JP2018175969A - Game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game machine capable of confirming whether or not a game board fitted in a body frame is normal without testing a CPU individually by connecting a collator from the outside of a board box.SOLUTION: A main control MPU 101 stores a game board identification ID for authenticating oneself, and a center management device 1020 pre-registers an ID registration number for at least identifying each game machine. The main control MPU transmits the game board identification ID to a center management device via a second control board. The center management device determines whether or not the transmitted game board identification ID matches a pre-registered ID registration number, and transmits a determination result to a ball information control MPU 111. When the transmitted determination result matches therewith, the ball information control MPU executes prize ball control, whereas when the determination result does not match, the ball information control MPU does not execute the prize ball control.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 104

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine management system that includes a sealed ball type gaming machine and a management device that make it possible to play a game by circulating a predetermined number of gaming balls in a closed manner.

  A game machine such as a pachinko machine or a pachislot machine installed in a game arcade (game hall) for a game machine stored in a substrate box in order to prevent unauthorized alteration of a control program for controlling a game operation and control data The ID number stored in the CPU attached to the control board is read by connecting a collation machine from the outside of the board box, and it is checked whether the board illegally attached is used (patent document) 1).

  By the way, at present, the development and production of the main frame into which the game board is fitted is independently performed by each manufacturer, but from the viewpoint of reduction of development cost, measures against environmental destruction, etc., each manufacturer should use in common It is conceivable to develop a body frame that can

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-024148

  However, when the main body frame is a common frame not depending on the manufacturer, the structure of the main body frames is the same, so even if the game board of a different combination is inserted in the main body frame, it is wrong in appearance alone There is a possibility that a problem may occur that it is difficult to grasp and manage whether the regular game board is fitted to the main unit frame without judging whether it is a combination or not.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the game board fitted in the main frame is regular without connecting the collation machine from the outside of the substrate box and inspecting the CPU individually. The purpose is to provide an environment that makes it possible to perform authentication.

The gaming machine management system according to [Solution 1]
An enclosed ball type game machine which makes a game by circulating a predetermined number of gaming balls in a closed manner;
A management device communicably connected to the enclosed ball game machine;
The enclosed ball type game machine is
A game board provided with a plurality of winning openings on which a game area is formed, and game balls rolling down the game area are allowed to enter;
A main unit frame in which the game board is inserted and stored;
A door frame having a game window in which the gaming area of the gaming board faces the player when the front side of the main body frame is supported so as to be openable and closable;
A hit firing device disposed in the main frame and firing a game ball toward the game area in accordance with a player's operation;
A first control board provided with the gaming board and having a first MPU that performs game control, and outputting a prize ball signal based on acceptance of the gaming ball to the winning opening;
A second control board provided with a second MPU that is provided in the main body frame and performs award ball control based on the award ball signal;
In order to solve the above problems,
The first MPU stores a first MPU ID registration number for recognizing itself.
An ID registration number for identifying at least each gaming machine is registered in advance in the management device,
The first MPU transmits the first MPU ID registration number to the management device through the second control board,
The management apparatus determines whether the transmitted first MPU ID registration number matches the ID registration number registered in advance, and transmits a determination result to the second MPU.
The second MPU executes the prize ball control when the transmitted determination result is a match, but does not execute the prize ball control when the determination result does not match.
It is characterized by

  According to the gaming machine management system according to [Solution 1], the first MPU transmits the first MPU ID registration number to the management device through the second control board, and the management device is registered in advance with the transmitted first MPU ID registration number. It is determined whether or not it matches the registered ID registration number, and the determination result is transmitted to the second MPU, and the second MPU executes the prize ball control when the transmitted determination result is identical, while the determination result is identical. In the case of no, do not execute the prize ball control.

  Therefore, it becomes possible to authenticate whether the game board fitted in the main body frame is a proper one without connecting the collation machine from the outside of the substrate box and inspecting the MPU individually, and the main body frame and the game board It is possible to determine whether the combination of the In addition, it is possible to prevent a game from being performed on a game board that is not normal by preventing the prize ball control from being performed when the determination results of such authentication processing do not match, and it is possible to prevent the MPU from making counterfeit chips. It becomes possible to effectively deter fraudulent acts such as being replaced.

The invention according to [Solution 2] is
An enclosed ball type game machine that makes a predetermined number of game balls circulate in a closed manner to play a game,
The enclosed ball type game machine is
A game board provided with a plurality of winning openings on which a game area is formed, and game balls rolling down the game area are allowed to enter;
A main unit frame in which the game board is inserted and stored;
A door frame having a game window in which the gaming area of the gaming board faces the player when the front side of the main body frame is supported so as to be openable and closable;
A hit firing device disposed in the main frame and firing a game ball toward the game area in accordance with a player's operation;
A first control board provided with the gaming board and having a first MPU that performs game control, and outputting a prize ball signal based on acceptance of the gaming ball to the winning opening;
And a second control board provided with a second MPU that is provided in the main body frame and performs award ball control based on the award ball signal.
The first MPU stores a first MPU ID registration number for recognizing itself.
It has a communication unit capable of transmitting the first MPU ID registration number to the outside and receiving the determination result from the outside,
The second MPU transmits the first MPU ID registration number via the communication unit, and when the determination result is received via the communication unit, executes the winning sphere control when the determination result is a match. On the other hand, when the determination results do not match, the winning ball control is not performed,
It is characterized by

  According to the enclosed ball type game machine according to [Solution 2], the second MPU transmits the first MPU ID registration number via the communication unit, and the determination result is received when the determination result is received via the communication unit. While the winning ball control is performed in the case of a match, the winning ball control is not performed in the case where the determination results do not match.

  Therefore, it becomes possible to authenticate whether the game board fitted in the main body frame is a proper one without connecting the collation machine from the outside of the substrate box and inspecting the MPU individually, and the main body frame and the game board It is possible to determine whether the combination of the In addition, it is possible to prevent a game from being performed on a game board that is not normal by preventing the prize ball control from being performed when the determination results of such authentication processing do not match, and it is possible to prevent the MPU from making counterfeit chips. It becomes possible to effectively deter fraudulent acts such as being replaced.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform authentication as to whether or not a regular game board is fitted, without connecting a collating machine from the outside of the substrate box and inspecting the MPU individually. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the combination of the main unit frame and the game board is normal. In addition, it is possible to prevent a game from being performed on a game board that is not normal by preventing the prize ball control from being performed when the determination results of such authentication processing do not match, and it is possible to prevent the MPU from making counterfeit chips. It becomes possible to effectively deter fraudulent acts such as being replaced.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the gaming machine according to the embodiment of the present invention and the settlement machine provided side by side with the gaming machine. It is a front view of a game machine which removes and shows a door frame. It is a front perspective view which shows the main body frame which comprises a game machine. It is a rear perspective view showing a main part frame which constitutes a game machine. It is a perspective view showing a top launch device, a special shape ball and magnetic ball discharge unit, and a ball assembly part. It is a right side view showing a top launch device, a ball supply path member, and a ball lift device. It is the perspective view by the line of sight which looked up at the upper part of the game board from the front lower part of the game board which shows the upper firing device and the firing field. It is a front view showing an upper launcher (launch hammer strike position). It is a perspective view which looks and shows a top launch device from the front left. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the upper launcher as viewed from the rear left side. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the upper launcher with the ball feed unit cover removed and viewed from the rear left side. It is a figure which shows the open state of the upper firing apparatus in the game machine which removes and shows a door frame. It is a right view which shows the longitudinal cross-section of the game machine which removes and shows a door frame. It is a figure which shows roughly a part of cross-sectional perspective view along AA of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the state in which the connection part with the baseplate in the upper firing apparatus and the pushing-out part of the panel holder in a game board abut. It is a perspective view which looks and shows an upper launcher from the front right side. It is a front view showing an upper launcher (launch hammer standby position). FIG. 17 is a right side view showing the upper launcher (ball feed solenoid non-excitation, ball feed member in holding position and return ball blocking position). FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launcher shown broken along the line B-B in FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid non-excitation, ball feed member in holding position and return ball blocking position). It is a perspective view which shows the ball | bowl feed member in a ball | bowl feed apparatus, a ball | bowl feed shaft, and a ball | bowl feed plate from diagonally back. It is a right side view showing a top launcher (ball feed solenoid excitation, ball feed member feeding position and permissible position). FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launcher shown broken along the line B-B in FIG. 10 (ball feed solenoid excitation, ball feed member at feed position and allowable position). FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view in which the body frame is cut in the longitudinal direction so as to show the upper launcher, the ball supply path member, and the ball lifter. It is a time chart which shows the drive timing of a ball | bowl feed solenoid and a firing solenoid. It is a front perspective view of a ball exit opening and closing unit. It is a rear perspective view of a ball | bowl outlet opening / closing unit. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between an upper firing unit and the ball | bowl outlet opening / closing unit in a main body frame. It is an external appearance perspective view explaining an odd-shaped ball and a magnetic ball discharge unit. It is a figure which isolate | separates a magnetic ball discharge part cover in FIG. 28, and turns over and demonstrates it. It is a top view of a variant sphere and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a rear view of a variant sphere and a magnetic sphere discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the base board of a different shape ball and a magnetic ball discharge unit. It is a figure which isolate | separates a different shape ball and magnetic ball discharge unit into a different shape ball discharge unit and a magnetic ball discharge unit, and demonstrates. It is a figure explaining the course by which a different shape ball and a magnetic ball are discharged in a different shape ball and a magnetic ball discharge unit. It is a figure explaining the condition where a magnetic sphere is separated and discharged from a circulation route. It is a figure explaining the state which the magnetic sphere reached | attained to the magnetic sphere discharge | emission inclined surface. It is a front left perspective view of a ball | bowl assembly part and a ball lifting apparatus. It is a front view of a ball | bowl assembly part and a ball lift apparatus. It is a front view which shows the state which removed the ball-brushing cartridge in a ball | bowl assembly part. It is a rear perspective view which shows the state which removed the case of the ball | bowl assembly part, and the cover of a ball feeding apparatus. FIG. 41 is an enlarged rear perspective view of a ball assembly in FIG. 40. It is the figure which expanded FIG. 41 further. It is the top view which removed the case of the ball | bowl assembly part. It is a rear perspective view which shows the state which removed the upper gearbox and the lower gearbox. It is a right view which shows the state which removed the cover of the ball transport device. 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 feeding device. It is a figure which shows the fitting and non-fitting state of a screw and a fitting member. It is a left view which shows the state in which the ball-brushing cartridge was mounted. It is a perspective view explaining the mechanism which fixes a brushing cartridge. It is a perspective view which shows the state in the middle of mounting | wearing with a ball-brushing cartridge. It is a perspective view which shows the state to which the ball | bour cloth of a game ball and a ball-grinding cartridge is pressed. It is a left view which shows the state to which the ball | bour cloth of a game ball and a ball-grinding cartridge is pressed. FIG. 54 is a left side view showing a state in which the left side cover of the brush cartridge is removed in FIG. 54. In FIG. 55, it is the figure which expanded ball polishing cartridge vicinity. It is a perspective view which shows the state in which the ball-brushing cartridge was mounted. FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which only the right outer side cover is removed for the sake of description. FIG. 58 is an upper perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. 58. It is a perspective view of a ball-brushing cartridge. It is a front view of a ball-brushing cartridge. It is a side view of a ball-brushing cartridge. FIG. 62 is a side view showing a state in which the left side cover is removed. It is a perspective view of a ball | brushing cartridge mounting part. It is a perspective view showing the relation between a ball polish cartridge and a ball polish cartridge attaching part. It is the enlarged view to which ball grinding | polishing cartridge vicinity of FIG. 39 was expanded. It is a side view which shows the 2nd Example in a lift slope member. It is a perspective view which shows the 2nd Example in a lift slope member. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the upper gearbox in a pumping device. It is a rear view which shows the state which removed the pumping part cover in the pumping apparatus. FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a state in which the number of inserted game balls does not reach a predetermined number when the game balls are sealed in the filling ball type game machine. It is the schematic which shows the state which is the predetermined | prescribed number of game balls thrown in, when sealing a game ball to a filling ball type game machine. FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing the behavior of the gaming ball when the number of inserted gaming balls exceeds a predetermined number when the gaming ball is sealed in the sealing ball type gaming machine. 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 showing an important section in an embodiment of a main control board arranged in an enclosed ball type game machine. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of the ball | bowl information control board | substrate arrange | positioned at the enclosed ball type game machine. It is a block diagram showing each element connected to a settlement machine. It is a flowchart which shows the process at the time of main control side power supply which the main control MPU of a main control board performs. It is a flowchart which shows the continuation of the process at the time of main control side power-on of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the main-control side timer interrupt process which main-control MPU performs. It is a flow chart which shows processing at the time of ball information control side power-on which ball information control MPU of a ball information control board performs. It is a flowchart which shows the continuation of the process at the time of the ball information control side power-on of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the continuation of the process at the time of the ball | bowl information ball | bowl control side power-on following FIG. It is a flow chart which shows processing at the time of ball information control power supply OFF which ball information control MPU of a ball information control board performs. It is a flow chart which shows an example of ball information control side timer interrupt processing. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the rental ball process which ball information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the batting possibility determination processing which ball information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball number count process which ball information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball | bowl feed * firing drive processing which ball | bowl information control MPU performs. It is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the launch ball detection process which sphere information control MPU performs. It is a flow chart which shows a subroutine of number-of-balls number subtraction processing which ball information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the lifting drive processing which a ball | bowl information control MPU performs. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine of the ball clogging alerting | reporting process which ball information control MPU performs. It is the figure which showed the cushion and follow member provided in the back surface side of the door frame, and the cushion receiving plate provided in the upper firing apparatus. It is the figure which showed the positioning guide member arrange | positioned at the left side plate inner wall of the main body frame. It is the figure which showed the fitting of the game board in 2nd execution example of the game machine. It is an example of the block diagram which showed the game board and main body frame which were connected with the drawer connector. It is an example of the block diagram which showed the game board and main body frame which were connected with the drawer connector. It is a figure which shows the prior art example in the signal output from a ball | bowl information control board | substrate 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 | substrate to an external terminal board. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an entire configuration of a gaming machine ecosystem. It is a block diagram showing an outline of a gaming machine management system.

[Overview of gaming machines]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The gaming machine 1 (filled ball type gaming machine) according to the present embodiment can be installed on the current island facility in a hall (gaming arcade), and the game content is the same as that of a well-known gaming machine. However, it is a gaming machine that does not use the ball supply mechanism or the ball discharge mechanism of the island facility. That is, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment, the gaming machine accommodates a predetermined number of gaming balls formed of a nonmagnetic material (for example, stainless steel), and the predetermined number of gaming balls are used as a playing device by a launching device. To play the game, collect the game ball which finished the game, play the game using the game ball previously enclosed in the gaming machine so as to guide to the launch device and circulate and use the game ball It is supposed to be. Then, the game ball can be fired corresponding to the number of game balls (data of the number of held balls) based on the data of the number of lent balls input from the storage medium such as a card via the settlement system etc. Then, the data on the number of held balls is subtracted according to the number of the game balls fired.

  In addition, when the launched game ball wins the winning opening in the game area and a winning ball (game ball) is generated, the actual game ball is not paid out, and the number of winning balls is stored in the data of the number of holding balls. Is added. In addition, when the data of the ball holding number becomes "0", the game ball can not be released. In this state, if a numerical value (the number of lent balls) is added to the data of the number of held balls based on the data of the amount of money stored in the storage medium such as a card, the data of the stored balls, etc. It becomes. Also, the shot game balls are collected in the game machine, sent again to the shooting position, and circulated in the game machine. That is, the gaming machine 1 according to the present embodiment is a sealed ball type gaming machine which recovers the gaming balls fired in the gaming area and supplies the gaming balls again.

