shape and is installed on the hall-side island facility (FIG. 12), and is pivotally supported by the outer frame 1a so as to be openable and closable, and a gaming board 5 (FIG. 2). A main body frame 2 that can be mounted, and a door frame 3 that is pivotally supported by the main body frame 2 so as to be openable and closable are provided.
A decorative cover 6 is attached to the front surface of the outer frame 1a at a position below the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3, so that the front surface of the outer frame 1a is completely closed by the door frame 3 and the decorative cover 6. It has become. The outer frame 1a, the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 are arranged so that their upper ends are substantially aligned, and the main body frame 2 can be rotated by a hinge 7 (FIG. 3) provided on the left side of the outer frame 1a. The main body frame 2 is opened by moving the right side of the main body frame 2 to the front side with respect to the outer frame 1a. The door frame 3 is attached to the main body frame 2 so as to be rotatable with a pin, and the door frame 3 is opened by moving the right side of the door frame 3 to the front side.

[Door frame 3]
The door frame 3 is disposed below the game window 9 so that the player can visually recognize the game area 8 into which the game ball of the game board 5 is to be shot, and is placed in the game area 8 based on the player's operation. It has a hitting ball handle 10 for driving a game ball. A transparent plate 11 is attached to the game window 9 so that the front surface (the game area 8) of the game board 5 mounted on the main body frame 2 side is visibly covered with the door frame 3 closed with respect to the main body frame 2. It has been. The hitting handle 10 drives a launch solenoid 13 (see FIG. 5) of a hitting ball launching device (referred to as an upper launching device 12) attached to the upper left of the main body frame 2 based on a player's turning operation. A game ball is driven into the game area 8. The hitting handle 10 includes a micro switch (not shown) that is turned on when the turning operation is performed, and a firing stop switch and the hitting handle 10 that are turned off when the micro switch is pressed while the micro switch is turned on. There is provided a touch switch for detecting contact of the player with the hitting ball handle 10 through conductive plating applied to the outer peripheral surface of the player. The upper launcher 12 will be described later.

  In addition, the door frame 3 and the main body frame 2 open the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 2 by inserting a key into a key device arranged at the lower right corner of the door frame 3 and turning to one side. Can be done.

[Touch panel unit 14]
The door frame 3 is provided with a touch panel portion 14 that is formed horizontally long in a lower portion of the gaming window 9 (a portion corresponding to an upper plate of a well-known gaming machine having a non-enclosed ball type). The touch panel unit 14 displays the remaining number, the number of gaming machine balls, and the number of terminal balls.

  Here, the remaining number is a value corresponding to the amount stored in the card used in the checkout machine 4, and the number of player's balls is lent to the player by lending the ball. It is the total of the number of balls and the number of prize balls acquired by the player as a result of playing the game.

  The touch panel unit 14 displays a ball lending button as a ball lending command input means that can be operated by the player and a payment button as a payment command input means that can be operated by the player. The ball lending button is used to instruct lending of a ball for playing a game. Further, the settlement button is used to end the pachinko game and instruct settlement.

  Further, the touch panel unit 14 further displays an end ball number display button as an end ball number display command input means which can be operated by the player. Here, the number of end balls is the number of extra balls when the number of player's balls is divided by the number of balls corresponding to one special prize at the time of prize exchange. When the display of the number of end balls is instructed by the end ball number display button, the touch panel unit 14 can also display a message such as “Would you like to drive only the end ball”? A message in the form of an interactive question is displayed together with the number of hemisphere display buttons, and a YES button and a NO button for making a selection input for the player to answer either yes or no are displayed.

[Main frame 2]
The main body frame 2 has a box shape having a frame-like fitting frame 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16 so as to be exactly within the rectangular frame-shaped outer frame 1a (FIGS. 3 and 4). The fitting frame 15 has a square-shaped accommodation opening 17 for fitting and housing the game board 5 on the front side thereof. A projecting wall 18 projecting inward is integrally formed behind the housing opening 17 (FIGS. 3 and 12). The back is closed with a back cover. When the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the front surface (the game area 8) of the game board 5 accommodated in the main body frame 2 can be seen through the game window 9 of the door frame 3.

  A deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit accommodating portion 19 is formed below the accommodating opening 17, and the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit accommodating portion 19 is provided with the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20. . As will be described later, a discharge ball receiving box 234 for storing a deformed ball or a magnetic ball having a smaller diameter than the regular game ball discharged from the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 It can be detached from the front direction.

  FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view in which the main body frame is broken in the vertical direction so as to show the upper launching device, the ball supply path member, and the ball lifting device. As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6, and 23, the main body frame 2 is provided with an upper launcher 12, a ball collecting unit 21, a ball lifting device 22, and a ball supply path member 24. The ball assembly unit 21 receives the game balls that have passed through the deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 and guides them to the base of the ball lifting device 22 (FIG. 5), and includes a ball polishing device and the like.

  The hitting ball launching device 29 for launching the game ball toward the game area 8 is disposed on one side (left side) of the front and upper part of the main body frame 2 (FIGS. 3 and 23). Further, the ball feeding device 28 for feeding the game balls arranged and stored in the guiding passage (ball feeding guide rod 69 described later, see FIG. 11) one by one to the firing position of the ball hitting device 29 is a ball hitting device 29. Are arranged so as to overlap with the rear in the front-rear direction (FIGS. 6 and 23). In the present embodiment, the hitting ball launching device 29 and the ball feeding device 28 form the upper launching device 12 as an upper firing unit.

  In this embodiment, the ball lifting device 22 uses a screw 25 that is driven by a ball lifting motor 150 (see FIG. 24), and the game balls that have reached the base portion are spaced from each other by the rotation of the screw 25. It is opened and transported from below to the upper part of the body frame 2. The ball lifting device 22 is attached to the rear surface of the main body frame 2 behind the upper launching device 12, and the upper end portion of the ball lifting device 22 is disposed above the ball feeding device 28 (FIGS. 3 and 3). 4, FIG. 23).

  Between the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and the upper portion of the upper launching device 12, the ball supply in the front-rear direction for feeding the game ball lifted by the ball lifting device 22 from above to the ball feeding device 28. A path member 24 is provided (FIGS. 3, 4, and 23). Further, in this embodiment, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end portion of the ball lifting device 22 and is gently inclined downward toward the front, and the transferred game ball is moved forward from the upper side. It consists of a ball delivery rod 23 to be sent out, and a lifting communication rod 65 which is formed on the rear upper part of the upper launcher 12, is connected to the ball delivery rod 23, and has a gentle downward slope toward the front. In addition, the game ball lifted by the ball lifting device 22 is sent out to the ball delivery basket 23. The ball delivery basket 23 of the ball supply path member 24 is provided with a launch standby ball detection switch 26 that detects the presence or absence of a game ball flowing down the ball delivery basket 23 (see FIG. 6).

[Upper launcher]
FIG. 8 is a front view showing the upper launcher, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the upper launcher as viewed from the front left. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the upper launcher as viewed from the rear left, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the upper launcher as viewed from the rear left with the ball feed unit cover removed.

  12 is a view showing an open state of the upper launcher in the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed, and FIG. 13 is a right side view showing a longitudinal section of the gaming machine shown with the door frame removed. FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing a part of a cross-sectional perspective view along AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state in which the joint portion with the base plate in the upper launcher is in contact with the protruding portion of the panel holder in the game board.

  The upper launcher 12 accepts a metal plate-like base plate 39 for mounting and fixing the upper launcher 12 to the main body frame 2 and a game ball reaching from the ball supply path member 24, and launches the hitting ball launcher 29. A ball feeding device 28 that reliably sends out the game balls one by one by the ball feed solenoid 31 (FIG. 11) and the ball feed member 32 to the hitting ball launch position of the hammer 30 (FIG. 8), and the game ball is launched toward the game area 8 And a hitting ball launching device 29 (see FIGS. 8 to 11).

  The ball feeding device 28 receives a game ball that arrives from the ball supply path member 24 (FIG. 6), and sends one game ball to the firing position of the firing hammer 30 (FIG. 8) of the hitting ball launching device 29 by the ball feeding member 32. It is a device for reliably sending out one by one.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the hitting ball launching device 29 includes a firing hammer 30, a firing solenoid 13, a rail member 33, a firing stopper 34, a return stopper 35, a firing ball confirmation switch 36, an upper launcher hinge 37, and a launch opening. 38. These members are attached to a base plate 39 (in this embodiment, a metal plate) as a substrate. The launch port 38 is formed to face the tip of the launch hammer 30, and the rail member 33 is attached to this portion. The rail member 33 is a member that holds, by the rail portion 332, one game ball that is sent to the launch position (hit position) by the ball feed member 32. The game ball launched by the firing hammer 30 is launched from the launch port 38 to the game area 8.

  The firing ball confirmation switch 36 is arranged with respect to the rail portion 332 of the rail member 33, and detects the presence or absence of a game ball driven by the firing hammer 30, and the detection of the game ball by the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is not detected. By switching, it is detected that one game ball has been fired by the firing hammer 30.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the circulation path of the game sphere includes the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20, the ball assembly part 21, the ball lifting device 22, the ball supply path member 24, the upper launcher 12, and the game area 8. It is something to go through. The game balls launched from the upper launching device 12 to the launch area 40 (FIG. 7) of the game area 8 flow down from the top to the bottom of the game area, and the deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 passes through the winning opening 41 or the out opening 42. Return to.

[Game board]
The game board 5 is attached to the fitting frame 15 of the main body frame 2. In this embodiment, the game board 5 has a structure in which the transparent panel plate 44 is attached to the panel holder 43, and the front component member 45 is attached to the front surface of the game board 5 to fix the transparent panel plate 44 (FIG. 12). There is no game board 5 equivalent to a conventional inner rail, and the upper part of the inner peripheral surface of the front component member 45 is a game ball running surface 46 (FIG. 7).

  The electrical connection of the game board 5 to the main body frame 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The mechanical and electrical connection between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 is performed by connection using a drawer connector. The game board 5 is provided with a game board side main drawer connector and a game board side sub drawer connector, and the main body frame 2 is provided with a main body frame side main drawer connector and a main body frame side sub drawer connector. Yes. By fitting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2, the game board side main drawer connector and the main body frame side main drawer connector, the game board side auxiliary drawer connector and the main body frame side auxiliary drawer connector are connected, and the game board 5 And the body frame 2 are mechanically connected and simultaneously electrically connected. Thereby, electrical communication can be performed between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2.

  A notch 47 (FIG. 12) is formed in the upper left corner of the game board 5 in accordance with the form of the upper launcher 12. The notch 47 reaches a part of the transparent panel plate 44 in the game area 8 from the front component member 45. The launch port 38 of the upper launcher 12 faces the portion where the transparent panel plate 44 is cut out, and the vicinity of the launch port 38 along the game ball traveling surface 46 above the launch port 38 as shown in FIG. The game area 8 is a launch area 40. Therefore, the game ball launched by the launching hammer 30 of the upper launching device 12 is guided to the game ball running surface 46 of the front component member 45 in the launch area 40.

  The game area 8 of the present embodiment is provided with a number of obstacle nails (not shown), various winning ports such as winning ports, etc., and a predetermined number of prize balls are awarded according to winnings in various winning ports. It is like that. Since this embodiment is an enclosed ball type game machine, “1” is subtracted from the data of the number of balls in accordance with the driving of one game ball, while the number of prize balls according to the winnings in various winning ports. Is added to the data on the number of balls held, and the number of balls held corresponding to this is displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

  In addition, since it is an enclosed ball type gaming machine, prize balls are not paid out, and the number of outgoing balls, the number of incoming balls, the number of difference balls, the number of possessed balls, etc. are not the actual number of game balls but numerical values in the data. In other words, there are only a limited number of game balls that are actually used (for example, 50 or 75) that are circulated, and the number of balls that can be used is, for example, a game ball that is launched into the game area 8 is detected. From the numerical values such as the number of shot balls counted, the number of collected balls detected and counted in the game area 8 and collected, the number of winning balls when winning, the number of balls rented from the hall side, etc. The number of incoming balls, the number of outgoing balls, the number of difference balls, the number of balls held can be obtained.

  That is, as long as there is no trouble such as opening the door frame 3 and the game balls coming out, the number of shot balls is equal to the number of collected balls. Then, the number of incoming balls = the number of recovered balls = the number of launched balls, the number of outgoing balls = the number of winning balls (accumulated value) = the number of incoming balls−the number of rented balls (the number of replayed balls) + the number of held balls. Number of balls (or the number of replayed balls) + number of balls played-number of balls entered, number of balls exited-number of balls entered = number of difference balls, number of balls held = number of balls lent (or number of replay balls) + number of difference balls It becomes. In this way, the game by the gaming machine 1 is completely performed as a numerical value on the data, and there is no error caused by spilling the game ball or leaving the game ball on the lower plate or the upper plate, It becomes possible to manage in an integer unit. In addition, in the structure of the upper projecting device 12 to be described later, basically no foul sphere is generated.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the front component member 45, the panel holder, and the transparent panel plate 44 are formed as separate members, but these are integrated by, for example, bonding or integrally formed to form a single member. You can also. As described above, when the front component member 45, the panel holder 43, and the like are integrally formed on the transparent panel plate 44, the front component member 45 and the panel holder 43 have the cutout 47 provided in the game board 5. Structural weakening of these members due to cutting of the frame structure (with the four sides connected) can be suppressed.

  16 is a perspective view of the upper launcher as viewed from the front right, FIG. 17 is a front view of the upper launcher (launching hammer standby position), and FIG. 18 is a right side view of the upper launcher. It is.

[Hitball launcher 29]
The hitting ball launching device 29 can hit the game ball supplied from the ball feeding device 28 into the game area 8 of the game board 5 with strength according to the rotation operation of the hitting ball handle 10. The ball striking device 29 includes a firing solenoid 13 that is attached to the upper rear surface of the base plate 39 so that the rotational drive shaft 60 protrudes forward, and a firing hammer 30 that is fixed to the rotational drive shaft 60 of the firing solenoid 13 so as to be integrally rotatable. A tip 61 fixed to the tip of the firing hammer 30, a rail member 33 attached to the front surface of the base plate 39 with a predetermined position on the movement trajectory of the tip 61 as a firing position, and the rail member 33 at the launch position. The firing stopper 34 that restricts the tip 61 from rotating counterclockwise from the striking position at which the stopped game ball can be hit, and the launching hammer 30 in a standby position (initial position) in the turning operation. A return stopper 35 that regulates to the launch position, a launch ball check switch 36 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball that is parked at the launch position, A morphism device hinge 37 is provided with a firing port 38 which is opened to face the game area 8, the (8, 9, 16, see FIG. 18).

  Although the detailed illustration of the firing solenoid 13 in the hitting ball launching device 29 is omitted, the rotary drive shaft 60 is reciprocally rotated at a strength (speed) corresponding to the rotational operation angle of the hitting ball handle 10. The launching hammer 30 of the ball striking device 29 has a fixed portion 301 fixed to the rotational drive shaft 60 of the firing solenoid 13, and extends from the fixed portion 301 in a gentle arc shape, with the tip at the axis of the rotational drive shaft 60. A hook 302 facing the normal direction and having a hook 61 fixed to the tip thereof, and a stopper that extends to the opposite side of the hook 302 with the fixing part 301 sandwiched therebetween and can come into contact with the stopper 34 at the time of firing A contact portion 303. The stopper abutting portion 303 of the firing hammer 30 abuts against the stopper 34 at the time of firing, so that the counterclockwise rotation in front view is restricted (see FIG. 8).

  Further, a ball supply port 63 formed in a ball feed unit base (described later) of the ball feed device 28 is disposed immediately above the rail member 33 of the hit ball launching device 29. The rail member 33 stops one game ball sent out from the ball supply port 63 by the ball feeding operation of the ball feeding member 32 of the ball feeding device 28 described later at the launch position.

  The rail member 33 is formed by bending a metal plate, and includes a mounting plate portion 331 that is fixedly attached to the base plate 39, and a rail portion 332 that is bent forward from the mounting plate portion 331. (Refer to FIG. 8). The rail portion 332 for setting the launch position has a substantially L-shape inclined 45 degrees obliquely to the left in front view, and a left rail plate 333 that forms the left side of the rail portion 332, and a right side of the rail portion 332 And a right rail plate 334 that forms a shape (see FIG. 8). The left rail plate 333 is formed with a through-hole 335 through which the tip 61 passes when the firing hammer 30 is struck (see FIGS. 9 and 21).

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when viewed from the front direction, a portion extending from the center to the lower end of the right side of the hitting ball launcher 29 of the upper launcher 12 is disposed so as to face the game area 8. ing. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 16, a launcher decoration member 64 is disposed on the right side of the front surface of the base plate 39, and the launcher decoration member 64 is attached to the base plate 39 and a ball feed unit base 67 described later. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 16, the launcher decoration member 64 is disposed so that the right side surface portion and the lower side surface portion thereof are exposed facing the game area 8. The surface portion and the lower side surface portion are formed on a ball entry preventing wall 51 that prevents the game ball launched into the game area 8 from entering the inside of the ball hitting device 29. The launch opening 38 is formed in the ball entry prevention wall 51 on the right side surface portion of the launch opening decoration member 64, and the ball entry prevention wall 51 surrounds the launch opening 38 from substantially the same plane as the rear end face of the game area 8. It has an arch shape that rises forward.

  As can be understood with reference to FIGS. 8 and 16, the launch port 38 is located obliquely upward and to the right in the front view with respect to the rail portion 332. As can be understood from FIGS. 8 and 17, the distance between the rail portion 332 (launch position) and the launch port 38 is short (about twice the diameter of the game ball P), and therefore the launch distance is short, A foul ball is not generated, and the launched game ball can be reliably driven into the game area 8.

  The launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects the presence or absence of a game ball that is stopped at the launch position, and the game ball at the launch position is driven by the launch hammer 30 and fired to detect the detection of the game ball. By switching to, it is detected that one game ball has been fired by the firing hammer 30.

  The projecting ball confirmation switch 36 includes a transmissive photosensor, and a light projecting unit and a light receiving unit are disposed so as to straddle the rail unit 332 that sets the projecting position. The firing ball check switch 36 is arranged with respect to the firing position by being supported by the photo bracket 361, and the photo bracket 361 is attached and fixed to the lower front portion of the base plate 39.

  The hitting ball launching device 29 has a stopper cover 62 that covers the front surface of the firing stopper 34 that can restrict the rotation end of the firing hammer 30 toward the hitting ball position, and a hitting ball 30 in a position away from the hitting ball position. A return-time stopper 35 that restricts the rotation end (the rotation end in the clockwise direction when viewed from the front) is provided. The surfaces of the stoppers 34 and 35 are covered with rubber, so that the impact when the launching hammer 30 abuts can be absorbed, and the generation of noise due to the abutment can be suppressed. .

  Further, the hitting ball launching device 29 is configured such that the launching solenoid 13 is driven with a driving strength corresponding to the rotation operation of the hitting ball handle 10 by a later-described ball information control unit, and the ball feed of the ball feeding device 28 is With respect to the drive timing of the solenoid 31, it is driven so as to perform a hitting operation at a drive timing described later (see FIG. 24). Specifically, in the ball feeding device 28 that supplies the game ball to the hit ball launching device 29, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is driven (ON), the game ball received by the ball feeding member 32 is sent to the hit ball launching device 29, and its state When the driving of the ball feed solenoid 31 is released (OFF), the ball feed member 32 receives the game ball.

  In the hitting ball launching device 29, when the hitting handle 10 is launched, the energization / disconnection of the firing solenoid 13 is repeated at a voltage corresponding to the operation amount. By this excitation / de-excitation of the firing solenoid 13, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 17, the firing hammer 30 rotates from the initial position (FIG. 17) in the firing direction (counterclockwise) to the firing position. After the stopped game ball is launched at the tip 61 (FIG. 8), the firing operation of rotating clockwise to return to the initial position is repeated.

[Ball feeder 28]
Next, the ball feeder 28 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the ball feeding device 28 is mainly configured as a unit, and has a ball inlet 66 connected to the front end of the ball feeding rod 23 of the ball supply path member 24 shown in FIG. Ball feed having a ball supply port 63 connected to the ball 65 and the lifting communication rod 65 and for supplying the game ball that has entered from the lifting communication rod 65 to the ball hitting device 29, with the rear opened. A unit base 67, a ball feed unit cover 68 that closes the rear end of the ball feed unit base 67 and is opened forward, a ball feed solenoid 31 that is disposed below the ball feed unit base 67, and a ball feed solenoid 31 And a ball feeding member 32 that simultaneously realizes a ball feeding operation and a return ball blocking operation described later.

  The lifting communication rod 65 is gently inclined downward from the rear end where the ball inlet 66 is formed toward the front end. The ball feeding unit base 67 is attached to the left side of the rear surface of the base plate 39, and the front end of the lifting communication rod 65 is connected to the upper right side portion, and is connected to the front end of the lifting communication rod 65 in the rear view. A ball feed guide rod 69 that is gently inclined downward to the left in the left-right direction from the upper right side portion to the center in the vertical direction, and a lower end of the ball feed guide rod 69 that is bent downward in the middle. And a ball supply port 63 penetrating in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 11).

  In addition, on the rear surface of the ball feed unit cover 68 below the bent portion of the ball feed guide rod 69 and facing the upper portion of the ball supply port 63, the game balls waiting in the ball feed guide rod 69 are placed. A launch standby ball detection switch 70 for detecting the presence or absence is provided (see FIG. 10). Each of the launch standby ball detection switches 70 includes a flat proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body based on a change in impedance of a detection coil of the high-frequency oscillation circuit.

  The ball feed solenoid 31 of the present embodiment is composed of an electromagnet, and is disposed below the ball feed unit base 67 in a posture in which a suction portion that exhibits a suction function by excitation is directed downward. The ball feed member 32 is disposed below the ball feed unit base 67 adjacent to the left side of the ball feed solenoid 31. The ball feed member 32 according to the present embodiment allows the passing of the hit ball without interfering with the hit ball launched from the launch position by the hitting operation of the hit ball launching device 29 by the excitation / de-excitation of the ball feed solenoid 31. And a return ball blocking portion which is movable between a return ball blocking position for blocking the return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38.

[Ball feed member 32]
Hereinafter, the ball feeding member 32 will be described. 18 is a right side view showing the upper launching device 12 (the ball feed solenoid 31 is not excited, the ball feed member 32 is in the holding position and the return ball blocking position), and FIG. FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device 12 shown broken along line B (the ball feed solenoid 31 is de-energized, the ball feed member 32 takes the holding position and the return ball blocking position), and FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the ball | bowl feed member 32, a ball | bowl feed shaft, and a ball | bowl feed sheet metal from diagonally backward.

  FIG. 21 is a right side view showing the upper launcher 12 (the ball feed solenoid 31 is excited, the ball feed member takes the supply position and the allowable position), and FIG. 22 is a view taken along the line BB in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper firing device shown broken by a line (the ball feed solenoid 31 is excited, and the ball feed member 32 takes a supply position and an allowable position).

As shown in FIG. 20, a shaft hole 75 is formed in the middle of the ball feed member 32 in the vertical direction in the horizontal direction. A ball feed shaft 76 is inserted into the shaft hole 75 with both ends projecting, and both ends in the left-right direction of the ball feed shaft 76 are supported by the ball feed unit base 67.
Thereby, the ball feed member 32 is supported so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction with the ball feed shaft 76 as a rotation center.

  Further, an arm portion 77 is formed in the middle of the ball feed member 32 so as to extend rearward, and the lower end of the arm portion 77 is actuated to extend below the ball feed solenoid 31 as shown in FIG. A flange 72 is formed, and a sheet metal accommodating portion 73 is formed in the operating collar 72, and a ball feeding sheet metal 71 made of a metal material attracted by a magnet is accommodated in the sheet metal accommodating portion 73.

  A sheet metal locking claw 78 that protrudes rearward and prevents the ball-feeding sheet metal 71 from falling off is formed immediately below the sheet-metal housing portion 73. The ball feeding sheet metal 71 is prevented from falling off from the sheet metal accommodating part 73.

  As shown in FIG. 20, a latching protrusion 79 is formed at the end of the operating collar 72, and one end of a tension spring 52 shown in FIG. 19 is latched on the latching protrusion 79. Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the other end of the tension spring 52 is hooked on a spring locking portion 53 formed on the bottom bottom surface of the ball feed unit base 67.

  As shown in FIG. 20, a roof-shaped ball feed portion 74 is formed above the shaft hole 75 of the ball feed member 32 so as to be integrated with the ball feed member 32 toward the lower edge of the ball supply port 63. Yes. The ball feeding part 74 is formed in a mountain shape whose upper surface center is raised upward, from the center to the front, that is, in the ball supply port 63 formed at the lower end of the ball feeding guide rod 69 in FIG. The ball feed guiding surface 80 inclined toward the lower edge and the arc convex toward the rear from the center, that is, toward the ball feed unit cover 68 that closes the rear end of the ball feed guide rod 69 in FIG. And a ball holding surface 81 that is inclined so as to fall in a shape. A hanging piece 82 is formed at the rear end of the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeding portion 74 so as to hang downward.

  Further, the upper portion in the vertical direction of the ball feed member 32 penetrates the ball feed unit base 67 toward the front, and as shown in FIGS. 18, 20, and 21, a rail portion 332 (launch position) in a side view. A rectangular ball-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 is formed extending toward the hitting ball path from the center, and a hitting ball passage opening 85 having a rectangular shape is formed at the center of the return ball blocking portion 83.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 to 17, the frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 formed integrally with the ball feeding member 32 is disposed adjacent to the launch port 38 in the firing position direction. In addition, a ball stopper 84 is formed on the front side of the frame of the return ball blocking portion 83 in the launch position direction, with the bottom portion extending horizontally and in a triangular shape toward the rail portion 332. The ball stopper 84 is disposed in front of the ball feeder 74 and facing the ball feeder 74 at an interval above the firing position.

  Further, the ball feeding unit cover 68 is formed with a ball guide projection 54 having a “<” shape in the longitudinal section toward the front at a position facing the ball supply port 63 at the rear of the ball supply port 63. In addition, a front guide surface 55 having an arcuate concave shape facing the sphere supply port 63 is formed on the upper part of the sphere guide protrusion 54 facing forward. The lower part of the ball guide protrusion 54 is convexly curved rearward, and in the space below the lower part of the ball guide protrusion 54, the front and rear direction of the ball feed member 32 with the ball feed shaft 76 as the center of rotation. In the rotation operation, the ball feeding portion 74 can be retracted. Further, a stopper piece 56 is formed at the lower end of the ball guide protrusion 54 so as to protrude forward.

[Ball feeding operation and return ball blocking operation of the ball feeding member 32]
The ball feeding operation and the return ball blocking operation by the ball feeding member 32 of the ball feeding device 28 configured as described above will be described. When the ball feed solenoid 31 is in a non-excited state, the ball feed member 32 is hooked on the latch projection 79 at the end of the operating collar 72 and the spring locking portion 53 formed on the bottom bottom surface of the ball feed unit base 67. Due to the tensile force of the stopped tension spring 52, the lower end portion of the ball feeding member 32 is pulled toward the ball feeding unit base 67.

  As shown in FIG. 18, in the normal state (when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in a non-excited state), the ball feed member 32 is a rectangular frame-like return ball in a turning posture with the ball feed shaft 76 as a turning center. The blocking part 83 takes a posture inclined backward, and in the side view as viewed from the game area 8, that is, in the hitting path from the launching position of the hitting ball launching device 29 to the launching hole 38, the launching part 38 launches immediately. At the position on the position direction side, the portion located in front of the frame of the return ball blocking portion 83 is in a posture intersecting the launch port 38, and the hit ball passing port 85 with respect to the launch port 38 in the hit ball path. Is shifted to the rear, and it is impossible for the ball to pass to the hit ball passing port 85 in the hit ball path. That is, the return ball blocking portion 83 takes a return ball blocking position that blocks the return ball from returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38 in this posture.

  After the hitting of the hit ball, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the return ball blocking position, so that the return ball blocking unit 83 blocks the game ball launched into the game area 8 from entering the launch port 38 as a return ball. Since the return ball can be blocked, it is possible to prevent the return ball from reducing the interest in the game.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the ball feed member 32 is normally in a state where the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feed portion 74 is in the ball guide projection of the ball feed unit cover 68 (when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in a non-excited state). Retreating to the space below the portion 54, the hanging piece 82 formed at the lower end of the ball feeding portion 74 abuts on the stopper piece 56, and in a turning posture with the ball feeding shaft 76 of the ball feeding member 32 as the rotation center. The holding position in the ball feeding operation is restricted.

  In the holding position, the ball feed guide surface 80 of the ball feed portion 74 is located in front of the lower end of the front guide surface 55 of the ball guide protrusion 54 and is located on the extension line in the tangential direction of the front guide surface 55. In addition, the ball stopper 84 approaches the ball supply port 63, and the game ball P1 is fitted in the gap between the lower end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball stopper 84, and the game ball P1 remains. It becomes.

[Excitation of ball feed solenoid 31]
When energized by energizing the ball feed solenoid 31, the ball feed sheet metal 71 is attracted upward by the electromagnet function, and the operating collar 72 of the ball feed member 32 moves upward against the tensile force of the tension spring 52. The ball feed member 32 rotates in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. 19 with the ball feed shaft 76 as the rotation center, and as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the ball feed member 32 passes the supply position and the passing ball in the ball feed operation. Move to an allowable position that allows

  As a result, the ball stopper 84 moves forward from the position approaching the ball supply port 63, and at the same time, the ball feeder 74 moves forward, and sends the game ball P1 remaining in the holding position to the launch position (FIG. 22). reference).

  As shown in FIG. 21, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in an excited state, the return ball blocking portion 83 having a rectangular frame shape takes an upright posture in the turning posture with the ball feeding shaft 76 as the turning center, and the game area 8, that is, at a position immediately on the launch position direction side of the launch port 38 in the strike path from the launch position of the hit ball launching device 29 to the launch port 38, with respect to the launch hole 38 in the hit ball path. The hitting ball passage opening 85 is a coincident position, and the ball is allowed to pass to the hitting ball passage opening 85 in the hitting ball path. That is, in this posture, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes an allowable position that allows the hit ball to pass without interfering with the hit ball launched from the launch position.

  As shown in FIG. 22, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in an excited state, the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feed portion 74 is positioned in front of the ball guide projection 54 of the ball feed unit cover 68 at the supply position in the ball feed operation. Then, the succeeding game ball P2 is fitted into the gap between the upper end portion of the ball supply port 63 and the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feed portion 74, and the subsequent game ball P2 remains. Through the ball feeding operation described above, the ball feeding member 32 feeds the game balls aligned and stored in the ball feeding guide rod 69 one by one to the firing position of the hitting ball launching device 29.

  FIG. 24 is a time chart showing drive timings of the ball feed solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. When the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the firing solenoid 13 is turned on when the period A has elapsed, and from the time when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when the time B has elapsed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off when the period C has elapsed since the solenoid 31 was turned off.