  First, the main 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 checkout machine 4 as an external device is juxtaposed to the gaming machine 1 of FIG.

The gaming machine 1 has an outer frame 1a (FIG. 12) configured in a rectangular frame shape and installed on an island facility on the hole side, and pivotally supported by the outer frame 1a so as to be openable and closable. It comprises: a main body frame 2 that can be mounted; and a door frame 3 pivotally supported by the main body frame 2 so as to be openable and closable.
At a position lower than the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3, the decorative cover 6 is attached to the front surface of the outer frame 1a, and the front surface of the outer frame 1a is completely closed by the door frame 3 and the decorative cover 6 It has become. Further, the outer frame 1a, the main body frame 2 and the door frame 3 are arranged so that the upper ends are substantially aligned, and the main body frame 2 can be rotated by the 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 forward with respect to the outer frame 1a. The door frame 3 is rotatably attached to the main body frame 2 by 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 under the game window 9 where the player can visually recognize the game area 8 in which the game ball of the game board 5 is driven, and is located under the game window 9 and in the game area 8 based on the operation of the player. It has a hitting handle 10 for driving a game ball. Attached to the game window 9 is a transparent plate 11 that visibly covers the front (game area 8) of the game board 5 mounted on the main body frame 2 with the door frame 3 closed to the main body frame 2 It is done. The hitting handle 10 drives a firing solenoid 13 (see FIG. 5) of a hitting launcher (referred to as an upper launcher 12) mounted on the upper left side of the main body frame 2 based on the player's turning operation. The game ball is driven into the game area 8. The hitting handle 10 is a micro switch (not shown) which is turned on when the turning operation is performed, and a firing stop switch and the hitting handle 10 where the micro switch is turned off when the micro switch is pressed. And a touch switch for detecting contact of the player with the ball striking handle 10 through the conductive plating applied to the outer peripheral surface of the ball. 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 to the main body frame 2 by inserting a key into the key device disposed at the lower right corner of the door frame 3 and rotating it to one side. It is possible to

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

  Here, the remaining number of times is a value corresponding to the amount of money stored in the card used by the checkout machine 4, and the number of player's ball holdings is lent to the player by performing the ball lending. It is the sum of the number of balls and the number of winning balls obtained by the player as a result of playing a game.

  The touch panel unit 14 displays a ball lending button as a ball lending command input unit operable by the player and a settlement button as a settlement command input unit operable by the player. The ball lending button is for instructing the lending of balls for playing a game. In addition, the settlement button is to end the game and instruct settlement.

  Further, on the touch panel portion 14, an end ball number display button as an end ball number display instruction input means which can be operated by the player is displayed. Here, the number of end balls is the number of remaining balls when the number of holding balls of the player is divided by the number of balls corresponding to one special prize at the time of prize exchange. When the touch panel unit 14 instructs the display of the number of end balls by the end ball number display button, the touch panel unit 14 can also display a message such as "Do you want to hit only the end ball". An interactive question type message is displayed together with the terminal ball number display button, and a YES button and a NO button for making a selection input for the player to respond either yes or no are displayed respectively.

[Body frame 2]
The main body frame 2 is box-like having a frame-like fitting frame 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16 so as to be exactly contained in the rectangular frame-like outer frame 1a (FIG. 3, FIG. 4). The fitting frame 15 has a rectangular accommodation opening 17 on the front side thereof for inserting and accommodating the game board 5. A projecting wall 18 projecting inward is integrally formed at the back of the housing opening 17 (FIGS. 3 and 12). The back is closed by the back cover. When the door frame 3 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2, the front surface (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 ball / magnetic ball discharge unit housing portion 19 is formed below the housing opening 17, and a deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 is disposed in the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit housing portion 19. . Then, as described later, the discharge ball receiving box 234 containing the deformed balls or magnetic balls having a smaller diameter than the regular game balls discharged from the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 is a game machine It can be detached from the front direction.

  Further, FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view in which the main body frame is broken in the longitudinal direction so as to show the upper launcher, the ball supply path member, and the ball lifter. As seen in FIGS. 3, 5, 6 and 23, the main body frame 2 is provided with an upper launcher 12, a ball assembly 21, a ball lifter 22 and a ball supply path member 24. The ball collecting portion 21 is a portion for receiving the gaming balls having passed through the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20 and guiding the gaming balls to the base of the pumping device 22 (FIG. 5).

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

  In this embodiment, the ball transport device 22 uses the screw 25 driven by the ball transport motor 150 (see FIG. 24), and the gaming balls having reached the base are separated from each other by the rotation of the screw 25. It is opened and transported to the upper part of the main body frame 2 from the lower side. The ball transport device 22 is attached to the rear surface of the main body frame 2 at the rear of the upper launch device 12, and the upper end of the ball transport device 22 is disposed above the ball feed device 28 (FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 23).

  Between the upper end portion of the ball transport device 22 and the upper portion of the upper launch device 12, a ball supply extending in the front-rear direction for feeding the game balls lifted by the ball lift device 22 from above to the ball feeder 28 The path member 24 is provided (FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 23). Further, in the present embodiment, the ball supply path member 24 is formed at the upper end portion of the ball transport device 22 and is given a gentle downward slope toward the front, and the lifted game ball is moved forward from above It comprises a delivery ball delivery rod 23 and a lift communication rod 65 formed on the rear upper portion of the upper launch device 12 and connected to the delivery ball 23 and having a gentle downward slope. In addition, the game ball which has been transported by the ball transport device 22 is sent out to the ball delivery rod 23. The ball delivery rod 23 of the ball supply path member 24 is provided with a firing standby ball detection switch 26 for detecting the presence or absence of a gaming ball flowing down the ball delivery rod 23 (see FIG. 6).

[Top launcher]
FIG. 8 is a front view of the upper launcher, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of 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.

  FIG. 12 is a view showing an open state of the upper firing device 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 view schematically showing a part of a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line A-A of FIG. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state in which the joint portion with the base plate in the upper launcher and the push-out portion of the panel holder in the game board are in contact with each other.

  The upper launcher 12 receives a metal plate-like base plate 39 for mounting and fixing the upper launcher 12 to the main body frame 2 and gaming balls arriving from the ball supply path member 24, and is for firing the striking launcher 29. The ball feeding device 28 securely sends out game balls one by one with the ball feed solenoid 31 (FIG. 11) and the ball feed member 32 to the hitting position of the hammer 30 (FIG. 8) and shoots the game balls toward the game area 8 And a hit ball launcher 29 (see FIGS. 8 to 11).

  The ball feed device 28 receives the game balls arriving from the ball supply path member 24 (FIG. 6), and the ball feed member 32 moves one game ball to the launch position of the launch hammer 30 (FIG. 8) of the hit launch device 29. Is a device for reliably delivering each one.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the ball hitting and firing device 29 is a firing hammer 30, a firing solenoid 13, a rail member 33, a firing stopper 34, a returning stopper 35, a launching ball confirmation switch 36, an upper launching device hinge 37 and a launching opening. It has 38. These members are attached to a base plate 39 (in this embodiment, a metal plate) as a substrate. The discharge port 38 is formed to face the tip of the firing hammer 30, and the rail member 33 is attached to this portion. The rail member 33 is a member for holding, by the rail portion 332, one game ball sent out to the shooting position (ball hitting position) by the ball feeding member 32. The game balls shot by the launch hammer 30 are fired from the launch opening 38 to the game area 8.

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

  As shown in FIG. 5, the circulation path of the gaming balls includes the above-mentioned odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20, the ball assembly portion 21, the ball lifter 22, the ball supply path member 24, the upper launcher 12 and the game area 8. It goes through. The game balls launched from the upper launch device 12 to the launch area 40 (FIG. 7) of the game area 8 flow down the game area from the top to the bottom and pass through the winning opening 41 or the out opening 42 to the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 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 a transparent panel plate 44 is attached to a panel holder 43, and a front component 45 is attached to the front surface thereof to fix the transparent panel plate 44 (FIG. 12). There is no equivalent to the conventional inner rail in this game board 5, and the upper part of the inner peripheral surface of the front component 45 is used as the game ball traveling surface 46 (FIG. 7).

  The electrical connection of the game board 5 to the main unit frame 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The mechanical and electrical connection between the game board 5 and the main unit frame 2 is made by the connection by the 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. There is. By inserting the game board 5 into the body frame 2, the game board side main drawer connector and the body frame side main drawer connector, the game board side sub drawer connector and the body frame side sub drawer connector are connected, and the game board 5 And the body frame 2 are mechanically connected and at the same time electrically connected. Thus, electrical communication can be performed between the game board 5 and the main unit frame 2.

  The upper left corner of the game board 5 is formed with a notch 47 (FIG. 12) in accordance with the form of the upper launch device 12. The notch 47 extends from the front component 45 to a part of the transparent panel plate 44 of the game area 8. At the location where the transparent panel plate 44 is cut out, the discharge opening 38 of the upper launch device 12 faces, and as shown in FIG. 7, the vicinity of the discharge opening 38 along the game ball running surface 46 above the discharge opening 38 The game area 8 is a launch area 40. Therefore, the gaming ball shot by the firing hammer 30 of the upper launch device 12 is guided to the gaming ball running surface 46 of the front component 45 in the firing area 40.

  In the game area 8 of the present embodiment, a large number of obstacle nails (not shown) and various winning openings such as winning openings are provided, and a predetermined number of winning balls are awarded according to the winning on the various winning openings. It is supposed to be. In addition, since this embodiment is a filled ball type gaming machine, while "1" is subtracted from the data of the number of held balls according to the hitting of one game ball, the number of prize balls corresponding to the winnings on various winning openings Is added to the data of the ball holding number, and the ball holding number corresponding to this is displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

  Further, since the enclosed ball type gaming machine is not paid out the winning balls, the number of balls, the number of balls, the number of balls, the number of balls, etc. is not the actual number of gaming balls but numerical values on data. That is, there are only a limited predetermined number (for example, 50 or 75) of gaming balls that are actually used, and the number of holding balls detects, for example, gaming balls to be launched into the gaming area 8 The number of shot balls counted, the number of collected balls detected by counting the number of game balls shot and collected in the game area 8, the number of winning balls when winning, number of balls borrowed from the hall side, etc. The number of balls, the number of balls, the number of balls, and the number of balls can be obtained.

  That is, unless there is a problem such as opening the door frame 3 and the game ball coming out, the number of shot balls = the number of collected balls. And the number of ball entry = number of collected balls = number of shot balls, number of balls = number of winning balls (integrated value) = number of balls-number of balls to be played (number of replayed balls) + number of balls, number of balls = lending Ball number (or replay number of balls) + number of balls-number of balls, number of balls-number of balls = number of balls, number of balls = number of balls (or number of replays) + number of balls It becomes. As described above, 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 gaming ball or leaving the gaming ball on the lower plate or the upper plate. It can be managed reliably in integer units. In addition, in the structure of the upper launch device 12 described later, no foul sphere is generated.

  Furthermore, although the front component 45, the panel holder and the transparent panel plate 44 are separate members in the above embodiment, they may be integrated as one member, for example, by bonding, or they may be formed as one member. It can also be done. As described above, when the front component 45, the panel holder 43, etc. are integrally formed on the transparent panel plate 44, the front component 45 or the panel holder 43 has the notch 47 in the game board 5 It is possible to suppress the structural weakening of these members due to the frame structure (the four sides are connected) being cut.

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

[Ball launcher 29]
The ball striking device 29 is capable of striking the gaming ball supplied from the ball feeding device 28 into the gaming area 8 of the gaming board 5 with a strength corresponding to the rotation operation of the striking handle 10. The hitting and launching device 29 has a firing solenoid 13 mounted on the upper rear surface of the base plate 39 so that the rotary drive shaft 60 projects forward, and a firing hammer 30 fixed integrally to the rotary drive shaft 60 of the launch solenoid 13. , 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 the predetermined position on the movement locus of the tip 61 as a firing position, The firing stopper 34 for restricting the pivoting of the tip 61 in the counterclockwise direction from the hitting position where the held gaming ball can hit the ball, and the waiting position (initial position) in the pivoting movement of the firing hammer 30 And the launch ball confirmation switch 36 for detecting the presence or absence of the game ball retained at the launch position, and the upper portion 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 not shown in detail, the firing solenoid 13 of the hitting and launching apparatus 29 reciprocates and rotates the rotary drive shaft 60 at a strength (speed) according to the rotation operation angle of the hitting handle 10. The firing hammer 30 of the hitting and firing device 29 extends from the fixed portion 301 fixed to the rotary drive shaft 60 of the launch solenoid 13 and from the fixed portion 301 in a gentle arc shape, and the tip is at the axial center of the rotary drive shaft 60 The collar portion 302 is oriented in the normal direction with respect to the collar portion 302, and the stopper portion extends to the opposite side with respect to the collar portion 302 with the fixing portion 301 interposed therebetween And a contact portion 303. The stopper abutment portion 303 of the firing hammer 30 abuts against the stopper 34 at the time of firing, whereby the rotation in the counterclockwise direction in front view is restricted (see FIG. 8).

  Further, immediately above the rail member 33 of the ball hitting and launching apparatus 29, a ball feeding port 63 formed in a ball feeding unit base (described later) of the ball feeding apparatus 28 is disposed. The rail member 33 holds the 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 shooting position.

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

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a portion extending from the center to the lower end in the vertical direction of the right side portion of the ball striking device launcher 29 of the upper launching device 12 is exposed and disposed facing the gaming area 8 when viewed from the front direction ing. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 16, a discharge port decoration member 64 is disposed on the front right side of the base plate 39, and the discharge port decoration member 64 is attached to the base plate 39 and a ball feeding unit base 67 described later. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 8 and FIG. 16, the launch opening decoration member 64 is disposed with the right side portion and the lower side portion exposed to the game area 8, and therefore the right side of the launch opening decoration member 64. The surface portion and the lower side surface portion are formed on the ball entry preventing wall 51 which prevents the game ball having been shot into the game area 8 from entering the inside of the ball striking device 29. The outlet 38 is formed on the ball entry preventing wall 51 on the right side of the outlet decoration member 64, and the ball entry preventing wall 51 is substantially flush with the rear end face of the game area 8 so as to surround the outlet 38. It has an arch shape that stands up to the front.

  The outlet 38 is positioned obliquely rightward and upward in the front view with respect to the rail portion 332 as understood with reference to FIGS. 8 and 16. As understood from FIG. 8 and FIG. 17, the distance between the rail portion 332 (the launch position) and the launch opening 38 is short (about twice the diameter of the game ball P), and hence the launch distance is short. It is possible to reliably strike the launched game ball into the game area 8 without generating a foul ball.

  The launch ball confirmation switch 36 detects the presence or absence of the game ball held in the launch position, and the game ball in the launch position is not hit by the launch hammer 30 and is not detected. By switching to, it is detected that one gaming ball has been fired by the firing hammer 30.

  The launch ball confirmation switch 36 is formed of a transmission type photo sensor, and the light projection unit and the light reception unit are disposed so as to straddle the rail unit 332 for which the launch position is set. The launch ball confirmation switch 36 is disposed relative to the launch position by being supported by the photo bracket 361, and the photo bracket 361 is attached and fixed to the lower front of the base plate 39.

  The hitting and launching device 29 has a stopper cover 62 covering the front face of the firing stopper 34 which can regulate the pivoting end to the hitting position side of the firing hammer 30, and a position away from the hitting position on the firing hammer 30. And a return stopper 35 for restricting the rotating end (a rotating end in the clockwise direction in a front view). The surfaces of the stoppers 34 and 35 are covered with rubber so that the impact when the firing hammer 30 abuts can be absorbed and the generation of noise due to the abutment can be suppressed. .

  In addition, the ball hitting and launching device 29 is configured such that the firing solenoid 13 is driven by the ball information control unit described later at a driving strength according to the rotation operation of the ball striking handle 10 With respect to the drive timing of the solenoid 31, the ball is driven to perform a hitting operation according to the drive timing described later (see FIG. 24). Specifically, in the ball feeding device 28 that supplies gaming balls to the ball hitting and launching device 29, when the ball feeding solenoid 31 is driven (ON), the ball feeding member 32 feeds the game balls received by the ball feeding member 32 to the ball hitting and firing device 29 When the driving of the ball feeding solenoid 31 is released (OFF), the ball feeding member 32 receives the game ball.

  In the striking device 30, when the striking handle 10 is operated to fire, energization / disengagement to the firing solenoid 13 is repeated with a voltage corresponding to the amount of operation. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 17, the firing hammer 30 is pivoted from the initial position (FIG. 17) in the firing direction (counterclockwise) to the firing position as shown in FIGS. After hitting the stopped game ball with the forehead 61 (FIG. 8), the firing operation is repeated by turning clockwise to return to the initial position.

[Ball Feeder 28]
Next, the ball feeding device 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. A ball feed port 63 connected to the bowl 65 and the pumping communication bowl 65 and having a ball supply port 63 for supplying the game ball entering from the pumping communication bowl 65 to the ball striking device 29 and having an open rear side. A unit base 67, a ball feed unit cover 68 closing the rear end of the ball feed unit base 67 and having an open front, a ball feed solenoid 31 disposed under the ball feed unit base 67, a ball feed solenoid 31 And a ball feed member 32 which simultaneously realizes the ball feed operation and the return ball blocking operation described later.

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

  In addition, on the back surface of the ball feed unit cover 68 facing the upper part of the ball feed port 63 below the bent part of the ball feed guide rod 69, the game ball waiting in the ball feed guide rod 69 A launch standby ball detection switch 70 for detecting the presence or absence is provided (see FIG. 10). The launch standby ball detection switch 70 is formed of a flat type proximity switch that detects a game ball as a metal body by changing the impedance of the detection coil of the high frequency oscillation circuit.

  The ball feed solenoid 31 according to the present embodiment is 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. Further, the ball feeding member 32 is disposed adjacent to the left side of the ball feeding solenoid 31 and under the ball feeding unit base 67. The ball feed member 32 in the present embodiment is an allowable position that allows passage of a hit ball without interfering with the hit ball fired from the launch position by the hit action of the ball launch device 29 by excitation / non-excitation of the ball feed solenoid 31. And a return ball blocking portion movable between a return ball blocking position for blocking entry of a return ball coming back from the game area 8 to the outlet 38.

[Ball feed member 32]
The ball feed member 32 will be described below. FIG. 18 is a right side view showing the upper launcher 12 (the ball feed solenoid 31 is not energized, the ball feed member 32 is in the holding position and the return ball blocking position), and FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launcher 12 taken along line B (with the ball feed solenoid 31 de-energized and the ball feed member 32 in the holding position and return ball blocking position), and FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the ball | bowl feed member 32, the ball | bowl feed shaft, and the ball | bowl feed metal plate in in FIG.

  FIG. 21 is a right side view showing the upper launcher 12 (the ball feed solenoid 31 is excited and the ball feed member takes a supply position and an allowance position), and FIG. 22 is a view B-B in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the upper launcher shown broken along a line (with the ball feed solenoid 31 energized, the ball feed member 32 in the feed position and the allowed position).

  As shown in FIG. 20, an axial hole 75 is formed at the middle in the vertical direction of the ball feeding member 32 in the left-right direction. A ball feed shaft 76 is inserted into the shaft hole 75 with its both ends protruding, and both ends in the left-right direction of the ball feed shaft 76 are supported by a ball feed unit base 67. Thus, the ball feed member 32 is supported so as to be able to pivot in the front-rear direction with the ball feed shaft 76 as the pivot center.

  Further, an arm 77 is formed extending backward at the middle of the ball feeding member 32, and at the lower end of the arm 77, as shown in FIG. A collar portion 72 is formed, a sheet metal housing portion 73 is formed in the operation collar portion 72, and a ball feeding metal plate 71 made of a metal material which is attracted by a magnet is housed in the sheet metal housing portion 73.

  A sheet metal locking claw 78 is formed just under the sheet metal storage portion 73 to project rearward to prevent the ball feed sheet metal 71 from falling off, thereby making the ball feed member 32 operate unexpectedly. The ball feed plate 71 is prevented from dropping out of the sheet metal accommodating portion 73.

  As shown in FIG. 20, a hooking projection 79 is formed at the end of the operation collar 72, and one end of a tension spring 52 shown in FIG. 19 is hooked on the hooking projection 79. As shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the other end of the tension spring 52 is hooked to a spring locking portion 53 formed on the lower bottom surface of the ball feeding unit base 67.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 20, a roof-shaped ball feeding portion 74 is formed integrally with the ball feeding member 32 toward the lower edge of the ball feeding port 63 above the shaft hole 75 of the ball feeding member 32. There is. The ball feed portion 74 is formed in a mountain shape in which the center of the upper surface is raised upward, and the ball feed port 63 formed at the lower end of the ball feed guide rod 69 in FIG. An inclined ball feed guiding surface 80 which is lowered toward the lower edge, and an arc convex toward the back from the center, that is, toward the ball feed unit cover 68 which blocks the rear end of the ball feed guide rod 69 in FIG. And an inclined ball holding surface 81 which is inclined downward. Further, at the rear end of the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feeding portion 74, a hanging piece 82 hanging downward is formed.

  In addition, the upper portion in the vertical direction of the ball feeding member 32 penetrates the ball feeding unit base 67 toward the front, and as shown in FIG. 18, FIG. 20 and FIG. A rectangular frame-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 is formed extending toward the ball striking path from the above, and at the center of the return ball blocking portion 83, a ball striking passage opening 85 opened in a rectangular shape is formed.

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

  Further, the ball feed unit cover 68 is formed with a ball guide projection 54 having a V-shaped longitudinal cross section facing forward at a position facing the ball supply port 63 behind the ball supply port 63. In the upper part of the ball guide projection 54 directed forward, a front guiding surface 55 having a circular arc concave shape facing the ball supply port 63 is formed. The lower portion of the ball guide protrusion 54 is formed to be curved in a convex shape toward the rear, and in the space below the lower portion of the ball guide protrusion 54, the longitudinal direction of the ball feed member 32 centering on the ball feed shaft 76 The ball feeding portion 74 can be retracted in the pivoting operation. Further, at the lower end of the ball guide projection 54, a stopper piece 56 is formed to project forward.

[Ball feed operation of ball feed member 32 and return ball blocking operation]
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 the non-excitation state, it is hooked on the hooking protrusion 79 at the end of the operation collar portion 72 of the ball feed member 32 and the spring lock portion 53 formed on the lower bottom of the ball feed unit base 67. Due to the tension of the tension spring 52 which has been stopped, the lower end portion of the ball feed member 32 is pulled toward the ball feed unit base 67.

  As shown in FIG. 18, in the normal state (when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in the non-excitation state), the ball feed member 32 has a rectangular frame-shaped return ball in a rotational posture about the ball feed shaft 76 as a rotational center. The blocking portion 83 takes a posture inclined toward the rear, and in side view seen from the game area 8, that is, in the hitting path from the shooting position of the ball launching device 29 to the launching hole 38, In the position direction side, the front portion of the frame of the return ball blocking portion 83 is in a posture of crossing the discharge port 38, and the ball passing passage 85 against the discharge hole 38 in the ball hitting path. Is shifted rearward, and passage of the ball to the hitting passage opening 85 is impossible in the hitting path. That is, the return ball blocking portion 83 takes the return ball blocking position to block the entry of the return ball from the gaming area 8 back to the outlet 38 in this posture.

  After the hitting ball is fired, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the return ball blocking position, and the return ball blocking unit 83 blocks the game ball fired in the game area 8 from becoming a return ball and entering the discharge opening 38. Since the return ball can be blocked, it is possible to prevent the return ball from reducing the interest in the game.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 19, in the normal state (when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in the non-excitation state), the ball holding member 81 of the ball feed portion 74 has a ball guide protrusion of the ball feed unit cover 68. In the space below the portion 54, the hanging piece 82 formed at the lower end of the ball feeding portion 74 abuts against the stopper piece 56, and in a rotational attitude about the ball feeding shaft 76 of the ball feeding member 32 , The ball feeding operation is restricted to the holding position.

  In the holding position, the ball feed guiding surface 80 of the ball feeding portion 74 is located forward of the lower end of the front guiding surface 55 of the ball guide protrusion 54 and is located on an extension in a tangential direction of the front guiding surface 55. In addition, the ball stopper 84 approaches toward the ball supply port 63, and the gaming ball P1 is fitted into the gap between the lower end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball stopper 84, and the gaming ball P1 is retained. It becomes.

[Excitation of ball feed solenoid 31]
When the ball feed solenoid 31 is energized by energizing it, the ball feed plate 71 is attracted upward by the electromagnet function, and the operating flange portion 72 of the ball feed member 32 moves upward against the tensile force of the tension spring 52, The ball feed member 32 pivots counterclockwise in 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 hitting ball in the ball feed operation. Move to an acceptable position to allow

  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 feed unit 74 moves forward and sends out the gaming ball P1 remaining in the holding position to the firing position (FIG. 22) reference).

  As shown in FIG. 21, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in the excited state, the rectangular ball-shaped return ball blocking portion 83 takes the upright posture in the turning posture with the ball feeding shaft 76 as the rotation center. In a side view seen from the point 8, that is, in the hitting path from the launching position of the launching apparatus 29 to the launching port 38, in the hitting direction direction of the launching port 38 in the hitting path, The hitting passage opening 85 is at the same position, and is a position which allows passage of the ball to the hitting passage opening 85 in the hitting path. That is, in this posture, the return ball blocking portion 83 takes an allowable position which allows the passing of the hitting ball without interfering with the hitting ball fired from the shooting position.

  As shown in FIG. 22, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is in the excited state, the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feed portion 74 is positioned forward of the ball guide projection 54 of the ball feed unit cover 68 at the supply position in the ball feed operation. The subsequent game ball P2 is fitted in the gap between the upper end of the ball supply port 63 and the ball holding surface 81 of the ball feed unit 74, and the subsequent game ball P2 remains. By 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 ball striking device 29.

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

  In the present 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 feed member 32 brings the launch ball into the launch position (rail portion 332). That is, the launch ball is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36. In the present embodiment, when a game ball held in the shooting position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 over a predetermined time (30 ms as the period D), the launch ball is determined to be present. Do.

  As described above, when the game ball held in the shooting position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined specified time, it is determined that the launch ball is present, and therefore, the fire due to noise It is possible to eliminate the ball false count and to increase the certainty in the detection of the launch ball.

  Operation control is performed by a ball information control MPU 111 of a ball information control unit 118, which will be described later, in accordance with the drive timing of the ball feed solenoid 31 and the emission solenoid 13 shown in FIG. That is, when the return ball blocking portion 83 of the ball feed member 32 is in the allowable position, the ball hitting and launching device 29 is operated to make the ball striking operation by the firing hammer 30. After passing the specified time (after 30 ms), the return ball is blocked by the return ball block 83 by releasing the excitation of the ball feed solenoid 31 and moving the return ball block 83 back to the ball block position. Control.

  According to this, when the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the allowable position, the passing of the hitting ball is allowed without interfering with the hitting ball fired from the firing position, and therefore, it does not interfere with the launching ball. It is possible to prevent distrust in hitting a ball at a target position, and it is possible to suppress a decrease in interest in the game.

  After the hitting ball is fired, the return ball blocking unit 83 takes the return ball blocking position, and the return ball blocking unit 83 blocks the game ball fired in the game area 8 from becoming a return ball and entering the discharge opening 38. 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, since the return ball blocking portion 83 is integrally formed with the ball feed member 32, the ball feed to the launch position is achieved by excitation / non-excitation of one electric drive source (the ball feed solenoid 31). And return ball prevention can be realized simultaneously. That is, when the ball feed member 32 takes the supply position, the ball passing passage opening 85 is positioned on the ball hitting path through which the game ball fired from the firing position passes while taking the supply position, It has a frame-like return ball blocking portion 83 formed so that the ball hitting passage opening 85 is located at the retracted position.

  When the ball feed member 32 takes the supply position, the return ball blocker 83 takes the allowable position and does not interfere with the hit ball fired from the launch position, so it is possible to strike the game ball at the target position. It is possible to prevent distrust and to suppress the decline in interest for the game.

  Also, when the ball feed member 32 moves to the holding position, the return ball blocking portion 83 returns to the return ball blocking position at the same time, and the gaming ball fired to the game area 8 becomes the return ball and enters the discharge opening 38 Can block the return ball, so it is possible to prevent the return ball from reducing the interest in the game.

  Further, the gaming machine described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above has a structure in which the return ball preventing valve closing the discharge port is forcibly opened by the firing ball and punched out or pushed out to the game area. For this reason, it is necessary to have an electric drive source having a size and a power corresponding to the electric driving source for performing the ball hitting operation, it is necessary to supply a large current to obtain the ball striking power, and the power consumption is large. is there.

  On the other hand, in the upper launching device 12 of this example, when the firing hammer 30 performs a hitting action, the return position of the return ball blocking portion 83 of the ball feed member 32 allows the passing of the launch ball ( Because it does not interfere with the launch ball in the state where the launch port 38 and the launch path 38 are both aligned on the hit path, it is only necessary to provide a hitting force enough to hit the playing field 8 It can respond sufficiently by adopting an electrical drive source. Therefore, the electric drive source can be miniaturized and thinned, and the power consumption required for the drive can be suppressed to a low level.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 24, the firing solenoid 13 is excited for a period C from the time the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, and the tip 61 protrudes through the through hole 335 of the rail portion 332 (FIG. 9) Since the game ball is not held by the rail portion 332, the false count of the shot ball can be made more reliable with the prevention of the return ball.

  Although the return ball blocking portion 83 of the present embodiment has a rectangular frame shape and has the ball hitting passage opening 85 at the center, the shape of the return ball blocking portion 83 is not limited to this, for example It may be strip-like, bowl-like, or it may not have the hitting passage opening 85. That is, on the hitting path from the launching position to the launching port 38, an allowed position which is provided adjacent to the firing position direction of the launching port 38 and allows passing of the hitting ball without interfering with the hitting shot launched from the launching position. And the return ball blocking position for blocking the entry of the return ball from the game area 8 back to the outlet 38.

  In the enclosed ball type game machine of the present embodiment described above, the ball transport device 22 is formed of the main frame 2 at the rear of the upper launch device 12 disposed at the front of the main frame 2 and at one side of the upper portion. Attached to the rear surface, the upper end of the ball lift 22 is disposed above the ball feeder 28, and between the upper end of the ball lift 22 and the top of the upper launch 12, a ball lift 22. A ball supply path member 24 extending in the front-rear direction is provided to feed the game balls, which have been pumped up and down, into the ball feeding device 28 from above.