  In this embodiment, the period A is 300 ms, the period B is 30 ms, and the period C is 50 ms. When the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball is fed into the launch position (rail portion 332) by the ball feed member 32. That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36. In the present embodiment, when a game ball stopped at the launch position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined time (30 ms as the period D), it is determined that there is a launch ball. To do.

  As described above, when the game ball stopped at the launch position by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is detected for a predetermined time, it is determined that there is a launch ball. The erroneous ball count of the sphere can be eliminated, and the certainty in detecting the shot sphere can be increased.

  Operation control is performed by a ball information control MPU 111 of a ball information control unit 118 (described later) according to the driving timing of the ball feed solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13 shown in FIG. That is, when the return ball blocking portion 83 of the ball feeding member 32 is at the permissible position, the hitting ball launching device 29 is operated to perform the hitting operation by the launching hammer 30, and is determined in advance from the time when the hitting ball launching device 29 is actuated. After the specified time has elapsed (30 ms has elapsed), the return ball blocking unit 83 is moved to the return ball blocking position by de-energizing the ball feed solenoid 31 so that the return ball is blocked by the return ball blocking unit 83. To control.

  According to this, when the return ball blocking portion 83 takes the permissible position, the hit ball is allowed to pass without interfering with the hit ball launched from the launch position. It is possible to prevent feeling of distrust with driving the ball to the target position, and to prevent the interest in the game from deteriorating.

  After the hitting of the hit ball, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the return ball blocking position, so that the return ball blocking unit 83 blocks the game ball launched into the game area 8 from entering the launch port 38 as a return ball. Since the return ball can be blocked, it is possible to prevent the return ball from reducing the interest in the game.

  In the present embodiment, the return ball blocking portion 83 is formed integrally with the ball feed member 32, so that the ball feed to the launch position is performed by excitation / de-energization of one electric drive source (ball feed solenoid 31). And return ball prevention can be realized at the same time. That is, when the ball feeding member 32 takes the supply position, the hitting ball passage opening 85 is positioned on the hitting path through which the game ball launched from the launching position passes, whereas when the holding position is taken, the ball feeding member 32 deviates from the hitting path. And a frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 formed so that the hitting ball passage opening 85 is positioned at the retracted position.

  When the ball feeding member 32 takes the supply position, the return ball blocking portion 83 takes the allowable position and does not interfere with the hit ball launched from the launch position. It is possible to prevent feelings of distrust and to prevent the interest in games from deteriorating.

  When the ball feeding member 32 moves to the holding position, the return ball blocking portion 83 simultaneously moves to the return ball blocking position, so that the game ball launched into the game area 8 becomes a return ball and enters the launch port 38. Since the return ball can be blocked and the return ball can be prevented, it is possible to prevent the return ball from reducing the interest in the game.

  In addition, the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above has a structure in which a return ball prevention valve that closes the launch port is forcibly opened with a launch ball to be launched or pushed out into the game area. For this reason, an electric drive source for performing the hitting operation needs to have a size and power suitable for it, and it is necessary to supply a large current to obtain the hitting force, and the power consumption is high. is there.

  On the other hand, in the upper launching device 12 of this example, when the launching hammer 30 performs a hitting operation, the return ball blocking portion 83 of the ball feeding member 32 permits the passage of the launching ball (the hitting ball passing port 85 and the allowable position). The launch port 38 is in a state where both the launch holes 38 coincide with each other on the hitting path, and it does not interfere with the launching ball. Therefore, it is only necessary to provide a hitting force for hitting the hitting ball in the game area 8, so that the power is small. Adopting an electric drive source is sufficient. For this reason, the electrical drive source can be reduced in size and thickness, and the power consumption required for the drive can be kept low.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 24, the firing solenoid 13 is excited for a period C from the time when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, and the tip 61 protrudes through the through hole 335 of the rail portion 332 (FIG. 9). Therefore, the game ball can be prevented from stopping on the rail portion 332, and the return ball can be prevented and the error count of the shot ball can be made more reliable.

  Although the return ball blocking portion 83 of the present embodiment has a rectangular frame shape and includes a hitting ball passage opening 85 at the center, the shape of the return ball blocking portion 83 is not limited to this, for example, Further, it may be in the shape of a piece or a bowl, and it is not necessary to have the hitting ball passage opening 85. That is, an allowable position that is provided adjacent to the launch position direction of the launch port 38 on the hit ball path from the launch position to the launch port 38 and allows the passing of the hit ball without interfering with the hit ball launched from the launch position. And a return ball blocking position for blocking the return ball returning from the game area 8 to the launch port 38.

  In the encapsulated ball type gaming machine of the present embodiment described above, the ball lifting device 22 is located at the front of the main body frame 2 and behind the upper launching device 12 disposed on one side of the upper portion. It is attached to the rear surface, and the upper end portion of the ball lifting device 22 is disposed above the ball feeding device 28. Between the upper end portion of the ball lifting device 22 and the upper portion of the upper launching device 12, the ball lifting device 22 is disposed. The ball supply path member 24 extending in the front-rear direction for feeding the game ball lifted in the above to the ball feeding device 28 from above is provided.

  Since it has the above-described configuration, various members (the movable body, a power transmission mechanism (for example, a gear train) for driving the movable body), the left and right of the ball supply path member 24 attached to the rear portion of the game board 5 A slide rail for guiding in the direction, a drive motor as a drive source, a position detection sensor for detecting the position of the movable body, an LED board, a relay board, etc.) The game ball lifted to the upper part of the main body frame 2 by the lifting device 22 can be smoothly fed into the upper launching device 12.

  Further, since the ball supply path member does not become an obstacle to various members attached to the rear part of the game board, the space formed at the rear of the upper launcher 12 can be taken at the rear part of the game board 5. It can be applied to the arrangement space of each member.

  The upper launcher 12 shown in FIG. 23 employs an electric drive source that is smaller and thinner than the conventional one for the reasons described above. As shown in FIG. 23, since the electrical drive source (launch solenoid 13) of the ball striking device can be reduced in size and thickness, the electrical drive source does not protrude behind the upper launcher 12. Accordingly, it is possible to secure a wide arrangement space 57 for each member attached to the rear portion of the game board 5.

  Further, since the upper launcher 12 of the present embodiment can be rotated by the upper launcher hinge 37 and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 (FIG. 12), the left end of the game board when the game board is mounted. Since the upper launch unit can be rotated and arranged at a position deviated from the movement path when inserting the part, the operation of attaching the game board to the main body frame is easy.

  In this case, when the upper launching device 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, the ball delivery basket 23 prevents the game ball from spilling even if the game ball remains in the ball delivery basket 23. It is advisable to provide means for preventing spilled balls from blocking the ball outlet 58.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the spilling ball preventing means (ball outlet opening / closing unit) will be described. FIG. 25 is a front perspective view of the ball outlet opening / closing unit, and FIG. 26 is a rear perspective view of the ball outlet opening / closing unit. FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the upper firing unit and the ball outlet opening / closing unit.

  As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 23, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22, and a ball delivery rod 23 for feeding the raised game ball forward from above, and an upper launch unit. In the state where the upper launching unit 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the front end of the ball delivery rod 23 is formed. By opening the ball outlet 58, the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the lifting communication rod 65 are communicated so that a game ball can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.

  The ball feeder of the upper launcher 12 includes an opening / closing operation piece 426 for operating the opening / closing shutter 412 of the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 on the right side of the ball feeding unit cover (FIG. 27). This opening / closing operation piece 426 rotates the opening / closing crank 413 by contacting the spherical contact portion 424 of the opening / closing crank 413 in the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 when the upper launcher 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2. Thus, the open / close shutter 412 can be opened.

[Ball exit opening / closing unit]
The ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 in the main body frame 2 of the present embodiment is attached to a mounting member 407 attached to the lower surface of the ball feeding rod 23 of the ball lifting device 22, and is fired upward with respect to the main body frame 2. When the device 12 is opened, the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery rod 23 in the ball lifting device 22 is closed, and the flow of the game ball from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball feeding device 28 of the upper launching device 12 is made. It can be shut off.

  The ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 includes a shutter base 411 attached to the hanging wall 408 facing the vertical direction of the mounting member 407, a plate-like opening / closing shutter 412 slidably held by the shutter base 411 in the vertical direction, An opening / closing crank 413 that slides the shutter 412 in the vertical direction and an opening / closing spring 414 that biases the opening / closing shutter 412 to rise through the opening / closing crank 413 are provided.

  The shutter base 411 of the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 has a pair of slide grooves 415 extending in the vertical direction for holding the open / close shutter 412 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction so as to protrude upward from the upper end of the shutter base 411. A rectangular opening 416 that penetrates between the pair of slide grooves 415 in the front-rear direction, and a crank that is disposed in front of the left end portion in front view and supports the open / close crank 413 so as to be rotatable about an axis extending in the front-rear direction. A support portion 417 and a spring locking portion 418 that locks one end (upper end) of the opening / closing spring 414 are provided. The crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411 is disposed on the left side of the opening 416 when viewed from the front, and the spring locking portion 418 is disposed near the upper portion on the left side from the center in the left-right direction when viewed from the front.

  The opening / closing shutter 412 of the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 includes a flat shutter body 419 and a pair of sliding protrusions (not shown) that protrude from the front surface of the shutter body 419 and slide in the slide groove 415 of the shutter base 411. , And a horizontally elongated drive hole 420 that is disposed between the pair of sliding protrusions so as to face the opening 416 of the shutter base 411 and penetrates in the front-rear direction.

  The opening / closing crank 413 of the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 includes a shaft portion 421 that is supported by a crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411 so as to be pivotable about an axis extending in the front-rear direction, and a right-hand outer periphery of the shaft portion 421 from the right outer periphery. A drive rod 422 that extends outward and has a tip that extends to the vicinity of the center in the left-right direction of the opening 416, projects backward from the tip of the drive rod 422, and is slidably inserted into the drive hole 412 b of the opening / closing shutter 412. The driving pin 423, the contact portion 424 extending downward from the outer periphery on the lower side of the front view of the shaft portion 421, and having a spherical shape at the tip, and the other end of the opening / closing spring 414 formed on the middle upper surface of the driving rod 422 And a spring locking portion 425 for locking (lower end).

  The ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 rotates about the axis in which the opening / closing crank 413 extends in the front-rear direction, so that the driving pin 423 of the opening / closing crank 413 rotates up and down in an arc shape and at the same time the driving pin 423 is inserted. The opening / closing shutter 412 slides in the vertical direction through the drive hole 420.

  In the state where the upper launcher 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 is in contact with the opening / closing operation piece 426 of the upper launcher 12 by the contact portion 424 of the opening / closing crank 413. 424 is rotated in the clockwise direction in the front view against the biasing force of the opening / closing spring 414, and the drive pin 423 is rotated in the clockwise direction in the front view together with the contact portion 424. The open / close shutter 412 is lowered so that the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery rod 23 can be opened. In other words, the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the lifting communication rod 65 are communicated so that a game ball can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.

  When the upper firing device 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2 from this state, the contact between the contact portion 424 of the opening / closing crank 413 and the opening / closing operation piece 426 in the upper firing device 12 is released, and the opening / closing crank 413 is opened and closed. The opening / closing shutter 412 is raised simultaneously with the rotation in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front by the urging force of 414, and the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery rod 23 can be closed (FIG. 27). ).

  Thus, the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery rod 23 in the ball lifting device 22 can be automatically opened and closed by the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 in accordance with the opening and closing of the upper launching device 12 with respect to the main body frame 2. Even if the upper launcher 12 is opened while the game ball remains in the ball delivery basket 23, it is possible to prevent the game ball from spilling from the ball outlet 58.

[Deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit]
FIG. 28 is a view for explaining a deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating the magnetic ball discharger cover in FIG. 28 separated and turned over. FIG. 30 is a plan view of the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 31 is a rear view of the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 32 is a view for explaining the base plate of the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit separately into a deformed sphere discharge unit and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating a path through which the deformed sphere and the magnetic sphere are discharged in the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharging unit. FIG. 35 is a diagram for explaining a situation where magnetic spheres are separated from the circulation path and discharged. FIG. 36 is a view for explaining a state in which the magnetic sphere has reached the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface.

  As shown in FIG. 28, the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 has a deformed sphere discharging function and a magnetic sphere discharging function. The deformed sphere is a spherical object such as a bearing having a smaller diameter than a regular game ball. The deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 is a transparent resin molded product, and is disposed in the lower part of the gaming machine body (the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit accommodating portion 19). The front side is a front plate (not shown), the rear The side is covered with a rear plate (ball receiving base 201). At the top, as a safe ball that has flowed down to various winning gates (special variable winning device, general winning port, ordinary variable winning device) and won out to various winning ports, and flowed down the safe ball discharge route A collection port 202 for collecting the game balls is provided. The out ball flows into the recovery port 202 via the out port 42 (see FIGS. 2, 3 and 5). The safe ball flows into the collection port 202 through the winning port 41 (see FIG. 5).

  The circulation path in the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 communicating with the recovery port 202 is formed by meandering the left and right sides of the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 and folded up and down. A detection switch 203, a deformed sphere discharge unit 204, a magnetic sphere discharge unit 205, a spherical path full tank detection switch 206, and a proper sphere detection switch 207 are provided. The game balls that have flowed into the recovery port 202 are moved in a line along the circulation path in the deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 and reach the ball assembly 21 connected to the deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit 20. However, the deformed sphere and the magnetic sphere are separated from the regular game sphere circulation path in the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 so as not to move to the sphere collecting portion 21 and are discharged out of the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20. The

  Next, the movement of the game sphere collected in the collection port 202 in the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 will be described in order. The number of game balls collected in the collection port 202 is counted one by one by the collection ball detection switch 203. The game ball that has passed through the recovery ball detection switch 203 reaches the deformed ball discharge unit 204. When the difference in the number of game balls detected by the collected ball detection switch 203 and the shot ball detection means increases, it can be detected that an abnormality has occurred in the gaming machine.

  The deformed sphere discharging unit 204 is fixed to a deformed sphere discharging unit base mounting unit 212 provided on the ball receiving base 201, and the two deformed sphere discharging units 208 are fixed to the deformed sphere discharging unit base 208. It is composed of deformed sphere separation shafts 209 and 210.

  As shown in FIGS. 31 and 32, the deformed sphere discharging part base mounting part 212 is a rectangular opening provided in the ball receiving base 201. As shown in FIG. 28, the deformed ball discharger base mounting portion 212 is provided on the ball receiving base 201 so as to be inclined so that the side on the recovery port 202 side becomes higher. As a result, the odd-shaped ball separation shafts 209 and 210 are arranged to be inclined, so that the game ball can move from the upstream side 213 (see FIG. 30) toward the downstream side 214.

  FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit separately into a deformed sphere discharge unit and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 33A shows the deformed sphere discharging unit 204. FIG. 33B shows the magnetic ball discharge unit 205.

  The deformed sphere discharging unit 204 uses the difference in diameter between the regular game ball and the illegal sphere to exclude the illegal sphere having a diameter smaller than the regular game ball from the circulation path in the deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit 20. . As shown in FIG. 30, the deformed sphere discharge unit 204 includes two deformed sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 having a circular cross section and arranged in parallel from the upstream side 213 to the downstream side 214 of the circulation path. In order to eliminate the deformed sphere, that is, the inferior sphere having a diameter smaller than that of the regular game ball, from the circulation path through which the regular game ball circulates, the gap distance between the two deformed sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 is The deformed sphere separation shaft is narrower than the diameter of the regular game sphere and wider than the diameter of the regular game sphere on the downstream side 214, that is, the distance between the two modified sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 is gradually increased. 209 and 210 are fixed to the deformed sphere discharge portion base 208.

  The game balls that flow down to the deformed ball discharge unit 204 one by one via the collection port 202 and the collected ball detection switch 203 flow down while rolling across the two deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210. To do. Since the gap distance between the two deformed sphere separation shafts 209 and 210 is narrower than the diameter of the regular game ball on the upstream side, the regular game ball does not fall from between the deformed sphere separation shafts 209 and 210.

  On the other hand, an irregular sphere that is a deformed sphere having a diameter smaller than that of a regular game sphere falls from between the two deformed sphere separation shafts 209 and 210. As shown in FIG. 33A, the dropped deformed sphere is discharged from the deformed sphere discharge port 216 to the outside of the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 via the deformed sphere discharge path 215. The deformed sphere discharge path 215 is formed by a deformed sphere discharge path forming member 217 attached to the front side of the ball receiving base 201 and below the deformed sphere discharge part base 208. The deformed sphere discharge path forming member 217 is also integrally provided with a communication path 218 that guides a sphere having the same diameter as the regular game ball to the magnetic sphere discharge unit 205.

  A game ball of a normal size rolling down the two deformed sphere separation shafts 209, 210 falls from between the two deformed sphere separation shafts 209, 210 on the downstream side 214, and passes through the communication path 218. Then, it reaches the circulation path 219 formed in the magnetic ball discharge unit 205.

  The magnetic ball discharge unit 205 is fixed to the ball receiving base 201 as shown in FIG. FIG. 33 shows a state in which the magnetic ball discharge unit 205 is removed from the ball receiving base 201. The magnetic ball discharge portion 205 is formed with an inclined surface 220 connected to the communication path 218, and a falling surface 221 that is steeply lowered is connected to the downstream side of the inclined surface 220. A magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 is formed. A gap between the discontinuous portions 223 is provided so that the inclined surface 220 and the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 are not continuous. In the magnetic ball discharge unit 205, a magnet is attached to at least one of the front surface, the back surface, or the inside of at least one of the side wall 224 and the ceiling wall 225.

  FIG. 35 shows an example in which a magnet 229 is mounted in the magnet housing space 230 on the back surface of the ceiling wall 225. The magnet housing space 230 is formed as a space having a rectangular cross section disposed along the back side of the ceiling wall 225. The magnet 229 is a plate-like magnet, and is a permanent magnet having one side having an N pole or S pole and the other side having an S pole or N pole. The magnetic force of the magnet is not so strong that the game ball (magnetic ball 232) made of a magnetic material is attracted and the rolling is inhibited, and the magnet flows down the region of the inclined surface 220 and falls from the discontinuous portion 223. It is sufficient that the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 can be reached. The magnet to be attached may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.

  The regular game ball 233 flowing from the communication path 218 rolls down the inclined surface 220 and flows down from the inclined surface 220 while rolling on the falling surface 221. The normal non-magnetic game ball 233 falls on the discontinuous portion 223 and reaches the ball assembly portion 21 connected to the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 through the circulation path 219.

  On the other hand, the illegal sphere (magnetic sphere 232) made of a magnetic material is attached to the inner wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 by the attractive force of the magnet 229 accommodated in the magnet accommodation space 230, and passes the circulation path 219 upstream of the inclined surface 220. It flows down while rolling by the action of gravity from the side to the downstream side. Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the magnetic sphere 232 reaches the region of the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 (see FIG. 28) as shown in FIG. 36 without falling from the discontinuous portion 223. The illegal sphere made of a magnetic material reaching the region of the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 is discharged from the magnetic ball discharge port 227 to the outside of the deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 through the magnetic ball discharge path 226 (see FIG. 34). ).

  A portion of the ceiling wall 225 on the upper side of the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 is configured as a magnetic force adjusting unit 231. The magnetic force adjusting portion 231 is formed so that the distance between the magnet housing space 230 and the magnetic ball discharge path 226 increases as it goes downstream of the magnetic ball discharge path 226. In FIG. 35, the magnetic ball discharge path 226 has a curved portion, and this curved portion functions as the magnetic force adjusting unit 231. Thereby, the distance between the magnetic sphere 232 and the magnet 229 becomes longer toward the downstream side of the magnetic sphere discharge path 226. As a result, the magnetic force (attraction) of the magnet 229 acting on the magnetic sphere 232 gradually decreases. For this reason, the magnetic sphere 232 that has adhered to the wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 and moved in the downstream direction is separated from the wall surface of the ceiling wall 225 and falls onto the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222. Then, it is discharged from the magnetic ball discharge port 227 via the magnetic ball discharge path 226.

  The deformed sphere and the irregular sphere of the magnetic material are respectively discharged from the deformed sphere discharge port 216 and the magnetic sphere discharge port 227 to the outside of the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 (FIG. 34). The deformed sphere or magnetic sphere discharged from the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 is collected in the discharge sphere receiving box 234 (see FIGS. 2, 3, and 5). In this way, the irregular sphere / magnetic sphere discharging unit 20 can be used to exclude the illegal sphere composed of the irregular sphere and the magnetic material from the regular game sphere circulation path 219. In the present embodiment, the configuration can be simplified by using gravity to discharge the deformed sphere and the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 to the outside. The deformed sphere discharge path 215 is disposed along the side surface of the magnetic sphere discharge portion 205, and the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 can be configured in a compact manner.

  The deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharging unit 20 can eliminate the irregular balls made of deformed spheres or magnetic bodies from the regular game sphere circulation path 219 without stopping the game, thereby reducing the interest of the player. On the other hand, the employees of the game hall can be called to each gaming machine for processing illegal balls, and the opportunity to deal with the malfunction of the gaming machine can be reduced. Note that the deformed sphere discharge unit 204 and the magnetic sphere discharge unit 205 may be configured separately. That is, when discharging the deformed sphere with other components in the gaming machine, the magnetic ball discharging unit 205 may be configured alone.

  And one embodiment of the enclosed ball type gaming machine of the present invention is arranged on the upper part of the main body frame, a game board in which a game area is defined, a main body frame in which the game board is fitted and accommodated, A ball hitting device for launching a game ball toward the game area, and a game ball launched by the ball hitting device are collected as an encapsulated ball on the back side of the game board, the illegal ball is eliminated, and the ball hitting device again. The encapsulated spheres arrayed and stored in an array passage formed in a part of the circulation path based on the driving of an electric drive source and a circulation path including deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharge means The game control processing is connected to the ball feeding device that feeds the shot-ball launching device one by one, a main control board that performs game control processing related to pachinko games, and bidirectional data communication with the main control board. In the main system Increase / decrease control of the number of balls based on the award ball command transmitted from the substrate and the ball number information of the shot ball launched by the hitting ball launching device, the launch control of the game ball by the hitting ball launching device, and the ball And a ball information control board that controls the sending of the game ball to the launch position by the feeding device, and performs a game by circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner without paying out the game balls. The hitting device is configured to perform a hitting operation based on a driving rail for stopping the game ball at the launching position and an electric drive source, and is stopped at the launching position. A launching member for launching a game ball; and a launch ball confirming unit for detecting a game ball stopped at the launch position, wherein the ball information control board is configured to perform the above-described operation over a predetermined time. Launch ball check hand When a game ball parked at the launch position is detected by the launch ball detection determination means for determining that there is a launch ball, and on the condition that the launch ball detection determination means determines that there is a launch ball, A game ball number subtracting unit that determines that the game ball stopped at the launch position has been launched when the game ball is not detected by the shot ball confirming unit, and decrements the number of possessed balls by one. The

  According to the above-described embodiment, when a game ball stopped at the launch position is detected by the launch ball confirming unit over a predetermined time, a launch ball detection determining unit that determines that there is a launch ball. If the game ball is not detected by the launch ball confirmation unit, the game ball that has been stopped at the launch position is determined to have been fired, provided that the launch ball detection determination unit determines that there is a launch ball. When noise enters the launch ball confirmation means, it is possible to eliminate the wrong ball count of the launch ball due to noise, and to increase the certainty in detection of the launch ball. And magnetic balls can be excluded from the circulation path through which regular game balls circulate.

[Sphere assembly part 21]
37 is a front left perspective view of the ball collecting unit and the ball lifting device, FIG. 38 is a front view of the ball collecting unit and the ball lifting device, and FIG. 39 is a state where the ball polishing cartridge is removed from the ball collecting unit. FIG. 40 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the case of the ball assembly portion and the cover of the ball lifting device are removed, and FIG. 41 is a rear perspective view in which the ball assembly portion in FIG. 40 is enlarged, and FIG. FIG. 41 is a further enlarged view of FIG. 41, and FIG. 43 is a plan view with the case of the ball assembly portion removed.

  The ball assembly portion 21 (FIG. 41) includes a ball feeding passage 275, a ball polishing cartridge 251, a ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 (FIG. 39), and a feed inlet switch 156. The ball feed passage 275 is a groove structure having walls on both sides arranged at the lower part of the ball assembly portion 21, and a ball receiving port 275 a connected to a ball outlet (not shown) of the deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit 20, It has a ball feed port 275b that opens to a ball feed rotating body 350 (described later) (FIGS. 41, 42, and 43).

  The ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 is an opening provided in the ball collecting portion 21 for detaching a ball polishing cartridge 251 described later (FIG. 39). The ball polishing cartridge 251 is detachable from the front side of the gaming machine to the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273, and a ball polishing cloth 263 is disposed at a portion of the ball polishing cartridge 251 facing the ball lifting device 22 described later. It is arranged (FIG. 41). The lifting / lowering entrance switch 156 is provided on the outside of one wall constituting the ball feeding passage 275, and detects the presence or absence of a game ball passing through the ball feeding passage 275 (FIG. 41).

[Ball lifting device 22]
FIG. 44 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the upper gear box and the lower gear box are removed. 45 is a right side view showing a state in which the cover of the ball lifting device is removed, and FIG. 46 is an enlarged view of a part (A) in FIG. 47 is a diagram showing a state in which the screw is disassembled, FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of the ball lifting device, and FIG. 49 shows a fitting / non-fitting state of the screw and the fitting member. FIG.

  The ball lifting device 22 includes a screw 25 (FIG. 40), a ball lifting motor 150 (FIGS. 38 and 48), a lifting guide rail 282 (FIGS. 40 and 44), and an upper gear box 356 (FIG. 37). 40), a lower gear box 357 (FIGS. 37 and 40), a ball feed rotating body 350 (FIG. 40), a ball feed inclined portion 351 (FIGS. 40 and 41), a lifting portion cover 353 ( 37), a spiral base cover 352 (FIG. 37), a lifting slope member 354 (FIG. 46), and a ball delivery rod 23 (FIGS. 44, 46, and 48).

The spiral base cover 352 and the lifting part cover 353 are cover members 368 disposed so as to surround the screw 25 and are made of a transparent resin (acrylic resin). The spiral base cover 352 is provided with an opening 281 obliquely at a portion facing the ball polishing cartridge 251 in the ball assembly portion 21 (FIG. 39).
Further, the upper surface of the cover member 368 is formed with a protrusion for installing the lower surface of the upper gear box 356 described later (FIG. 69).

  The screw 25 is vertically arranged in the rectangular cylindrical cover member 368 from the base to the upper end of the ball lifting device 22. The cover member 368 is disposed so as to surround the screw 25 by assembling the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting portion cover 353. The screw 25 includes a screw shaft 25a, two small pitch ridge members 25b positioned above and below, and four large pitch ridge members 25c positioned in the center (FIG. 45). . These are fitted in the screw shaft 25a.

The small pitch ridge member 25b includes a cylindrical portion 25e and a helical ridge 25d (FIG. 45).
As shown in FIG. 47, the small pitch protrusion member 25b is assembled by assembling a half body 25bR and a half body 25bL, which are divided in half by a vertical surface including the screw shaft 25a, with the screw shaft 25a interposed therebetween. It is united. A pair of a concave portion 25g and a convex portion 25h for assembling the half halves 25bR and 25bL on both sides is formed on the cut surface of the cylindrical portion 25e, and these can be integrated with each other. it can.

  Further, an upper edge recess 25j that opens upward is formed on the upper edge 25i of the halves 25bR and 25bL, and a lower edge protrusion 25m that protrudes downward is formed on the lower edge 25k. The upper edge concave portion 25j and the lower edge convex portion 25m are for connecting the small pitch ridge member 25b and the large pitch ridge member 25c in the vertical direction and transmitting rotation to each other.

  The same applies to the large pitch ridge member 25c, the same reference numerals are given, and a specific description thereof is omitted, but the pitch of the spiral ridge 25d is larger than that of the small pitch ridge member 25b. A portion where the spiral protrusion 25d of the small pitch protrusion member 25b and the spiral protrusion 25d of the large pitch protrusion member 25c are continuous is smoothly continuous although the pitch changes. The large pitch ridge member 25c is composed of a half body 25cR and a half body 25cL.

  The pitch is the interval between the spiral ridges 25d along a straight line. The pitch of the spiral protrusion 25d of the small pitch protrusion member 25b is smaller than the spiral protrusion 25d of the large pitch protrusion member 25c. For example, the pitch of the small pitch ridge member 25b is 25 mm, and the pitch of the large pitch ridge member 25c is 43.2 mm.

  The screw shaft 25a shown in FIG. 47 is a rotating shaft of the screw 25. As shown in FIG. 44, the upper lifting gear 360 (spur gear) is fixed to the upper end and the lower lifting gear 362 ( Spur gear) is fixed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 49, the small pitch protrusion member 25b at the lower part of the screw 25 includes a fitting recess 366a of a fitting member 366 in which a lower edge convex part 25m is integrally formed with the lower lifting gear 362. It is fitted using a concave-convex fitting and is driven and rotated integrally with the screw shaft 25a and the lower lifting gear 362.

  The ball lifting motor 150 is a motor that drives the screw 25, and is attached to the lower surface of the upper gear box 356 in the ball lifting device 22 (FIGS. 38 and 48).

  The upper gear box 356 is disposed at the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 and houses and supports the ball lifting motor gear 358, the idle gear 359, and the upper lifting gear 360 (FIGS. 40 and 44). . The ball lifting motor gear 358 is fixed to the drive shaft of the ball lifting motor 150 and meshes with the idle gear 359. The idle gear 359 is a two-stage gear in which an upper gear having a large number of teeth and a lower gear having a small number of teeth on the lower surface thereof are integrated, and is engaged with the ball lifting motor gear 358 by the upper gear, and the lower gear. It meshes with the upper lifting gear 360. These gears are spur gears, and the upper gearbox has a lower vertical dimension. The upper lifting gear 360 is fixed to the upper end of the screw shaft 25a. With these gear configurations, the screw 25 is driven and rotated by the ball lifting motor 150.

  The lower gear box 357 is disposed from the lower end of the ball lifting device 22 to the lower end of the ball assembly portion 21, and houses and pivotally supports the lower lifting gear 362 and the ball feeding rotating body gear 363 (see FIG. 44). The lower lifting gear 362 is fixed to the lower end of the screw shaft 25a and meshes with the ball feeding rotating body gear 363. The gear ratio between the ball feed rotor gear 363 and the lower lift gear 362 is 2: 1.

  The ball feed rotator 350 is fixed to the gear shaft 363 a of the ball feed rotator gear 363, and the ball feed rotator 350 is driven to rotate by the ball feed rotator gear 363. The ball feed rotating body 350 is arranged corresponding to the ball feed port 275b of the ball feed passage 275 in the ball gathering portion 21, and is a low columnar member, and at the peripheral portion, in this embodiment, at 180 degree intervals. A ball engaging recess 350a for receiving the ball is provided. The ball engaging recess 350a has a depth to accommodate approximately half of the game ball (FIG. 43).