  Because of the above-described configuration, the various members (the movable body, the power transmission mechanism for driving the movable body (for example, gear train), etc.) to which the ball supply path member 24 is attached at the rear of the game board 5 There is no obstacle to the slide rail for guiding in the direction, the drive motor as a drive source, the position detection sensor for detecting the position of the movable body, the LED board, the relay board etc. The game balls lifted to the upper portion of the main body frame 2 by the lift device 22 can be smoothly fed to the upper launch device 12.

  In addition, the space formed behind the upper launch device 12 can be taken up at the rear of the game board 5 because the ball supply path members do not interfere with the various members attached to the rear of the game board. It can be applied to the arrangement space of each member.

  Further, the upper launch device 12 shown in FIG. 23 employs an electric drive source which is smaller and thinner than the conventional one for the reason described above. As shown in FIG. 23, since the electric drive source (the launch solenoid 13) of the striking device can be made smaller and thinner, the electric drive source does not protrude behind the upper launch device 12. That is, the arrangement space 57 of each member attached to the rear of the game board 5 can be widely secured.

  Further, since the upper launch device 12 of the present embodiment can be turned by the upper launch device 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 attached Since the upper firing unit can be pivoted and disposed at a position out of 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 launch device 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2, the ball delivery rod 23 is provided so that the game balls do not spill even if the game balls remain in the ball delivery rod 23. It is preferable to provide a spill prevention means for blocking the ball outlet 58 of the ball.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the spill ball preventing means (ball outlet opening and 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 launch 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 transport device 22, and sends out the lifted gaming balls from above from the top to the front, 12 is formed by the upper rear portion of the rear portion 12 and is connected to the ball feeding rod 23 and is connected to the ball feeding rod 23, and when the upper firing unit 12 is closed to the main frame 2 By opening the ball outlet 58, the ball outlet 58 and the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the pumping communication rod 65 are communicated, and gaming balls can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.

  The ball feeding device of the upper launcher 12 is provided with 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). The opening and closing operation piece 426 rotates the opening and closing crank 413 by coming into contact with the spherical abutment portion 424 of the opening and closing crank 413 in the ball outlet opening and closing unit 410 when the upper launch device 12 is closed to the main body frame 2. Thus, the open / close shutter 412 can be opened.

[Ball outlet opening and 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 delivery rod 23 of the ball transport device 22. When the device 12 is opened, the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery rod 23 in the ball delivery device 22 is closed to allow the flow of gaming balls from the ball delivery device 22 to the ball feeder 28 of the upper launch device 12 It can be shut off.

  The ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 includes a shutter base 411 attached to a hanging wall 408 of the attachment member 407 facing in the vertical direction, a plate-like opening / closing shutter 412 slidably held in the vertical direction by the shutter base 411, and opening / closing The shutter 412 is provided with an open / close crank 413 which slides the shutter 412 in the vertical direction, and an open / close spring 414 which urges the open / close shutter 412 to move upward via the open / close crank 413.

  The shutter base 411 of the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 has a pair of vertically extending slide grooves 415 for slidably holding the opening / closing shutter 412 so that the opening / closing shutter 412 protrudes upward beyond the upper end of the shutter base 411; A rectangular opening 416 penetrating in the front-rear direction between a pair of slide grooves 415 and a crank that is disposed on the front surface of the left end in a front view and rotatably supports the opening / closing crank 413 around an axis extending in the front-rear direction A support portion 417 and a spring locking portion 418 for locking one end (upper end) of the open / close spring 414 are provided. The crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411 is disposed on the left side in a front view of the opening 416, and the spring locking portion 418 is disposed in the vicinity of an upper portion on the left side from the center in the left-right direction.

  Further, the opening and closing shutter 412 of the ball outlet opening and closing unit 410 includes a flat plate-like shutter main body 419 and a pair of sliding protrusions (not shown) which slide from the front surface of the shutter main body 419 and slide in the slide grooves 415 of the shutter base 411 And a drive hole 420 which is disposed at a position facing from the opening 416 of the shutter base 411 between the pair of sliding projections and which penetrates in the front-rear direction.

  The opening / closing crank 413 of the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 is provided with a shaft portion 421 rotatably supported around an axis extending in the front-rear direction by a crank support portion 417 of the shutter base 411; It is extended outward, and the tip is projected backward from the tip of the drive rod 422 and the tip of the drive rod 422 and is slidably inserted into the drive hole 412 b of the open / close shutter 412. The lower end of the drive pin 423 and the outer periphery of the shaft portion 421 extend downward from the outer periphery in a front view, and the contact portion 424 whose tip is spherical is formed on the middle upper surface of the drive rod 422 And a spring locking portion 425 for locking (lower end).

  In the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410, the drive pin 423 of the opening / closing crank 413 is inserted into the arc at the same time as the drive pin 423 is inserted into the arc. The open / close shutter 412 slides in the vertical direction via the drive hole 420.

  In the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410, the contact portion 424 of the opening / closing crank 413 contacts the opening / closing operation piece 426 of the upper launch device 12 in a state where the upper launch device 12 is closed with respect to the main body frame 2 By rotating in the direction of clockwise against the urging force of the opening / closing spring 414 in the front view, the drive pin 423 together with the contact portion 424 rotates in the direction of clockwise in the front view. The open / close shutter 412 can be lowered to open the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery rod 23. That is, the ball outlet 58 is communicated with the ball inlet 66 at the rear end of the lift communication rod 65 so that gaming balls can be supplied from the ball outlet 58 to the ball inlet 66.

  When the upper launcher 12 is opened with respect to the main body frame 2 from this state, the contact between the contact portion 424 of the open / close crank 413 and the open / close operation piece 426 of the upper launcher 12 is released. At the same time when the biasing force of 414 rotates in the counterclockwise direction as viewed from the front, the open / close shutter 412 is lifted so that the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery rod 23 can be closed (FIG. 27). ).

  As described above, the ball outlet opening / closing unit 410 can automatically open / close the ball outlet 58 at the front end of the ball delivery rod 23 in the ball feeding device 22 according to the opening / closing of the upper launch device 12 with respect to the main body frame 2 Even if the upper launch device 12 is opened with the gaming balls remaining in the ball delivery rod 23, it is possible to prevent the gaming balls from spilling out of the ball outlet 58.

[Uniform ball / magnetic ball discharge unit]
FIG. 28 is a view for explaining a modified sphere / magnetic sphere discharge unit. FIG. 29 is a view for explaining the magnetic ball discharge portion cover in FIG. 28 by separating and turning over. FIG. 30 is a plan view of the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball 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 odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharge unit separately into the odd-shaped ball discharge unit and the magnetic ball discharge unit. FIG. 34 is a view for explaining a path through which the deformed ball and the magnetic ball are discharged in the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharging unit. FIG. 35 is a view for explaining the situation where the magnetic spheres are separated from the circulation path and discharged. FIG. 36 is a view for explaining a state in which the magnetic spheres reach the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface.

  As shown in FIG. 28, the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20 has a deformed ball discharging function and a magnetic ball discharging function. The irregularly shaped ball is a spherical object such as a bearing having a diameter smaller than that of the regular game ball. The deformed ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20 is a transparent resin molded product, and is disposed in the lower portion (the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharging unit accommodating portion 19) of the gaming machine main body, and the front side is a front plate (not shown) It has a configuration in which the side is covered by a back plate (ball receiving base 201). As a safe ball that won the out ball and various winning openings that flowed down without winning in various winning openings (special fluctuation winning device, general winning opening, normal fluctuation winning device) in the upper part A recovery port 202 is provided for recovering the game balls of the present invention. The out ball flows into the recovery port 202 through the out port 42 (see FIGS. 2, 3 and 5). The safe ball flows into the recovery port 202 via the winning port 41 (see FIG. 5).

  The circulation path in the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 communicating with the recovery port 202 is formed by meandering the inside of the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 to the left and right and folded up and down. A detection switch 203, a deformed ball discharge unit 204, a magnetic ball discharge unit 205, a ball path full detection switch 206, and a ball proper amount detection switch 207 are provided. The gaming balls having flowed into the collection port 202 move in the circulation path in the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20 in one row, and reach the ball collecting portion 21 connected to the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20. However, the deformed balls and magnetic balls are separated from the regular game ball circulation path in the deformed ball and magnetic ball discharging unit 20 and discharged out of the deformed ball and magnetic ball discharging unit 20 so as not to move to the ball assembly 21. Ru.

  Next, the movement of the gaming ball collected in the collection port 202 in the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20 will be described in order. The number of gaming balls collected in the collection port 202 is counted one by one by the collection ball detection switch 203. The gaming ball having passed through the collection ball detection switch 203 reaches the odd-shaped ball discharge unit 204. When the difference in the number of gaming balls detected by the collected ball detection switch 203 and the launch ball detection means increases, it is possible to detect that an abnormality has occurred in the gaming machine.

  The deformed ball discharge portion 204 includes a deformed ball discharge portion base 208 fixed to a deformed ball discharge portion mounting portion 212 provided on the ball receiving base 201 and two fixed to the deformed ball discharge portion base 208. It comprises a spherical ball separating shaft 209, 210.

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

  FIG. 33 is a diagram for explaining the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharge unit separately into the odd-shaped ball discharge unit and the magnetic ball discharge unit. The irregular-shaped ball | bowl discharge part 204 is shown in figure by Fig.33 (a). The magnetic ball discharge part 205 is shown in figure by FIG.33 (b).

  The odd-shaped ball discharge unit 204 uses the difference in diameter between the regular game ball and the false ball to exclude the false ball having a diameter smaller than the regular game ball from the circulation path in the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20. . As shown in FIG. 30, the deformed ball discharge portion 204 is provided with two cross-sectionally circular deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210 arranged in parallel from the upstream side 213 to the downstream side 214 of the circulation path. In the upstream side 213, the clearance distance between the two deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210 is provided in order to exclude the irregular shaped balls, that is, the inelastic balls having a diameter smaller than the regular gaming balls from the circulation path through which the regular gaming balls circulate. The deformed ball separating shaft is narrower than the regular gaming ball diameter and wider on the downstream side 214 than the regular gaming ball diameter, that is, the distance between the two deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210 is gradually increased. 209 and 210 are fixed to the deformed ball discharge portion base 208.

  The game balls flowing down one by one into the deformed ball discharge unit 204 via the collection port 202 and the collected ball detection switch 203 flow down while rolling so as to straddle the two deformed ball separation shafts 209 and 210. Do. On the upstream side, since the gap distance between the two deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210 is narrower than the diameter of the regular game ball, the regular game balls do not fall from between the deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210.

  On the other hand, an irregular ball which is a deformed ball having a diameter smaller than that of the regular game ball falls from between the two deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210. The dropped deformed balls are discharged to the outside of the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 from the deformed ball discharge port 216 through the deformed ball discharge path 215 as shown in FIG. 33 (a). The deformed ball discharge path 215 is formed by a deformed ball discharge path forming member 217 mounted on the front side of the ball bearing base 201 and below the deformed ball discharge base 208. In addition, the connection path 218 which leads the ball which has the same diameter as a regular game ball to the magnetic ball discharge part 205 is also integrally provided in the shape ball discharge path formation member 217. As shown in FIG.

  The game ball of a regular size that rolls down the two deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210 drops from the space between the two deformed ball separating shafts 209 and 210 on the downstream side 214, and the communication path 218 Then, the circulation path 219 formed in the magnetic ball discharge portion 205 is reached.

  The magnetic ball discharge portion 205 is fixed to the ball support base 201 as shown in FIG. FIG. 33 shows a state in which the magnetic ball discharge portion 205 is removed from the ball bearing base 201. The magnetic ball discharge portion 205 is formed with an inclined surface 220 connected to the communication path 218, and the downstream side of the inclined surface 220 is connected to a falling surface 221 which descends sharply, and the inclined surface 220 is extended to the location The magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 is formed. A gap of the discontinuous portion 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 portion 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 the magnet 229 is attached to the magnet housing space 230 on the back surface of the ceiling wall 225. The magnet housing space 230 is formed as a rectangular space disposed along the back surface side of the ceiling wall 225 in cross section. The magnet 229 is a flat magnet and is a permanent magnet having an N pole or an S pole on one side and an S pole or an N pole on the other side. The magnetic force of the magnet is not so strong that the game ball (magnetic ball 232) made of magnetic material is adsorbed and the rolling is inhibited, and it flows down the area of the inclined surface 220 and falls from the discontinuous portion 223 However, it is sufficient if it can reach the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface 222. The magnet to be attached may be a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.

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

  On the other hand, the irregular sphere (magnetic sphere 232) made of a magnetic substance adheres 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. It rolls down from the side to the downstream side by the action of gravity. Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the magnetic spheres 232 reach the region of the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface 222 (see FIG. 28) as shown in FIG. 36 without falling from the discontinuous portion 223. The irregular sphere made of magnetic material that has reached the area of the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 is discharged from the magnetic ball discharge port 227 through the magnetic ball discharge path 226 to the outside of the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 (see FIG. 34). ).

  A portion of the ceiling wall 225 above the magnetic ball discharge inclined surface 222 is configured as a magnetic force adjustment unit 231. The magnetic force adjustment unit 231 is formed such that the distance between the magnet housing space 230 and the magnetic ball discharge path 226 is increased 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 adjustment unit 231. As a result, the distance between the magnetic spheres 232 and the magnets 229 increases in the downstream direction of the magnetic sphere discharge path 226. Then, the magnetic force (attractive force) of the magnet 229 acting on the magnetic sphere 232 gradually decreases. Therefore, the magnetic spheres 232 stuck to the wall of the ceiling wall 225 and moved in the downstream direction are separated from the wall of the ceiling wall 225 and fall on the magnetic sphere discharge inclined surface 222. Then, it is discharged from the magnetic ball discharge port 227 through the magnetic ball discharge path 226.

  The irregular sphere and the irregular ball of the magnetic body are discharged from the irregular sphere discharge port 216 and the magnetic sphere discharge port 227 respectively to the outside of the spherical / magnetic sphere discharge unit 20 (FIG. 34). The deformed balls or magnetic balls discharged from the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20 are collected in the discharged ball receiving box 234 (see FIGS. 2, 3 and 5). As described above, the irregular sphere / magnetic sphere ejection unit 20 can be used to exclude the irregular sphere and the irregular sphere comprising the magnetic body from the circulation path 219 of the regular gaming sphere. In this embodiment, the configuration can be simplified by utilizing gravity for discharging the deformed sphere and the magnetic sphere to the outside of the deformed sphere / magnetic sphere discharging unit 20. The deformed ball discharge path 215 is disposed along the side surface of the magnetic ball discharge portion 205, so that the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 can be made compact.

  The odd-shaped ball / magnetic-ball discharging unit 20 can eliminate the irregular ball consisting of the odd-shaped ball or the magnetic body from the circulation path 219 of the regular game ball without stopping the game, and the player's interest is reduced. In the meanwhile, it is possible to reduce the chance that employees of the game hall are called to each game machine to process an incorrect ball and deal with the problems of the game machine. The deformed ball discharge unit 204 and the magnetic ball discharge unit 205 may be configured independently. That is, when discharging the odd-shaped ball is performed by another component in the gaming machine, the magnetic ball discharging unit 205 may be configured alone.

  And one embodiment of the enclosed ball type game machine of the present invention is arranged on the upper part of the main body frame, the main body frame in which the gaming board in which the game area is divided and formed, the above-mentioned game board is inserted and accommodated, A ball striking device for firing game balls toward the game area, and the gaming ball fired by the ball striking device is collected as an enclosed ball on the back side of the game board to eliminate illegal balls and the ball striking device again. And the enclosed spheres arrayed and stored in the arrayed passage formed in a part of the circulating path based on the drive of the electric drive source, and In the game control process, it is connected to enable the ball feeding device to send to the launch position of the hit launching device individually, the main control board for performing game control processing related to the game, and the two-way data communication with the main control board. The main control board Increase / decrease control of the number of balls based on the winning ball command to be transmitted and the ball number information of the launch ball launched by the hit launching device, the launch control of the gaming ball by the hit launching device, and the ball feeding device A ball information control board for performing sending control of the game ball to the launch position by the game controller, and circulating a predetermined number of game balls in a closed manner and playing a game without paying out the game ball The ball hitting and launching device performs a ball striking action based on the drive of an electric drive source and a firing rail for holding the gaming ball in the firing position, and the gaming ball held in the firing position. And a launch ball confirmation means for detecting a game ball held in the launch position, and the ball information control board is configured to launch the launch ball over a predetermined time period. By means of confirmation The shooting ball is determined to be the presence of a shooting ball when the game ball parked at the shooting position is detected, and the shooting is performed under the condition that the shooting ball detection determining means determines that the shooting ball is present. When the game ball is not detected by the ball checking means, it is determined that the game ball held at the shooting position has been fired, and the ball number subtracting means reduces the ball holding number by one. .

  According to the above-described embodiment, the launch ball detection / determination unit determines that the launch ball is present when the launch ball confirmation unit detects the game ball being held at the launch position for a predetermined specified time. If the shooting ball is not detected by the shooting ball checking means, the game ball having been held at the shooting position is determined to have been fired, provided that the shooting ball detection determining means has determined that the shooting ball is present, By reducing one by one, if noise enters the launch ball confirmation means, it is possible to eliminate the false sphere count of the launch ball due to the noise, it is possible to increase the certainty in the detection of the launch ball, And magnetic balls can be excluded from the circulation path through which regular gaming balls circulate.

[Spherical assembly 21]
FIG. 37 is a front left perspective view of the ball collecting portion and the ball lifting device, FIG. 38 is a front view of the ball collecting portion and the ball lifting device, and FIG. It is a front view showing. FIG. 40 is a rear perspective view showing the case of the ball assembly and the cover of the ball lift device removed, and FIG. 41 is an enlarged rear perspective view of the ball assembly in FIG. 41 is a further enlarged view of FIG. 41, and FIG. 43 is a plan view from which the case of the spherical assembly is removed.

  The ball collecting portion 21 (FIG. 41) has a ball feeding passage 275, a brushing cartridge 251, a brushing cartridge mounting portion 273 (FIG. 39), and a lift inlet / outlet switch 156. The ball feed passage 275 is a groove structure having walls on both sides disposed at the lower part of the entire ball assembly 21 and has a ball socket 275a connected to the ball outlet (not shown) of the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20; It has a ball feed port 275b opened in the ball feed rotating body 350 (described later) (FIGS. 41, 42, 43).

  The ball brushing cartridge mounting portion 273 is an opening provided in the ball assembly portion 21 for detaching the ball brushing cartridge 251 described later (FIG. 39). The ball brushing cartridge 251 is detachable from the front side of the gaming machine in the ball brushing cartridge mounting portion 273, and the ball brushing cloth 263 is a portion of the ball brushing cartridge 251 facing the ball lifter 22 described later. It is arranged (FIG. 41). The lift inlet switch 156 is provided on the outside of one of the walls constituting the ball feed passage 275, and detects the presence or absence of gaming balls passing through the ball feed passage 275 (FIG. 41).

[Ball feeder 22]
FIG. 44 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the upper gearbox and the lower gearbox have been removed. FIG. 45 is a right side view showing a state in which the cover of the ball transport device is removed, and FIG. 46 is an enlarged view of a portion (A) in FIG. 47 is an exploded view of the screw, FIG. 48 is a perspective view showing an upper portion of the ball lift apparatus, and FIG. 49 is a fitted / not fitted state of the screw and the fitting member. FIG.

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

The spiral base cover 352 and the pumping unit cover 353 are cover members 368 disposed to surround the screw 25 and are made of transparent resin (acrylic resin). The spiral base cover 352 is provided with an opening 281 at an angle in a portion opposed to the brushing cartridge 251 in the ball collecting portion 21 (FIG. 39).
Further, the upper surface of the cover member 368 is formed with a projection for installing the lower surface of an upper gearbox 356 described later (FIG. 69).

  The screw 25 is vertically disposed inside the rectangular tubular cover member 368 from the base to the upper end of the ball lift device 22. The cover member 368 is disposed so as to surround the screw 25 by assembling the spiral base cover 352 and the lift section cover 353. The screw 25 is composed of a screw shaft 25a, two small pitch ridges 25b located at the top and bottom, and four large pitch ridges 25c located at the center (FIG. 45). . These are fitted into the screw shaft 25a.

  The small pitch ridge member 25b is composed of a cylindrical portion 25e and a spiral ridge 25d (FIG. 45). As shown in FIG. 47, the small-pitch projecting rib members 25b are assembled by sandwiching the screw shaft 25a between the half body 25bR and the half body 25bL which are divided into two in a vertical plane including the screw shaft 25a. It is considered one. On the cut surface of the cylindrical portion 25e, a pair of a concave portion 25g and a convex portion 25h for assembling the half members 25bR and 25bL on both sides is formed up and down. it can.

  Further, an upper edge concave portion 25j opened upward is formed at the upper edge 25i of the half members 25bR and 25bL, and a lower edge convex portion 25m projecting downward is formed at the lower edge 25k. The upper edge concave portion 25j and the lower edge convex portion 25m couple the small pitch ridge member 25b and the large pitch ridge member 25c in the vertical direction, and transmit the rotation to each other.

  The same applies to the large pitch ridges 25c, and the same reference numerals are given and the specific description is omitted. However, the pitch of the spiral ridges 25d is larger than that of the small pitch ridges 25b. And although the part which the helical protrusion 25d of the small pitch protrusion member 25b and the helical protrusion 25d of the large pitch protrusion member 25c continue changes in pitch, it is continued smoothly. The large pitch ridge member 25c is composed of a half body 25cR and a half body 25cL.

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

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

  Further, as shown in FIG. 49, in the small pitch ridge member 25b of the lower portion of the screw 25, the lower edge convex portion 25m is formed integrally with the fitting concave portion 366a of the fitting member 366 integrally formed on the lower lift gear 362. It is fitted using a concavo-convex fitting, and is driven to rotate integrally with the screw shaft 25 a and the lower feed gear 362.

  The ball lift motor 150 is a motor for driving the screw 25 and is attached to the lower surface of the upper gearbox 356 in the ball lift device 22 (FIGS. 38 and 48).

  The upper gearbox 356 is disposed at the upper end of the ball transportation device 22 and accommodates and axially supports the ball transportation motor gear 358, the idle gear 359, and the upper transportation gear 360 (FIGS. 40 and 44). . The ball lift motor gear 358 is fixed to the drive shaft of the ball lift motor 150 and meshes with the idle gear 359. The idle gear 359 is a two-step gear in which the upper gear with many teeth and the lower gear with less teeth on the lower surface are integrated, and the ball lift feed motor gear 358 is engaged with the upper gear, and the lower gear is It meshes with the upper delivery gear 360. These gears are spur gears, and the vertical size of the upper gearbox is reduced. The upper delivery gear 360 is fixed to the upper end of the screw shaft 25a. By these gear configurations, the screw 25 is driven and rotated by the ball lift 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 collecting portion 21 and accommodates and rotatably supports the lower lifting gear 362 and the ball feed rotating gear 363 (see FIG. 44). The lower feed gear 362 is fixed to the lower end of the screw shaft 25 a and meshes with the ball feed rotary gear 363. The gear ratio of the ball feed rotary gear 363 and the lower feed gear 362 is 2: 1.

  The ball feed rotary body 350 is fixed to the gear shaft 363 a of the ball feed rotary body gear 363, and the ball feed rotary body 350 is driven and rotated by the ball feed rotary body gear 363. The ball feed rotating body 350 is a low cylindrical member disposed corresponding to the ball feed port 275b of the ball feed passage 275 in the ball collecting portion 21, and in this embodiment, it is played at intervals of 180 degrees in the peripheral portion. A ball engagement recess 350a is provided to receive the ball. The ball engagement recess 350a has a depth that accommodates about half of the gaming ball (FIG. 43).

  The ball feeding inclined portion 351 (FIG. 42) is a member formed around the ball feeding rotating body 350 and having a slope for lifting the gaming ball. The range in which the ball feed inclined portion 351 exists is a ball feed rotary body 350 screwing a game ball from the position of the ball feed port 275b which is the ball feed rotary body side outlet of the ball feed passage 275 in the rotation direction of the ball feed rotary body 350. It is a 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 rotary 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. A slope 351a rising to a high delivery position, and a top slope 351b protruding from the top thereof toward the screw 25 and slope 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 delivery position with respect to the rotation direction of the ball feed rotating body 350.

  The positional relationship in plan view of the ball feeding rotary body 350 and the screw 25 is a positional relationship which can receive the gaming balls dropped from the top inclined surface 351b between the pitches of the spiral ridges 25d. In addition, a cover member 368 (not shown) is disposed along the outer periphery of the ball feeding inclined portion 351 to the vicinity of the delivery position to prevent the game ball from falling from the inclined surface 351a.

  A guide block 365 (FIG. 42, FIG. 43) is disposed on the upper surface of the lower gearbox 357 in proximity to the lower front side of the screw 25. The guide block 365 has an arcuate ball guide surface 365a adjacent to the spiral ridge 25d of the screw 25 and a stopper surface 365b following it. The ball 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).

The lifting guide rails 282 are arranged in parallel two adjacent to each other in parallel with the screw 25 and have a role of a guide for guiding the gaming balls lifted by the screw 25 linearly upward, about 5 mm in diameter No. 4 rod-shaped guide member. The lifting guide rail 282 is located substantially opposite to the ball feeding rotating body 350 with respect to the rotational direction of the screw 25, and corresponds to the upper end equivalent position of the opening 281 (FIG. 39) provided diagonally in the spiral base cover 352. It is vertically disposed upward, and its upper end is fixed to the lower surface of the upper gearbox 356. The interval between the two adjacent lifting guide rails 282 is a width (5 to 8 mm at the inner interval of the lifting guide rails 282) that the gaming balls (diameter 11 mm) can not pass through.
In addition, since the gaming balls are lifted while being brought into contact with the guide rails 282, the lifting guide rails 282 have a low coefficient of friction and guide from the gaming balls generated by the rotation of the screw 25. It is assumed to have rigidity to such an extent that it is not deformed by the pressure applied to the rail 282. It is preferable to use stainless steel as the material.

The support member 367 is a cushion member that prevents the deformation of the lifting guide rail 282 and absorbs the vibration transmitted between the gaming ball and the lifting guide rail 282 and to the upper launch device 12, and the lifting guide rail A portion for maintaining the 282 in the original position, having a thickness enough to be inserted between the cover member 368 consisting of the spiral base cover 352 and the lift portion cover 353 and the lift guide rail 282 It is a plate-like block member, and the side in contact with the cover member 368 is a flat surface, and the side on which the lifting guide rail 282 is supported has a recess.
The lifting guide rail 282 has a rigidity not to be deformed by the pressing force from the gaming ball to the guide rail 282 generated by the rotation of the screw 25, but the pressing force from the gaming ball is applied over a long period of time Since the lifting guide rail 282 is gradually deformed in the pressing direction and there is a possibility that the gaming balls may be removed from the guidance by the lifting guide rail 282, the deformation is restricted.

Further, since the clearance is taken for the portion where the game ball passes mainly, such as the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282, the design is made by, for example, vibration generated by driving the lifting and lowering motor 150 is screw. There is a possibility that noise may be generated between the lifting guide rail 282 and the game ball by conducting to the lifting guide rail 282, and further, the lifting device 22 is a cover member 368 with the screw 25 and lifting guide rail 282 etc. As a result, if abnormal noise occurs in the pumping device 22, resonance occurs and the sound becomes large. However, by arranging the support member 367, it is possible to absorb the vibration generated in the gaming machine and suppress the generation of abnormal noise.
The support members 367 can regulate the deformation of the guide rails 282 between the cover member 368 and the lifting guide rails 282, and arrange the number of the members so that noise does not occur due to vibration.

  The lift slope member 354 shown in FIG. 46 is a block member facing the upper end of the screw 25 and having a slope formed on the lower surface of the upper gearbox 356, and the slope intersects the path where the gaming balls are fed up. The game ball, which is vertically disposed by the screw 25, is horizontally turned and guided to the ball delivery rod 23.

  The ball delivery rod 23 is a passage provided at the upper end of the spiral base cover 352 and having a slope for feeding the gaming ball guided from the lift slope member 354 to the upper launch 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 rod 23 (FIG. 44, FIG. 48). The ball removal member 355 is a removable lid member, and can operate the lower knob to remove it from the side wall of the ball delivery rod 23 and open the opening provided in the side wall. The ball feeding rod 23 has a slanting portion, and a ball removing member 355 is disposed on the end wall of the slanting portion (FIG. 44).

  Furthermore, on the outer surface of the ball delivery rod 23, a launch ball standby ball detection switch 26 for detecting the presence or absence of a game ball is disposed (FIG. 45). When the shooting standby ball detection switch 26 does not detect a gaming ball, the screw 25 is driven and new gaming balls are supplied to the upper launching device 12 one ball at a time from the ball transportation device 22.

[Operation of Ball Assembly 21 and Ball Lifting Device 22]
The game balls sent from the deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 20 which constitutes a part of the circulation path are sent to the ball feed rotating body 350 in the ball lift device 22 through the ball feed passage 275 of the ball assembly 21. Be On the other hand, the screw 25 is rotated through the gear trains 358, 359, 360 by the drive of the ball lift motor 150, and the ball feeding rotary body 350 is rotated through the screw shaft 25a and the lower gear trains 362, 363. Since the gear ratio of the lower feed gear 362 and the ball feed rotary gear 363 is 2: 1, the ball feed rotary 350 makes one rotation by two rotations of the screw 25. The ball feed rotating body 350 receives the game balls from the ball feed passage 275 one ball at a time in the ball engagement recess 350a and rotates counterclockwise (FIG. 43).

After that, the game ball is engaged with the ball engagement recess 350a and moved by the rotation of the ball feed rotating body 350, and the remaining outer half moves along the inclined surface 351a of the ball feed inclined portion 351, and the top inclined surface It reaches 351b. Then, since the top inclined surface 351b is inclined downward, the gaming ball is fed from its position to the spiral ridge 25d of the small pitch ridge member 25b. At this time, the game balls sent from the top inclined surface 351b, which is slightly high, are separated from the subsequent game balls by a large distance, and separated one ball at a time.
In order to carry out stable feeding of the game balls, it is conceivable to make the end of the top inclined surface 351b and the delivery position of the game balls of the small pitch ridge members 25b substantially the same height.
Also, when the gaming ball is fed from the top inclined surface 351b to the small pitch ridge member 25d, it is possible to guide the gaming ball up to the small pitch ridge member 25d using rails, for example, instead of using the downward inclination. .
Also, when the difference between the end of the inclined surface 351a and the small pitch rib 25d at the lower part of the screw 25 receiving the game ball is small, the game ball may be dropped directly from the inclined surface 351a to the small pitch rib 25d. It is possible.