  The ball feed inclined portion 351 (FIG. 42) is a member formed around the ball feed rotating body 350 and having a slope for lifting the game ball. The range in which the ball feed inclined portion 351 exists is that the ball feed rotary body 350 screws the game ball from the position of the ball feed port 275b which is the ball feed rotary body side exit of the ball feed passage 275 with respect to the rotation direction of the ball feed rotary body 350. This is the range up to the delivery position to 25.

  The ball feed inclined portion 351 has an arc shape along the outer periphery of the ball feed rotating body 350 from the ball feed port 275b to the delivery position as described above, and is 7 mm (about 5 to 8 mm) upward from the position of the ball feed port 275b. ) It has an inclined surface 351a that rises to a high delivery position, and a top inclined portion 351b that protrudes from the top in the direction of the screw 25 and inclines downward. The width of the inclined surface 351a is 4 mm (about 3 to 5 mm), and the top inclined surface 351b is formed in a range larger than the diameter of the game ball before and after the transfer position with respect to the rotation direction of the ball feed rotating body 350.

  The positional relationship in a plan view of the ball feed rotating body 350 and the screw 25 is a positional relationship in which a game ball dropped from the top inclined surface 351b can be received between the pitches of the spiral protrusions 25d. A cover member 368 (not shown) is disposed along the outer periphery of the ball feed inclined portion 351 up to the vicinity of the delivery position to prevent the game ball from falling from the inclined surface 351a.

  A guide block 365 (FIGS. 42 and 43) is disposed on the upper surface of the lower gear box 357 adjacent to the lower front side of the screw 25. The guide block 365 has an arcuate spherical guide surface close to the spiral protrusion 25d of the screw 25, 365a, and a stopper surface 365b following this. The spherical guide surface 365a is formed from the vicinity of the top inclined surface 351b to the opening 281 provided in the spiral base cover 352, and the tip is a stopper surface 365b (FIG. 43).

Two lifting guide rails 282 are arranged in parallel and adjacent to the screw 25, and have a role of a guide for guiding the game ball lifted by the screw 25 linearly upward, and having a diameter of about 5 mm. This is a round bar-shaped guide member. The lifting guide rail 282 is located on the substantially opposite side to the ball feeding rotating body 350 with respect to the rotation direction of the screw 25, and from the position corresponding to the upper end of the opening 281 (FIG. 39) provided obliquely in the spiral base cover 352. It is arranged vertically upward, and its upper end is fixed to the lower surface of the upper gear box 356. The interval between the two adjacent lifting guide rails 282 is a width that allows the game ball (diameter 11 mm) to pass therethrough (the inner interval between the lifting guide rails 282 is 5 to 8 mm).
Further, when the game ball is lifted, it is lifted while being in contact with the guide rail 282. Therefore, the lift guide rail 282 has a low friction coefficient and guides from the game ball generated by the rotation of the screw 25. It is assumed to have rigidity enough to prevent deformation by the pressing force to the rail 282. It is preferable to use stainless steel as the material.

The support member 367 is a cushion member that prevents deformation of the lifting guide rail 282 and absorbs vibration transmitted between the game ball and the lifting guide rail 282 and to the upper launching device 12. 282 has a portion for maintaining the original position, and has a thickness enough to fit between the cover member 368 including the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting portion cover 353 and the lifting guide rail 282. The plate-shaped block member has a flat surface on the side in contact with the cover member 368 and a concave portion on the side that supports the lifting guide rail 282.
The lifting guide rail 282 has such rigidity that it is not deformed by the pressing force from the game ball to the guide rail 282 generated by the rotation of the screw 25, but the pressing force from the game ball is applied over a long period of time. Then, the lifting guide rail 282 is gradually deformed in the pressing direction, and the game ball may be deviated from the guidance by the lifting guide rail 282. Therefore, the deformation is restricted.

Further, since the clearance is made in the portion where the game ball mainly passes, such as the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282, the vibration generated by driving the ball lifting motor 150, for example, is generated by the screw. 25 and the lifting guide rail 282, there is a risk that abnormal noise may be generated between the lifting guide rail 282 and the game ball. Further, the lifting device 22 is a cover member 368 with the screw 25, the lifting guide rail 282, etc. Therefore, if an abnormal noise occurs in the lifting device 22, the sound will resonate and become louder. However, by disposing the support member 367, vibration generated in the gaming machine can be absorbed and generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed.
The support members 367 are arranged in such a number that the deformation of the guide rail 282 can be restricted between the cover member 368 and the lifting guide rail 282, and abnormal noise due to vibration does not occur.

  46 is a block member having an inclined surface formed on the lower surface of the upper gear box 356 so as to face the upper end of the screw 25, and the inclined surface intersects the path through which the game ball is fed up. The moving direction of the game ball vertically lifted by the screw 25 is turned to the horizontal direction and guided to the ball delivery rod 23.

The ball delivery rod 23 is provided on the upper end of the spiral base cover 352 and is a passage having an inclination for feeding the game ball guided from the lifting slope member 354 to the upper launching device 12.
Further, a ball removing member 355 for discharging the game ball inside the game machine to the outside of the game machine is provided on the side surface of the ball delivery basket 23 (FIGS. 44 and 48). The ball removal member 355 is a detachable lid member, and can be removed from the side wall of the ball delivery rod 23 by operating a lower knob to open an opening provided on the side wall. The ball delivery rod 23 has a skew portion, and a ball removing member 355 is disposed on the wall on the tip side of the skew portion (FIG. 44).

  Further, a launch ball standby ball detection switch 26 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball is disposed on the outer surface of the ball delivery basket 23 (FIG. 45). When the firing standby ball detection switch 26 does not detect a game ball, the screw 25 is driven and new game balls are supplied from the ball lifting device 22 to the upper firing device 12 one by one.

[Operation of ball assembly 21 and ball lifting device 22]
The game balls sent from the deformed sphere / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 constituting a part of the circulation path pass through the ball feeding passage 275 of the ball collecting unit 21 and are sent to the ball feeding rotating body 350 in the ball lifting device 22. It is done. On the other hand, by driving the ball lifting motor 150, the screw 25 is rotated through the gear trains 358, 359 and 360, and the ball feed rotating body 350 is rotated through the screw shaft 25a and the lower gear trains 362 and 363. Since the gear ratio between the lower lifting gear 362 and the ball feed rotator gear 363 is 2: 1, the ball feed rotator 350 rotates once by the two rotations of the screw 25. The ball feed rotating body 350 receives game balls one by one from the ball feed passage 275 into the ball engaging recess 350a and rotates counterclockwise (FIG. 43).

Thereafter, the rotation of the ball feed rotating body 350 causes the game ball to move while being engaged with the ball engaging recess 350a, and the remaining outer half moves along the inclined surface 351a of the ball feed inclined portion 351. Reach 351b. Since the top inclined surface 351b is inclined downward, the game ball is sent from that position to the spiral protrusion 25d of the small pitch protrusion member 25b. At this time, the game balls sent from the top inclined surface 351b, which is slightly higher, have a larger distance from the subsequent game balls and are reliably separated one by one.
In order to carry out stable game ball feeding, it is conceivable that the terminal portion of the top inclined surface 351b and the game ball delivery position of the small pitch ridge member 25b are made substantially the same height.
Further, when the game ball is fed from the top inclined surface 351b to the small pitch ridge member 25d, the structure is not limited to using the downward inclination, and for example, a configuration may be used in which the game ball is guided to the small pitch ridge member 25d using a rail. .
Further, when the step between the end of the inclined surface 351a and the small pitch ridge member 25d below the screw 25 that receives the game ball is small, the game ball may be dropped directly from the inclined surface 351a to the small pitch ridge member 25d. Is possible.

Next, the game ball moves along the ball guide surface 365a of the guide block 365 with the rotation of the small pitch projecting member 25b and collides with the stopper surface 365b. During this time, the game ball rises with the rotation of the screw 25 and reaches the lower end of the opening 281 provided in the spiral base cover 352. In this case, as described above, the ball feed rotating body 350 is provided with the ball engaging recess 350a every 180 degrees and rotates at a half speed with respect to the screw 25. A game ball is supplied to the screw 25. Since one half rotation of the ball feed rotator corresponds to one pitch of the small pitch ridge member 25b, a game ball sent from the ball feed rotator 350 is always one pitch between the pitches of the small pitch ridge members 25b. One by one and continuously. (FIG. 41).
That is, it is possible to prevent the game balls from being linked together in the ball lifting device 22.

  Through the opening 281, the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is brought into contact. That is, as the game ball is lifted by the screw 25 of the ball lifting device 22, the game ball is rubbed against the ball polishing cloth 263 through the opening 281 and the game ball is cleaned and polished (FIG. 39). And the area of the above-mentioned ball polishing cloth 263 can be used effectively by being guided diagonally upward.

After passing through the opening 281, the game ball is lifted up to the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 as the screw 25 rotates. At this time, the game ball is placed on the lifting guide rail 282 arranged in parallel. It is guided and moves in a straight line. The guide rail 282 allows the game ball lifted by the screw 25 to move in the vertical direction and restricts the movement in the left-right direction. During this time, the game ball is lifted so that the movement of the game ball is relatively slow due to the small pitch at the small pitch protrusion member 25a in the lower part so that the ball receiving from the ball feed rotating body 350 is not hindered. Yes. Further, the movement of the game ball is relatively slowed by the small pitch even at the upper small pitch protrusion member 25b, so that the ball feeding to the upper launching device 12 is not hindered.
On the other hand, in the middle part of the screw 25, there is no particular problem even if the speed of lifting the game ball is increased. The number of game balls to be circulated in the ball lifting device 22 can be reduced. Further, this can reduce the burden due to the weight of the game ball applied to the screw 25 (FIG. 45).
Further, the lifting in the present embodiment is used to mean that the game ball is continuously carried from the lower part to the upper part of the gaming machine.

The game ball that has reached the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 comes into contact with the slope of the lifting slope member 354 from below, so that the moving direction of the game ball lifted by the screw 25 changes from the vertical direction to the substantially horizontal direction. The ball is turned, and the game ball is smoothly fed from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball delivery basket 23. Then, the game ball sent to the ball delivery basket 23 rolls on the gentle slope of the ball delivery basket 23 and is sent to the upper launcher 12 (FIG. 46).
In this case, when the lifted game ball comes into contact with the slope portion of the lift slope member 354, the guide of the lift guide rail 282 is released and the natural ball flows down to the floor surface of the ball delivery rod 23. The ball pressure is not applied to the lifting guide rail 282 and the screw 25, and the feeding can be smoothly performed.

  When it is necessary to take out the circulating game ball from the game machine for maintenance or the like, it can be easily discharged out of the game machine by operating the ball removal member 355 provided on the outer surface of the ball delivery basket 23 ( FIG. 37, FIG. 48).

  In this embodiment, the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting unit cover 353 are made of a transparent resin (acrylic resin), and the state in the ball lifting device 22 is obtained by using such a transparent resin. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting portion cover 353 may be made of an opaque resin, metal, or the like.

  In addition, the small pitch ridge member 25b and the large pitch ridge member 25c are configured to be joined in half, but may be formed into a cylindrical shape integrally formed from the beginning. Furthermore, if the synthetic resin molding technique is used, the entire screw 25 except the screw shaft 25a can be integrally molded.

  Further, the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 are made of a material that is slippery and has a rigidity that does not cause deformation due to the pressing force from the game ball generated by the rotation of the screw 25 to the lifting guide rail 282. Preferably, a metal such as aluminum or a synthetic resin may be used. In addition, it is conceivable that the spiral protrusion 25d uses a hard silicon material or the like at least in a portion that receives the game ball from the ball feed rotating body 350. Thereby, the impact which arises when a game ball falls to the spiral protrusion 25d can be absorbed.

  In this embodiment, the lifting guide rail 282 guides the game ball in the vertical direction with two rails. However, the present invention is not limited to the two rails. The other guide may be configured to guide the game ball by extending the inner wall of the cover member 368 so as to be adjacent to the lifting guide rail 282.

  Further, the support member 367 is disposed between the cover member 368 including the spiral base cover 352 and the lifting portion cover 353 and the lifting guide rail 282. For example, as shown in FIG. 70, the support member 367 may be placed on both ends of the lifting guide rail 282 as shown in FIG. 70. Accordingly, the player operates the touch panel portion 14 disposed on the door frame 3 or vibration generated by operating an electric drive source such as a movable accessory (not shown) or a motor disposed on the game board. Since various vibrations generated in gaming machines, such as vibrations caused by impacts that occur during the game, are absorbed, there is a situation in which the game balls cannot be lifted off the guide rail guides, or the launch of the game balls is caused by vibrations. It can suppress becoming unstable.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the game balls are sent and lifted one by one continuously in one pitch of the spiral protrusion 25d over the entire length of the screw 25. However, the game balls are lifted at the pitch of all the screws 25. Even if it is not sent, it is not limited to this as long as it is a configuration that continuously lifts the game balls.

  The lifting slope member 354 may have a structure that can smoothly feed the game ball vertically lifted by the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 to the ball delivery rod 23, and is integrally formed with the upper gear box 356. As shown in FIG. 67 and FIG. 68, the upper surface of the ball delivery path 23 may be extended to the play path of the game ball, and a slope may be formed on the lower surface of the extended portion.

  In addition, the ball lifting device 22 of the present invention is configured to lift the game ball using the screw 25, but if the game ball is lifted so as to be transported while being guided vertically, the screw is used as the screw. Not limited to this, various methods such as a belt conveyor that can carry the game ball continuously can be selected.

[Ball polishing equipment]
Next, a ball polishing apparatus that cleans and polishes the game balls enclosed in the gaming machine will be described. FIG. 38 described above is a front view showing a state in which a ball polishing cartridge is mounted with respect to the ball polishing apparatus, and FIG. 39 described above is a ball polishing apparatus with the ball polishing cartridge removed. It is a front view which shows the state which carried out.

  FIG. 50 is a left side view showing a state where the ball polishing cartridge is mounted, and FIG. 51 is a perspective view for explaining a mechanism for fixing the ball polishing cartridge. FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a state in the middle of mounting the ball polishing cartridge.

  53 and 54 are views showing a state where the game balls and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other, and FIG. 53 shows a state where the game balls and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. 54 is a left side view showing a state where the game ball and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other, and FIG. 55 is a left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge removed in FIG. It is a left view which shows the state which carried out. FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG.

  Next, FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state in which a ball polishing cartridge is mounted, and FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which the right outer side cover is removed in FIG. 57 for explanation of the inside of the right side cover. 59 is a top perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. 60 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge, FIG. 61 is a front view thereof, FIG. 62 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 63 is a side view showing a state in which the left side cover is removed in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 38 and FIG. 50, the ball collecting unit 21 is provided at the lower part of the ball lifting device 22, and the ball polishing cartridge 251 is attached to a part of the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 of the ball collecting unit 21. Can be installed. Here, the outside of the ball lifting device 22 is formed of a transparent plastic member, and if a game ball is clogged in the ball lifting device 22, the location where the clogging occurs can be easily visually confirmed. It is like that. As shown in FIG. 51, the ball polishing cartridge 251 mounted on the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 is provided on the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 with one end supported on the shaft and the other end rotated. The other end of the sphere polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 that is made possible is hung on the sphere polishing cartridge fixing stopper 272 also provided in the sphere collecting portion 21 so that the sphere polishing cartridge 251 is pressed in the back direction and the left direction. It has a structure. In FIG. 51, both the opened state and the closed state of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 are shown together in order to make the movement mode of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 easier to understand.

FIG. 39 is a front view showing a state where the ball polishing cartridge 251 is removed. As shown in FIG. 39, the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 has a ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273 formed of a hollow portion so that the ball polishing cartridge 251 can be mounted. In FIG. 39, for the sake of easy viewing, a ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 and a ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 are provided in the ball polishing cartridge mounting lever 270 and are visible from the ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273.
1. Description of the drive shaft 290 is omitted.

FIG. 66 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 of FIG. The inner surface of the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 is behind the right side surface of the ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273 and is coaxial with the second drive gear 257 shown in FIG. A drive shaft 290 that fits into one gear shaft 261 is provided, and a mounting sensor 291 including a pushable button 292 is provided above the right side surface. By the series of mounting operations of the ball polishing cartridge 251, the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pressed, and the mounting of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is detected.
A specific aspect of the mounting operation will be described later.

  Further, in a portion of the innermost portion of the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 that faces the ball lifting device 22, the long side of the ball lifting device 22 is advanced by a ball polishing cloth 263 of a ball polishing cartridge 251 described later. An opening 281 having an angle different from the direction is provided. As a result, there is a difference between the direction in which the game ball is lifted and the direction in which the ball polishing cloth 263 travels, so that only a part of the ball polishing cloth 263 having a predetermined width in the width direction is not used. Effective use of the width of H.263 makes it possible to clean and polish the game balls.

  Further, the width between the long sides of the opening 281 is such that at least a part of the peripheral edge of the game ball being lifted by the ball lifting device 22 can protrude outside the ball lifting device 22 at the opening position. In this embodiment, the width of the long sides of the opening 281 is set to 8.4 mm with respect to the diameter of 11 mm of the game ball. Thus, the game ball protrudes from the opening 281 to the ball polishing cloth 263 side by about 1.5 mm.

  As a result, during the game period, the game ball lifted in the ball lifting device 22 is partially polished at the position of the opening 281 so that a part of the peripheral portion protrudes to the outside of the ball lifting device 22 to polish the ball. The ball polishing cloth 263 of the cartridge 251 can come into contact with the game ball. In particular, when the ball polishing cartridge 251 has an elastic member and is configured to press the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game ball, the ball polishing cloth 263 can be more reliably brought into contact with the game ball. Reliable ball polishing is possible.

  Further, even if the ball polishing cartridge 251 is removed in a state where the game ball remains in the ball lifting device 22 in a time zone outside the game period, the width of the opening 281 is made smaller than the diameter of the game ball. With this configuration, the game balls remaining in the ball lifting device 22 are not spilled down to the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 273 side of the ball polishing cartridge 251.

  FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a state in the middle of mounting the ball polishing cartridge 251 from the state of FIG. As can be seen from FIGS. 39 and 52, in this embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is configured to be inserted and mounted from the front of the main body frame 2.

  60 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge 251, FIG. 61 is a front view thereof, FIG. 62 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 63 is a side view showing a state in which the left side cover is removed in FIG. Here, 259 is a take-up roller, 260 is a driven roller, 261 is a first gear shaft, 262 is a second gear shaft, and the first gear shaft 261 is a take-up roller 259, which will be described later. The second gear shaft 262 is configured to be coaxial with the driven roller 260. The second gear shaft 262 is configured to be coaxial with the drive gear 257. Also, 268 is a game ball contact trace, and as shown in FIG. 39, the direction in which the game ball is lifted by the ball lifting device 22 and the direction in which the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is wound are: Since the angles are different with respect to the vertical direction, the game ball contact trace 268 is formed with an inclination with respect to the long side direction of the ball polishing cloth 263.

  53 and 54 are views showing a state where the game balls and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other, and FIG. 53 shows a state where the game balls and the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other. FIG. 54 is a left side view showing a state where a game ball and a ball polishing cloth of a ball polishing cartridge are pressed against each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, the game ball is lifted by the screw 25 provided in the ball lifting device 22, and the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball lifting device 22 and the ball polishing cartridge 251 is used. The game ball comes into contact with the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 through the opening 281 of the ball lifting device 22 at the opposite position, and the game ball is lifted by the screw 25 of the ball lifting device 22. By this, it is rubbed with the ball polishing cloth 263 so that the game ball is cleaned and polished.

  As shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, the screw 25 in the ball lifting device 22 has different shapes at the upper and lower portions and at the intermediate portion. In the upper part and the lower part, the inclination angle of the spiral of the screw 25 (spiral ridge 25d in FIG. 47) is reduced to reduce the pitch, while in the intermediate part, the inclination angle of the screw spiral is increased to increase the pitch. It is also wide. Since it is not necessary to spend time in the intermediate part, it is possible to lift the game ball in a short time by increasing the spiral inclination angle and increasing the pumping speed. The number of game balls included in the game machine can be reduced, and the number of game balls enclosed in the game machine can be reduced.

  Further, by reducing the pitch interval at the lower portion, the game ball and the ball polishing cloth 263 are reduced by reducing the speed at which the game ball is lifted at the portion facing the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251. This makes it possible to reliably clean the game balls and polish the balls. Further, by narrowing the pitch interval at the upper part, the speed at which the game ball is lifted at the lifting end portion of the ball lifting device 22 can be lowered, and the ball is transferred from the ball lifting device 22 to the ball delivery rod 23. Occurrence of troubles such as biting of balls during delivery can be eliminated, and game balls can be smoothly fed into the ball delivery basket 23.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 54, the ball lifting device 22 is provided with two guide rails 282 for guiding the lifting of the game ball. The distance between the two guide rails is set to be approximately the same as the diameter of the game ball, but adjustments are also made to make it somewhat narrower and stable at locations where the behavior of the game ball being transported may become intense. be able to. Thus, the game ball is lifted in the ball lifting device 22 so that both sides are supported by both guide rails.

  FIG. 55 is a left side view showing a state where the left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge is removed in FIG. FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball polishing cartridge in FIG. Here, 259 is a take-up roller, 260 is a driven roller, and a driving force from a ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 described later is transmitted thereto. The winding roller 259 is rotated by the rotation of the second drive gear 257 configured to be coaxial with the winding roller 259, and the ball polishing cloth is caused by the frictional force between the winding roller 259 and the driven roller 260. 263 is wound up.

  Further, a ball polishing cloth 263 is disposed in a portion of the ball polishing cartridge 251 facing the ball lifting device 22, and a tensioner 267 having a function of pressing the ball polishing cloth 263 is provided behind the ball polishing cloth 263. In addition, behind the tensioner 267, two coiled ball polishing cloth holding springs 264 having a function of pressing the tensioner 267 and the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game ball are provided. Further, a spring presser 266 for supporting the ball polisher presser spring 264 is provided behind the ball polisher presser spring 264. Further, a plate spring 265 is provided on the upper part of the ball polishing cartridge, and the ball spring cloth 263 is lightly pressed and aligned by the plate spring 265 so that the ball polishing cloth 263 is arranged at a portion facing the ball lifting device 22. It plays the role of aligning before sending.

  The ball polishing cloth 263 taken up by the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260 is accommodated in the ball polishing cartridge 251. In FIGS. 55 and 56, the ball polishing cloth 263 is taken up by the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260. Description of the ball polishing cloth 263 inside the ball polishing cartridge after being wound up is omitted.

  FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state in which a ball polishing cartridge is mounted. Reference numeral 253 denotes a right side cover, which includes a right outer side cover 253a and a right inner side cover 253b, and is integrated. Reference numeral 258 denotes a second drive gear case that covers a second drive gear 257 to be described later. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which only the right outer side cover 253a is removed from the right side cover 253 for the sake of explanation in FIG. 57, 253b is a right inner side cover, and 155 is a ball polishing ribbon. This is a feed motor and serves as a driving source for winding the ball polishing cloth 263 in the ball polishing cartridge 251. Further, the back end of the right side cover 253 is provided with a hinge 255 that engages with the hinge receiving portion 254, and the right side cover 253 can be rotated with the hinge 255 as a fulcrum. In this embodiment, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is a stepping motor. A specific driving mode of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 will be described later.

  FIG. 59 is an upper perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover 253 is opened in FIG. 58, and the right side cover 253 can be rotated with the hinge 255 engaging with the hinge receiving portion 254 as a fulcrum. . Between the right outer side cover 253a and the right inner side cover 253b of the right side cover 253, a first shaft (not shown) that is rotated by the drive of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is coaxial with the rotation axis of the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155. A drive gear is provided, and a gear having 16 teeth is used in this embodiment. Similarly, a second drive gear that is coaxial with the drive shaft 290 and meshes with the first drive gear is provided between the right outer side cover 253a and the right inner side cover 253b. In this embodiment, the number of teeth is 32. The gear is used.

  Next, the mounting operation and mounting detection of the ball polishing cartridge 251 will be described. 64 is a perspective view of the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270, and FIG. 65 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the ball polishing cartridge 251 and the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270. The ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 is configured so that the ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273 spreads around the hinge portion (A direction in FIG. 64) when the right side cover 253 is rotated about the hinge 255 as a fulcrum. Yes.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 65, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is inserted into the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 from the front direction. At the time of insertion, the ball polishing cartridge mounting opening 273 is expanded by the rotation of the right side cover 253, so that the drive shaft 290 and the mounting sensor 291 do not interfere with the insertion. After the ball polishing cartridge 251 is inserted, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is rotated in the direction opposite to that shown in FIG. 64A so that the ball polishing cartridge mounting port 273 is returned to the original width, and then the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever. By engaging 271 with the sphere polishing cartridge fixing stopper 272, the drive shaft 290 engages with the first gear shaft 261 of the sphere polishing cartridge 251, and the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pushed in, so that the sphere polishing cartridge 251 is engaged. It is detected that it is attached.

  If the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pressed while the gaming machine is turned on, it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is normally mounted and no notification is given, but the power is turned on. Nevertheless, when the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is not pushed in, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is notified that it is not normally mounted. As a notification mode, a display device (not shown) that is normally provided in a gaming machine and displays an effect according to the game mode can be notified by displaying that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not installed. . Further, as another notification mode, notification can be performed by lighting or blinking a decoration lamp for production or a dedicated lamp indicating the mounting state of the ball polishing cartridge 251 in a predetermined mode.

  In addition, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine as in this embodiment, the game ball enclosed in the gaming machine is circulated to perform the game, so the game is continued for a long time without cleaning the game ball. Then, dirt on the game sphere accumulates, and the rolling of the game sphere may be worsened. Therefore, it is preferable to clean the game sphere with a ball polishing device in any of the circulation paths of the game sphere. However, because it is not impossible to play a game without a ball polishing device, even if it is detected that a ball polishing cartridge is not installed, the game can be continued only by notifying with a display device or a lamp. it can.

  Further, the game time by the player is accumulated and measured by measurement means (not shown) by detection by a touch switch 87 provided on the handle. In this embodiment, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is fed by one step every time the accumulated measurement time by the measuring means becomes 1 minute. In this embodiment, since the diameter of the winding roller 259 is 25 mm, the circumferential length is about 78.5 mm (= 25 × 3.14), and the first drive gear 256 and the second drive gear 257 are Considering that the gear ratio is 1/2, the feed amount of the ball polishing cloth 263 per step is 0.11 mm (= 78.5 / 360/2).

In this embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is pressed and fixed by hooking a lever on a stopper. However, the fixing method is not limited to this method, and other fixing methods are used. A method can also be used.
In this embodiment, the coiled ball polishing cloth holding spring 264 is used as a means for pressing the ball polishing cloth 263 against the game ball. However, the pressing means is not limited to this, Shaped springs, other elastic members, and the like can also be used.

  In this embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is arranged at the lowermost part of the gaming machine, but the arrangement position of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not limited to this position, and is located at the middle or upper part of the gaming machine. It can also be arranged. In that case, the opening provided in the portion facing the ball polishing cartridge 251 in the ball lifting device 22 may be changed to a location corresponding to the arrangement position of the ball polishing cartridge 251.

  In the present embodiment, the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is used as a technique for differentiating the direction in which the game ball is lifted by the ball lifting device 22 and the winding direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251. Is transported in a direction inclined to the vertical direction from the direction in which the game ball of the ball lifting device 22 facing the ball polishing cloth 263 is lifted. Not limited to this, the transport direction of the game balls of the ball lifting device 22 is set to the vertical direction, and the transport direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is tilted from the vertical direction, or both are tilted. Various methods such as a direction can be selected.

  Further, in this embodiment, the mounting sensor 291 for the ball polishing cartridge 251 has a pushable button 292, and the button 292 is pressed by the mounting operation of the ball polishing cartridge 251, thereby mounting the ball polishing cartridge 251. Although detected, the mode of the mounting sensor 291 is not limited to these sensors, and other types of sensors such as an optical sensor and a magnetic sensor can also be used.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if it is detected by the mounting sensor 291 that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not correctly mounted, it is assumed that the game can continue to be performed simply by performing notification. When it is detected that the ball polishing cartridge 251 is not correctly mounted, the game can be disabled.

[Game ball enclosing operation]
Next, a description will be given of an enclosing operation for enclosing a predetermined number of game balls in an encapsulated ball type gaming machine when a new enclosing ball type game machine is installed or when a dirty game ball is taken out and cleaned once. To do. The enclosing operation is performed in a state where no power is supplied to the enclosing ball type gaming machine. Therefore, the ball lifting device 22 and various sensors in the enclosed ball type gaming machine are not operated.

In the enclosed ball type game machine, the game ball is launched into the game area by the launching device, and then rolls in the game area and then wins the prize winning device or is collected from the out port 42. The game is transported again to the launching device, and fired again in the game area in the launching device to play a game. That is, a circulation path for game balls is formed as a whole.
In order to introduce the game ball in the enclosing operation, it is sufficient to put the game ball in this circulation path. In this embodiment, the game ball is introduced from the out port 42. Thereby, it is not necessary to separately provide an enclosure port for enclosing a game ball in the enclosed ball type gaming machine, and the configuration of the enclosed ball type gaming machine can be simplified. Further, instead of the out port 42, a game ball may be introduced from the winning port 41 of the winning device. The game balls that have entered the winning opening 41 of the winning device are also merged with the gaming balls that have entered the out opening 42 and then transported to the launching device, so that the gaming balls from the winning opening 41 of the winning device. Even if the game ball is introduced, the game ball can be placed in the circulation path as in the case where the game ball is introduced to the out port 42. In any case, when introducing the game ball, care must be taken so that the game ball, the hand, and the like do not hit the nail. When a game ball is introduced into the out port 42, it is possible to prevent the game ball from hitting the nail when being inserted by providing a game ball introduction member 427 described later. The out port 42 and the winning port 41 correspond to a game ball collection port.

  FIG. 71 is a schematic view showing a state where the number of game balls is less than a predetermined number when the game balls are sealed in the sealed ball type gaming machine. As described above, at the time of the game ball enclosing operation, since the energized ball game machine has not been powered on, the ball lifting device 22 is not driven. Therefore, the game balls thrown in from the out port 42 and the winning port 41 enter from the collection port 202, pass through the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20, and are aligned with the front of the ball lifting device 22 as the head.

  FIG. 72 shows a state in which a game ball is further inserted from the state of FIG. 71 and a predetermined number of game balls is reached. As shown in FIG. 72, when a predetermined number of game balls are enclosed, the last-entered game ball 233 is a discontinuous portion 223 where the magnetic ball discharge path 226 and the regular game ball path branch off. And is configured to seal the discontinuous portion 223.

  FIG. 73 shows a state where game balls are further inserted from the state shown in FIG. 72 and a predetermined number of game balls are inserted. As described above, when a predetermined number of game balls are encapsulated, the last inserted game ball 233 is configured to block the discontinuous portion 223. The game ball 235 exceeds the limit, and the normal game ball 233 cannot enter the discontinuous portion 223, but is guided to the magnetic ball discharge chestnut 227 from the magnetic ball discharge path 226 and collected.

  In the present embodiment, in the magnetic ball discharge unit, the discontinuous portion 223 to which the regular game ball 233 is guided when a predetermined number of game balls are sealed is blocked, and a predetermined number or more of the game balls are magnetic balls. Although it is configured to collect in the discharge unit, similarly in the deformed ball discharge route, the route through which the regular game ball 233 is guided when a predetermined number of game balls are sealed is blocked and collected in the deformed ball discharge unit. It can also be done.

  In addition, in order to increase the efficiency when the game ball is thrown into the out port 42, a game ball introducing member 427 is provided on the rail portion of the front component member 45 located at the lower edge of the out port 42 (FIG. 74, FIG. 75). When the game ball is placed on the upper surface of the game ball introduction member 427, the game ball is poured toward the out port 42, so that the game ball can be efficiently enclosed. Also, it is possible to throw a game ball without hitting a nearby nail.

  FIG. 74 is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introducing member 427 is protruded. The game ball introducing member 427 can be protruded by opening the door frame 3 and sliding it forward.

  FIG. 75 is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introducing member 427 is stored. In the state shown in FIG. 74, the game ball introducing member 427 can be stored by being pushed back, so that the game is not hindered.

  In this embodiment, the game ball introduction member 427 has a structure that can be advanced and retracted by manually sliding. However, the present invention is not limited to the above method, and a door frame is used by using an urging member such as a spring spring. Various methods can be selected, such as automatically opening and closing by opening and closing 3.

  In the present embodiment, the upper launcher 12 is attached and fixed to the upper left side of the main body frame 2. Therefore, when the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2 due to the installation of a new stand or the like, it is necessary to avoid the upper launcher 12 to be fitted. However, since the upper launcher 12 is arranged on the same surface into which the game board 5 is fitted, the handling difficulty is high when the game board 5 is fitted, and the game board 5 is mistakenly inserted when the game board 5 is fitted. There is a possibility that the upper launcher 12 and the game board 5 may be damaged by colliding with the upper launcher 12. In order not to cause such a problem, a positioning guide member 450 that plays a role of positioning when the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2 is disposed in the main body frame 2.

  Next, the positioning guide member will be described. As shown in FIG. 97, a positioning guide member is disposed on the inner wall of the left side plate of the main body frame 2. This member is a member for positioning and guiding when the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2, and is pivotally supported by a hinge so that it can be rotated by about 90 degrees. . In addition, since it is biased by a biasing member such as a spring, when the game board 5 is not fitted in the main body frame 2, the position where the lower left side of the game board 5 and the lower left front part of the game board 5 are aligned is the front. Facing to the side. Further, a floor surface is formed for matching the left end of the lower surface of the game board 5. Further, in order to stabilize when fitting, a positioning guide member 450 having no floor surface may be disposed above the positioning guide member 450 having a floor surface.

  As shown in FIG. 98 (A), the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2 by positioning the front left lower end part, the side lower end part, and the lower left end part of the game board 5 with the positioning guide member 450, respectively. Thereafter, with the positioning guide member as a fulcrum as shown in FIG. 98 (B), the game board 5 is rotated to the main body frame 2 side, and is fitted into the main body frame 2 as shown in FIG. 98 (C). Do. By doing so, the positioning guide member 450 suppresses the lower left front portion of the front surface of the game board 5 to the main body frame 2 side when the game board 5 is fitted, so that the positional relationship between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 is fixed without any looseness. The launching hole 38 of the upper launching device 12 and the launching area 40 of the game board 5 are fixed so as to be flush with each other, which becomes an obstacle when the game ball travels between the launching opening 38 and the gaming area 8. A step or the like does not occur, and stable launch can be performed.

  Further, the game board 5 is positioned on the main body frame 2 by aligning the game board 5 with the positioning guide member 450 provided on the inner side wall of the main body frame 2. Thereafter, when the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2, the positioning guide member 450 is rotated in accordance with the fitting operation of the game board 5, so that it becomes a guide for drawing the game board 5 into the fitting position of the main body frame 2. Since the board 5 can be fitted into the main body frame 2 without causing the board 5 to accidentally collide with the upper launcher 12, the possibility of damaging the upper launcher 12 and the game board 5 due to the collision is reduced as much as possible. be able to.

  Next, the outline | summary of control of the payment machine 4 as an external apparatus arrange | positioned adjacent to the game machine 1 and its one side is demonstrated. FIG. 76 is a block diagram showing a main part in an embodiment of a main control board provided in an encapsulated ball type gaming machine and provided with an RTC. The control of the gaming machine 1 is broadly divided between the main board group and the peripheral board group, and among these, the main board group controls the gaming operation, and the peripheral board group performs the rendering operation (the liquid crystal display device 1400, Lamp, body frame lamp, door frame lamp, sound). The main board group includes a main control board 100 and a sphere information control board 110, and the peripheral board group includes a peripheral control board 130.

[Main control board 100]
The main control board 100 controls pachinko games. The main control board 100 and a later-described sphere information control board 110 are connected so that bidirectional data communication is possible. As shown in FIG. 76, the main control board 100 for controlling the progress of the game is a main control MPU 101 which is a microprocessor in which a ROM for storing various processing programs and various commands, a RAM for temporarily storing data, and the like are incorporated. A main control I / O port 102 as an input / output device (I / O device), a main control input circuit 103 to which detection signals from various detection switches are input, and a main control solenoid for driving various solenoids A drive circuit 104 and a RAM clear switch 105 for completely erasing information stored in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in RAM”) built in the main control MPU 101 are provided.

  The main control MPU 101, in addition to its built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in ROM”) and main control built-in RAM, in addition to a watchdog timer that monitors its operation (system) and to prevent fraud These functions are also built in. The main control MPU 101 has a built-in non-volatile memory, and this non-volatile RAM has a unique code for identifying an individual by the manufacturer that manufactured the main control MPU 101 (a code having only one in the world). ) Is stored in advance. The ID code once assigned is stored in the nonvolatile RAM, and therefore cannot be rewritten even if an external device is used. The main control MPU 101 can take out and refer to the ID code from the nonvolatile RAM.

[RTC control unit]
Further, the main control MPU 101 of the embodiment includes an external real-time clock (hereinafter referred to as “RTC”) 107 capable of acquiring time information as time information acquisition means. Although not shown, the RTC 107 includes a register circuit, a clock input circuit, a clock output circuit, an interrupt output circuit, a data input / output circuit, and a control circuit.

  The RTC 107 has a clock / calendar function. The clock / calendar function is a function that counts the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second. Moreover, you may use what counts to a day of the week as needed. The RTC control unit 106 is provided with an RTC 107 and a battery 108 for driving the RTC 107. By providing the battery 108, the RTC 107 does not interrupt the timekeeping and calendar function even when the power supply of a power supply board (not shown) is shut off.

  The battery 108 may be a primary battery (for example, a button battery), or a rechargeable secondary battery, thereby avoiding the need to arrange a backup power supply and avoiding the complicated configuration of the main control board 100. Can do. The battery 108 is also used as a backup power source for the RAM 109.

  The main control MPU 101 includes the RTC 107 and has a function of specifying year / month / day / hour / minute / second (calendar information and time information). The main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 acquires time information (hour / minute / second) from the RTC 107 when the gaming machine is turned on.

  An upper start port detection switch 90 for detecting a game ball won in an upper start port (not shown) arranged in the game area 8 of the game board 5 and a game ball won in a lower start port (not shown) are detected. Detection signals from the lower start opening detection switch 91 and the general winning opening detecting switch 93 for detecting a game ball won in the general winning opening (not shown) are first input to the main control input circuit 103, and the main control I / It is input to the main control MPU 101 via the O port 102.

  In addition, a gate switch 92 that detects a game ball that has passed through a gate portion (not shown), a general winning opening detection switch 94 that detects a gaming ball that has won a general winning opening (not shown), and a big winning opening (not shown) The detection signal from the count switch 98 that detects the winning game ball is first input to the main control input circuit 103 via the panel relay terminal board 140 attached to the game board 5, and the main control I / O port It is input to the main control MPU 101 via 102.

  Based on these detection signals, the main control MPU 101 outputs a control signal from the main control I / O port 102 to the main control solenoid drive circuit 104, so that the start-up solenoid 96 and the large-size solenoid 96 are connected via the panel relay terminal plate 140. A drive signal is output to the winning opening solenoid 97, the upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, and the upper special symbol from the main control I / O port 102 through the panel relay terminal board 140 and the function display board 141. A drive signal is output to the symbol memory display 144, the lower special symbol memory display 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol memory display 147, the game state display 148, and the round display 149.

  Further, the main control MPU 101 transmits various information related to the game (game information) and various commands related to the winning ball according to the prize to the ball information control board 110 in a serial manner, or the pachinko game from the ball information control board 110 Various commands relating to the status of the machine 1 are received in a serial manner. Further, the main control MPU 101 transmits various commands related to the control of the game effect and various commands related to the state of the gaming machine 1 to the peripheral control board 130. When the peripheral control board 130 receives the control command transmitted from the main control board 100, various effects (for example, decorative symbols for notifying the result of the determination on the display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400 according to the received control command). Control related to the change display of the column, the accompanying display, the lamp, the sound, the operation of the movable decorative accessory for the display, etc.) is performed.

[Sphere Information Control Board 110]
FIG. 77 is a block diagram showing a main part of the ball information control board 110 mainly disposed in the enclosed ball type gaming machine. The ball information control board 110 includes a ball information control unit 118 that performs various controls related to the management of the holding ball, the ball lifting device 22, the firing solenoid 13, the ball feeding solenoid 31, the ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, and the like. Further, the main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 are connected so as to enable bidirectional data communication.

[Sphere Information Control Unit 118]
As shown in FIG. 77, the sphere information control unit 118 includes a sphere information control MPU 111 that is a microprocessor in which various processing programs and various commands are stored, a ROM that stores various data, a RAM that temporarily stores data, and the like. A sphere information control I / O port 112 as an O device and an external watchdog timer 116 (hereinafter referred to as “external WDT 116”) for monitoring whether or not the sphere information control MPU 111 is operating normally. , A ball lifting motor drive circuit 114 for outputting a driving signal to the ball lifting motor 150 of the ball lifting device 22 for performing ball lifting, and a ball information control input circuit for receiving detection signals from various detection switches 113 and a CR unit input / output circuit 115 for exchanging various signals between the settlement machine 4 and a ball polish ribbon feed motor 155. A spherical polish ribbon feeding motor driving circuit 119 for, and a. The sphere information control MPU 111 is described as a built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as “sphere information control built-in ROM”) or RAM (hereinafter referred to as “sphere information control built-in RAM”).
In addition to the above, functions etc. are built in to prevent fraud.

  The ball information control MPU 111 receives various information (game information) related to games from the main control board 100 and various commands related to prize balls in a serial manner via the ball information control I / O port 112, or from the main control board 100. An operation signal (detection signal) of the RAM clear switch 105 is input via the ball information control I / O port 112.

  Detection signals from a door frame opening switch 131 that detects opening of the door frame 3 with respect to the main body frame 2 and a body frame opening switch 132 that detects opening of the main body frame 2 with respect to the outer frame are first input to the ball information control input circuit 113. And input to the sphere information control MPU 111 via the sphere information control I / O port 112. Further, a touch detection signal (ON signal) from the touch switch 87 for detecting whether or not a palm or finger is touching the hitting handle 10 is input to the ball information control board 110 via the handle relay terminal plate 123 and further touched. The detection signal is input to the sphere information control MPU 111 via the sphere information control I / O port 112.

  The ball information control MPU 111 is connected to the launch solenoid 13 through the launch solenoid drive circuit 120, is connected to the ball feed solenoid 31 through the ball feed solenoid drive circuit 122, and the launch solenoid 13 according to the control output from the ball information control MPU 111. The ball feed solenoid 31 is driven. In addition, the launch standby ball detection switches 26 and 70, the launch ball confirmation switch 36, the recovered ball detection switch 203, the ball path full tank detection switch 206, the appropriate ball amount detection switch 207, and the presence or absence of a game ball to be supplied to the ball lifting device 22 A lifting inlet switch 156 for detecting the rotation, a lifting motor sensor (photo sensor) 157 for detecting the rotation speed of the ball lifting motor 150, and a ball polishing cartridge containing a ball polishing cloth ribbon. A detection signal from the cassette detection switch 158 for detecting the signal is input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the sensor relay board 124 and input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I / O port 112. Yes. The ball information control MPU 111 sends drive signals for driving the ball lifting motor 150, the ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 to each driving element via the ball information control I / O port 112. Output to.

  In addition, a touch panel unit 14 is connected to the sphere information control MPU 111 so that it can be displayed by a control output from the sphere information control I / O port 112. In addition, the ball information control board 110 relays the electrical connection between the main control board 100 and the external terminal board 133, and in addition to the door frame opening switch 131, the body frame opening switch 132, the external terminal board 133, The electrical connection between is relayed. The external terminal board 133 is electrically connected to a hall computer installed in the game hall (hall).

  A detection signal from a touch switch 87 for detecting whether or not a palm or finger is touching the hitting handle 10 and a firing stop switch 86 for detecting whether or not the game ball is forcibly stopped according to the player's will. Is first input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the handle relay terminal plate 123. Further, when the settlement machine 4 and the ball information control board 110 are electrically connected, the CR unit input / output circuit 115 is input as a CR connection signal.

  Note that DC power supplies + 24V, + 12V, and + 5.2V are supplied to the spherical information control board 110 from a power supply board (not shown). In addition, DC power supplies + 24V, + 12V, and + 5.2V are supplied to the main control board 100 via the sphere information control board 110.

  The power failure monitoring circuit 117 compares and monitors the voltage V1 based on + 24V and the reference voltage, and the voltage V2 based on + 12V and the reference voltage, respectively, and detects a sign of power failure or instantaneous power failure, that is, the voltage V1 or V2 is the reference. When it becomes smaller than the voltage, a power failure warning signal is output as a power failure warning. The power failure notice signal output from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 is supplied to the main control MPU 101 in addition to being supplied to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110. Although not shown, the power failure warning signal is also input to the peripheral control board 130.

[Electrical connection between game board 5 and main body frame 2]
The electrical connection of the game board 5 to the main body frame 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 99 is a block diagram showing a game board and a main body frame connected using a drawer connector. The mechanical and electrical connection between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 is performed by connection using a drawer connector. The game board 5 is provided with a game board side main drawer connector and a game board side sub drawer connector, and the main body frame 2 is provided with a main body frame side main drawer connector and a main body frame side sub drawer connector. Yes. By fitting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2, the game board side main drawer connector and the main body frame side main drawer connector, the game board side auxiliary drawer connector and the main body frame side auxiliary drawer connector are connected, and the game board 5 And the body frame 2 are mechanically connected and simultaneously electrically connected. Thereby, electrical communication can be performed between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2.

[Authentication of main control board 100 and ball information control board 110]
When it is possible to perform electrical communication between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 as described above, mutual authentication between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 is performed when the power is turned on. The authentication functions of the main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Although it has been described that the main control MPU 101 in the main control board 100 previously stores an ID code, the above-described ID code is also stored in advance in the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110. Hereinafter, the ID code stored in advance in the main control MPU 101 is referred to as a first MPU recognition number, and the ID code stored in advance in the ball information control MPU 111 is referred to as a second MPU recognition number.

  The main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 in this embodiment are capable of bidirectional data communication, and each MPU is authorized by performing an authentication process between the boards when the power is turned on. It is the structure which can judge whether it exists. Details will be described below.

  The main control board 100 includes at least a main control MPU 101. Whether the first MPU recognition number storage unit 101a in which the first MPU recognition number stored in advance is stored in the main control MPU 101 and the second MPU recognition number are appropriate A first authentication unit 162 that performs the authentication process, and a main encryption communication unit 160 that encrypts information transmitted to the sphere information control MPU 111 and decrypts information transmitted from the sphere information control MPU 111. Further, the first authentication unit 162 includes a second MPU recognition number storage unit 161 that stores a second MPU recognition number.

  The sphere information control board 110 includes at least a sphere information control MPU 111. The sphere information control MPU 111 has a second MPU recognition number storage unit 111a in which a second MPU recognition number stored in advance is stored, and a first MPU recognition number. A second authentication unit 167 that performs an authentication process as to whether it is appropriate, and a sphere information encryption communication unit 165 that encrypts information transmitted to the main control MPU 101 and decrypts information transmitted from the main control MPU 101. The second authentication unit 167 further includes a first MPU recognition number storage unit 166 that stores the first MPU recognition number.

  When the power is turned on to the gaming machine, the first MPU recognition number is encrypted by the main encryption communication unit 160 from the first MPU recognition number storage unit 101a through the bidirectional communication between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. Is transmitted to the sphere information encryption communication unit 165, and the second MPU recognition number is encrypted by the sphere information encryption communication unit 165 from the sphere information control MPU 111 and then transmitted to the main encryption communication unit 160.

  Next, the main control MPU 101 decrypts the second MPU recognition number transmitted from the sphere information encryption communication unit 165 from the sphere information control MPU 111 using the main encryption communication unit 160 and then stores the second MPU recognition number in the first authentication unit 162. The sphere information control MPU 111 stored in the 2 MPU recognition number storage unit 161 decrypts the first MPU recognition number transmitted from the main control MPU 101 using the sphere information encryption communication unit 165 and then stores the first MPU recognition number in the second authentication unit 167. It is stored in the 1 MPU recognition number storage unit 166.

  Next, the main control MPU 101 performs authentication processing at the first authentication unit 162 based on the second MPU recognition number stored in the second MPU recognition number storage unit 161, and determines whether the second MPU recognition number is appropriate. To do.

  On the other hand, the sphere information control MPU 111 performs authentication processing by the second authentication unit 167 based on the first MPU recognition number stored in the first MPU recognition number storage unit 166, and the first MPU recognition number is appropriate. Determine whether.

  When it is determined that the main control MPU 101 and the ball control MPU 111 are appropriate based on the results of authentication performed by the first authentication unit 162 and the second authentication unit 167, respectively, when the main control side power is turned on in FIG. 82 and the ball information control side power-on process in FIG. 82 are permitted to start and the game can be started. On the other hand, if it is determined that the game is not appropriate, the main control side power-on process and the ball information The start of the control-side power-on process is not permitted, making it impossible to play a game.

  With these configurations, by causing the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 to perform mutual authentication processing, if such authentication processing is not performed appropriately, a game is not performed. It is possible to effectively prevent fraud such as the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 being replaced with counterfeit chips.

  As described above, when it is determined that the mutual authentication result is appropriate in the mutual authentication process performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111, the main control side power-on process and FIG. 82 sphere information control side power-on processing start is permitted. In other words, the gaming board 5 is normally attached to the main body frame 2 on the condition that the mutual authentication result is determined to be appropriate in the mutual authentication process performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111. It is guaranteed that the game board 5 exists.

[Combination authentication of main frame and game board]
Next, the manufacturer authentication process execution means regarding the combination of the main body frame 2 and the game board 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.
Pachinko machines, pachislot machines, etc. are delivered to the amusement hall (game hall), and it is necessary to obtain an approval each time it is exchanged. It is obliged to apply for a frame including the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 as a set of gaming machines. Therefore, even if the main body frame is common to all manufacturers, the combination of the main body frame and the game board must be the combination for which application has been received.

  Even if the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 are applied as a set of gaming machines, the main body frame in this embodiment has a common structure for each manufacturer, and therefore, different combinations of main bodies. Even if the game board is inserted into the frame, it is not possible to judge whether it is the wrong combination just by looking, and which manufacturer's game board fits in the main frame of the place where it is really set correctly May be difficult to grasp and manage. The present embodiment presents a specific solution for solving the above problem.

  First, a specific implementation method for authenticating whether or not the combination of the game board 5 and the frame body including the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 is a combination for which an application has been applied will be described.

  In addition to the first MPU recognition number and the second MPU recognition number used to authenticate whether or not the MPU is legitimate, the main control MPU 101 on the main control board 100 includes the manufacturer information and model number of the game board. The game board manufacturer identification information necessary for recognition is stored in advance, and the frame manufacturer identification information is stored in advance in the ball information control MPU 111 on the ball information control board 110.

  The game board 5 stores different game board manufacturer identification information for each individual, and can be recognized separately based on the difference in the character string of the identification information. Also, in the main body frame 2, different frame maker identification information is stored for each individual, and can be recognized separately by the difference in the character string of the identification information.

  Next, the interrelationship of the words in the present invention and the present embodiment will be presented. The main control board 100 corresponds to the first control board, the sphere information control board 110 corresponds to the second control board, the main control MPU 101 corresponds to the first MPU, and the sphere information control MPU 111 corresponds to the second MPU.

  The main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 in this embodiment are capable of two-way data communication, and when the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2 and then the power is turned on, By performing the combination authentication process in, it is possible to determine whether or not the game board and the main body frame are a regular combination. Details will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 100, the main control board 100 includes at least a main control MPU 101. The main control MPU 101 stores a game board maker identification information storage unit 4101 storing game board maker identification information stored in advance, and a frame maker. A first authentication unit 162 that performs authentication processing as to whether the identification information is proper, and a main encryption communication unit that encrypts information transmitted to the sphere information control MPU 111 and decrypts information transmitted from the sphere information control MPU 111 The first authentication unit 162 further includes a frame maker identification information storage unit 4112 for storing frame maker identification information.

  The sphere information control board 110 includes at least a sphere information control MPU 111. The sphere information control MPU 111 includes a frame maker identification information storage unit 4112 in which prestored frame maker identification information is stored, and game board maker identification information is appropriate. A second authentication unit 167 that performs an authentication process to determine whether the information is correct, and a sphere information encryption communication unit 165 that encrypts information transmitted to the main control MPU 101 and decrypts information transmitted from the main control MPU 101. The second authentication unit 167 further includes a game board manufacturer identification information storage unit 4101 for storing game board manufacturer identification information.

  When the game board 5 is fitted in the main body frame 2 and the power is turned on, the game board manufacturer identification information storage unit 4101 identifies the game board manufacturer by bidirectional communication between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. The information is encrypted by the main encryption communication unit 160 and then transmitted to the sphere information encryption communication unit 165, and the frame maker identification information is encrypted by the sphere information encryption communication unit 165 from the frame maker identification information storage unit 4112. It is transmitted to the main encryption communication unit 160.

  Next, the main control MPU 101 decrypts the frame manufacturer identification information transmitted from the sphere information encryption communication unit 165 from the sphere information control MPU 111 using the main encryption communication unit 160 and then the frame in the first authentication unit 162. Stored in the manufacturer identification information storage unit 4112, the ball information control MPU 111 decrypts the game board manufacturer identification information transmitted from the main control MPU 101 using the ball information encryption communication unit 165, and then in the second authentication unit 167. Stored in the game board manufacturer identification information storage unit 4101.

  Thereafter, the main control MPU 101 performs authentication processing by the first authentication unit 162 based on the frame maker identification information stored in the frame maker identification information storage unit 4112, and determines whether the frame maker identification information is appropriate. To do.

  Then, the ball information control MPU 111 performs an authentication process in the second authentication unit 167 based on the game board manufacturer identification information stored in the game board manufacturer identification information storage unit 4101, and the game board manufacturer identification information is appropriate. Determine if there is.

  When it is determined that the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 are an appropriate combination at the time of application based on the results of authentication by the first authentication unit 162 and the second authentication unit 167, the game is started. If it is determined that it is not appropriate, it is impossible to start the game.

  With these configurations, an authentication process is performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111, and a game is not performed when the authentication process is not properly performed. It is possible to effectively prevent the game board from being inserted in a different frame from the application at the time of application by mistake and being started with a combination different from the set of game machines applied for. Become.

  Furthermore, because the hall computer installed in the game hall is configured to transmit the result of the authentication process performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 via the external terminal board 133. When it is determined that the combination of the game board manufacturer identification information and the frame manufacturer identification information is abnormal, an error signal is output from the external terminal board 133 to the hall computer, so that the game board 5, the main body frame 2, the door frame It is possible to accurately grasp the combination abnormality 3.

[Information output from conventional external terminal board]
Next, how information is conventionally output and managed from the external terminal board 133 to the hall computer will be described with reference to FIG. As the game progresses, various signals are transmitted from the ball information control board 110 to the external terminal board 133, and the signals are transmitted to the hall computer installed in the game hall. It is a mechanism to manage the game machines. Specifically, in addition to the door frame opening signal and the main body frame opening signal, an award ball number information output signal indicating the number of winning balls for the player, 15 round big hits from the main control board 100 through the ball information control board 110 In addition to information output signals and jackpot information output signals such as 2-round jackpot information output signals, information output signals during probability fluctuation, special symbol display information output signals, normal symbol display information output signals, short and medium time information output signals, and starting The game information signal such as the mouth winning information output signal is output to the external terminal board 133.

  As described above, as information output from the ball information control board 110, for example, a signal such as 15 round jackpot information is transmitted to the external terminal board 133, and then output from the external terminal board 133 to the hall computer. However, the time when the signal is transmitted is output after the game process is started.

  In the authentication process of this embodiment, the timing of outputting the above-described authentication process result from the external terminal board 133 to the hall computer is when the power is turned on after the game board is fitted into the main body frame (see step S20 in FIG. 79). ). For this reason, it is possible to divert the output line that is output to the external terminal board 133 during the game as the output line that outputs the result of the authentication process.

  Conventionally, the ball information control board 110 and the external terminal board 133 are directly connected, and after the game board 5 is fitted into the main body frame 2, a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) elapses after the power is turned on. Various information such as a code identifying the manufacturer of the gaming machine, a code identifying the model name of the gaming machine, and MPU specific information is output to the external terminal board, and then output from the external terminal board to the hall computer. Thus, the various information transmitted from the ball information control board 110 is directly output to the external terminal board.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, in addition to the code identifying the manufacturer of the gaming machine, the code identifying the model name of the gaming machine, and the MPU specific information, the authentication information related to the authentication described above is an authentication information output signal described later. It is configured to output to the hall computer through the external terminal board 133.

[Information output from external terminal board of this embodiment]
In the present embodiment, a switching circuit switch for selecting either a 15 round jackpot information output signal or an authentication information output signal for transmitting MPU specific information, authentication result, etc. between the ball information control board 110 and the external terminal board 133 Is provided (FIG. 102). This pulse width changing circuit C1 has a switching circuit switch of two circuits, a normally open contact and a normally closed contact, and each time the pulse width changing circuit C1 receives a switching control signal S1 transmitted from the ball information control board 110. The normally-open contact and the normally-closed contact are switched and controlled to select either the 15 round big hit information output signal or the authentication information output signal.

  The 15 round jackpot information output signal transmitted from the ball information control board 110 is output through LINE1. During the game, switching from the ball information control board 110 is performed so that it is output to the external terminal board 133 through the LINE3 after being connected to a connection point that is a contact with the LINE2 described later through the normally closed contact of the pulse width changing circuit C1. It is controlled by the control signal S1.

  An authentication information output signal from the sphere information control board 110 is output through LINE2. When the gaming machine is turned on and enters the authentication process in the main control side power-on process and the ball information control side power-on process described above, each contact is switched by the switching control signal S1 from the ball information control board 110. The normally closed contact is opened, and the normally open contact is closed. Then, the pulse width of the authentication information output signal including the MPU specific information and the authentication result is changed by the memory PMC provided in the pulse width changing circuit C1 through LINE2 (described later). Thereafter, the signal is output from the LINE3 connected to the connection point, which is a contact point of the LINE1 and LINE2, to the external terminal board 133, and then output to the hall computer.

  The MPU specific information and the authentication signal are converted into a 1-bit 125 ms (millisecond) width pulse (equivalent to 8 bps) by the memory PMC provided in the pulse width change circuit C1 before being output to the external terminal board 133. ), The output is expanded to a pulse width that can be reliably received by the hall computer. When sending such information by serial transmission, for example, in a form in which one frame is composed of 8 bits of data and 1 bit of stop bits following 1 start bit, MPU specific information, game board If the manufacturer identification information and the frame manufacturer identification information are 4 bytes, and the authentication result is 1 byte, a 5-bit signal and a 1-bit start bit and a stop bit are added to each byte data. Will be sent. If a 1-bit pulse width is 125 ms, it takes 125 ms × 50 bits = 6.25 s to be transmitted.

  With the configuration described above, the signal for outputting the authentication information output signal and the signal for outputting the jackpot information can be output by switching between the normally open contact and the normally closed contact. It is possible to output without adding a dedicated terminal for 133.

  In the present embodiment, the terminal that transmits the 15-round jackpot information output signal during the game is used as a terminal that outputs the authentication information output signal only when the power is turned on, but this is only one embodiment. It is. During the power-on process, the output terminals other than the 15 round jackpot information output signal do not output signals, so it is possible to select and use various terminals.

[Settlement machine 4]
FIG. 78 is a block diagram mainly showing each element connected to the checkout machine 4. The settlement machine 4 and the ball information control board 110 are connected so as to be capable of data communication in both directions. Although not shown, the control unit of the settlement machine 4 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output interface, a communication interface, and the like.

  To the checkout machine 4, operation input signals of a ball lending button and a checkout button arranged on the touch panel unit 14 of the enclosing ball type gaming machine 1 are connected so as to be input through an interface, for example. In addition, a remaining frequency display unit and an operable notification lamp disposed on the touch panel unit 14 of the enclosed ball type gaming machine 1 are connected so as to be able to be displayed by a control output from the settlement machine 4. Further, the checkout machine 4 is provided with a card processing machine 402 at the back of the card insertion slot of FIG.

[Card 403]
The card 403 used in the embodiment is composed of, for example, a magnetic card or an IC card, and is issued by a card issuing machine (not shown) and provided to the player when the player pays a predetermined amount. In FIG. 78, the data structure memorize | stored in the card | curd 403 is shown.

  In the card 403, an ID storage unit 404 in which an ID number (hereinafter simply referred to as an ID) as identification information individually assigned to the card 403 is stored, which corresponds to the amount paid when the card 403 is purchased. A remaining number storage unit 305 in which the remaining number as valuable value information to be stored is stored, and a number of stored balls storage unit 406 in which the number of balls acquired by the player (the number of gaming machine balls) is stored as a game result. Is set. When the card 403 is issued, the ID is stored in the ID storage unit 404 and the remaining number corresponding to the amount paid when the card 403 is purchased in the remaining number storage unit 405 (for example, the amount paid is 5000 yen). In this case, “5000” is stored as the remaining number, but “0” is stored as the initial value of the number of balls in the ball number storage unit 406.