Next, the game ball moves along the ball guide surface 365a of the guide block 365 and collides with the stopper surface 365b as the small pitch rib member 25b rotates. During this time, the gaming ball ascends 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, the ball feed rotating body 350 is provided with the ball engagement recess 350a every 180 degrees as described above, and rotates at a half speed with respect to the screw 25. The gaming ball is supplied to the screw 25. Since one half rotation of the ball feeding rotary member corresponds to one pitch of the small pitch ridge member 25b, the game balls fed from the ball feeding rotary member 350 are always one ball to the pitch of the small pitch ridge member 25b. It feeds in one by one and continuously. (Figure 41).
That is, the game balls are prevented from being connected in a bead in the ball transport device 22.

  The brushing cloth 263 of the brushing cartridge 251 is in contact with the brushing cloth 263 through the opening 281. That is, the game balls are rubbed against the ball polishing cloth 263 through the opening 281 as the game balls are pumped by the screws 25 of the ball lift device 22, and the game balls are cleaned and balled (FIG. 39). And, by being guided obliquely upward, the area of the ball cloth 263 can be effectively used.

After passing through the opening 281, the gaming balls are lifted up to the upper end of the ball lifting device 22 with the rotation of the screw 25. At this time, the gaming balls are placed on the lifting guide rails 282 arranged in parallel. Guided and moved in a straight line. The guide rails 282 allow the vertical movement of the gaming ball lifted by the screw 25 and restrict the horizontal movement. During this time, the movement of the game ball is made relatively slow because the pitch is small at the small pitch ridge member 25a at the lower part, so that the ball support from the ball feed rotating body 350 is not disturbed. There is. In addition, the movement of the game ball is made relatively slow because the pitch is small even at the portion of the upper small pitch ridge member 25b, so that the ball feeding to the upper launch 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 lifting speed of the game balls is increased, so it is used as a large pitch rib member having a large pitch. The number of gaming balls circulated in the ball transport device 22 can be reduced. Further, this makes it possible to reduce the burden caused by the weight of the gaming ball on the screw 25 (FIG. 45).
Further, the term "lifting" in the present embodiment is used to mean that the game ball is continuously lifted from the lower part to the upper part of the gaming machine.

The gaming ball that has reached the upper end of the ball transport device 22 contacts the slope of the lift slope member 354 from the lower side, so that the movement direction of the game ball lifted by the screw 25 is from the vertical direction to the substantially horizontal direction. The game ball is smoothly fed from the ball delivery device 22 to the ball delivery rod 23 after being turned. Then, the gaming balls sent to the ball delivery rod 23 roll on the gentle slope of the ball delivery rod 23 and are fed to the upper launch device 12 (FIG. 46).
In this case, when the lifted game ball abuts on the slope portion of the lift slope member 354, the guide of the lift guide rail 282 is removed and the flow naturally falls on the floor surface of the ball delivery rod 23. Thus, the ball can be smoothly fed without the ball pressure being applied to the lifting guide rail 282 and the screw 25.

  When it is necessary to take out the circulating game balls from the gaming machine at the time of maintenance, etc., it can be easily discharged out of the game machine by operating the ball removing member 355 provided on the outer surface of the ball sending rod 23 ( Figure 37, Figure 48).

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

  In addition, although the small pitch ridge members 25b and the large pitch ridge members 25c are configured to be joined in half, they may be in the form of a cylinder integrally formed from the beginning. Furthermore, the entire screw 25 excluding the screw shaft 25a can be integrally molded by utilizing the molding technique of synthetic resin.

  In addition, the screw 25 and the lifting guide rail 282 are made of a material that is slippery and has a rigidity that does not deform due to the pressing force from the gaming ball to the lifting guide rail 282 generated by the rotation of the screw 25 Preferably, a metal such as aluminum or a synthetic resin may be used. In addition, it is conceivable that the helical ridge 25d uses a hardened silicon material or the like at least in a portion that receives the game balls from the ball feeding rotary body 350. Thereby, it is possible to absorb an impact generated when the gaming ball falls on the spiral protrusion 25 d.

  And although the lifting guide rail 282 in the present embodiment guides the gaming ball in the vertical direction by two rails, it is not limited to two rails, for example, the lifting guide rail 282 is one, and one more The guide may be configured to extend the inner wall of the cover member 368 in parallel with the lifting guide rail 282 to guide the gaming ball.

  Further, although the support member 367 is disposed between the cover member 368 consisting of the spiral base cover 352 and the lift section cover 353 and the lift guide rail 282, the cover is limited to absorption of vibration. Not limited to the member 368, for example, as shown in FIG. 70, the support member 367 may be disposed so as to cover both ends of the lifting guide rail 282. As a result, the player operates the vibration generated by the operation of an electric drive source such as a movable role (not shown) or a motor disposed on the game board, or the touch panel portion 14 disposed on the door frame 3. Since various vibrations generated in the gaming machine such as vibration caused by shocks are absorbed, the game balls may come off the guides of the guide rails and it may not be possible to lift or drop the game balls due to vibrations. Unstableness can be suppressed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the game balls are continuously sent out and transported one ball at a pitch of the spiral ridges 25d over the entire length of the screw 25, but the game balls are raised at all the pitches of the screws 25. The configuration is not limited to this as long as the game balls are continuously transported without being sent.

  The lift slope member 354 may have any structure as long as it can smoothly feed gaming balls which are vertically transported by the screw 25 and the transport guide rails 282 to the ball delivery rod 23, and is integrally formed with the upper gearbox 356 Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 67 and 68, the upper surface of the ball delivery passage 23 may be extended to above the transporting path of the gaming ball, and a slope may be formed on the lower surface of the extended portion.

  In addition, although the ball transportation device 22 of the present invention is configured to use the screw 25 to move the gaming balls, if the game balls are to be vertically transported and transported by being guided, the screws may be used. Not limited to this, various methods can be selected, such as a belt conveyor that can carry the gaming balls up continuously.

[Shine Polisher]
Next, a ball polishing apparatus for cleaning and polishing a game ball enclosed in a game machine will be described. The previously described FIG. 38 is a front view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is mounted for the ball polishing apparatus, and FIG. 39 described above has the ball polishing cartridge removed for the ball polishing apparatus. It is a front view which shows the state which was carried out.

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

  FIG. 53 and FIG. 54 show the state in which the ball polishing cloth of the gaming ball and the brushing cartridge is pressed against, and FIG. 53 shows the state in which the ball polishing cloth for the gaming ball and the brushing cartridge is against 54 is a left side view showing a state in which the ball polishing cloth of the gaming ball and the ball polishing cartridge is pressed against, and FIG. 55 is a view of FIG. 54 with the left side cover of the ball polishing cartridge removed. It is a left side view showing a closed state. FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the brushing cartridge in FIG.

  Next, FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is mounted, and FIG. 58 is a perspective view showing a state in which the right outer side cover is removed for explaining the inside of the right side cover in FIG. FIG. 59 is an upper perspective view showing a state in which the right side cover is opened in FIG. 60 is a perspective view of a brushing 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 FIGS. 38 and 50, the ball collecting portion 21 is provided at the lower part of the ball feeding device 22 and the ball brushing cartridge 251 is mounted on the ball polishing cartridge mounting portion 270 of a part of the ball collecting portion 21. Is supposed to be wearable. Here, the outside of the ball transport device 22 is formed of a transparent plastic member, and even if a game ball is clogged in the ball transport device 22, the location where the clog occurs can be easily viewed. It is supposed to be. As shown in FIG. 51, the brushing cartridge 251 mounted on the brushing cartridge mounting portion 270 is provided on the brushing cartridge mounting portion 270, and one end thereof is supported on the shaft and the other end is rotated. When the other end of the ball polishing cartridge fixing lever 271 which is made possible is hooked to the ball polishing cartridge fixing stopper 272 similarly provided in the ball assembling portion 21, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is pressed in the back direction and the left direction. It has a structure. In FIG. 51, in order to make it easy to understand the movement mode of the brushing cartridge fixing lever 271, both the open and closed states of the brushing cartridge fixing lever 271 are described together.

  FIG. 39 is a front view showing the state in which the brushing cartridge 251 is removed. As shown in FIG. 39, the brushing cartridge mounting portion 270 has a brushing cartridge mounting port 273 formed of a hollow portion to which the brushing cartridge 251 can be mounted. In FIG. 39, a mounting sensor 291 and a drive shaft 290 are provided inside the brushing cartridge fixing lever 271 and the brushing cartridge mounting portion 270 for easy viewing, and can be seen from the brushing cartridge mounting port 273. The description is omitted.

  FIG. 66 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the ball brushing cartridge mounting port 273 of FIG. 39. At the back of the ball brushing cartridge mounting port 273 inside the ball brushing cartridge mounting portion 270 and downward to the right side, the second of the ball brushing cartridge 251 is coaxial with the second drive gear 257 shown in FIG. A drive shaft 290 is provided to be engaged with the first gear shaft 261, and a mounting sensor 291 having a pushable button 292 is provided above the right side face. Mounting of the brushing cartridge 251 is detected by pressing the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 by a series of mounting operations of the brushing cartridge 251. Specific modes of the mounting operation will be described later.

  In a portion of the deepest portion of the ball brushing cartridge mounting portion 270 facing the ball lifter 22, the ball lifter 22 advances the ball brushing cloth 263 of the ball brushing cartridge 251, the long side of which will be described later. An opening 281 having an angle different from the direction is provided. As a result, a shift occurs in the direction of movement of the gaming balls and the direction of movement of the ball polishing cloth 263, so that only a portion in the width direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 having a predetermined width is used. It becomes possible to effectively utilize the width of 263 to clean and polish the game ball.

  Furthermore, the width of the long sides of the opening 281 allows at least a part of the peripheral portion of the gaming ball lifted by the ball lift 22 to protrude outside the ball lift 22 at the position of the opening. The width is set to be smaller than the diameter of the gaming ball, and in the present embodiment, the width of the long sides of the opening 281 is set to 8.4 mm with respect to the diameter 11 mm of the gaming ball. The game ball is projected about 1.5 mm from the opening 281 toward the ball polishing cloth 263 side.

  As a result, during the game period, the gaming balls being pumped and transported in the ball pumping device 22 have a part of the peripheral portion protruding outside the ball pumping device 22 at the position of the opening 281, so that the ball is polished It becomes possible for the ball polishing cloth 263 of the cartridge 251 to come into contact with the gaming ball. In particular, when the ball polishing cartridge 251 has an elastic member so that the ball polishing cloth 263 is pressed against the gaming ball, the ball polishing cloth 263 can be more reliably brought into contact with the gaming ball. Reliable ball polishing is possible.

  In addition, even if the ball polishing cartridge 251 is removed in a state where gaming balls are left in the lifting device 22 during a time zone outside the gaming period, the width of the opening 281 becomes smaller than the diameter of the gaming balls As a result, the gaming balls left in the pumping device 22 do not fall to the side of the brushing cartridge mounting portion 273 of the brushing cartridge 251.

  FIG. 52 is a perspective view showing a state during mounting of the brushing cartridge 251 from the state of FIG. As can be seen from FIGS. 39 and 52, in the present embodiment, the brushing 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 brushing 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. In addition, 268 is a game ball contact mark, and as shown in FIG. 39, the lifting direction of the gaming ball by the ball transport device 22 and the winding direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 are Since the game ball contact marks 268 are formed at an inclination with respect to the long side direction of the ball polishing cloth 263 because they are at different angles with respect to the vertical direction.

  FIG. 53 and FIG. 54 show the state in which the ball polishing cloth of the gaming ball and the brushing cartridge is pressed against, and FIG. 53 shows the state in which the ball polishing cloth for the gaming ball and the brushing cartridge is against FIG. 54 is a left side view showing a state in which the ball polishing cloth of the gaming ball and the brush cartridge is pressed against.

  As shown in FIG. 53 and FIG. 54, the gaming balls are 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 brushing cartridge 251 is used. At the opposite position, the gaming balls come into contact with the ball polishing cloth 263 of the ball polishing cartridge 251 through the opening 281 of the ball pumping device 22, and the game balls are pumped by the screws 25 of the ball pumping device 22. Thus, the ball 263 is rubbed against the ball cloth 263 so that the game ball is cleaned and balled.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 53 and FIG. 54, the screw 25 in the ball feeding device 22 is different in shape between the upper and lower portions and the middle portion. In the upper and lower parts, the inclination angle of the spiral of the screw 25 (the spiral ridge 25d in FIG. 47) is reduced to narrow the pitch, while in the middle part, the inclination angle of the screw spiral is increased to reduce the pitch It is also wide. In the middle part, since it is not necessary to take time for lifting, it is possible to lift the game ball in a short time by increasing the inclination angle of the spiral to increase the lifting speed, and the middle portion The number of gaming balls included in can be reduced, and the number of gaming balls sealed inside the gaming machine can be reduced.

  In addition, by narrowing the pitch interval in the lower part, the game ball and the ball polishing cloth 263 can be reduced by reducing the pumping speed of the game ball at the portion of the ball polishing cartridge 251 facing the ball polishing cloth 263. It is possible to reliably clean the ball and polish the ball by prolonging the contact time with the player. Furthermore, by narrowing the pitch interval in the upper part, it is possible to reduce the pumping speed of the gaming ball at the pumping end of the ball pumping device 22, and the ball from the ball pumping device 22 to the ball feeding rod 23 It is possible to send the game ball to the ball delivery rod 23 smoothly without the occurrence of trouble such as ball biting at the time of delivery.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 54, the ball transport device 22 is provided with two guide rails 282 for guiding the transport of the game balls. The distance between the two guide rails is set to the same size as the diameter of the game ball, but adjustments are also made such that the portion where the behavior of the game ball being pumped may become intense is somewhat narrowed and stabilized. be able to. Thus, the gaming balls are transported within the ball transport device 22 so that both guide rails support both sides.

  55 is a left side view showing a state in which the left side cover of the brushing cartridge is removed in FIG. 54. FIG. FIG. 56 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the brushing cartridge in FIG. Here, 259 is a take-up roller, and 260 is a driven roller, to which the driving force from a ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 described later is transmitted. The rotation of the second drive gear 257 configured to be coaxial with the take-up roller 259 causes the take-up roller 259 to rotate, and the frictional force between the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260 causes the ball polishing cloth to 263 is taken up.

  Further, a ball polishing cloth 263 is disposed at a portion of the ball polishing cartridge 251 facing the ball pumping device 22, and a tensioner 267 having a function of pressing the ball polishing cloth 263 is provided behind the ball polishing cloth 263. Behind the tensioner 267, there are provided a tensioner 267 and two coil-shaped ball-pressing cloth pressing springs 264 having a function of pressing the ball-polishing cloth 263 against the game ball. Further, behind the brushed cloth pressing spring 264, a spring presser 266 for supporting the brushed cloth pressing spring 264 is provided. In addition, a flat spring 265 is provided on the top of the brushing cartridge, and the brushing cloth 263 is lightly pressed and aligned by the leaf spring 265 so that the brushing cloth 263 faces the ball lifter 22. It plays a role in aligning before sending.

  The brushed cloth 263 taken up by the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260 is stored in the ball brushing cartridge 251. In FIGS. 55 and 56, the take-up roller 259 and the driven roller 260 are used. The description of the brushing cloth 263 inside the brushing cartridge after being taken up is omitted.