  The card processor 402 is conventionally known, a card sensor for detecting the card 403, a card reader / writer for reading data stored in the card 403 and writing data to the card 403, and data reading of the card 403. A card conveying means is provided for feeding to the writing position and discharging the card 403 to the card insertion slot. When the card 403 is inserted into the card insertion slot, the card processor 402 sends the card 403 to a predetermined data reading / writing position, and the card reader / writer stores the stored data, that is, the ID, remaining frequency, and possession. The number of balls is read and output to the checkout machine 4. Further, the ID, the remaining number, and the number of balls are written (stored) in the above-described storage units in response to a writing command from the settlement machine 4.

  The checkout machine 4 stores the ID read from the card 403 through the card processing machine 402, the remaining number and the number of balls in RAM.

[Lending by ball with card 403]
When the settlement machine 4 reads the data of the card 403, it displays the remaining frequency stored in the RAM on the remaining frequency display section. If the card 403 can be used, the checkout machine 4 lends a ball according to the operation of the ball lending button. This ball lending shall lend, for example, a ball lending number of 125 (ball unit price is 4 yen) per operation of the ball lending button. In the ball lending, when there is a number of balls held and the number of balls held is less than 125, the number of balls held is lended as the number of balls lent. The checkout machine 4 transmits the number of rented balls to the ball information control board 110. Further, the settlement machine 4 obtains the consideration for the ball rental by multiplying the set ball unit price by the number of the rental balls, and subtracts the calculated consideration (the consideration corresponding to the ball rental is the remaining frequency) from the current remaining frequency. If there is a number of balls and if a ball is lent from the number of balls, the number of balls is subtracted from the current number of balls. The checkout machine 4 displays this result on the remaining frequency display section. In addition, the remaining number is written in the remaining number storage unit 405 of the card 403.

[Game start]
When the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 receives the number of rented balls transmitted from the checkout machine 4, the ball information control MPU 111 adds it to the number of balls held by the gaming machine and displays the addition result on the touch panel unit 14. The upper launcher 12 can be fired and a game is possible.

[During game]
When the player operates the hitting handle 10, the hitting ball launching device 29 is activated, and when the game ball at the ball launching position is launched into the game area 8 by the launching hammer 30, this is used for detecting the ball of the launching ball confirmation switch 36. Based on this, driving into each game area 8 for each game ball is detected. Then, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 sequentially “1” from the game machine possession ball number data stored in the game machine possession ball number storage area in response to the detection of each game ball. And the number of balls held is displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

  On the other hand, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 includes a gate switch 92 disposed on a gate (not shown) that allows game balls to pass through the game board 5 surface, and a normal winning opening (not shown). General winning opening detection switches 93 and 94 disposed on the counter, a count switch 98 disposed on the large winning opening (not shown), and a starting opening (not shown) serving as an upper starting opening. In addition, processing related to the game is performed based on the detection signals from the lower start port detection switches 90 and 91, and commands and signals as processing results are sent to the ball information control board 110, the peripheral control board 130, and the upper and lower special symbols. The data is output to the display units 142 and 143, the upper and lower special symbol storage displays 144 and 145, the normal symbol display unit 146, the normal symbol storage display unit 147, the starting port solenoid 96, the big winning port solenoid 97, and the like.

  When the game ball launched by the upper launcher 12 wins various winning holes in the game area 8 (starting winning hole, big winning hole, etc.), the game ball has various winning detection switches provided for each winning hole. (Upper start opening detection switch 90, lower start opening detection switch 91, general winning opening detection switch 93, general winning opening detection switch 94, count switch 98).

  The main control MPU 101 responds to detection signals from detection switches (general winning opening detection switches 93 and 94, count switch 98, upper and lower starting opening detection switches 90 and 91 are applicable) provided for each winning opening. A prize ball command for instructing the number of prize balls set according to the winning opening where the game ball has won is output to the ball information control board 110 as necessary.

  Further, the main control MPU 101 periodically outputs a gaming state signal (status) indicating the type of the current gaming state to the peripheral control board 130. The gaming state means, for example, a winning lottery due to a winning at the start opening and a start opening, a special symbol variable display based on the lottery result to stop the symbol, and the lottery result In the case of the first type pachinko gaming machine that shifts to the special gaming state (big hit gaming state) in the case of, the normal gaming state (the probability of winning by the lottery is normal probability, and the time of variable display of the normal symbol is normal), short time Game state (state that normal symbol variable display time is shortened than usual, time output information output signal), jackpot gaming state (15 round jackpot information output signal or 2 round jackpot information output signal), high probability game Status (probability of winning due to lottery, status change information output signal during probability change), special symbol change (special symbol display information output signal), hold based on start-up winnings There are certain conditions (starting opening winning information output signal) and the like.

  The peripheral control board 130 is based on a command output from the main control board 100, and includes a liquid crystal display device 1400, an accessory decoration board (not shown), a board decoration board (not shown), and a frame decoration board (see FIG. (Not shown) outputs a control signal to control the lighting display of various decorative LEDs, and controls the sound (sound, sound, sound effect, etc.) output from a speaker (not shown) and a liquid crystal display The apparatus 1400 controls the symbols to be displayed.

  The ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 displays the number of balls held by the launch solenoid 13, the ball feed solenoid 31, the ball lift motor 150, the ball polish ribbon feed motor 155, and the touch panel unit 14 based on various input signals. And outputs a signal to the settlement machine 4.

  A game state signal and a prize ball command output from the main control board 100 are input to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110.

  In response to receiving such a prize ball command, the ball information control MPU 111 sets the value of the number of prize balls set in advance for each winning slot in the gaming machine ball number data stored in the gaming machine ball number storage area. Are added and displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

[Game ends, settlement]
Thereafter, when the checkout button is operated by the player to end the game, the checkout machine 4 transmits a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110.

  When the settlement machine 4 transmits a game end command to the ball information control MPU 111 according to the operation of the settlement button, the ball information control MPU 111 receives the game end command sent from the settlement machine 4, and the ball information control The MPU 111 transmits “Finishable” to the settlement machine 4. Next, the ball information control MPU 111 stops the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feed solenoid 31 to stop the game. The current number of gaming machine balls stored in the gaming machine ball number storage area is transmitted to the settlement machine 4.

  Then, when the process of the settlement machine 4 corresponding to the number of gaming machine possessed balls transmitted from the ball information control MPU 111 is completed, the settlement machine 4 transmits a process end, so that the ball information control MPU 111 receives the process termination. Thus, the gaming machine possession ball number storage area in the RAM is cleared to 0, and the processing is completed.

  On the other hand, after the settlement machine 4 receives “end ready” as an answer to the end state in response to the game end command, the ball information control MPU 111 transmits the number of gaming machine balls to the settlement machine 4, so that the settlement machine 4 When the number of held balls is received, the received number of gaming machine balls is added to the number of adjusted machine balls stored in the RAM when the card is inserted, and the addition result is stored as the number of adjusted machine balls. Thereby, all of the number of possessed balls as the game result of the game played by the player is stored as the number of adjusted machine balls. Then, the processing end is transmitted to the ball information control MPU 111, the number of adjusted machine balls is written in the number-of-balls storage unit 406 of the card 403, the card 403 is ejected from the card insertion slot, and the processing is ended. As a result, the card 403 rewritten by adding the number of gaming machine balls as a game result is returned to the player.

[Various control processing of main control board]
First, various control processes performed by the main control board 100 shown in FIG. 76 according to the progress of the game of the gaming machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 79 to 81. 79 is a flowchart showing main control-side power-on processing executed by the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, and FIG. 80 is a flowchart showing continuation of the main control-side power-on processing of FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a main control timer interrupt process executed by the main control MPU 101. FIG.

[Main control side power-on processing]
When the gaming machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter simply referred to as main control MPU) of the main control board 100 performs main control side power-on processing as shown in FIGS. When the main control side power-on process is started, the main control MPU sets the stack pointer (step S10). The stack pointer indicates, for example, the address accumulated on the stack to temporarily store the contents of the memory element (register) in use, or temporarily returns the return address of this routine when returning to this routine after completing the subroutine. It indicates the address that is stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. In step S10, an initial address is set in the stack pointer, and the contents of the register, the return address, etc. are stacked on the stack from this initial address.
Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the last stacked stack to the first stacked stack.

  Subsequent to step S10, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S12), and it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal is input (step S14). The voltage does not increase immediately from when the power is turned on until the voltage reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when a power outage or a momentary power interruption (a phenomenon in which the supply of power is suddenly stopped) occurs, the voltage decreases, and when it becomes smaller than the power outage notification voltage, the power outage monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110 notifies the power outage as a power outage notification. A signal is output and input to the main control MPU. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure notice voltage from when the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage, a power failure notice signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110.

  Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step S12 is a process for waiting after the power is turned on until the voltage becomes larger than the power failure warning voltage and stabilizes. In this embodiment, the wait timer process 200 waits for 200 milliseconds (wait timer) (wait timer). ms) is set. The determination in step S14 is performed based on a power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110. After the power is turned on, when the voltage becomes larger than the power failure warning voltage and becomes stable, the power failure warning signal from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 is not output, and the main control MPU proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, the main control MPU determines whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 (FIG. 76) is operated (step S16). This determination is made based on whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and an operation signal (detection signal) is input to the main control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated. On the other hand, when the detection signal is not input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not operated.

  When it is determined in step S16 that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to a value 1 (step S18), and the process proceeds to step S30, while the RAM clear switch 105 is set in step S16. When it is determined that it is not operated, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to 0 (step S19), and the process proceeds to step S20.

  This RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is a game related to a game such as probability fluctuation, unpaid prize ball, etc. stored in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in RAM”) built in the main control MPU 101. It is a flag indicating whether or not to erase information, and is set to a value of 1 when erasing game information and a value of 0 when not erasing game information. Note that the value of the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG set in step S18 and step S19 is stored in a general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) of the main control MPU.

  In step S20, combination authentication processing for determining whether or not the combination of the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 is appropriate is executed. The frame maker identification information output from the sphere information control board is stored in the frame maker identification information storage unit 4112 of the main control MPU 101 to authenticate whether or not appropriate frame maker identification information has been output. If the authentication is properly performed, the process proceeds to step S30. On the other hand, if it is determined that the authentication is not appropriate, abnormality notification is performed using a speaker, a liquid crystal display device, or the like.

  When the main control MPU proceeds to step S30, the main control MPU performs the wait timer process 2 (step S30). In this wait timer process 2, the system waits until a system that performs drawing control of a liquid crystal display device (not shown) by the liquid crystal control unit of the peripheral control board 130 starts (boots). In this embodiment, 2 seconds (s) is set as a time until booting (boot timer).

  Subsequent to step S30, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0 (step S32). As described above, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to a value of 1 when erasing game information and a value of 0 when not erasing game information. When it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is 0, that is, when the game information is not erased, a checksum is calculated (step S34). This checksum is calculated by regarding the game information stored in the main control built-in RAM as a numerical value and calculating the sum.

  Following step S34, whether or not the calculated checksum value (sum value) matches the checksum value (sum value) stored in the main control side power-off processing (power-off) described later. Is determined (step S36). If they match, it is determined whether or not the backup flag BK-FLG is 1 (step S38). The backup flag BK-FLG is stored and held in the main control built-in RAM in the main control side power-off processing described later, such as game information, checksum value (sum value), and backup flag BK-FLG value. This flag is set to a value of 1 when the main control side power-off process is normally terminated, and to a value of 0 when the main control-side power-off process is not terminated normally.

  When the backup flag BK-FLG has a value of 1 in step S38, that is, when the main control side power-off process is normally terminated, the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as power recovery (step S40). In this setting, in addition to setting the backup flag BK-FLG to a value of 0, the power recovery time information is read from the ROM built in the main control MPU (hereinafter referred to as “main control built-in ROM”). Time information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM. In addition, “recovery” means not only the state where the power is turned off but also the state where the power is turned on, the state where the power is restored after a power outage or a momentary power failure, and the detection that a high frequency has been applied. It also includes the state of returning after that.

  Subsequent to step S40, power-on command creation processing is performed (step S42). In the power-on command creation process, the game information is read from the backup information, and various commands corresponding to the game information are stored in a predetermined storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is not 0 (i.e., 1), that is, when the game information is deleted, or the checksum value (sum value) matches in step S36. If not, or if it is determined in step S38 that the backup flag BK-FLG is not a value 1 (value 0), that is, if the main control side power-off process has not been terminated normally, the main control built-in RAM All areas are cleared (step S44). Specifically, the value 0 is written in the main control built-in RAM (a predetermined value may be read from the main control built-in ROM as an initial value and set). Further, the big hit determination initial value determination random number used for determining the initial value of the big hit determination random number is when the RAM clear switch 105 is operated to erase the game information, the sum value does not match, or When the main control-side power-off process has not ended normally, a unique ID code stored in advance in the non-volatile RAM of the main control MPU is extracted, and the jackpot determination random number is updated based on the extracted ID code An initial value deriving process for always deriving the same fixed value from the fixed numerical value range of the counter is executed, and this fixed value is set as the initial value.

  Following step S44, the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as an initial setting (step S46). In this setting, the initial information is read from the main control built-in ROM, and the initial information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S46, RAM clear notification and test command creation processing is performed (step S48). In the RAM clear notification and test command creation processing, a power-on command classified into power-on for notifying that the main control built-in RAM is cleared and the initial setting is performed is created, and various peripheral control board 130 Test commands that are classified as related to tests for inspection are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S42 or step S48, interrupt initialization is performed (step S50). This setting is to set an interrupt cycle when a main control timer interrupt process described later is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 4 ms.

  Subsequent to step S50, interrupt permission is set. (Step S52). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt process is repeated every interrupt cycle set in step S50, that is, every 4 ms. The processing in steps S10 to S52 is referred to as “main control side power-on processing”.

  Subsequent to step S52, a value A is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S54). The watchdog timer is cleared by setting value A, value B and value C in this order in this watchdog timer clear register WCL.

  Subsequent to step S54, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal is input (step S56). As described above, when the power of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is cut off, or when a power failure or a momentary power failure occurs, if the voltage falls below the power failure warning voltage, the power failure warning signal is displayed as a power failure monitoring circuit of the ball information control board 110. 117 is input. The determination in step S56 is made based on this power failure notice signal.

  If no power failure warning signal is input in step S56, a non-winning random number update process is performed (step S58). In this non-winning random number update process, for example, a reach determination random number, a variable display pattern random number, a big hit symbol initial value determining random number, a small hit symbol initial value determining random number, and the like are updated. In this way, in the non-winning random number update process, random numbers that are not involved in the winning determination (big hit determination) are updated. It should be noted that the random number for normal symbol determination, the random number for initial value determination for normal symbol determination, the random number for normal symbol variation display pattern, and the like are also updated by this non-winning random number update process.

  Following step S58, the process returns to step S54 again to set the value A in the watchdog timer clear register WCL. In step S56, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal has been input. For example, a non-winning random number update process is performed in step S58, and steps S54 to S58 are repeated. The processing from step S54 to step S58 is referred to as “main control side main loop processing”.

  On the other hand, when a power failure warning signal is input in step S56, interrupt prohibition setting is performed (step S60). With this setting, the main control side timer interrupt processing described later is not performed, writing to the main control built-in RAM is prevented, and rewriting of game information is protected.

  Subsequent to step S60, the start opening solenoid 96, the big prize opening solenoid 97, the upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, the upper special symbol storage display 144, and the lower special symbol storage display shown in FIG. The drive signal output to the display unit 145, the normal symbol display unit 146, the normal symbol storage display unit 147, the game state display unit 148, the round display unit 149, etc. is stopped (step S62).

  Subsequent to step S62, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S64). This checksum is calculated by regarding the game information in the work area of the main control built-in RAM as a numerical value excluding the storage area for the checksum value (sum value) and backup flag BK-FLG described above.

  Subsequent to step S64, a value 1 is set in the backup flag BK-FLG (step S66). Thereby, the storage of the backup information is completed.

  Subsequent to step S66, the watchdog timer is cleared (step S68). As described above, the clear setting is performed by sequentially setting the value A, the value B, and the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL.

  Subsequent to step S68, a loop process of repeating a state in which nothing is executed is entered. Note that the processing and loop processing in steps S60 to S68 are referred to as “main control side power-off processing”. In this loop processing, since the value A, the value B, and the value C are not sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, the watchdog timer is not cleared. Therefore, the watchdog timer times out and outputs a time-out signal, and the main control MPU is reset by the time-out signal, and then the main control MPU performs this main control side power-on process from the beginning again.

  The gaming machine 1 (main control MPU 101) is reset when a power failure occurs or when a momentary power failure occurs, and performs power-on processing on the main control side by subsequent power recovery.

  In step S36, it is checked whether or not the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM is normal. In step S38, it is determined whether or not the main control side power-off process has been normally completed. I am inspecting. In this way, by checking the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM twice, it is inspected whether the backup information is stored by an illegal act.

[Main control timer interrupt processing]
Next, the main control timer interrupt process will be described. This main control side timer interruption process is repeated at every interruption period (4 ms in this embodiment) set in the main control side power-on process shown in FIGS.

  When the main control timer interrupt process is started, the main control MPU of the main control board 100 sets a value B in the watchdog timer clear register WCL as shown in FIG. 81 (step S70). At this time, the value B is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value A set in step S54 of the main loop on the main control side.

  Subsequent to step S70, the interrupt flag is cleared (step S72). When the interrupt flag is cleared, the interrupt cycle is initialized, and the next interrupt cycle is counted from the initial value.

  Subsequent to step S72, switch input processing is performed (step S74). In this switch input process, various signals input to the input terminal of the main control I / O port 102 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S74, timer subtraction processing is performed (step S76). In this timer subtraction process, for example, the time during which the upper special symbol display unit 142 and the lower special symbol display unit 143 are turned on in accordance with the variable display pattern determined in the special symbol and special electric accessory control process described later, In addition to the time that the normal symbol display 146 is turned on according to the normal symbol variation display pattern determined in the normal electric accessory control process, the ball information control substrate 110 receives various commands transmitted by the main control board 100 (main control MPU). Time management such as an ACK signal input determination time set as a determination condition is performed when determining whether or not a ball information main ACK signal that indicates normal reception is input. Specifically, when the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is 5 seconds, the timer interruption period is set to 4 ms. Therefore, every time this timer subtraction process is performed, the fluctuation time is subtracted by 4 ms. When the subtraction result is 0, the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is accurately measured.

  In this embodiment, the ACK signal input determination time is set to 100 ms. Each time this timer subtraction process is performed, the ACK signal input determination time is subtracted by 4 ms, and the subtraction result becomes 0, thereby accurately measuring the ACK signal input determination time. The various times and the ACK signal input determination time are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S76, a winning random number update process is performed (step S78). In the winning random number update process, the big hit determination random number, the big hit symbol random number, and the small hit symbol random number described above are updated. Further, in addition to these random numbers, a big hit symbol initial value determining random number that is updated by the non-winning random number update process of step S58 in the main control side power-on process (main control side main process) shown in FIG. And the random number for determining the initial value for the small hit symbol is also updated. The random value for determining the initial value for the big hit symbol and the random number for determining the initial value for the small hit symbol are updated in the main control side main process and the main control side timer interrupt process, respectively, thereby improving the randomness. . On the other hand, since the big hit determination random number, the big hit symbol random number, and the small hit symbol random number are random numbers related to the winning determination (big hit determination), each time the winning random number update process is performed, each counter Counts up. For example, the counter for updating the jackpot determination random number is an initial value updating type counter as described above, and is a predetermined fixed numerical value range from the minimum value to the maximum value (in this embodiment, the value as the minimum value). 0 to the maximum value is updated within the value 32767), and the range from the minimum value to the maximum value is incremented by incrementing by 1 each time the main control timer interrupt processing is performed. The big hit determination initial value determination random number is counted up toward the maximum value (value 32767), and then the big hit determination initial value determination random number is counted up. When the counter for updating the big hit determination random number finishes counting up within the range from the minimum value to the maximum value of the big hit determination random number, the big hit determination initial value determination random number is updated by the winning random number update process. At this time, the updated value is always the same from the fixed numerical value range of the counter in which the main control MPU extracts the ID code from the built-in nonvolatile RAM and updates the big hit determination random number based on the extracted ID code. An initial value deriving process for deriving a fixed value of is performed, and the derived fixed value is set as an initial value. In other words, the initial value determination random number for jackpot determination is always overwritten and updated with the same fixed value derived based on the ID code as a result of execution of the initial value derivation process. Note that the above-described random numbers for normal symbol determination and random numbers for determining the initial value for normal symbol determination are also updated by this winning random number update process. The random number for determining normal symbols is the same as the method for updating the random number for determining big hits, and the description thereof is omitted.

  Subsequent to step S78, prize ball control processing is performed (step S80). In this prize ball control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area and a prize ball command for transmitting to the ball information control board 110 based on this input information is created, or the main control board 100 and the ball information A self-check command for confirming a connection state between the control board 110 and the board is created. Then, the created prize ball command and self-check command are transmitted to the ball information control board 110 as main ball information serial data. For example, when one game ball enters the big prize opening, a prize ball command representing 15 balls as the number of prize balls is created and transmitted to the ball information control board 110, or this prize ball command is sent to the ball information control board. When a ball information main ACK signal notifying that 110 has been successfully received is not input within a predetermined time, a self-check command is generated to check the connection state between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. Or transmitted to the sphere information control board 110.

Subsequent to step S80, frame command reception processing is performed (step S82). The sphere information control board 110 transmits various commands of 1 byte (8 bits) divided into status displays.
In the frame command reception process in step S82, when these various commands are normally received as the sphere information main serial data, information that informs the sphere information control board 110 to the effect is stored in the output information storage area of the main control built-in RAM as output information. Remember. Further, the command normally received as the sphere information main serial data is shaped into a 2-byte (16-bit) command and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

  Subsequent to step S82, an illegal act detection process is performed (step S84). In this fraud detection process, the abnormal state related to the prize ball is confirmed. For example, when the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area and the detection signal from the count switch 98 is input when the game is not in the big hit game state (when the game ball enters the big winning opening), etc. A winning abnormality display command that is classified as a notification display as an abnormal state is created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

  Subsequent to step S84, a special symbol and special electric accessory control process is performed (step S86). In this special symbol and special electric accessory control processing, the value of the counter for updating the jackpot determination random number described above is taken out, and it is determined whether or not it matches the jackpot determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. It is determined whether or not a gaming state is to be generated (referred to as “special lottery”)), or a counter value for updating the jackpot symbol random number is extracted, and the probability variation hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM It is determined whether or not they match (determining whether or not probability fluctuations are generated). Here, “probability fluctuation” means that the probability of a big hit changes to a high probability (at the time of probability change) that is set higher than that at normal time (low probability). In the present embodiment, the value 32668 to the value 32767 are set for the low probability as the range of the big hit determination value (big hit determination range) described above, and read from the normal determination table, whereas the value 32438 for the high probability. ˜value 32767 is set and read from the probability variation determination table. As described above, in the special symbol and special electric accessory control process in step S86, the value of the counter for updating the big hit determination random number matches the big hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM. Is determined depending on whether or not the value of the counter for updating the jackpot determination random number is included in the jackpot determination range.

  When these determination results are based on the upper start opening detection switch 90, various commands related to the special effect shown in FIG. 1 are produced. On the other hand, when the lottery results are based on the lower start opening detection switch 91, FIG. 2 Various commands related to the tuning effect are created and stored in the transmission information storage area as transmission information, and the upper special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 is turned on according to the determined special symbol variation display pattern. The lighting signal output to the upper special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 is set and stored as output information in the output information storage area described above.

  Also, depending on the gaming state to be generated, for example, when the big hit gaming state is entered, various commands classified as jackpot related are created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area, or the opening / closing member is opened and closed. When the output of the drive signal to the winning opening solenoid 97 is set and stored in the output information storage area as output information, or when the number of times that the large winning opening is changed from the closed state to the opened state (round) is two times, the round display The lighting signal output to the two-round display lamp is set so that the two-round display lamp of the device 149 is lit, and stored in the output information storage area as output information, or when the round is 15 times, Set the output of the lighting signal to the 15 round display lamp to light the 15 round display lamp, and output information as output information. And stores in the storage area, presence or absence of occurrence probability variations sets the output of the lighting signal to the game state indicator 148 to be lit in a predetermined color, or stored in the output information storage area as the output information.

  Subsequent to step S86, normal symbol and normal electric accessory control processing is performed (step S88). In the normal symbol and normal electric accessory control process, the input information is read from the above-described input information storage area, and the gate winning process is performed based on the input information. In this gate winning process, it is determined from the input information whether the detection signal from the gate switch 92 has been input to the input terminal. Based on this determination result, when a detection signal is input to the input terminal, the gate information storage area of the main control built-in RAM is extracted as gate information by extracting the counter value etc. for updating the random number for determination per normal symbol described above To remember.

  Subsequent to step S88, port output processing is performed (step S90). In this port output process, output information is read from the output information storage area described above from the output terminal of the main control I / O port 102, and various signals are output based on this output information. For example, the main sphere information ACK signal is output to the sphere information control board 110 when various commands from the sphere information control board 110 are normally received from the output terminal of the main control I / O port 102 based on the output information. When in the big hit gaming state, a driving signal is output to the big winning opening solenoid 97 for opening / closing the opening / closing member of the big winning opening, or a driving signal is output to the starting opening solenoid 96 for opening / closing the movable piece. In addition, 15 rounds jackpot information output signal, 2 rounds jackpot information output signal, probability changing information output signal, special symbol display information output signal, normal symbol display information output signal, short and medium time information output information, start opening prize information output signal For example, various information (game information) signals relating to the game such as, are output to the ball information control board 110.

Subsequent to step S90, peripheral control board command transmission processing is performed (step S92).
In the peripheral control board command transmission process, the transmission information is read from the transmission information storage area described above, and the transmission information is transmitted to the peripheral control board 130 as main peripheral serial data. This transmission information includes various commands created in the main control side timer interrupt processing, which is this routine, classified as related to the special figure 1 tuning effect, various commands classified as related to the special figure 2 synchronous effect, and classified as related to the jackpot. Various commands that are classified as power-on, various commands that are classified as related to ordinary drawing effects, various commands that are classified as related to ordinary electronic effects, various commands that are classified into notification displays, and status displays Various commands classified, various commands classified as related to tests, and various commands classified into others are stored. The main serial data consists of 3 bytes per packet.

  Specifically, the main peripheral serial data includes a status indicating a type of command having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), a mode indicating a production variation having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), and a status. And a sum value obtained by calculating the sum with the mode regarded as a numerical value, and this sum value is created at the time of transmission. The processing from step S74 to step S92 is referred to as “game control processing”.

  Subsequent to step S92, a value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S94). By setting the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL in step S94, the value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL following the value B set in step S70. As a result, the value A, the value B, and the value C are sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, and the watchdog timer is cleared.

  Subsequent to step S94, the register is switched (returned) (step S96), and this routine is terminated. Here, when the main control side timer interrupt processing, which is this routine, is started, the main control MPU loads the contents of the general-purpose registers on the stack and saves them. This prevents the contents of the general-purpose register used in the main process on the main control side from being destroyed. In step S96, the contents saved on the stack are read and written to the original register. The main control MPU sets interrupt permission after the return in step S96.

[Various control processing of sphere information control board]
Next, various control processes performed by the sphere information control board 110 shown in FIG. 77 will be described with reference to FIGS. 82 is a flowchart showing a sphere information control side power-on process executed by the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110, and FIG. 83 is a flowchart showing a continuation of the sphere information control side power-on process of FIG. FIG. 84 is a flowchart showing the continuation of the power-on process on the sphere information control side following FIG. 83, and FIG. 85 is a sphere information control power-off process executed by the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110. FIG. 86 is a flowchart showing an example of the ball information control side timer interruption process.

[Ball information control side power-on processing]
When the pachinko gaming machine 1 is turned on, the ball information control MPU 111 (hereinafter simply referred to as the ball information control MPU) of the ball information control unit 118 on the ball information control board 110 is as shown in FIGS. Sphere information control side power-on processing is performed. When the ball information control side power-on process is started, the ball information control MPU sets an interrupt mode (step S500). This interrupt mode is for setting the priority order of interrupts of the sphere information control MPU. In this embodiment, a sphere information control unit timer interrupt process, which will be described later, is set as the highest priority, and when an interrupt of this sphere information control unit timer interrupt process occurs, the process is preferentially performed.

  Subsequent to step S500, input / output setting (I / O input / output setting) is performed (step S502). In this I / O input / output setting, the I / O port input / output setting of the sphere information control MPU is performed.

  Subsequent to step S502, output of a power failure clear signal is started to the power failure monitoring circuit 117 shown in FIG. 77 (step S504). The power failure monitoring circuit 117 is composed of a voltage comparison circuit and a D-type flip-flop IC. The voltage comparison circuit compares the voltage between + 24V and the reference voltage, or compares the voltage between + 12V and the reference voltage, and outputs the comparison result. This comparison result shows that when no power failure or instantaneous power failure occurs, the logic becomes HI and is input to the PR terminal which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop. The logic becomes LOW and is inputted to the PR terminal which is a preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop. In step S504, output of the power failure clear signal is started to the CLR terminal which is the clear terminal of the D type flip-flop. This power failure clear signal is input to the clear terminal with the logic being LOW via the ball information control I / O port 112 of the ball information control unit 118. Thereby, the sphere information control MPU can release the latch state of the D-type flip-flop, and inverts the logic input to the PR terminal which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip-flop until the latch state is set. Thus, the output from the 1Q terminal, which is the output terminal, can be made, and the signal from the 1Q terminal can be monitored.

  Subsequent to step S504, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S506), and it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal is input (step S508). The voltage does not increase immediately from when the power is turned on until the voltage reaches the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when there is a power failure or a momentary power failure (a phenomenon in which the supply of power is temporarily stopped), the voltage decreases, and when it becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 as a power failure warning. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure warning voltage from when the power is turned on until it reaches the predetermined voltage, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117. Therefore, the wait timer process 1 in step S506 is a process for waiting until the voltage becomes higher than the power failure warning voltage and stabilizes after the power is turned on. In this embodiment, the wait timer process 1 is 200 milliseconds (wait timer). ms) is set. In step S508, it is determined whether or not the power failure notice signal is input. This determination is performed based on the signal output from the 1Q terminal, which is the output terminal of the D-type flip-flop described above, as the power failure warning signal.

  Subsequent to step S508, the output of the power failure clear signal is stopped at the CLR terminal which is the clear terminal of the D-type flip-flop (step S510). By stopping the output of the power failure clear signal, the logic becomes HI via the ball information control I / O port 112 and is input to the CLR terminal which is a clear terminal. Thereby, the sphere information control MPU can set the D-type flip-flop in the latched state. When the D-type flip-flop latches the state that the logic is LOW and is input to the PR terminal that is the preset terminal, the D-type flip-flop outputs a power failure warning signal from the 1Q terminal that is the output terminal.

  Subsequent to step S510, it is determined whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 is operated (step S512). This determination is made based on whether or not the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and an operation signal (detection signal) is input to the sphere information control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated. On the other hand, when the detection signal is not input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is not operated.

  If it is determined in step S512 that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, the value 1 is set in the sphere information RAM clear flag (step S514), and the process proceeds to step S518, while the RAM clear switch 105 is operated in step S512. If it is determined that it is not, the value 0 is set in the ball information RAM clear (step S516), and the process proceeds to step S518.

  The sphere information RAM clear flag is stored in, for example, various flags and various information storage areas stored in a RAM (hereinafter referred to as “sphere information control built-in RAM”) built in the sphere information control MPU. It is a flag indicating whether or not to delete various sphere information, and is set to a value of 1 when the sphere information is deleted and a value of 0 when the sphere information is not deleted. The sphere information RAM clear flag set in step S514 and step S516 is stored in a general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) of the sphere information control MPU.

  Subsequent to step S514 or step S516, setting for permitting access to the spherical information control built-in RAM is performed (step S518). This setting allows access to the sphere information control built-in RAM, for example, writing (storage) or reading of the sphere information.

  Subsequent to step S518, the stack pointer is set (step S520). The stack pointer indicates, for example, the address accumulated on the stack to temporarily store the contents of the memory element (register) being used, or temporarily returns the return address of this routine when returning to this routine after completing the subroutine. It indicates the address that is stacked on the stack for storage, and the stack pointer advances each time the stack is stacked. In step S520, an initial address is set in the stack pointer, and the contents of the register, the return address, etc. are stacked on the stack from this initial address. Then, the stack pointer returns to the initial address by sequentially reading from the last stacked stack to the first stacked stack.

  Subsequent to step S520, when the process proceeds to step S521, a combination authentication process for determining whether or not the combination of the ball information control MPU 111 and the main control MPU 101 is proper is executed. The game board manufacturer identification information output from the main control board 100 is stored in the game board manufacturer identification information storage unit 4101 of the ball information control MPU 111 to authenticate whether or not appropriate game board manufacturer identification information has been output. If the authentication is properly performed, the process proceeds to step S527. On the other hand, if it is determined that the authentication is not appropriate, abnormality notification is performed using a speaker, a liquid crystal display device, or the like.

  Subsequent to step S521, the sphere information control MPU proceeds to step S527. In step S527, it is determined whether or not the sphere information RAM clear flag is 0 (step S527). As described above, the sphere information RAM clear flag is set to a value of 1 when the sphere information is erased, and a value of 0 when the sphere information is not erased.

  When the sphere information RAM clear flag is 0 in step S527, that is, when the sphere information is not deleted, a checksum is calculated (step S528). This checksum calculates the sum by regarding the sphere information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM as a numerical value.

  Subsequent to step S528, it is determined whether or not the calculated checksum value matches a checksum value stored in a sphere information control unit power-off process (power-off) described later (step S530). ). If they match, it is determined whether or not the sphere information backup flag is 1 (step S532). This sphere information backup flag is a flag indicating whether or not sphere information backup information such as sphere information and checksum value is stored and held in the sphere information control built-in RAM in the sphere information control unit power-off process described later. A value of 1 is set when the sphere information control unit power-off process is normally terminated, and a value of 0 is set when the sphere information control unit power-off process is not terminated normally.

  When the sphere information backup flag has a value of 1 in step S532, that is, when the sphere information control unit power-off process is normally terminated, the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM is set as power recovery (step S534). In this setting, in addition to setting the value 0 to the sphere information backup flag, the power recovery time information is read from a ROM built in the sphere information control MPU (hereinafter referred to as “sphere information control built-in ROM”). The power recovery information is set in the work area of the ball information control built-in RAM. Thereby, the information used for various processes is set based on the various information stored in the various information storage areas, such as various flags, which are the above-described spherical information backup information stored in the spherical information control built-in RAM. . Note that “recovery” includes not only a state in which the power is turned off from a state in which the power is turned off but also a state in which the power is restored after a power failure or a momentary power failure.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S527 that the sphere information RAM clear flag is not 0 (value 1), or if the checksum values do not match in step S530, or the sphere information backup flag is set in step S532. When it is determined that the value is not 1 (value 0), that is, when the process of turning off the power of the sphere information control unit is not normally terminated, the entire area of the sphere information control built-in RAM is cleared (step S536). Thereby, the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is cleared.

  Subsequent to step S536, the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM is set as an initial setting (step S538). In this setting, the initial information is read from the sphere information control built-in ROM, and the initial information is set in the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S534 or step S538, interrupt initialization is performed (step S540). This setting is to set an interrupt cycle when a sphere information control unit timer interrupt process described later is performed. In this embodiment, it is set to 2 ms.

  Subsequent to step S540, interrupt permission setting is performed (step S542). With this setting, the sphere information control unit timer interruption process is repeatedly performed every interruption period set in step S540, that is, every 2 ms.

  Subsequent to step S542, it is determined whether or not a power failure warning signal is input (step S544). As described above, when the power of the pachinko gaming machine 1 is cut off, or when a power failure or a momentary power failure occurs, a power failure warning signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 as a power failure warning voltage when the voltage becomes equal to or lower than the power failure warning voltage. The determination in step S540 is made based on this power failure notice signal.

  When no power failure warning signal is input in step S544, it is determined whether or not the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1 (step S546). This 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that measures 2 ms in a sphere information control unit timer interrupt process that is processed every 2 ms, which will be described later. The value is 1 when 2 ms has elapsed and 1 when the time has not elapsed. Each is set.

  If it is determined in step S546 that the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value of 0, that is, if 2 ms has not elapsed, the process returns to step S544 to determine whether a power failure warning signal is input.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S546 that the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value of 1, that is, if 2 ms have elapsed, a value 0 is set in the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG (step S547), and the process proceeds to step S550. Then, an external WDT clear signal is output to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 (turned ON, step S550). The external WDT 116 monitors the operation (system) of the sphere information control MPU. When the external WDT clear signal is not stopped at the clear signal release time, a reset signal is sent to the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I / O port 112. Is output and reset (periodically diagnoses whether or not the system of the sphere information control MPU is out of control).

  Subsequent to step S550, port output processing is performed (step S552). In this port output process, various information is read from the output information storage area of the spherical information control built-in RAM, and various signals are output from the output terminal of the spherical information control I / O port 112 based on the various information.

  In the output information storage area, for example, ball information main ACK information indicating that various commands (prize ball command and self-check command) related to the prize ball from the main control board 100 have been normally received, Various information such as drive information for performing drive control is stored, and when a prize ball command from the main control board 100 is normally received from the output terminal of the ball information control I / O port 112 based on this output information. The ball information main ACK signal is output to the main control board 100, or the drive signal is output to the firing solenoid 13.

  Subsequent to step S552, port input processing is performed (step S554). In this port input process, various signals input to the input terminal of the sphere information control I / O port 112 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the sphere information control built-in RAM. For example, a door frame opening switch 131, a body frame opening switch 132, firing standby ball detection switches 26 and 70, a firing ball confirmation switch 36, a collection ball detection switch 203, a ball path full tank detection switch 206, a proper ball amount detection switch 207, Lifting inlet switch 156, lifting motor sensor (photo sensor) 157, cassette detection switch 158, firing stop switch 86, touch switch 87, BRQ signal from the settlement machine 4, BRDY signal and CR connection signal, command transmission processing to be described later The main sphere information ACK signal or the like from the main control board 100 that informs the main control board 100 that the main control board 100 has normally received the various commands transmitted in the above is read and stored as input information in the input information storage area.

  Subsequent to step S554, timer update processing is performed (step S556). The various determination times are stored as time management information in the time management information storage area of the sphere information control built-in RAM. In the timer update process, it is determined whether or not the timer values of various timers are set. If the timer value is set, 1 is subtracted from the timer value. For example, when “1000” is set as a value corresponding to 2 seconds (2000 ms) in the timer, the timer interrupt period is set to 2 ms. Therefore, the timer value is incremented by 1 every time the timer subtraction process is performed in the 2 ms period. Subtraction is performed, and when the subtraction result becomes 0, the time is up, and the time is accurately measured.

  Subsequent to step S556, settlement machine communication processing is performed (step S558). In the settlement machine communication processing, whether or not various signals (BRQ signal, BRDY signal, and CR connection signal) from the settlement machine 4 are input based on the input information read from the input information storage area described above. Determine. Based on various signals from the settlement machine 4, the ball information control MPU exchanges various signals with the settlement machine 4. For example, when the ball information control MPU receives the number of balls lent transmitted from the checkout machine 4, the ball information control MPU adds the number of balls rented to the number of balls held by the gaming machine.

  Following step S558, command reception processing is performed (step S560). In this command reception process, various commands (prize ball commands and self-check commands) related to prize balls from the main control board 100 are received. When these various commands are normally received, the sphere information main ACK information to that effect is stored in the output information storage area described above. On the other hand, when various commands cannot be received normally, a connection that indicates that an abnormality has occurred in the connection between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 (an abnormality has occurred in various command signals). Abnormality information is stored in the state information storage area described above.

  Following step S560, command analysis processing is performed (step S562). In this command analysis processing, the command received in step S562 is analyzed, and the analyzed command is stored as received command information in the received command information storage area of the sphere information control built-in RAM.

  Subsequent to step S562, main operation setting processing is performed (step S564). In the main operation setting process, the ball information control MPU performs operation settings of the firing solenoid 13, the ball feeding solenoid 31, the ball lifting device 22 (ball lifting motor 150), the ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155, and the like. In addition, the ball information control MPU sequentially “1” from the game machine ball number data stored in the game machine ball number storage area in response to the detection of each game ball shot based on the ball detection of the launch ball confirmation switch 36. "Is subtracted. Further, when a winning ball command is stored in the received command information storage area, the number of winning balls corresponding to the winning ball command is added to the gaming machine ball number data stored in the gaming machine holding ball number storage area.

Following step S564, LED display data creation processing is performed (step S566).
In this LED display data creation process, for example, the gaming machine possession ball number data stored in the above-mentioned gaming machine possession ball number storage area is read out, and display data for displaying the number of possession balls on the touch panel unit 14 is created. The display information is stored in the output information storage area described above.

  Subsequent to step S566, command transmission processing is performed (step S568). In this command transmission process, various information is read from the state information storage area described above, and various commands classified into status displays are created based on the various information and transmitted to the main control board 100.

  Subsequent to step S568, output of the external WDT clear signal to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 is stopped (turns OFF, step S570). Thereby, the external WDT 116 is cleared so that the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I / O port 112 are not reset. The external WDT 116 starts counting the clear signal release time when the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped.

  Following step S570, the process returns to step S544 again to determine whether or not a power failure warning signal is input. If this power failure warning signal is not input, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is 1 in step S546. When the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value of 1, that is, when 2 ms has elapsed, the value 0 is set in the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG in step S547, and the external WDT 4120c is externally connected in step S550. A WDT clear signal is output (ON), port output processing is performed in step S552, port input processing is performed in step S554, timer update processing is performed in step S556, settlement machine communication processing is performed in step S558, and step S560 is performed. Command reception processing is performed, and command analysis processing is performed in step S562. In step S564, main operation setting processing is performed. In step S566, LED display data creation processing is performed. In step S568, command transmission processing is performed. In step S570, the output of the external WDT clear signal is stopped (OFF). Steps S544 to S570 are repeated. The processing from step S544 to step S570 is referred to as “sphere information control main processing”.

  On the other hand, when a power failure warning signal is input in step S544, interrupt prohibition setting is performed (step S572). With this setting, a sphere information control unit timer interrupt process, which will be described later, is not performed, writing to the sphere information control built-in RAM is prevented, and the rewriting of the sphere information described above is protected.

  Subsequent to step S572, the power failure clear signal is output to the CLR terminal, which is the clear terminal of the D-type flip-flop of the power failure monitoring circuit 117, via the ball information control I / O port 112 (step S574). Thereby, the D type flip-flop can be released from the latched state by outputting the power failure clear signal.

  Subsequent to step S574, output of the drive signal to the firing solenoid 13 is stopped (step S576). Thereby, the launch of the game ball is stopped. Subsequent to step S576, output of the drive signal to the ball feed solenoid 31 is stopped (step S578). Thereby, the feeding of the game ball to the hit ball launching device 29 side is stopped.

  Subsequent to step S578, an external WDT clear signal is output to the external WDT 116 and the output is stopped (ON / OFF, step S580). As a result, the external WDT 116 is cleared. Subsequent to step S580, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S582). The checksum is calculated by considering the sphere information in the work area of the sphere information control built-in RAM as a numerical value, excluding the storage area of the checksum value calculated in step S528 and the value of the sphere information backup flag HBK-FLG. To do. Subsequent to step S582, a value 1 is set in the sphere information backup flag (step S584). Thereby, the storage of the sphere information backup information is completed. Subsequent to step S584, access prohibition to the sphere information control built-in RAM is set (step S586). With this setting, access to the sphere information control built-in RAM is prohibited, and writing and reading cannot be performed, and the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is protected.

  Subsequent to step S586, a loop process of repeating a state of doing nothing is entered. In this loop processing, the clear signal is not turned ON / OFF to the external WDT 116. Therefore, the external WDT 116 resets the sphere information control MPU and the sphere information control I / O port 112 by outputting a reset signal. Thereafter, the sphere information control MPU performs this sphere information control side power-on process from the beginning again. Note that the processing and loop processing in steps S572 to S586 are referred to as “sphere information control power-off processing”.

  The gaming machine 1 (ball information control MPU) is reset when a power failure occurs or when a momentary power failure occurs, and the ball information control side power-on process is performed by subsequent power recovery.

  In step S530, it is checked whether or not the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is normal, and in step S532, the sphere information control unit power-off process is normally terminated. It is inspected whether or not. As described above, the sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM is checked twice to check whether or not the sphere information backup information is stored by an illegal act.

[Ball information control timer interrupt processing]
Next, the sphere information control side timer interruption process will be described. This sphere information control side timer interruption process is repeated at every interruption period (2 ms in this embodiment) set in step S540 of the sphere information control side power-on process shown in FIG.

  When the sphere information control side timer interrupt process is started, the sphere information control MPU of the sphere information control unit 118 in the sphere information control board 110 sets the timer interrupt to be prohibited and switches registers (see FIG. 86). (Evacuation) is performed (step S590). Here, the general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register) used in the above-described sphere information control unit main process is switched to the auxiliary register. By using this auxiliary register in the sphere information control side timer interrupt process, the value of the general-purpose register is not overwritten. This prevents the contents of the general-purpose register used in the main process on the sphere information control side from being destroyed.

  Subsequent to step S590, the value 1 is set to the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG (step S592). The 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that counts 2 ms every time the ball information control unit timer interrupt process is performed, that is, every 2 ms. The value is 0 when 2 ms has elapsed and 1 has not elapsed. Respectively. Subsequent to step S592, the register is switched (returned) (step S594). This return is switched from the auxiliary register used in the sphere information control side timer interrupt process to the general-purpose memory element (general-purpose register). By using this general-purpose register in the main process on the sphere information control side, the value of the auxiliary register is not overwritten. This prevents the contents of the auxiliary register used in the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing from being destroyed. Subsequent to step S594, interrupt permission is set (step S596), and this routine ends.

[Each process executed in the sphere information control main process]
Next, each process executed by the sphere information control MPU of the sphere information control board 110 every 2 ms in the sphere information control main process of FIG. 84 will be described. First, the ball lending process will be described, and then the hitting ball availability determination process, the number-of-balls counting process, the ball feeding / launching drive process, the shot-ball detecting process, and the number-of-balls subtracting process will be described. The hit / impossibility determination process, the number-of-balls counting process, the ball feeding / launching driving process, the firing ball detecting process, the number-of-balls subtracting process, and the lifting driving process are one of the main operation setting processes in step S564. Is executed in the order of ball hitting / impossible determination processing, ball count counting processing, ball feed / launch drive processing, shot ball detection processing, ball count subtraction processing, and lift drive processing.

  When the player inserts the card 403 into the card insertion slot, the checkout machine 4 detects the insertion of the card 403 and reads the data stored in the card 403 through the card processor 402. That is, the RAM stored in the RAM 403 reads the ID stored in the ID storage unit 404 of the card 403 in FIG. 78, the remaining number stored in the remaining number storage unit 405, and the number of balls held in the ball number storage unit 406. Are stored in predetermined storage areas (ID storage area, remaining frequency storage area, and ball count storage area).

  Next, the checkout machine 4 determines whether the inserted card 403 is usable or unusable. In this embodiment, when the read remaining number is 0 and the read number of held balls is 0, it is determined that the card 403 cannot be used, and the card 403 is ejected from the card insertion slot. For this reason, when it is determined that the card 403 is unusable, each of the ball count counting process, the ball feed / firing drive process, and the ball count subtracting process described below is not executed.

  On the other hand, when the read remaining frequency is not 0, or when the read remaining frequency is 0 and the read number of held balls is not 0, the checkout machine 4 determines that the card is usable, and the ball information The card usable information is transmitted to the control board 110.

  When the player presses the ball lending button to perform a game, an operation signal for the ball lending button is input to the settlement machine 4. In response to the operation signal of the ball lending button, the checkout machine 4 performs ball lending processing, for example, transmits a specified number of balls to the ball information control MPU of the ball information control board 110, and thereafter from the ball information control MPU. It waits until it receives the end of the ball rental sent.

[Rental processing]
Here, the lending process executed by the ball information control MPU will be described. FIG. 87 is a flow chart showing a ball rental processing subroutine performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball lending process is executed as one of the settlement machine communication processes in step S558 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the ball lending process, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the card usable information transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is received (step S600). If the card usable information transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is received in step S600, the process proceeds to step S601, and a ball count counter (a gaming machine possession machine) that is a part of the storage area set in the built-in RAM. (Ball number storage area) is cleared to 0 (step S601), and the process proceeds to step S602. On the other hand, if the card usable information transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is not received in step S600, the process proceeds directly to step S602. Note that the initial value of the number-of-ball counter is set to “0” by the power recovery setting in the RAM work area in step S534.

  When proceeding to step S602, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the number of rented balls transmitted from the settlement machine 4 is received (step S602). If the number of rented balls transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is received in step S602, the process proceeds to step S603, and the received number of lent balls is added to the value of the number of held balls counter (step S603). The end of lending is transmitted to the checkout machine 4 (step S604), and the lending process subroutine is exited.

  On the other hand, if the number of rents transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is not received in step S602, the process does not proceed to step S603 and step S604, and the direct renting process subroutine is exited.

  In this way, card usable information is transmitted to the ball information control board 110 only when a newly usable card 303 is inserted into the checkout machine 4. In addition, the number of balls lent is transmitted to the ball information control MPU only when the operation signal of the ball lending button is input to the checkout machine 4 after the card usable information is received. Then, when the number of rented balls is received, the number of rented balls is added and stored in the value of the number of held balls counter for the first time.

[Battery ball impossibility determination processing]
Next, the hitting / impossible determination process executed by the ball information control MPU will be described. FIG. 88 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of hitting / impossible hitting determination processing performed by the ball information control MPU.
The hit / impossibility determination process is executed as one of the main action setting processes in step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the hit / impossibility determination process, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the number of held balls is 0, that is, whether or not the value of the held ball number counter is 0 (step S710). If it is determined in step S710 that the value of the number-of-balls counter is not 0, that is, if step S710 is determined to be NO, the process proceeds to step S711, and the standby standby ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10). ) Is on, that is, whether there is a waiting ball in the ball feeder 28 (step S711).

  If it is determined in step S711 that the firing standby ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10) is on, 1 (can be fired) is set in the fireable flag (step S712), and a ball is not permitted determination process. Exit the subroutine. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S710 that the value of the number-of-balls counter is 0, and if it is determined in step S711 that the firing standby ball detection switch 70 is not on (off), the firing is performed. The possible flag is set to 0 (cannot be fired) (step S713), and the subroutine of the ball hitting possibility determination process is exited.

Thus, when the value of the possession ball counter is not 0 and there is a waiting ball in the ball feeding device 28, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 can be driven, and the game area 8 of the game ball is substantially obtained. The game is ready to be played. In addition, when the value of the number-of-balls counter is 0, or when there is no waiting ball in the ball feeder 28, the firing solenoid 13 cannot be driven and the game ball is substantially driven into the game area 8. You are in a state where you cannot play.
At the same time, the ball feed solenoid 31 cannot be driven.

[Ball count processing]
Next, a description will be given of the number-of-balls counting process corresponding to the ball information processing during the game assuming that the game is substantially possible. FIG. 89 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the number-of-balls counting process performed by the ball information control MPU. Note that the number-of-balls counting process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

When the ball information control MPU starts the ball count process, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not there is a prize ball command analyzed in the command analysis process of step S562 (step S720). That is, it is determined whether or not a prize ball command is stored in the received command information storage area.
If a prize ball command is stored, step S720 is determined to be present, and the number of prize balls corresponding to the prize ball command stored in the received command information storage area is added to the value of the number-of-balls counter and stored (step S722). ), Exit the subroutine of the number-of-balls counting process. On the other hand, if no prize ball command is stored, step S720 is determined to be none and the subroutine for counting the number of possessed balls is exited.

  For example, when a winning occurs at the winning opening set with the number of winning balls “4”, the number of winning balls “4” is added to the value of the holding ball counter and stored, for example, the number of winning balls “15”. When a winning occurs at the winning opening (large winning opening) set to “15”, the number of winning balls “15” is added and stored in the value of the holding ball counter.

[Ball feed and launch drive processing]
Next, the ball feeding / firing driving process will be described. FIG. 90 to FIG. 91 are flowcharts showing an example of a subroutine of the ball feeding / firing driving process performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball feeding / firing driving process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  FIG. 24 is a time chart showing drive timings of the ball feed solenoid 31 and the firing solenoid 13. When the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the firing solenoid 13 is turned on when the period A has elapsed, and from the time when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off when the time B has elapsed. The firing solenoid 13 is turned off when the period C has elapsed since the solenoid 31 was turned off.

  In this embodiment, the period A is 300 ms, the period B is 30 ms, and the period C is 50 ms. When the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball is fed into the launch position (rail portion 332) by the ball feed member 32. That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36. In the present embodiment, when a game ball stopped at the launch position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined time (30 ms as the period D), it is determined that there is a launch ball. To do.

  As described above, when the game ball stopped at the launch position by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is detected for a predetermined time, it is determined that there is a launch ball. The erroneous ball count of the sphere can be eliminated, and the certainty in detecting the shot sphere can be increased.

When the launch solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball stopped at the launch position by the launch hammer 30 is launched into the game area 8 and the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off.
As a result, the number of balls held is decremented by one.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the ball feeding / firing driving process, it first determines whether or not the fireable flag is 1 (fireable) (step S730). When it is determined that the shot is possible in the hitting ball impossibility determination process described above, the launchable flag is set to 1 (fireable). If it is determined in step S730 that the launchable flag is not 1 (can be fired), that is, if the fireable flag is 0 (cannot be fired), the subroutine of the ball feed / fire drive processing is exited. In this case, the substantial ball feeding / firing driving process is not executed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S730 that the fireable flag is 1 (fireable), the process proceeds to step S731, and it is determined whether or not the processing flag is 0 (step S731).

  Here, the process flag is a flag for identifying whether the sphere information control MPU branches to any of the processes in a later-described ball feed / fire drive process, in other words, control in the ball feed / fire drive. It is a flag for identifying the state, “0” means initial setting, and “1” defines a period from turning on the ball feed solenoid 31 to turning on the firing solenoid 13. Yes, the period from turning on the firing solenoid 13 at “2” to turning off the ball feeding solenoid 31 is defined. After turning off the ball feeding solenoid 31 at “3”, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off. It defines the period until.

  The value of the processing flag is set to 0 when the ball feeding / firing driving process is started. Therefore, step S731 is determined as YES, the process proceeds to step S732, a timer value corresponding to the period A (see FIG. 24, 300 ms) is set in the timer (step S732), and the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on (step S733). Then, the processing flag is set to 1 (step S734), and the subroutine of the ball feeding / firing driving process is exited. Note that the timer value set in the timer is decremented by 1 every 2 ms in the timer update process in step S556 of FIG.

  The next processing cycle of the ball feeding / firing drive processing is 2 ms later. As a result of setting the processing flag to 1, in the ball feeding / firing driving process of the next cycle, it is determined as YES in step S730, NO is determined in step S731, and the process proceeds to step S735. In step S735, it is determined whether or not the value of the processing flag is 1 (step S735). In this case, since 1 is set in the process flag, step S735 is determined to be YES, and the process proceeds to step S736 to determine whether or not the timer has expired (step S736). If the timer has not expired, step S736 is determined as NO, and the ball feed / firing drive processing subroutine is exited.

  Hereinafter, based on the value 1 of the processing flag until the timer that sets the period A expires, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as YES, step The processing routine for determining NO in S736 is repeated.

  Then, when the timer expires, step S736 is determined as YES, and it is determined that the period A has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S737, and the timer value corresponding to the period B (see FIG. 26, 30 ms) is set in the timer. (Step S737), the firing solenoid 13 is turned on (Step S738), the processing flag is set to 2 (Step S739), and the subroutine of the ball feeding / firing driving process is exited.

  As a result of setting 2 in the processing flag, in the ball feeding / firing driving process of the next cycle, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as NO, and the process proceeds to step S740. . In step S740, it is determined whether or not the value of the processing flag is 2 (step S740). In this case, since 2 is set in the process flag, step S740 is determined to be YES, and the process proceeds to step S741 to determine whether or not the timer has expired (step S741). If the timer has not expired, step S741 is determined to be NO, and the ball feed / fire drive processing subroutine is exited.

  Hereinafter, based on the value 2 of the processing flag until the timer that sets the period B expires, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as NO, step The processing routine in which S740 is determined as YES and step S741 is determined as NO is repeated.

  If the timer expires, step S741 is determined as YES, and it is determined that the period B has elapsed. Then, the process proceeds to step S742, and the timer value corresponding to the period C (see FIG. 24, 50 ms) is set. (Step S742), the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned off (Step S743), the process flag is set to 3 (Step S744), and the subroutine of the ball feed / firing drive process is exited.

  As a result of setting 3 in the processing flag, in the next period of the ball feeding / firing driving process, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as NO, and step S740 is set as NO. The determination is made, and the process proceeds to step S745. In step S745, it is determined whether the timer has expired (step S745). If the timer has not expired, step S745 is determined to be NO, and the subroutine of ball feed / firing drive processing is exited.

  Hereinafter, based on the value 3 of the processing flag until the timer that sets the period C expires, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as NO, step The processing routine in which S740 is determined as NO and step S745 is determined as NO is repeated.

  When the timer expires, step S745 is determined to be YES, and it is determined that the period C has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S746, the firing solenoid 13 is turned off (step S746), and the processing flag is set to 0. Returning to the initial value (step S747), the subroutine of the ball feeding / firing driving process is exited.

[Fireball detection processing]
Next, the firing ball detection process will be described. FIG. 92 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a fired ball detection process performed by the ball information control MPU. The shot ball detection process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When starting the shot ball detection process, the ball information control MPU first determines whether or not the shot ball check switch 36 is on (step S750). As described above, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball is fed into the launch position (rail portion 332) by the ball feed member 32. That is, the shot ball is detected by the shot ball confirmation switch 36.

  If it is determined that the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is on, the value of the time counter, which is a counter for measuring the time in the on state, is incremented by 1 (step S751), and the process proceeds to step S753.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is not on, that is, when the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is off, the time counter is set to 0 (step S752), and the process proceeds to step S753.

  In step S753, it is determined whether or not the value of the time counter has reached a predetermined time D (30 ms in this example) (step S753). If the value of the time counter does not reach the predetermined time D set in advance, step S753 is determined as NO and the subroutine for the shot ball detection process is exited.

  Since the shot ball detection process is executed every 2 ms, if the game ball stopped at the launch position by the shot ball confirmation switch 36 is continuously detected for a predetermined time D, the time counter is counted every 2 ms. The value is incremented by 1, and the value of the time counter reaches a predetermined time D (in this example, 30 ms, count value 15). In this case, it is determined as YES in step S753, and it is assumed that a projecting ball has been detected, 1 (with detection) is set in the projecting ball detection flag (step S754), and the subroutine of the projecting ball detection process is exited.

  On the other hand, when noise enters the firing ball confirmation switch 36, the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is turned on instantaneously, but then the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. Accordingly, since the value of the time counter is set to 0 in response to the turning off of the launch ball confirmation switch 36, the value of the time counter is set to a predetermined time D (30 ms, count value 15 in this example). Never reach.

  As described above, when the game ball stopped at the launch position by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is detected for a predetermined time, it is determined that there is a launch ball. The erroneous ball count of the sphere can be eliminated, and the certainty in detecting the shot sphere can be increased.

[Number of balls subtracted]
Next, the holding ball number subtraction process will be described. FIG. 93 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the number-of-balls subtraction process performed by the ball information control MPU. The number-of-balls subtraction process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When starting the ball number subtraction process, the ball information control MPU first determines whether or not the shot ball detection flag is 1 (detected) (step S760). If it is determined that the shot ball detection flag is not 1 (detected), that is, if step S760 is determined to be NO, the subroutine for the number-of-balls subtraction process is exited. In this case, the number of balls is not subtracted.

  If it is determined in step S760 that the shot ball detection flag is 1 (detected), that is, if step S760 is determined to be YES, the process proceeds to step S761, and is the shot ball check switch 36 turned off? It is determined whether or not (step S761). If it is determined in step S761 that the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is not OFF, that is, if it is determined NO in step S761, the subroutine for subtracting the number of balls is exited.

  As described above, when the launch solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball stopped at the launch position by the launch hammer 30 is launched into the game area 8 and the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. Thereby, the number of held balls is decremented by one. If it is determined in step S761 that the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is off, that is, if step S761 is determined to be YES, the value of the number-of-balls counter is decremented by 1 (step S762), and the firing ball detection flag is set. 0 (no detection) is set (step S763), and the subroutine for the number-of-balls subtraction process is exited.

  As described above, when a game ball stopped at the launch position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined time, it is determined that there is a launch ball, and it is determined that there is a launch ball. When the game ball is not detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36, it is determined that the game ball stopped at the launch position has been launched and the number of possessed balls is reduced by one. When noise enters 36, it is possible to eliminate the erroneous ball count of the fired ball due to noise, and to increase the certainty in detecting the fired ball.

[Ball lifting drive processing]
Next, the lifting drive process will be described. FIG. 94 is a flowchart showing a sub-routine of the lifting drive process performed by the ball information control MPU. The lifting drive process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the lifting drive process, it first determines whether or not the firing standby ball detection switch 26 is on (step S770). If it is determined in step S770 that the firing standby ball detection switch 26 is off, that is, if step S770 is determined to be NO, the process proceeds to step S771, and it is determined whether or not the feed inlet switch 156 is on. (Step S771). If it is determined in step S771 that the lifting entrance switch 156 is on, that is, if it is determined YES in step S771, the ball lifting motor 150 is driven (step S772), and the lifting drive processing subroutine is performed. Exit.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S770 that the firing standby ball detection switch 26 is on, that is, if it is determined YES in step S770, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S773), and the lifting drive process is performed. Exit the subroutine.
Further, when it is determined in step S771 that the pumping inlet switch 156 is off, that is, when step S771 is determined to be NO, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S773), and the lifting drive process is performed. Exit the subroutine.