  FIG. 57 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ball polishing cartridge is mounted, and reference numeral 253 denotes a right side cover, which is constituted by a right outer side cover 253a and a right inner side cover 253b and is integrated. A second drive gear case 258 covers a second drive gear 257 described later. FIG. 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 in FIG. 57 for explanation, 253b is a right inner side cover, and 155 is a ball polishing ribbon It is a feed motor, and in the ball brushing cartridge 251, it is a driving source for winding up the ball brushing cloth 263. Further, the rear side end portion of the right side cover 253 is provided with a hinge 255 engaged with the hinge receiving portion 254, and the right side cover 253 is rotatable around the hinge 255 as a fulcrum. In the present embodiment, the ball brushing ribbon feed motor 155 is a stepping motor. The specific driving mode of the brushing 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 is rotatable around a hinge 255 engaged 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 brush (not shown) is rotated by driving the brushed ribbon feed motor 155 coaxially with the rotational axis of the brushed ribbon feed motor 155. A drive gear is provided, and in the present embodiment, a gear having 16 teeth is used. Further, similarly, a second drive gear that is coaxial with the drive shaft 290 and engaged with the first drive gear is also provided between the right outer side cover 253a and the right inner side cover 253b. I use the gear.

  Next, the mounting operation and the mounting detection of the brushing cartridge 251 will be described. FIG. 64 is a perspective view of the brushing cartridge mounting portion 270, and FIG. 65 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the brushing cartridge 251 and the brushing cartridge mounting portion 270. As shown in FIG. The brushing cartridge mounting portion 270 is configured such that the brushing cartridge mounting port 273 is expanded with the hinge portion as a fulcrum (direction A in FIG. 64) by rotating the right side cover 253 with the hinge 255 as a fulcrum. There is.

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

  When the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is pressed while the power of the gaming machine is on, it is detected that the brush cartridge 251 is properly mounted, and no notification is given. Nevertheless, when the button 292 of the mounting sensor 291 is not pressed down, notification is made that the ball brush cartridge 251 is not properly mounted. A mode of the notification can be notified by displaying on the display device (not shown) that the gaming machine is usually provided and performs effect display according to the mode of the game, indicating that the ball brush cartridge 251 is not attached. . In addition, as another notification mode, notification can also be made by lighting or blinking a decoration lamp for effect, or a dedicated lamp indicating the mounting state of the ball brush cartridge 251 in a predetermined mode.

  In addition, in the enclosed ball type gaming machine as in the present embodiment, since the game is performed by circulating the gaming ball enclosed in the gaming machine, the game is continued for a long time without cleaning the gaming ball. Then, since there is a possibility that dirt to the game ball will be accumulated and rolling of the game ball may be deteriorated, it is preferable to clean the game ball by the ball polishing apparatus in any way along the circulation path of the game ball. However, since the game can not be played without the ball-shine device, even if it is detected that the ball-shine cartridge is not attached, the game can be continued only by notifying with the display device or the lamp. it can.

  Further, the game time by the player is accumulated and measured by the measuring means (not shown) by the detection by the touch switch 87 provided on the handle. In the present embodiment, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155 is fed one step each time the cumulative measurement time by the measurement means is one minute. In this embodiment, since the diameter of the take-up roller 259 is 25 mm, the circumferential length is about 78.5 mm (= 25 × 3.14), the first drive gear 256 and the second drive gear 257 The feed rate of the brushed cloth 263 per step is 0.11 mm (= 78.5 / 360/2) in consideration of the fact that the gear ratio of the gear is 1/2.

In the present embodiment, the ball polishing cartridge 251 is held down and fixed by hooking the lever to the stopper, but the method of fixing is not limited to this method, and other fixing is possible. Methods can also be used.
Further, in the present embodiment, although the coil-shaped ball-polished cloth holding spring 264 is used as a means for holding the ball-polished cloth 263 against the gaming ball, the holding means is not limited to this, and other Shaped springs or other elastic members can also be used.

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

  Further, in the present embodiment, the ball-polished cloth 263 of the ball-polished cartridge 251 is used as a method of making the lifting direction of the gaming ball by the ball-lifting device 22 different from the winding direction of the ball-polished cloth 263 of the ball-polished cartridge 251. Is transported in the vertical direction, and the transporting direction of the game balls of the ball transport device 22 of the portion facing the ball polishing cloth 263 is transported in the direction inclined from the vertical direction, but as a method, The transport direction of the ball polishing cloth of the ball polishing cartridge 251 is inclined from the vertical direction with the transport direction of the gaming balls of the ball transport device 22 set to the vertical direction, and both are both inclined. Various methods can be selected, such as orientation.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as the mounting sensor 291 of the brushing cartridge 251, the pushable button 292 is provided, and the mounting of the brushing cartridge 251 is performed by pushing the button 292 by the mounting operation of the brushing cartridge 251. Although detected, the form of the mounting sensor 291 is not limited to these sensors, and other forms of sensors such as an optical sensor or a magnetic sensor may be used.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, even if it is detected by the mounting sensor 291 that the ball brushing cartridge 251 is not correctly mounted, the game can be continued only by giving a notification. When it is detected that the ball brushing cartridge 251 is not attached correctly, it is possible to prevent the player from playing a game.

[Seal operation of game ball]
Next, a description will be given of the sealing operation for sealing a predetermined number of gaming balls in the enclosed ball type gaming machine when the enclosed ball type gaming machine is newly installed or when the dirty gaming ball is once taken out and cleaned. Do. The filling operation is performed in a state where the power is not supplied to the filling ball type gaming machine. Therefore, the ball transport device 22 in the enclosed ball type game machine and various sensors are not activated.

In the enclosed ball type gaming machine, the gaming ball is fired to the gaming area by the launching device, and then, after rolling the gaming area, the gaming ball collected in the winning device or recovered from the out port 42 is It is conveyed to the launcher again, and is launched again to the game area in the launcher to play a game. That is, the circulation path of the game balls is formed as a whole.
The game ball may be introduced into the circulation path in the filling operation, and the game ball is introduced from the out port 42 in the present embodiment. As a result, there is no need to separately provide a sealing port for sealing the game ball in the filling ball type game machine, and the configuration of the filling ball type game machine can be simplified. Also, instead of the out port 42, a game ball may be introduced from the winning port 41 of the winning device. The game ball entering the winning opening 41 of the winning device also merges with the gaming ball entering the out port 42 and is then transported to the launcher, so the gaming ball is received from the winning opening 41 of the winning device Even when the game ball is introduced, the game ball can be put in the circulation path as in the case of introducing the game ball into the out port 42. In any case, when introducing the game ball, it is necessary to be careful not to hit the game ball, hand or the like with the nail. When introducing a game ball into the out port 42, by providing a game ball introducing member 427 described later, it is possible to prevent the game ball from nailing at the time of insertion. The out port 42 and the winning port 41 correspond to the game ball recovery port.

  FIG. 71 is a schematic view showing a state where the number of gaming balls does not reach a predetermined number when the gaming balls are sealed in the filling ball type gaming machine. As described above, at the time of the game ball filling operation, the ball lifter 22 is not driven because the power is not yet applied to the ball-in-ball type gaming machine. Therefore, the game balls inserted from the out port 42 and the winning port 41 enter from the recovery port 202, pass through the inside of the odd-shaped ball / magnetic ball discharging unit 20, and align with the front of the ball transport device 22 as the head.

  FIG. 72 shows a state where the game balls have been further inserted from the state of FIG. 71 and the number of game balls has reached a predetermined number. As shown in FIG. 72, when a predetermined number of game balls are enclosed, the game ball 233 inserted last is a discontinuous portion 223 of the magnetic ball discharge path 226 and the point at which the regular game ball path branches off. And is configured to close the discontinuity 223.

  FIG. 73 shows a state where game balls are further inserted from the state of FIG. 72 and game balls exceeding a predetermined number are inserted. As described above, when the predetermined number of game balls are sealed, the last inserted game ball 233 is configured to close the discontinuous portion 223, so the number of further inserted game balls is the predetermined number. The game ball 235 does not enter the path of the regular game ball 233 from the discontinuous portion 223, and is led from the magnetic ball discharge path 226 to the magnetic ball discharge chestnut 227 and collected.

  In the present embodiment, in the magnetic ball discharging portion, the discontinuous portion 223 to which the regular game ball 233 is guided when the predetermined number of game balls are sealed is closed to make the predetermined number or more of game balls into a magnetic ball. Although it is configured to collect in the discharge section, similarly in the irregular ball discharge path, when the predetermined number of gaming balls are enclosed, the path along which the legitimate gaming ball 233 is guided is closed and collected in the irregular ball discharge section. You can also do so.

  In addition, in order to improve efficiency when inserting the game ball into the out port 42, the game ball introducing member 427 is provided on the rail portion of the front component 45 located at the lower edge of the out port 42 (FIG. 74, FIG. 75). When the gaming ball is placed on the upper surface of the gaming ball introducing member 427, the gaming ball can be efficiently enclosed because the gaming ball is poured toward the out port 42. In addition, the game ball can be inserted without hitting the nearby nails.

  FIG. 74 is a perspective view showing the gaming ball introducing member 427 in a projecting state. The game ball introduction member 427 can be made to project by opening the door frame 3 and sliding it to the front.

  FIG. 75 is a perspective view showing a state in which the game ball introducing member 427 is accommodated. From the state of FIG. 74, since it becomes storable by pushing in the game ball introduction member 427 to the back, it does not inhibit the game.

  In the present embodiment, the game ball introducing member 427 is structured to be able to advance and retreat by manual sliding, but the invention is not limited to the above method, and a door frame may be formed using an urging member such as a spring. Various methods can be selected, such as automatically advancing and retracting by opening and closing 3.

In the present embodiment, the upper launcher 12 is attached and fixed to the upper left of the main body frame 2.
Therefore, when inserting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2 by installing a new machine, etc., the upper launch device 12 must be avoided and inserted. However, since the upper firing device 12 is disposed on the same surface on which the game board 5 is fitted, the difficulty of handling when the game board 5 is fitted is high, and the game board 5 is mistakenly inserted when the game board 5 is fitted. There may be a problem that the upper launcher 12 may be crashed to damage the upper launcher 12 and the game board 5. In order to prevent such a problem, a positioning guide member 450 that plays a role in 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 frame 2, and is pivotally supported by a hinge so as to be able to rotate about 90 degrees. . Further, since the game board 5 is not fitted into the main frame 2 because it is biased by a biasing member such as a spring, the place where the left side lower end and the front left lower end of the game board 5 are aligned is the front I turned to the side. In addition, a floor surface is formed to align the lower surface left end of the game board 5. In addition, in order to achieve stabilization at the time of fitting, the positioning guide member 450 in which the floor surface is not formed may be disposed above the positioning guide member 450 in which the floor surface is formed.

  When the game board 5 is fitted into the main frame 2, as shown in FIG. 98 (A), the front left lower end, the side lower end and the lower end of the game board 5 are aligned with the positioning guide member 450 to perform positioning. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 98 (B), with the positioning guide member as a fulcrum, turn the game board 5 to the main body frame 2 side, and fit in the main body frame 2 as shown in FIG. 98 (C). Do. By doing this, the positioning guide member 450 holds the front left lower end of the game board 5 to the main body frame 2 side when it is inserted, so that the positional relationship between the game board 5 and the main body frame 2 is fixed uniformly without play. , The launcher 38 of the upper launcher 12 and the launch area 40 of the game board 5 are fixed so as to be flush with each other, which is an obstacle when the game ball travels between the launch 38 and the game area 8 There is no step or the like, and stable firing 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, by inserting the game board 5 into the main body frame 2, the positioning guide member 450 is rotated in accordance with the insertion operation of the game board 5, so that it becomes a guide for pulling the game board 5 into the inserted position of the main body frame 2. Since the board 5 can be fitted into the main frame 2 without accidentally colliding with the upper launcher 12, the possibility of damaging the upper launcher 12 and the game board 5 due to a collision is reduced as much as possible. be able to.

  Next, an outline of control of the game machine 1 and the settlement machine 4 as an external device disposed adjacent to one side thereof will be described. FIG. 76 is a block diagram showing an essential part of an embodiment of a main control board provided in an enclosed ball type game machine and provided with an RTC. The control of the gaming machine 1 is roughly divided and divided between the main board group and the peripheral board group, among which the main board group controls the game operation, and the peripheral board group performs a rendering operation (liquid crystal display device 1400, Control the lamp, body frame lamp, door frame lamp and sound). The main board group is composed of a main control board 100 and a ball information control board 110, and the peripheral board group is composed of a peripheral control board 130.

[Main control board 100]
The main control board 100 is to control the game. The main control board 100 and the sphere information control board 110 described later are connected so as to enable two-way data communication. As shown in FIG. 76, the main control board 100 for controlling the progress of the game is a microprocessor that incorporates a ROM for storing various processing programs and various commands, a RAM for temporarily storing data, and the like. , 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.

  In addition to the built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in ROM") and the main control built-in RAM, the main control MPU 101 has a watchdog timer for monitoring its operation (system) and to prevent fraud. The function of etc. is also built in. Also, 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 maker that manufactured the main control MPU 101 (code having only one in the world) A unique ID code with a) is stored in advance. Since this once assigned ID code is stored in the non-volatile RAM, it can not be rewritten even using an external device. The main control MPU 101 can extract the ID code from the non-volatile RAM and refer to it.

[RTC control unit]
Further, the main control MPU 101 according to the embodiment is provided with an external real time clock (hereinafter referred to as “RTC”) 107 capable of acquiring time information as time information acquiring 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 to count 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 a RTC 107 and a battery 108 for driving the RTC 107. By providing the battery 108, the RTC 107 does not interrupt the clocking and calendar functions even when the power of the power supply substrate (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 complication of the configuration of the main control board 100. Can. The battery 108 is also used as a backup power supply for the RAM 109.

  The main control MPU 101 has a function of specifying year, month, day, hour, minute and second (calendar information and time information) by providing the RTC 107. The main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 acquires time information (hours / minutes / seconds) from the RTC 107 when the game machine is powered on.

  Upper starting opening detection switch 90 for detecting gaming balls that have won in the upper starting opening (not shown) arranged in the game area 8 of the gaming board 5 and gaming balls that have won for the lower starting opening (not shown) A detection signal from the lower starting opening detection switch 91 and the general winning opening detection switch 93 for detecting gaming balls having won in the general winning opening (not shown) is 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, gate switch 92 which detects the game ball which passes gate section (not shown), general winning a prize opening detection switch 94 which detects the game ball which wins in general winning a prize opening (not shown), big winning a prize opening (figure The detection signal from the count switch 98 for detecting the game ball winning a prize is first input to the main control input circuit 103 through 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.

  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 based on these detection signals, so that the start opening solenoid 96 and the large size through the panel relay terminal board 140 The drive signal is output to the winning opening solenoid 97, the main control I / O port 102, the panel relay terminal board 140, and the function display board 141, the upper special symbol display 142, the lower special symbol display 143, the upper special symbol A drive signal is output to the symbol memory indicator 144, the lower special symbol memory indicator 145, the normal symbol indicator 146, the normal symbol memory indicator 147, the game state indicator 148, and the round indicator 149.

  In addition, the main control MPU 101 transmits various information (game information) related to gaming and various commands related to winning balls to the ball information control board 110 in a serial manner, or the game machine from the ball information control board 110 Various commands related to the state 1 are received by the serial method. Further, the main control MPU 101 transmits various commands related to control of game effects 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, a decorative symbol for notifying the result of the determination of the acceptance or rejection on the display panel of the liquid crystal display device 1400) according to the received control command. The control related to the variable display of the row, the effect display accompanying this, the lamp, the sound, the operation of the movable decorative role for effect, etc.) is performed.