  As described above, when a game ball is not detected by the firing standby ball detection switch 26, it is determined that the required number of game balls is not satisfied in the ball supply path member 24, and the ball feed path is determined by the lift inlet switch 156. When a game ball waiting for alignment in 275 is detected, on the condition that it is determined that there is a game ball, the ball lifting motor is driven, and the launch standby ball detection switch 26 enters the ball supply path member 24. On the condition that the game balls waiting for alignment are detected, the ball lifting device 22 is stopped driving and the game balls are not lifted. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of clogging. Thereby, since it is the structure which lifts a game ball, a game ball can be sent into the ball supply path | route member 24 without excess and deficiency.

In addition, the game to the ball supply path member 24 by the ball lifting device 22 is compared with the game ball launch cycle of the hitting ball launching device 29 and the ball feeding cycle of the game ball of the ball feeding device 28 in the upper launch unit 12. The ball delivery cycle is set short. In this embodiment, the game ball launching cycle of the hitting ball launching device 29 and the ball feeding cycle of the game ball of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute are fired), and the ball supply path member by the ball lifting device 22 is used. The delivery period of game balls to 24 is 384 ms.
As a result, during the game, the upper launch unit 12 is operated so that the game ball is launched into the game area by the ball launching device 29 and the game ball is sent to the firing position by the ball feeding device 28. In addition, since the game ball is sent out to the ball supply path member 24 by the ball lifting device 22 shorter than the cycle of feeding the game ball to the launch position, it waits before being lifted by the lift inlet switch 156. In the case where the state in which the game ball is full is maintained, the game ball in the ball supply path member 24 is not detected by the firing standby ball detection switch 26 while the game ball is being driven. Then, the ball lifting device 22 is driven to start the lifting of the game ball, and the game ball to the ball supply path member 24 is faster than the game ball driving pace. When a game ball waiting for alignment in the ball supply path member 24 is detected by the firing standby ball detection switch 26, the ball lifting device 22 stops driving and the game ball is lifted. Stopped. In other words, during the game, the ball lifting operation of the ball lifting device 22 is intermittently performed, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the clogging of the ball and to efficiently and stably lift the game ball. The ball can be efficiently supplied and a stable number of game balls can be supplied to the upper launch unit.

In this embodiment, the game ball firing period of the hitting ball launching device 29 and the ball feeding period of the game ball of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute are fired), and the ball supply by the ball lifting device 22 is performed. The game ball delivery cycle to the path member 24 is set to 384 ms. However, the method is not limited to this, and the game ball launch cycle and the ball feed cycle, and the game ball delivery cycle to the ball supply path member 24 are not limited thereto. Various methods can be selected, such as setting each other to 600 ms.

[Clogged ball notification processing]
Next, the ball clogging notification process will be described. FIG. 95 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of ball clogging notification processing performed by the ball information control MPU. The ball clogging notification process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes in step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process. Further, the ball clogging notification processing is performed after the hitting ball impossibility determination processing shown in FIG. The firing standby sphere detection switch 26 corresponds to first firing standby sphere detection means, and the firing standby sphere detection switch 70 corresponds to second firing standby sphere detection means.

  When starting the ball clogging notification process, the ball information control MPU 111 first determines whether or not the firing standby ball detection switch 26 is on (step S780). If it is determined in step S780 that the firing standby ball detection switch 26 is on, that is, if it is determined YES in step S780, the ball lifting motor 150 is stopped (step S782), the process proceeds to step S786, and the launch standby is performed. It is determined whether or not the sphere detection switch is on (step S786). If it is determined in step S786 that the firing standby ball detection switch 70 is off, that is, if step S786 is determined to be NO, 1 is set in the abnormality detection flag (step S788), and the notification means is turned on. (Step S789) exits the subroutine of ball clogging notification processing.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S786 that the firing standby ball detection switch 70 is on, that is, if step S786 is determined to be YES, the process proceeds to step S787, and it is determined whether or not the abnormality detection flag is 1 ( Step S787). If it is determined in step S787 that the abnormality detection flag is 1, that is, if step S787 is determined to be YES, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0 (step S790), the abnormality notification unit is turned off (step S792), and the recovery notification unit. Is turned on (step S794), and the subroutine for ball clogging notification processing is exited.

  If it is determined in step S780 that the firing standby ball detection switch 26 is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S780, the ball lifting motor 150 is driven (step S784), and the abnormality detection flag is set. It is determined whether or not 1 (step S787). If it is determined in step S787 that the abnormality detection flag is 0, that is, if step S787 is determined to be NO, the subroutine of the ball clogging notification process is exited.

  As described above, the ball supply path member 24 and the ball feeding device 28 are provided with the sensors for detecting the game balls, the game balls in the ball supply path member 24 are detected, and the game balls in the ball feeding device 28 are detected. On the condition that the ball is not jammed, it is determined that there is an abnormal state due to the occurrence of the ball clogging, and a notice is given by an abnormality notifying unit (not shown in particular, for example, the touch panel unit 14 indicates that the ball is clogged). Thereby, for example, it is possible to reliably notify a staff member of a game hall that a ball jam has occurred.

  Further, the upper launcher 12 of the present embodiment can be rotated by the upper launcher hinge 37 and can be opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 2 (FIG. 12). After the door frame 3 is opened, the state of the upper launching device 12 can be immediately grasped, and the ball clogging can be easily eliminated. When the ball clogging is eliminated, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0 and the abnormality notification means stops. After that, the recovery notification means (for example, display on the touch panel unit 14 to the extent that the player in the game hall can recognize that the ball has been recovered from the clogged state is displayed (for example, 5 seconds to 10 seconds)), and the notification is surely made. It can be recognized that the ball clogging has been eliminated.

  Further, the arrangement position of the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is attached so as to detect a game ball in the vicinity of the launch position in the path of the ball feeder 28, but a game ball passing through the path of the ball feeder 28 is detected. Various arrangement positions can be selected as long as the arrangement can be performed.

[Power supply board]
As shown in FIGS. 99 and 100, a gaming machine is provided with a power supply board 851 for generating various operating power sources based on alternating current (AC) 24 volts (24V) supplied from a pachinko island facility (not shown). 1 body frame 2.

[Intense heat production and power]
By the way, in recent pachinko machines, by providing an extremely large number of movable objects for production on the game board 5, it provides the player with a gorgeous production and powerful and attractive production. There is a tendency for the number of items to increase. These effectable movable objects usually use a motor or a solenoid as a drive source. Therefore, the power consumption has increased with the increase in the number of movable accessories for production, and the power supply board 851 is becoming insufficient in capacity. However, although it is not impossible to increase the capacity further on the power supply board 851 side, it is desirable to avoid an increase in capacity considering the recent ecological trend.

  Such an effect in which a plurality of movable objects for production move violently is intense for the player, and so-called big hit is highly expected. In addition, a production in which a plurality of movable actors work together does not perform a production operation over a long period of time, but the moment of production is more instantaneous when the production period is instantaneous. On the other hand, when a plurality of movable accessories are instantaneously operated together, for example, a heavy movable agent is driven at a high speed (hereinafter referred to as intense heat effect), the power consumption increases instantaneously. For this reason, when intense heat production is performed, there is a possibility that electric power may become insufficient.

  The above intense heat effect is an effect that there is a possibility that the maximum power that cannot be covered by the power generated by the power supply board may be insufficient. To supplement the power shortage, auxiliary power means are provided and accumulated in the auxiliary power means. It is conceivable to compensate for the power shortage with electric power. The intense heat effect is an effect that accompanies the discharge of the electric power stored in the auxiliary power supply means.

  Therefore, when the intense heat effect is started, it is possible to compensate for the power shortage by the discharge of the electric power accumulated in the auxiliary power supply means, and after the intense heat effect is finished, in order to accumulate electric power in the auxiliary power supply means, It will be necessary to charge the auxiliary power supply means. Note that the intense heat effect is usually set at a low appearance rate. However, since the appearance rate is only calculated, it is conceivable that some players continuously apply intense heat effects while charging the auxiliary power supply means.

  Therefore, the invention according to the embodiment described below relates to an invention related to a gaming machine that efficiently performs intense heat effects on the power of the auxiliary power supply means and suppresses a decrease in the interest of the game.

[Power Supply Board of Embodiment]
FIG. 103 is a block diagram showing a part of the power supply system including the power supply board 851 in the present embodiment. The power supply board 851 is electrically connected to the power cord, and the plug of the power cord is inserted into the power outlet of the pachinko island facility. When a power switch (not shown) is operated, the power supplied from the pachinko island facility is supplied to the power supply board 851, and the gaming machine 1 can be turned on.

  As shown in FIG. 103, the power supply board 851 includes a full-wave rectification circuit 851a, a power factor correction circuit 851b, a smoothing circuit 851c, a + 5.2V creation circuit 851d, a + 5.25V creation circuit 851e, a + 12V creation circuit 851f, and a + 24V creation. A circuit 851g and a power compensation circuit 853 are provided.

  The full-wave rectification circuit 851a performs full-wave rectification of AC 24 volts (AC 24V) supplied from the Pachinko Island facility and supplies the rectified current to the power factor improvement circuit 851b. This power factor improvement circuit 851b improves the power factor of the full-wave rectified power to generate DC + 37V (DC + 37V, hereinafter referred to as “+ 37V”) and supplies it to the smoothing circuit 851c.

  The smoothing circuit 851c removes the input + 37V ripple and smoothes the + 37V to + 52V creation circuit 851d, + 5.25V creation circuit 851e, + 12V creation circuit 851f, + 24V creation circuit 851g, and a sphere information control board 110, the power supply circuit 853, and the auxiliary drawer relay board 1108, respectively. A power supply system supplied with + 37V is a + 37V power supply line.

  The + 5.2V creation circuit 851d creates a direct current + 5.2V (DC + 5.2V, hereinafter referred to as “+ 5.2V”) from + 37V supplied from the smoothing circuit 851c. The power supply system supplied with this + 5.2V is a + 5.2V power supply line.

  The + 5.25V creation circuit 851e creates a direct current + 5.25V (DC + 5.25V, hereinafter referred to as “+ 5.25V”) from + 37V supplied from the smoothing circuit 851c. The power supply system supplied with + 5.25V is a + 5.25V power supply line.

  The + 12V creation circuit 851f creates a direct current + 12V (DC + 12V, hereinafter referred to as “+ 12V”) from + 37V supplied from the smoothing circuit 851c. The power supply system supplied with + 12V is a + 12V power supply line.

  The + 24V creating circuit 851g creates DC + 24V (DC + 24V, hereinafter referred to as “+ 24V”) from + 37V supplied from the smoothing circuit 851c. The power supply system supplied with + 24V is the + 24V power supply line.

  The power compensation circuit 853 accumulates electric power based on the operating power generated by the power supply substrate 851, that is, + 37V supplied from the smoothing circuit 851c in this example, in other words, supplied from the smoothing circuit 851c. Power is stored, and power shortage is compensated with the stored power. The power compensation circuit 853 monitors the charging state of an auxiliary power circuit 855 described later, and outputs a charging completion signal when charging is completed.

  The voltage created by the + 5.2V creation circuit 851d, the + 12V creation circuit 851f, and the + 24V creation circuit 851g and the + 37V voltage are supplied to the sphere information control board 110, and the + 5.25V creation circuit 851e, the + 12V creation circuit 851f, The voltage generated by the + 24V generation circuit 851g and the + 37V voltage are supplied to the sub drawer relay board 1108. In addition, AC24V supplied from the Pachinko island facility is supplied to the CR unit terminal board via the power supply board 851 in addition to the full-wave rectifier circuit 851a.

  The sub drawer relay board 1108 supplies the peripheral control board 130 with the + 5.25V, + 12V, + 24V, and + 37V operating voltages generated by the power supply board 851 and the charge completion signal output from the power compensation circuit 853. . In addition, a discharge permission signal output from the peripheral control board 130 is supplied to the power compensation circuit 853.

  The power supply board 851 includes capacitors BC0 and BC1. The capacitor BC0 is a backup power source for a RAM (main control built-in RAM) built in the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, and the capacitor BC1 is connected to the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control unit 118 in the sphere information control board 110. This is a backup power source for a built-in RAM (payout control built-in RAM).

  As a result, when the power from the + 5.2V generating circuit 851d is not supplied to the main control board 100, the charge charged in the capacitor BC0 is supplied to the main control board 100 as the main VBB. . Therefore, the stored content is held by applying the main VBB to the power supply terminal of the main control built-in RAM.

  Further, when the electric power from the + 5.2V creation circuit 851d is not supplied to the sphere information control board 110, the charge charged in the capacitor BC1 is supplied to the sphere information control board 110 as the payout VBB. Yes. Therefore, the stored contents are held by applying the pay VBB to the power supply terminal of the RAM with built-in sphere information control.

  As shown in FIG. 103, the ball information control unit 118 includes a power failure monitoring circuit 117 that monitors the signs of + 12V and + 24V power failure or instantaneous power failure supplied from the power supply board 851. When the power failure monitoring circuit 117 detects signs of + 12V and + 24V power failure or instantaneous power failure, a power failure warning signal is sent as a power failure warning signal to the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110, and the peripheral control. The data is output to the MPU 4150a. Note that the power failure notice signal causes each MPU to execute power-off processing (FIG. 80, FIG. 84 to FIG. 85) for backing up the storage contents of the RAM of the main control MPU 101 and the storage contents of the RAM of the ball information control MPU 111. belongs to.

  Three types of voltages, + 5.2V, + 12V, and + 24V, created by the power supply board 851 are supplied to the sphere information control board 110. The voltage of +37 V is used as the operating voltage 13 for the firing solenoid 13, and the voltage of +24 V is used as the operating voltage for the ball feed solenoid 31. Also, three types of voltages of + 5.2V, + 12V, and + 24V, a main VBB that is a backup power source of the main control MPU 101, and a power failure warning signal output from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 are shown in FIG. It is supplied to the relay board 1107.

  The main drawer relay board 1107 supplies to the main control board 100 the + 5.2V, + 12V, + 24V, and main VBB voltages supplied from the ball information control board 110 and the power failure warning signal output from the power failure monitoring circuit 117. ing. The power failure warning signal is supplied to the peripheral control board 130 via the main control board 100 and can be input to the peripheral control MPU 4150a.

  The four types of voltages of + 5.25V, + 12V, + 24V, and + 37V supplied to the peripheral control substrate 130 are the three types of voltages of + 5.25V, + 12V, and + 24V among the four types of voltages. (Not shown) is supplied to a lamp driving circuit (not shown), and various signals such as a lighting signal, a flashing signal, and a gradation lighting signal are output from the lamp driving circuit to various decorative boards of the game board 5. The voltage is supplied to a drive source drive circuit (not shown) of a motor drive board (not shown), and a drive signal is output from the drive source drive circuit to an electric drive source such as a motor or solenoid of the game board 5. .

  Of the four types of voltages, two types of voltages, + 24V and + 37V, are supplied to the liquid crystal display device 1400 (FIG. 76). The liquid crystal display device 1400 includes a liquid crystal module that is controlled for drawing and a backlight power source that is a power source for the backlight of the liquid crystal module. + 24V is supplied to the liquid crystal module and + 37V is supplied to the backlight power source. Has been.

[Peripheral control board]
FIG. 104 is a principal block diagram of the power compensation circuit 853 and the peripheral control board 130. As shown in FIG. 104, the peripheral control board 130 includes a peripheral control unit 4150 that performs effect control based on a control command from the main control board 100, and a liquid crystal display device 1400 based on control data from the peripheral control unit 4150. And a liquid crystal control unit 4160 for performing the drawing control.

[Peripheral control unit]
As shown in FIG. 104, a peripheral control unit 4150 that performs effect control includes a peripheral control MPU 4150a as a microprocessor, a peripheral control ROM 4150b that stores various processing programs, various commands, and various schedulers, and a sound source that performs high-quality sound. IC 4150c, and a sound ROM 4150d in which sound information such as music and sound effects referred to by the sound source IC 4150c is stored.

  The peripheral control MPU 4150a incorporates a plurality of parallel I / O ports, serial I / O ports, and the like. When various commands are received from the main control board 100, each peripheral board of the game board 4 is received based on these various commands. The game board side light emission data for outputting lighting signals, blinking signals, or gradation lighting signals to a plurality of LEDs provided is transmitted from the serial I / O port for lamp driving board to a lamp driving board (not shown). As a result, the lamps 5000 are turned on and blinked, and a drive signal is output to an electric drive source such as a motor or a solenoid that operates various movable bodies (a plurality of movable accessories for production) provided on the game board 5. Game board side motor drive data to be transmitted to the motor drive board (not shown) from the serial I / O port for motor drive board, or the dial drive mode provided on the door frame 3 Door side motor drive data for outputting a drive signal to an electrical drive source, etc., and a lighting signal, a blinking signal, or a gradation lighting signal to a plurality of LEDs provided on each decorative board of the door frame 3 are output. Door side light emission data for the door side motor drive light emission data from the frame decoration drive amplifier board serial I / O port to the frame peripheral relay terminal board (not shown), and the peripheral door relay terminal board ( In addition to transmitting to the frame decoration drive amplifier board (not shown) via a not shown), a control signal (sound command) for extracting sound information from the sound ROM 4150d is output to the sound source IC 4150c to be output to the speaker 6000. Output more audio.

[LCD control unit]
As shown in FIG. 104, a liquid crystal control unit 4160 that performs drawing control of the liquid crystal display device 1400 includes a liquid crystal control ROM 4160b that stores various processing programs, various commands, and various data, and a VDP (Video) that controls display of the liquid crystal display device 1400. Display Processor) 4160c, a character ROM 4160d for storing various data on the screen displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1400, and a character RAM 4160e to which various data stored in the character ROM 4160d are transferred and copied. ing.

  The liquid crystal control ROM 4160b, in addition to various programs for generating a screen to be drawn on the liquid crystal display device 1400, schedule data corresponding to the control data (display command) from the peripheral control unit 4150, the control data (display command), A plurality of corresponding non-resident area transfer schedule data are stored.

  The schedule data is configured by arranging screen data defining the screen configuration in time series, and the order of screens drawn on the liquid crystal display device 1400 is defined. The non-resident area transfer schedule data is constituted by arranging non-resident area transfer data that defines the order when transferring various data stored in the character ROM 4160d to the non-resident area of the character RAM 4160e. In this non-resident area transfer data, the order in which various data are transferred from the character ROM 4160d to the non-resident area of the character RAM 4160e in advance for the screen data drawn on the liquid crystal display device 1400 according to the progress of the schedule data.

  The peripheral control MPU 4150a of the peripheral control unit 4150 extracts the top screen data of the schedule data corresponding to the control data (display command) from the liquid crystal control ROM 4160b and outputs it to the VDP 4160c. Extracted from the control ROM 4160b and output to the VDP 4160c. As described above, the peripheral control MPU 4150a extracts screen data arranged in time series in the schedule data one by one from the liquid crystal control ROM 4160b one by one from the head screen data, and outputs it to the VDP 4160c.

  When the screen data output from the peripheral control MPU 4150a is input, the VDP 4160c extracts sprite data from the character RAM 4160e based on the input screen data, and generates drawing data to be displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1400. The generated drawing data is output to the liquid crystal display device 1400. Further, when the VDP 4160c does not accept the screen data from the peripheral control MPU 4150a, the VDP 4160c outputs a running signal to that effect to the peripheral control MPU 4150a.

[Power compensation circuit]
A power compensation circuit 853 is connected to the + 37V supply line supplied from the smoothing circuit 851c shown in FIG. The output of the power compensation circuit 853 is connected to the + 12V supply line created by the + 12V creation circuit 851f. As shown in FIG. 104, the power compensation circuit 853 monitors the charging state of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856, which will be described later, and outputs a charging completion signal when charging is completed.

  The charging completion signal output from the charging state monitoring circuit 858 is configured to be transmitted to the peripheral control board 130 via the interface circuit 859 shown in FIG. 104 and the sub drawer relay board 110 shown in FIG.

  Further, a discharge permission signal is output from the peripheral control board 130. The discharge permission signal is configured to be input to the power supply switching circuit 855 of the power compensation circuit 853 via the sub drawer relay board 110 of FIG. 103 and the interface circuit 859 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 104, the power compensation circuit 853 mainly includes a power supply switching circuit 855, an auxiliary power supply circuit 856, and a charge state monitoring circuit 858, which are mounted on a power supply board 851.

  The auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is constituted by, for example, a battery, and is charged by the operating power supply + 37V, while being discharged, and by discharging, an electromagnetic drive source (a drive motor 5501 in FIG. 104) through a + 12V supply line. 5505 as well as a drive solenoid 5600.).

  In this embodiment, a power supply switching circuit 855 that selects either the DC +12 V generated by the +12 V generation circuit 851 f or the voltage charged by the auxiliary power circuit 856 between the +37 V supply line and the auxiliary power circuit 856. Is provided (FIG. 104).

  The power supply switching circuit 855 has a two-circuit switching circuit switch having a normally closed contact and a normally open contact therein, and the input line L1 connected to the + 37V supply line through the normally closed contact and the + of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856. The terminal is connected. In addition, a charge state monitoring circuit 858 is connected between the + terminal and the − terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856. Therefore, in a normal state (a state in which power is not insufficient), +37 V is applied between the + terminal and the − terminal through the +37 V supply line, the input line L1, and the charge state monitoring circuit 858, and the battery is charged.

  The charging state monitoring circuit 858 monitors the charging state of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856, and outputs a charging completion signal when charging is completed. Although not shown, the charging state monitoring circuit 858 includes a microcomputer that monitors a charging voltage and a charging current.

  Further, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 and the output line L2 connected to the + 12V supply line are connected through the normally open contact of the power supply switching circuit 855. Furthermore, the power supply switching circuit 855 includes a switching signal input terminal (not shown). A discharge permission signal output from the peripheral control board 130 is input to a switching signal input terminal of the power supply switching circuit 855.

[Operation of power compensation circuit 853, charge state monitoring circuit 858]
When the gaming machine 1 is turned on, charging to the auxiliary power supply circuit 855 (configured by a battery) is started through the charge state monitoring circuit 858. The charging state monitoring circuit 858 receives the battery charging voltage and monitors the battery charging voltage. That is, the charging state monitoring circuit 858 detects whether or not the battery charging voltage has reached the saturation voltage. When the battery charge voltage has not reached the saturation voltage, monitoring of the battery charge voltage is continued.

  Then, when the battery charging voltage reaches the saturation voltage, the charging state monitoring circuit 858 monitors the battery charging current. Note that the battery charging current gradually decreases as the charging time elapses. That is, the charging state monitoring circuit 858 monitors the battery charging voltage until the battery charging voltage reaches the saturation voltage, and monitors the battery charging current after the battery charging voltage reaches the saturation voltage. Then, when it is detected that the battery charging current has decreased to a predetermined level, the charging state monitoring circuit 858 outputs a charging completion signal indicating that the charging operation has been completed.

  In this way, the charging state monitoring circuit 858 monitors the charging state of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856, and when the charging is completed, a charging completion signal is output. Therefore, it can be reliably determined whether power is stored in the auxiliary power supply circuit 856, and the reliability is high. Also, it is not necessary to ensure the state of charge before shipment. Here, the charge completion signal is stored in the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 by charging the power sufficient to operate the plurality of electromagnetic drive sources for the plurality of movable accessories operated during the intense heat production described later. It means that

  Note that the charging state monitoring circuit 858 continues to output the charging completion signal when the charging state of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 maintains the charging completion state (the charging completion signal is on). On the other hand, when the charging state of auxiliary power supply circuit 856 deviates from the charging completion state due to discharging, charging state monitoring circuit 858 stops outputting the charging completion signal (the charging completion signal is off). Further, as will be described later, the peripheral control MPU 4150a determines whether to perform an intense heat effect or an alternative effect with low power consumption that does not involve discharge of the auxiliary power supply means, depending on whether there is a charge completion signal.

[Intense heat production]
The current value of the electric power supplied to the peripheral control board 130 is produced by various effect devices (lamps 5000, liquid crystal display device 1400, speaker 6000, drive motors 5501 to 5505, drive solenoid 5600) connected to the peripheral control substrate 130. Change based on the execution of

  That is, for example, when the control command (variation pattern command) output from the main control board 100 is a command for designating a specific reach effect or a command for instructing an effect of starting a big hit, a lottery pattern In addition to the specific effects in which special characters appear on the display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400 that displays, a large number of lamps provided on the door frame 3, the game board 5, etc. In order to increase the expectation of the so-called jackpot, the light emission effect by the LED group, the loud sound from the speakers 6000 provided in the door frame 3 and the main body frame 2, and the intense heat for the player, 5505, the drive solenoid 5600 is driven together to produce an effect that the plurality of movable accessories overlap and move violently.

  Such a production in which a plurality of movable actors operate together (hereinafter referred to as a fierce heat production) does not perform the production over a long period of time. It will overflow. On the other hand, when a plurality of movable accessories are instantaneously operated together, for example, when a movable accessory having a large weight is driven at high speed, the power consumption instantaneously increases.

  When the above-mentioned intense heat effect (the effect that a plurality of movable actors operate together or the effect of driving a heavy movable movable agent at a high speed) is executed, compared with before the execution of the intense heat effect, The value of the current flowing through the + 37V supply line also increases according to the contents of the performance. Therefore, the current value of the electric power supplied to the peripheral control board 130 has a predetermined specified range (a predetermined value predetermined in the power monitoring circuit 854) according to the content of the intense heat effect by executing the intense heat effect. It will change beyond.

  In this example, the peripheral control MPU 4150a of the peripheral control board 130 receives the control command transmitted from the main control board 100, and as a result of analyzing the received control command, the control command is a control command for executing an intense heat effect. If determined, a discharge permission signal (ON signal) is output when the intense heat effect is started. The discharge permission signal (ON signal) output from the peripheral control board 130 is input to the switching signal input terminal of the power supply switching circuit 855.

  In the power supply switching circuit 855, each contact is switched by the ON signal output from the peripheral control board 130, the normally closed contact is in an open state (indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 104), and the normally open contact is It will be in a closed state (indicated by arrow a in FIG. 104).

  Then, auxiliary power circuit 856 switches from the charged state to the discharged state. That is, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is disconnected from the input line L1 connected to the + 37V supply line, and at the same time, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is connected to the output line L2 connected to the + 12V supply line. The power stored in the auxiliary power circuit 856 is supplied to the + 12V supply line through the output line L2.

  Therefore, due to the discharge of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856, the power (+ 12V) for operation is supplied to the electromagnetic drive sources (drive motors 5501 to 5505, drive solenoid 5600) of the plurality of movable accessories, Insufficient power of the power supply for operation generated by the power supply board 851 can be compensated.

  On the other hand, the peripheral control MPU 4150a of the peripheral control board 130 stops outputting the discharge permission signal when the intense heat effect is finished. In other words, the output of the discharge permission signal is turned off. When the discharge permission signal is turned off, the power supply switching circuit 855 switches each contact, returns the normally closed contact to the closed state (indicated by arrow b in FIG. 104), and opens the normally open contact (FIG. 104). Now return to (shown by arrow b).

  Then, auxiliary power supply circuit 856 switches from the discharged state to the charged state again. That is, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is electrically connected to the input line L1 connected to the + 37V supply line, and at the same time, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is disconnected from the output line L2 connected to the + 12V supply line. Is done. Therefore, charging of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 (configured by a battery) is started through the charge state monitoring circuit 858.

  In this embodiment, the power supply board 851 is configured to include the power compensation circuit 853. Therefore, in the power supply board 851, the power (charged state) by the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 can be monitored by the charged state monitoring circuit 858. Further, since it is not necessary to mount the power compensation circuit 853 every time the game board 5 is manufactured, it is possible to contribute to a reduction in the manufacturing cost of the game board.

[Each process by peripheral control MPU 4150a]
Next, processing executed by the peripheral control MPU 4150a mounted on the peripheral control board 130 will be described. FIG. 105 (A) is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for the control performed by the peripheral control MPU 4150a mounted on the peripheral control board 130 when the gaming machine 1 is powered on.

  As shown in FIG. 105 (A), when power supply to the gaming machine 1 is started, the peripheral control MPU 4150a performs an initial setting process (step A501). In the initial setting process, a process of clearing the RAM of the peripheral control MPU 4150a mounted on the peripheral control board 130 is performed. Note that interrupts are prohibited during this initial setting process, and interrupts are permitted after the initial setting process. When the initial setting process (step A501) is completed, a loop process for monitoring whether or not the 16 ms elapsed flag T is set is started (step A502).

  In this embodiment, the peripheral control MPU 4150a generates an interrupt every 2 ms and executes a 2 ms steady process. In the 2 ms steady process, a process of counting up the 16 ms progress monitoring counter (adding 1 to the 16 ms progress monitoring counter) is executed, and when the value of the 16 ms progress monitoring counter reaches 8, that is, 16 ms elapses. While the flag T is set, a 16 ms progress monitoring counter is reset (set to 0).

  In this way, the 16 ms elapsed flag T is set (set) to “1” every 16 ms in the 2 ms steady process, and is normally set (reset) to “0”. If the 16 ms elapsed flag is set in step A502 (the 16 ms elapsed flag T is “1”), the 16 ms elapsed flag is reset (step A503), and then the 16 ms steady process is performed (step A504).

  In this 16 ms steady process, based on the command received from the main control board 100, the liquid crystal display device 1400, the LEDs provided on the game board 5 surface, the lamps provided on the door frame 3, speakers (not shown), driving Processing for controlling the motors 5501 to 5505, the drive solenoid 5600, and the like is executed. When the 16 ms steady process ends, the process returns to step A502 again, and the above-described steps A503 to A504 are repeated every time the 16 ms elapsed flag T is set, that is, every 16 ms. On the other hand, when the 16 ms elapsed flag T is not set in step A502 (the 16 ms elapsed flag T is “0”), the loop processing is performed until the 16 ms elapsed flag T is set.

[16ms steady processing]
FIG. 105B is a flowchart showing an example of a 16 ms steady process executed every 16 ms in the peripheral control main process. In the 16 ms steady process, the peripheral control MPU 4150a executes the processes of Step A511 to Step A517. In the command analysis processing in step A511, the command received from the main control board 100 is analyzed.

  In the effect control process of step A512, the liquid crystal display device 1400 receives the control command (first variation pattern command, second variation pattern command) instructing execution of the variation display transmitted from the main control board 100. The control process for performing the control process and the movable decorative body unit (a plurality of movable accessories, drive motors 5501 to 5505, and drive solenoid 5600) are executed.

  Moreover, in the sound control process of step A513, the control process regarding a speaker is performed. In the lamp control process of step A514, a control process related to LEDs and lamps provided in the gaming machine 1 is executed.

  In the information output process of step A515, a process of transmitting lighting signals of LEDs and lamps to a lamp drive board (not shown), a drive signal of drive motors 5501 to 5505, and a drive solenoid 5600 are output to the motor drive board. Run. In the random number update process of step A516, a process of updating random numbers used for various settings in the effect control process (step A512) is executed. In the error detection process of step A517, a process for detecting various errors is executed.

  In addition, the process of step A511-step A517 in a 16 ms regular process is complete | finished within 16 ms. Even if it takes 16 ms or more from the start of the 16 ms steady process to the end of the 16 ms steady process, the 16 ms steady process is immediately executed from the beginning when the 16 ms has elapsed since the start of the 16 ms steady process (command of step A511). Do not execute (from analysis process). That is, when 16 ms elapses during execution of the 16 ms steady process, only the 16 ms elapse flag is set, and when it is determined in step A502 that the 16 ms elapse flag is set after the end of the 16 ms steady process, the 16 ms steady process is performed. To start.

  In this embodiment, the random number update process (step A516) is executed in the 16 ms steady process to update various random numbers. However, the timing (timing) for updating the various random numbers is limited to this. It is not something that can be done. For example, various random numbers may be updated in one or both of the loop process and the 16 ms steady process in the peripheral control main process.

[Command analysis processing]
The peripheral control MPU 4140a (hereinafter simply referred to as the peripheral control MPU) of the peripheral control board 4140 analyzes the control command based on the received winning determination result in the command analysis process of step A511 in the 16 ms steady process of FIG. Then, based on the analyzed control command, it is determined what kind of effect to perform. For example, what kind of effect is to be performed is determined based on the variation time according to the control command, the value of the effect random number, and the effect mode table. Then, an execution flag corresponding to the determined effect is set.

  For example, if the analyzed control command is a control command for executing an intense heat effect, an execution flag for the intense heat effect is set. Thereby, it is determined that the intense heat effect is performed. Then, in the 16 ms steady process of step A512 to step A517 in FIG. 105 (B), control is performed so that the determined effect is executed based on the execution flag.

[Production control processing]
The effect control process in step A512 in the 16 ms steady process in FIG. 105 (B) will be described. FIG. 106 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of effect control processing performed by the peripheral control MPU. Here, a processing flowchart of a format common to various effects is shown regardless of the types of effects.

  Therefore, in the command analysis process, if the determined effect is an intense heat effect, the execution flag for the intense heat effect is set. If the determined effect is an alternative effect described later, an execution flag for the alternative effect is set. Then, when expressed in such a flowchart format, the effect control processing includes only the types of effects prepared in the gaming machine 1.

  When the peripheral control MPU starts the effect control process, the peripheral control MPU determines whether or not the determined effect execution flag is set (step A100). If it is determined that the execution flag for the effect determined in step A100 is set, that is, if it is determined YES in step A100, the process proceeds to step A101, and the value of the effect process flag is changed. It is determined whether or not the value is in accordance with the start process (step A101).

  When starting the effect, it is determined that the value of the effect process flag is a value corresponding to the variation effect start process, that is, step A101 is determined as YES, and the effect setting process is executed (step A102).

  In the effect setting process in step A102, the effect data corresponding to the determined effect is set. For example, in the case of intense heat production, drive data for a plurality of movable accessories (drive motors 5501 to 5505, drive solenoid 5600) to be produced as a part of the production data is read from the peripheral control ROM 4150b and set. .

  If the winning determination result is a big hit, the intense heat effect data at the time of the big hit is read from the effect data table of the peripheral control ROM 4140b. Thermal effect data is read out.

  In addition, the display of the decorative symbols displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1400 is started, and the left and right decorative symbols are stopped and displayed with the reach (the same symbol), and then the intense heat effect is produced at the timing during the development to the normal reach effect. Control to start.

  Then, the process proceeds to step A103, the value of the effect process flag is changed to a value corresponding to the process during the changing effect (step A103), the effect control process is exited, and the process returns to the routine of the 16 ms steady process.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the execution flag for the effect determined in step A100 is not set, that is, when it is determined NO in step A100, the determined effect is not executed, and the effect control is performed. The process is exited, and the process returns to the routine of 16 ms steady process. Therefore, here, the determined effect is not performed.

  In the effect control process of the next processing cycle, the peripheral control MPU determines that step A100 is YES and NO is step A101 based on the fact that the execution flag is set and the effect process flag is a value during the fluctuating effect. The process proceeds to step A104, where it is determined whether or not the value of the effect process flag is a value corresponding to the process during the changing effect (step A104). In this case, the value of the effect process flag corresponds to the process during the effect changing effect. That is, it is determined that the value is YES, that is, step A104 is determined to be YES, and an effect processing is executed (step A105).

  Next, the process proceeds to step A106, and it is determined whether or not the variation time has elapsed (step A106). If the fluctuation time has not elapsed, step A106 is determined to be NO, the effect control process is exited, and the process returns to this routine of the 16 ms steady process.

  When the fluctuation time has elapsed, step A106 is determined as YES, the value of the effect process flag is changed to a value corresponding to the change end process (step A107), the effect control process is exited, and the routine of 16 ms steady process is entered. Return.

  In the effect control process of the next processing cycle, the peripheral control MPU determines that step A100 is YES and step A101 is NO based on the fact that the execution flag is set and the effect process flag is the value of the variation end process. It determines, step A104 is determined to be NO, it progresses to step A108, and an effect completion | finish process is performed (step A108). Then, when the peripheral control MPU exits the effect end process, it changes the value of the effect process flag to a value corresponding to the change effect start process (step A109), clears the effect execution flag (step A110), and produces the effect. Control processing is exited and the routine returns to this routine for 16 ms steady processing. Note that the effect control process corresponding to the determined effect is completed when the effect execution flag is cleared.

[Control when performing intense heat production]
As described above, power is first stored in the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 of the power compensation circuit 853. Thus, the intense heat effect of this example is an effect in which the maximum power that cannot be covered by the power generated by the power supply board 851 is insufficient, and the power shortage is compensated by the power stored in the auxiliary power supply circuit 856. . That is, the intense heat effect of this example is an effect accompanied by the discharge of the electric power accumulated in the auxiliary power circuit 856.

  Therefore, when the intense heat effect is started, power shortage can be compensated for by discharging the electric power accumulated in the auxiliary power circuit 856, and after the intense heat effect is completed, the electric power is accumulated in the auxiliary power circuit 856. In addition, it is necessary to charge the auxiliary power supply means. Note that the intense heat effect is usually set at a low appearance rate. However, since the appearance rate is only calculated, it is conceivable that some players continuously apply intense heat effects while charging the auxiliary power supply means.

[Signal output start processing]
FIG. 107 (B) is a flowchart showing a subroutine of signal output start processing performed by the peripheral control MPU. The signal output start process is the effect control process for the intense heat effect that is executed by the peripheral control MPU when it is determined to perform the intense heat effect (when the execution flag for the intense heat effect is set). Is executed as one of the effect setting processes in step A102.

  When the signal output start process is started, the peripheral control MPU turns on the output of the discharge permission signal (step A610), exits the signal output start process subroutine, and returns to the effect control process routine for the intense heat effect. The discharge permission signal is output in the information output process in step A515 in FIG. 105B, and the output discharge permission signal is input to the power supply switching circuit 855 in FIG.

  As a result, the power supply switching circuit 855 switches each contact, the normally closed contact is in an open state (indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 104), and the normally open contact is in a closed state (indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 104). It becomes.

  Then, auxiliary power circuit 856 switches from the charged state to the discharged state. That is, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is disconnected from the input line L1 connected to the + 37V supply line, and at the same time, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is connected to the output line L2 connected to the + 12V supply line. The power stored in the auxiliary power circuit 856 is supplied to the + 12V supply line through the output line L2.

  As described above, when the intense heat effect is started, the shortage of power can be compensated by the discharge of the power stored in the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 by the output of the discharge permission signal. In this example, when the intense heat effect is started, the electric power accumulated in the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 can be supplemented to the drive motors 5501 to 5505 and the drive solenoid 5600 of a plurality of movable accessories.

  Therefore, when the drive motors 5501 to 5505 and the drive solenoid 5600 of the plurality of movable accessories are actually driven during the intense heat production, the power supply switching circuit 855 accumulates the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 by switching each contact. Compared with power that compensates power for the drive motors 5501 to 5505 and the drive solenoid 5600, the power compensation is reliable and the reliability is high. Therefore, even when the drive motors 5501 to 5505 and the drive solenoid 5600 of the plurality of movable accessories are driven together during the intense heat production, power shortage does not occur.

[Signal output end processing]
FIG. 107 (C) is a flowchart showing a subroutine of signal output end processing performed by the peripheral control MPU. The signal output end process is the effect control process for the intense heat effect that is executed by the peripheral control MPU when it is determined to perform the intense heat effect (when the execution flag for the intense heat effect is set). Is executed as one of the effects end processing in step A108.

  When the peripheral control MPU starts the signal output end process, the peripheral control MPU turns off the discharge permission signal (step A612). Note that the discharge permission signal is turned off in the information output process of step A515 in FIG. 105B, and the input of the discharge permission signal to the power supply switching circuit 855 in FIG. 104 is erased.

  In the power supply switching circuit 855 in FIG. 104, when the discharge permission signal is turned off, each contact is switched, the normally closed contact returns to the closed state (indicated by the arrow b in FIG. 104), and the normally open contact is in the open state. Return to (indicated by arrow b in FIG. 104).

  Then, auxiliary power supply circuit 856 switches from the discharged state to the charged state again. That is, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is electrically connected to the input line L1 connected to the + 37V supply line, and at the same time, the + terminal of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is disconnected from the output line L2 connected to the + 12V supply line. Is done. Therefore, charging of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 (configured by a battery) is started through the charge state monitoring circuit 858. For this reason, the intense heat effect can be efficiently performed on the power of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the interest of the game.

  Then, the peripheral control MPU proceeds to step A614 and sets a timer value in the monitoring timer (step A614). This timer value is a value corresponding to a time for monitoring whether or not there is an input of a charging completion signal that should be output from the charging state monitoring circuit 858 that monitors the charging state of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856. Further, “1 (active)” is set in the timer flag (step A15), the signal output start process subroutine is exited, and the process returns to the effect control process routine for the intense heat effect.

  When the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is normally charged, when the predetermined charging time has elapsed after the end of the intense heat effect, the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is in a charged state and sufficient power is accumulated, and the auxiliary power supply A charge completion signal is output from the charge state monitoring circuit 858 that monitors the charge state of the circuit 856, and the charge completion signal is input to the peripheral control MPU.

  On the other hand, when the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 has failed for some reason, the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 does not enter the charged state even after a predetermined charging time has elapsed, and the charged state of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is monitored. The charging completion signal is not output from the charging state monitoring circuit 858 to be performed.

  In such a case, a power saving effect, in other words, another effect with low power consumption not accompanied by discharge of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 can be avoided, thereby avoiding a situation where a power failure occurs due to power reduction. In addition, in order to perform a charging abnormality detection process, which will be described later, for detecting such an abnormality of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856, a process of step A614 and step A615 is provided when the intense heat effect is finished. The monitoring timer will be described later.

[Alternative production]
In the present embodiment, after the end of the intense heat effect, until the charging completion signal is input, that is, during the charging period, an effect for power saving is prepared as another effect instead of the intense heat effect. In other words, during the charging period, in place of the intense heat effect, an effect change is performed in which another effect (referred to as an alternative effect) with low power consumption without discharge of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is performed. In the alternative effect performed during the charging period, for example, the movable accessory is deactivated and the auxiliary power circuit 856 is charged.

  In addition, the alternative production that replaces the intense heat production is the one in which the variation time of the decorative pattern is the same time as the intense heat production, the production data about the alternative production is the substitution production data when the winning judgment result is a big hit, Alternative production data at the time of detachment is prepared and stored in the production data table set in the peripheral control ROM 4140b.

[Production change judgment processing]
FIG. 107 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of effect change determination processing executed by the peripheral control MPU 4150a of the peripheral control board 130. It should be noted that the production change determination process is an end part during the command analysis process as one of the command analysis processes in step A511 of FIG. 105 (B) executed by the peripheral control MPU 4150a every predetermined processing cycle (for example, 16 ms). Is executed.

  When the peripheral control MPU 4150a (hereinafter simply referred to as peripheral control MPU) starts the effect change determination process, the peripheral control MPU 4150a first determines whether or not the analyzed control command is an intense heat effect (step A600). If it is determined in step A601 that the effect is not a fierce heat effect, that is, if the effect is not an intense heat effect, the subroutine of the effect change determination process is exited and the process returns to the command analysis process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step A601 that the analyzed control command is an intense heat effect, that is, if it is an effect that performs an intense heat effect, the process proceeds to step A601 to determine whether or not a charge completion signal is input. Determination is made (step A601). That is, it is determined whether or not the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 has enough power to perform the intense heat effect.

  As described above, the charging state monitoring circuit 858 continues to output the charging completion signal when the charging state of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 maintains the charging completion state (the charging completion signal is on). On the other hand, when the charging state of auxiliary power supply circuit 856 deviates from the charging completion state due to discharging, charging state monitoring circuit 858 stops outputting the charging completion signal (the charging completion signal is off).

  When it is determined in step A601 that there is no input of a charging completion signal, that is, when it is determined that the power for performing the intense heat effect is not stored in the auxiliary power supply circuit 856, the process proceeds to step A602. When the process proceeds to step A602, the execution of the intense heat effect is disabled (step A602), and the process proceeds to step A603, where the power saving alternative effect whose power consumption is lower than that of the intense heat effect is enabled (step A603). In other words, the execution flag for the intense heat effect is cleared (non-execution), and the execution flag for the alternative effect is set (execution).

  As described above, when it is determined that there is no input of the charging completion signal, processing for determining whether or not to perform the intense heat effect is performed based on the analysis result of the control command transmitted from the main control board 4100. Even if it is determined to perform the heat effect, it is merely determined temporarily in the internal processing, and the intense heat effect is not performed by performing the effect changing process.

  Moreover, the alternative production for power saving with lower power consumption than the intense heat production is, for example, a part or all of the drive motors 5501 to 5505 and the drive solenoid 5600 as electromagnetic drive sources of a plurality of movable accessories. It is an effect that does not drive. In other words, during the charging period, instead of the intense heat effect, another effect (alternative effect) with low power consumption without discharging the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is performed. Then, the subroutine of the effect change determination process is exited and the process returns to the main routine of the command analysis process.

  It should be noted that the effects developed on the display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400 are closely related to the reach variation state and the jackpot notification state of the lottery symbols displayed on the display panel, and the player's interest and attention level Is very expensive. For this reason, even during the charging time, the brightness and brightness of the display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400 are not lowered, and the effect information provided from the display panel is affected when the player progresses the game. We are careful not to reduce interest.

  Moreover, the intense heat effect is normally set with a low appearance rate. However, since the appearance rate is based solely on calculation, it is conceivable that there are players who are continuously assigned. In this embodiment, after the end of the intense heat effect, that is, during the charging period (until the charging completion signal is input), an effect for power saving as an alternative effect instead of the intense heat effect, in other words, an auxiliary power source Another effect of low power consumption without discharging the circuit 856 is prepared. Therefore, charging to the auxiliary power circuit 856 is not hindered by the effects.

  In addition to not driving a part or all of the drive motors 5501 to 5505 and the drive solenoid 5600 (moving the movable object non-operating), the volume of the sound generated from the speaker 6000 is reduced, or the door frame 3 or a game board 5 or the like may be controlled so as to reduce the amount of light emitted by the lamps or LED groups. When the light emission amount by the lamps or the LED group is reduced (when shifting to the power saving state), the lamps or the LED group may be dimmed or a part of the lamps or a part of the LED group may be turned off.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step A601 that the peripheral control MPU has received the input of the charge completion signal, that is, if it is determined that the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 has accumulated enough power to perform the intense heat effect. Can produce intense heat. Therefore, execution of intense heat production is enabled (step A604). In other words, an execution flag for intense heat production is set (execution). Then, the subroutine of the effect change determination process is exited and the process returns to the main routine of the command analysis process.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the return from the power saving state to the normal state (release of the power saving state) is performed when it is determined in step A601 in the command analysis process that the charging completion signal is input. Control to return.

[Control when performing alternative productions]
Then, when it is determined to perform the substitute effect, the effect control process for the substitute effect is executed based on the fact that the execution flag for the substitute effect is set. In this case, in the effect setting process in step A102 for the substitute effect, the effect data corresponding to the determined substitute effect is set. For example, when not driving all of the drive motors 5501 to 5505 and the drive solenoid 5600 as electromagnetic drive sources of a plurality of movable accessories, the drive data for the plurality of movable combinations (drive motors 5501 to 5505, drive solenoid 5600) Is not set.

  If the winning determination result is a big hit, the substitute effect data at the time of the big hit is read from the effect data table of the peripheral control ROM 4140b, and if the winning determination result is out of the way, the alternative effect at the time of being out of the effect data table of the peripheral control ROM 4140b. Data is read out.

  In addition, the display of the decorative symbols displayed on the liquid crystal display device 1400 is started, the left and right decorative symbols are stopped and displayed at the reach (the same symbol), and then the timing during the development to the normal reach effect (the start of the intense heat effect) At the same timing as the timing), control is performed so as to start the alternative effect. In the subsequent processing, as described above with reference to FIG. 106, the value of the effect process flag is updated, and the effect-in-progress process and the effect end process are sequentially performed.

[Charging abnormality detection processing]
FIG. 108 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of charging abnormality detection processing executed by the peripheral control MPU 4150a of the peripheral control board 130. The charging abnormality detection process is executed as one process of the error detection process (FIG. 105 (B)) in step A517 executed by the peripheral control MPU 4150a every predetermined processing cycle (for example, 16 ms).

  When the peripheral control MPU starts the charging abnormality detection process, it first determines whether or not the timer flag is “1 (starting up)” (step A710). When step A615 of the signal output end process described above is executed at the end of the intense heat effect, “1 (active)” is set in the timer flag. When it is determined that the timer flag is not “1 (starting up)”, the subroutine of the charge abnormality detection process is exited and the process returns to the routine of the error detection process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step A710 that the timer flag is “1 (starting up)”, the process proceeds to step A711, and it is determined whether there is an input of a charge completion signal (step A711). If it is determined in step A711 that a charge completion signal has been input, the process proceeds to step A712, where “0 (stop)” is set in the timer flag (step A712). In this case, it can be determined that the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 is normally charging with the input of the charging completion signal.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step A711 that the charging completion signal has not been input, the process proceeds to step A713 to determine whether or not the timer value of the monitoring timer is “0 (time up)” (step A713). ). If it is determined in step A713 that the timer value of the monitoring timer is not “0 (time up)”, that is, the monitoring time for monitoring whether or not the charging completion signal is input has elapsed. If not, the process exits the charging abnormality detection process subroutine and returns to the error detection process routine. As a result of setting the timer value in the monitoring timer, the peripheral control MPU determines that step A713 is NO until the timer value of the monitoring timer becomes zero.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no input of the charge completion signal over the monitoring time for monitoring whether or not the charge completion signal is input, the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 has failed for some reason. Is determined. In this case, the intense heat effect is not performed at all during the monitoring time, and only the substitute effect is performed although it is a certain frequency. The peripheral control MPU determines that step A710 is YES, step A711 is performed, step A713 is determined YES, the process proceeds to step A714, and a charging abnormality is notified (step A714). Then, the subroutine of the charging abnormality detection process is exited and the process returns to the main routine of the error detection process.

  Regarding the above-mentioned maintenance notification means for notifying the charging abnormality, there is an aspect in which the charging abnormality is notified by entering some power saving state where the decoration LED is turned off while leaving only the dedicated LED or producing somewhere. To do. Considering that there is an abnormality in the power system, it is possible to avoid wasting power. By turning off the light leaving only a part, it is possible to make the charging abnormality easy to understand. Therefore, the abnormality of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 can be reliably grasped, and the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 can be maintained quickly.

  For example, a charging abnormality notification mode in which only a decorative lamp arranged on the upper right portion of the door frame 3 (see FIG. 1) is turned on and other decorative lamps arranged on the door frame 3 are turned off. It can be illustrated. If it does in this way, it will be easy to understand that the attendant who circulates a hall | hole is abnormally charged. Note that an error signal may be output from the external terminal board 133 to notify the hall computer of the charging abnormality.

  In the above-described embodiment, it is determined whether or not there is an input of a charge completion signal after the intense heat effect. In addition, for example, the step shown in FIG. In the initial setting process of A501, it may be determined whether or not a charging completion signal is input. Similarly, in this case, if it is determined that the charging completion signal is not input over the monitoring time, the charging abnormality is notified. In this way, when the power is turned on, the abnormality of the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 can be reliably grasped. Therefore, the auxiliary power supply circuit 856 can be maintained before the game starts, and the player is not disturbed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Game machine 1a Outer frame 2 Main body frame 3 Door frame 4 Settlement machine 5 Game board 6 Decoration cover 7 Hinge 8 Game area 9 Game window 10 Hitting ball handle 11 Transparent board 12 Upper launch device (upper launch unit)
13 Launch Solenoid 14 Touch Panel 15 Fitting Frame 16 Peripheral Wall 17 Housing Opening 18 Overhanging Wall 19 Modified Ball / Magnetic Ball Discharge Unit Housing 20 Modified Ball / Magnetic Ball Discharge Unit 21 Ball Assembly 22 Ball Lifting Device 23 Ball Delivery rod 24 Ball supply path member 25 Screw 25a Screw shaft 25b Small pitch ridge member 25bL Half-split body 25bR Half-split body 25c Large pitch ridge member 25cL Half-split body 25cR Half-split body 25d Spiral ridge 25e Cylindrical portion 25g Recessed portion 25h Convex part 25i Upper edge 25j Upper edge concave part 25k Lower edge 25m Lower edge convex part 26 Launch standby ball detection switch 28 Ball feeder 29 Hitting ball launcher 30 Launching hammer (launching member)
301 Fixing portion 302 Hook portion 303 Stopper contact portion 31 Ball feed solenoid 32 Ball feed member 33 Rail member 331 Mounting plate portion 332 Rail portion 333 Left rail plate 334 Right rail plate 335 Through-hole 34 Launch stopper 35 Return stopper 36 Launch Ball check switch 361 Photo bracket 37 Hinge for upper launcher 38 Launch port 39 Base plate 39a Abutting portion 40 Launch area 41 Winning port 42 Out port 43 Panel holder 44 Transparent panel plate 45 Front component member 46 Game ball running surface 47 Notch 48 Projection portion 49 Fixing tool 50 Screw receiving member 51 Ball entry prevention wall 52 Tension spring 53 Spring locking portion 54 Ball guide projection 55 Front guide surface 56 Stopper piece 57 Space 58 Ball exit 60 Rotation drive shaft 61 Tip 62 Stopper Cover 63 Ball supply 64 Launch port decoration member 65 Lifting communication rod 66 Ball inlet 67 Ball feed unit base 68 Ball feed unit cover 69 Ball feed guide rod 70 Launch standby ball detection switch 71 Ball feed plate 72 Operating rod 73 Sheet metal receiving portion 74 Ball feed portion 75 Shaft hole 76 Ball feed shaft 77 Arm portion 78 Sheet metal locking claw 79 Hook projection 80 Ball feed guide surface 81 Ball holding surface 82 Drooping piece 83 Return ball blocking portion 84 Ball stop portion 85 Hitting ball passing port 86 Launch stop switch 87 Touch Switch 90 Upper start opening detection switch 91 Lower start opening detection switch 92 Gate switch 93 General winning opening detection switch 94 General winning opening detection switch 96 Start opening solenoid 97 Large winning opening solenoid 98 Count switch 100 Main control board 101 Main control MPU
101a First MPU recognition number storage unit 102 Main control I / O port 103 Main control input circuit 104 Main control solenoid drive circuit 105 RAM clear switch 106 RTC control unit 107 RTC
108 Battery 109 RAM
110 Sphere information control board 111 Sphere information control MPU
111a Second MPU identification number storage unit 112 Ball information control I / O port 113 Ball information control input circuit 114 Ball lifting motor drive circuit 115 CR unit input / output circuit 116 External WDT
117 Power failure monitoring circuit 118 Sphere information control unit 119 Ball polish ribbon feed motor drive circuit 120 Launch solenoid drive circuit 122 Ball feed solenoid drive circuit 123 Handle relay terminal board 124 Sensor relay board 130 Peripheral control board 131 Door frame release switch 132 Body frame release Switch 133 External terminal board 140 Panel relay terminal board 141 Function display board 142 Upper special symbol indicator 143 Lower special symbol indicator 144 Upper special symbol memory indicator 145 Lower special symbol memory indicator 146 Normal symbol indicator 147 Normal symbol indicator 147 148 Game status indicator 149 Round indicator 150 Ball lift motor 155 Ball polish ribbon feed motor 156 Lift inlet switch 157 Lift motor sensor 158 Cassette detection switch 160 Main encryption communication unit 161 Second MPU recognition Number storage unit 162 First authentication unit 165 Sphere information encryption communication unit 166 First MPU recognition number storage unit 167 Second authentication unit 201 Sphere receiving base 202 Collection port 203 Collection ball detection switch 204 Deformed ball discharge unit 205 Magnetic ball discharge unit 206 Sphere path full detection switch 207 Appropriate sphere detection switch 208 Deformed sphere discharge part base 209 Deformed sphere separation shaft 210 Deformed sphere separation shaft 212 Deformed sphere discharge part base mounting part 213 Upstream 214 Downstream 215 Deformed sphere discharge path 216 Deformed sphere Discharge port 217 Shaped ball discharge path forming member 218 Connection path 219 Circulation path 220 Inclined surface 221 Falling surface 222 Magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 223 Discontinuous portion 224 Side wall 225 Ceiling wall 226 Magnetic ball discharge path 227 Magnetic ball discharge port 228 Magnetic ball discharge Cover 229 magnet 230 magnet Accommodating space 231 Magnetic force adjusting portion 232 Magnetic ball 233 Regular game ball 234 Discharge ball receiving box 251 Ball polishing cartridge 252 Left side cover 253 Right side cover 253a Right outer side cover 253b Right inner side cover 254 Hinge receiving portion 255 Hinge 258 Second Drive gear case 259 Take-up roller 260 Follower roller 261 First gear shaft 262 Second gear shaft 263 Ball polishing cloth 264 Ball polishing cloth holding spring 265 Plate spring 266 Spring pressing 267 Tensioner 268 Game ball contact trace 270 Ball polishing cartridge mounted 271 Sphere polishing cartridge fixing lever 272 Sphere polishing cartridge fixing stopper 273 Sphere polishing cartridge mounting port 275 Sphere feeding passage 275a Sphere receiving port 275b Sphere feeding port 281 Opening portion 282 Lifting guide rail 2 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 0 Drive shaft 291 Mounting sensor 292 Button 350 Ball feed rotary body 350a Ball engaging recessed part 351 Ball feed inclined part 351a Inclined surface 351b Top inclined surface 352 Spiral base cover 353 Lifting part cover 354 Lifting slope member 355 Ball extraction member 356 Upper part Gear box 357 Lower gear box 358 Ball lift motor gear 359 Idle gear 360 Upper lift gear 362 Lower lift gear 363 Ball feed rotor gear 363a Gear shaft 365 Guide block 365a Ball guide surface 365b Stopper surface 366 Fitting member 366a Fitting Recessed portion 367 Support member 368 Cover member 402 Card processor 403 Card 404 ID storage unit 405 Remaining number storage unit 406 Holding ball number storage unit 407 Mounting member 408 Hanging wall 410 Ball outlet opening / closing unit 411 Shutter 412 Opening / closing shutter 413 Opening / closing crank 414 Opening / closing spring 415 Slide groove 416 Opening portion 417 Crank support portion 418 Spring locking portion 419 Shutter body 420 Drive hole 421 Shaft portion 422 Driving rod 423 Driving pin 424 Contact portion 425 Spring locking portion 426 Opening / closing operation piece 427 Game ball introduction member 450 Positioning guide member 500 Tracking member 851 Power supply board 851a Full wave rectification circuit 851b Power factor improvement circuit 851c Smoothing circuit 851d + 5.2V creation circuit 851e + 5.25V creation circuit 851f + 12V creation circuit 851g + 24V creation circuit 853 Power compensation circuit 855 Power supply switching circuit 856 Auxiliary power supply circuit 858 Charge state monitoring circuit 859 Interface circuit 1107 Main drawer relay board 1108 Sub drawer relay board 1400 Liquid crystal display device 4101 Game board manufacturer identification information storage unit 4112 Frame manufacturer identification information storage unit 4150 Peripheral control unit 4150a Peripheral control MPU
4150b Peripheral control ROM
4150c Sound source IC
4150d sound ROM
4160 Liquid crystal control unit 4160b Liquid crystal control ROM
4160c VDP
4160d Character ROM
4160e Character RAM
5000 lamps 5501 drive motor 5502 drive motor 5503 drive motor 5504 drive motor 5505 drive motor 5600 drive solenoid 6000 speaker C1 pulse width change circuit S1 switching control signal

Claims (1)

A game board having a plurality of winning holes in which a game area is partitioned and game balls rolling down the game area can be entered;
A body frame in which the game board is fitted and stored;
A hitting ball launcher that is arranged on the main body frame and launches a game ball toward the game area in accordance with a player's operation;
A main control board that is provided in the game board, controls the game, and outputs a control command based on the reception of the game ball in the winning opening;
A peripheral control board that is provided in the game board and performs effect control based on the control command output from the main control board;
A power supply board that is provided in the main body frame and generates various DC power supplies based on an AC power supply;
A plurality of movable accessories provided in the game board, controlled by the peripheral control board and movable by an electromagnetic drive source;
In a gaming machine equipped with

In the main body frame,
Auxiliary power supply means for supplying power for operation to the electromagnetic drive sources of the plurality of movable accessories by being charged while being charged by the operating power supply,
Charging state monitoring means for monitoring a charging state of the auxiliary power source means and outputting a charging completion signal when charging is completed;
When the discharge permission signal output from the peripheral control board is received, the auxiliary power supply means is switched from the charged state to the discharged state, and when the discharge permission signal is erased, the auxiliary power supply means is switched from the discharged state to the charged state. Power supply switching means;
Is provided,

In the game board,
Intense heat production control means for producing an intense heat production accompanied by discharge of the auxiliary power supply means;
A discharge permission signal output control means for outputting the discharge permission signal when starting the intense heat effect, and stopping the output of the discharge permission signal when ending the intense heat effect;
While the intense heat effect is finished, until the charging completion signal is received, instead of the intense heat effect, a state where another effect with low power consumption without discharge of the auxiliary power supply means can be executed. When the charging completion signal is received, instead of the another effect, an effect change control means for making the intense heat effect executable,
Equipped with,
A gaming machine characterized by that.

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