[Ball Information Control Board 110]
FIG. 77 is a block diagram showing the main part of a ball information control board 110 mainly provided in the enclosed ball type game machine. The ball information control board 110 is provided with a ball information control unit 118 which performs management of holding balls and various control regarding the ball lifting device 22, the shooting 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 ball information control board 110 are connected so as to enable two-way data communication.

[Ball information control unit 118]
The ball information control unit 118 is, as shown in FIG. 77, a ball information control MPU 111 which is a microprocessor including a ROM for storing various processing programs and various commands, a RAM for temporarily storing data, etc. A ball 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 ball information control MPU 111 is operating normally. A ball lifting motor drive circuit 114 for outputting a drive signal to the ball lifting motor 150 of the ball lifting apparatus 22 for lifting balls, and a ball information control input circuit to which detection signals from various detection switches are input Outputs drive signals to the CR unit input / output circuit 115 for exchanging various signals between the 113 and the settlement machine 4 and the brushed ribbon feed motor 155 A spherical polish ribbon feeding motor driving circuit 119 for, and a. In addition to the built-in ROM (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in ROM") and RAM (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in RAM"), the ball information control MPU 111 is illegal A function etc. are also built in to prevent it.

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

  A detection signal from the door frame opening switch 131 for detecting the opening of the door frame 3 to the body frame 2 and the body frame opening switch 132 for detecting the opening of the body frame 2 to the outer frame is first input to the ball information control input circuit 113. And is input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I / O port 112. Furthermore, a touch detection signal (ON signal) by the touch switch 87 for detecting whether the palm or finger touches the ball striking handle 10 is input to the ball information control board 110 via the handle relay terminal plate 123, and the touch is further performed. The detection signal is input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I / O port 112.

  Further, the ball information control MPU 111 is connected to the emission solenoid 13 through the emission solenoid drive circuit 120, and is connected to the ball feed solenoid 31 through the ball feed solenoid drive circuit 122, and the emission solenoid 13 according to the control output from the ball information control MPU 111. And the ball feed solenoid 31 is driven. In addition, the presence or absence of game balls supplied to the shot waiting ball detection switches 26, 70, the shot ball confirmation switch 36, the collected ball detection switch 203, the ball path full tank detection switch 206, the ball proper amount detection switch 207, and the ball lifter 22 A lift brush inlet switch 156 for detecting a lift, a lift motor sensor (photo sensor) 157 for detecting the number of rotations of a ball lift motor 150, and a ball brush cartridge containing a ball brush cloth ribbon A detection signal from the cassette detection switch 158 for detecting a signal is input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the sensor relay substrate 124 and is input to the ball information control MPU 111 via the ball information control I / O port 112. There is. The ball information control MPU 111 drives driving signals for driving the ball lift motor 150, the ball polishing ribbon feed motor 155, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feed solenoid 31 via the ball information control I / O port 112. Output to

  Further, the touch panel unit 14 is connected to the ball information control MPU 111 so as to be capable of display by the control output from the ball information control I / O port 112. In addition to relaying the electrical connection between the main control board 100 and the external terminal board 133, the ball information control board 110 also includes a door frame open switch 131, a main body frame open switch 132, and an external terminal board 133. Relays the electrical connection between The external terminal board 133 is electrically connected to a hall computer installed in the game arcade (hall).

  A detection signal from a touch switch 87 for detecting whether the palm or finger touches the ball striking handle 10 and a release stop switch 86 for detecting whether the launch of the game ball is forcibly stopped by the player's intention. Is input to the ball information control input circuit 113 via the handle relay terminal board 123 first. Further, when the settlement machine 4 and the ball information control board 110 are electrically connected, they are input to the CR unit input / output circuit 115 as a CR connection signal.

  Note that DC power supplies +24 V, +12 V, +5.2 V are supplied from a power supply substrate (not shown) to the ball information control substrate 110. Further, DC power supplies +24 V, +12 V, +5.2 V are supplied to the main control board 100 via the ball information control board 110.

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

[Electrical connection between game board 5 and main unit frame 2]
The electrical connection of the game board 5 to the main unit frame 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 99 is a block diagram showing a game board and a main unit frame connected using a drawer connector. The mechanical and electrical connection between the game board 5 and the main unit frame 2 is made by the connection by the 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. There is. By inserting the game board 5 into the body frame 2, the game board side main drawer connector and the body frame side main drawer connector, the game board side sub drawer connector and the body frame side sub drawer connector are connected, and the game board 5 And the body frame 2 are mechanically connected and at the same time electrically connected. Thus, electrical communication can be performed between the game board 5 and the main unit frame 2.

[Authentication of Main Control Board 100 and Ball Information Control Board 110]
As described above, when electrical communication can be performed between the game board 5 and the main unit frame 2, 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 function of the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 will be described with reference to FIG.

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

  The main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 in the present embodiment are capable of bidirectional data communication, and each MPU is a legitimate one by performing an authentication process between the boards when the power is turned on. It can be judged whether there is any. The details will be described below.

  The main control board 100 at least includes a main control MPU 101, and the main control MPU 101 determines whether the first MPU recognition number storage unit 101a storing the first MPU recognition number stored in advance and the second MPU recognition number are appropriate And a main encryption communication unit 160 that encrypts information to be transmitted to the sphere information control MPU 111 and decrypts the information transmitted from the sphere information control MPU 111, and The first authentication unit 162 further includes a second MPU identification number storage unit 161 that stores a second MPU identification number.

  In addition, the ball information control board 110 includes at least a ball information control MPU 111, and the ball 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 authentication processing of correctness, and a sphere information encryption communication unit 165 that encrypts information to be 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 identification number storage unit 166 that stores a first MPU identification number.

  When the game machine is powered on, the main MPU communication number 160 is encrypted by the main MPU communication number 160 from the first MPU identification number storage 101a by bidirectional communication between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. Thereafter, it is transmitted to the sphere information encryption communication unit 165, and the sphere information control MPU 111 encrypts the second MPU identification number by the sphere information encryption communication unit 165 and transmits it to the main encryption communication unit 160.

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

  Next, based on the second MPU recognition number stored in the second MPU recognition number storage unit 161, the main control MPU 101 performs authentication processing by the first authentication unit 162 to determine whether the second MPU recognition number is appropriate. Do.

  On the other hand, based on the first MPU identification number stored in the first MPU identification number storage unit 166, the ball information control MPU 111 performs an authentication process by the second authentication unit 167, and the first MPU identification number is appropriate. To judge.

  When it is determined that the main control MPU 101 and the ball control MPU 111 are appropriate based on the results of authentication by the first authentication unit 162 and the second authentication unit 167, respectively, when the main control side power of FIG. 79 is turned on. Processing and the start of processing on the ball information control side power-on of FIG. 82 are permitted, and it becomes possible to start the game, and on the other hand, when it is judged that it is not proper, main control side power-on processing and ball information The start of the control-side power-on process is not permitted, and it becomes impossible to play a game.

  With these configurations, the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 can mutually perform the authentication process, and by preventing the game from being performed if the authentication process is not properly performed, It becomes possible to effectively suppress an illegal act such as the main control MPU 101 or the ball information control MPU 111 being replaced with a forged chip.

  As described above, when it is determined that the mutual authentication result is appropriate in the authentication processing performed mutually between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111, the processing at the time of main control side power-on of FIG. The start of the processing at the time of power-on of the ball information control side 82 is permitted. That is, the game board 5 is regularly mounted on the main unit frame 2 on condition that the mutual authentication result is judged to be appropriate in the authentication processing performed mutually between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111. Is secured, and the existence of the game board 5 is guaranteed.

[Combined certification of the main unit and the game board]
Next, a maker authentication process execution means related to the combination of the main unit frame 2 and the game board 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.
When gaming machines such as pachinko and pachislot machines are delivered to a game arcade (game hall) and replaced, it is necessary to receive an application each time to obtain permission, but when an application is received, the game board 5 and It is obliged to apply for a set including the main frame 2 and the door frame 3 as a complete game machine. Therefore, even if the main unit frame is common to each maker, the combination of the main unit frame and the game board must be the combination received the application.

  In addition, even if the game board 5 and the main frame 2 and the door frame 3 are applied as a complete game machine, the main frame in the present embodiment has a structure common to each maker, so the main bodies of different combinations Even if the game board has been inserted into the frame, it is not determined whether the combination is wrong or not by just looking at it, and which game board of the manufacturer fits in the main frame of the place where it was really correctly determined May be difficult to grasp and manage. This embodiment presents a specific solution for solving the above problem.

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

  In addition to the first MPU identification number and the second MPU identification number used to authenticate whether the MPU is a legitimate one as described above, the main control MPU 101 in the main control board 100 includes maker information, model number, etc. of the game board. Game board maker identification information necessary for recognition is stored in advance, and in the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110, frame maker identification information is stored in advance.

  In addition, another game board maker identification information is stored in the game board 5 for each individual, and it is possible to separately recognize the difference in the character string of the identification information. Moreover, another frame maker identification information is stored in the main body frame 2 for each individual, and it is possible to separately recognize the difference in the character string of the identification information.

  Next, the interrelationship of the wording in the present invention and this example is presented. The main control board 100 corresponds to a first control board, the ball information control board 110 corresponds to a second control board, the main control MPU 101 corresponds to a first MPU, and the ball information control MPU 111 corresponds to a second MPU.

  The main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 in the present embodiment can perform 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, it is possible to determine whether or not the game board and the main unit frame are a proper combination. The details will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 100, the main control board 100 at least includes a main control MPU 101, and the main control MPU 101 stores a game board maker identification information storage unit 4101 in which game board maker identification information stored in advance is stored; A first authentication unit 162 that performs authentication processing to determine whether the identification information is appropriate, 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 111 160, and the first authentication unit 162 further includes a frame maker identification information storage unit 4112 for storing frame maker identification information.

  The ball information control board 110 is provided with at least a ball information control MPU 111, and the ball information control MPU 111 properly stores a frame maker identification information storage unit 4112 in which a frame maker identification information stored in advance is stored and game board maker identification information. 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 maker identification information storage unit 4101 that stores game board maker identification information.

  When the game board 5 is inserted into the main frame 2 and the game machine is powered on, the game board maker identification is made from the game board maker identification information storage unit 4101 by the two-way 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 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 maker identification information transmitted from the ball information encryption communication unit 165 from the ball information control MPU 111 using the main encryption communication unit 160, and then the frame in the first authentication unit 162. The ball information control MPU 111 stores the maker identification information storage unit 4112 in the second authentication unit 167 after decoding the game board maker identification information transmitted from the main control MPU 101 using the ball information encryption communication unit 165. The game board maker identification information storage unit 4101 is stored.

  After that, based on the frame maker identification information stored in the frame maker identification information storage unit 4112, the main control MPU 101 performs authentication processing by the first authentication unit 162 to determine whether the frame maker identification information is appropriate. Do.

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

  If it is determined that the game board 5 and the main unit frame 2 are a proper 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 the game is not proper, it is impossible to start the game.

  With these configurations, authentication processing is performed between the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111, and by preventing the game from being performed if the authentication processing is not properly performed, the game hall can be obtained. It is possible to effectively prevent the game from being started in a different combination from the set of gaming machines that you have applied for, by accidentally inserting the gaming board into a different frame from when applying. Become.

  Further, the result of the authentication process performed between main control MPU 101 and ball information control MPU 111 is transmitted to the hall computer installed in the game hall through external terminal board 133. When the combination of the game board maker identification information and the frame maker identification information is determined to be abnormal, an error signal is output from the external terminal board 133 to the hall computer, whereby the game board 5, the body frame 2, the door frame It becomes possible to accurately grasp the combination error of 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. With the progress of the game, various signals are sent from the ball information control board 110 to the external terminal board 133, and the signals are sent to the hall computer installed in the game hall, so that everything installed in the game hall is complete. It is a mechanism to manage the game machine of. Specifically, in addition to the door frame open signal and the main body frame open signal, a winning ball number information output signal indicating the number of winning balls for the player, 15 rounds of big hit from the main control board 100 via the ball information control board 110 In addition to the information output signal and the big hit information output signal such as 2 round big hit information output signal, in the probability variation during the information output signal, the special symbol display information output signal, the normal symbol display information output signal, the time short information output signal, and start A game information signal such as a 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 big hit information is transmitted to the external terminal board 133 and then output from the external terminal board 133 to the hall computer However, when the signal is transmitted, it is output after the game processing is started.

  As a time to output the result of the authentication process described above from the external terminal board 133 to the hall computer in the authentication process of the present embodiment, when power is turned on after inserting the game board into the main frame (see FIG. 79 step S20). It is configured to Therefore, the output line output to the external terminal board 133 during the game can be diverted as an output line for outputting 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, after a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) has elapsed since the power is turned on. , A code for identifying the manufacturer of the gaming machine, a code for identifying the model name of the gaming machine, and various information such as MPU specific information to the external terminal board, and then from the external terminal board to the hall computer The various information transmitted from the ball information control board 110 is directly output to the external terminal board.

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

[Information output from the external terminal board of this embodiment]
In this embodiment, a switching circuit switch is selected between the ball information control board 110 and the external terminal board 133 to select one of the 15 round big hit information output signal and the authentication information output signal for transmitting MPU unique information and authentication result etc. Is provided (FIG. 102). The pulse width change circuit C1 has switch circuit switches of two circuits, normally open contacts and normally closed contacts, and the pulse width change circuit C1 receives the switch control signal S1 transmitted from the ball information control board 110. The normally open contact and the normally closed contact are switched and operated to select one of the 15 round big hit information output signal and the authentication information output signal.

  The 15 round jackpot information output signal transmitted from the ball information control board 110 is output through LINE 1. During the game, the ball information control board 110 is switched so that it is output to the external terminal board 133 through LINE 3 after being connected to a connection point which is a contact with LINE 2 described later through the normally closed contact of the pulse width change circuit C1. It is controlled by the control signal S1.

  The authentication information output signal from the ball information control board 110 is output through LINE2. When the game machine is powered on and authentication processing in the main control side power on process and the ball information control side power on process described above is performed, each contact is switched by the switching control signal S1 from the ball information control board 110. The normally closed contacts are opened, and the normally open contacts are closed. Then, the pulse width of the authentication information output signal including the MPU unique information and the authentication result is changed by the memory PMC provided in the pulse width change circuit C1 through LINE 2 (described later). Thereafter, the signal is output from the LINE3 connected to the connection point, which is the contact point of the LINE1 and the LINE2, to the external terminal board 133 and then to the hall computer.

  Before being output to the external terminal board 133, the MPU unique information and the authentication signal are converted into, for example, 1-bit 125 ms (millisecond) -width pulses by the memory PMC provided in the pulse width change circuit C1 (equivalent to 8 bps) And the pulse width which can be reliably received by the hall computer is output. In the case of transmitting these information by serial transmission, for example, in a mode in which one frame consists of 8 bits of data bits and 1 bit of stop bits, followed by 1 start bit, MPU unique information, game board Assuming that the maker identification information and the frame maker identification information are 4 bytes, and the authentication result is 1 byte, a start bit and a stop bit of 1 bit each are added to 5 bytes of data and each byte data, so that 50 bits of signal Will be sent. Assuming that the pulse width of one bit is 125 ms, it takes 125 ms × 50 bits = 6.25 s to transmit all the bits.

  According to the configuration described above, it is possible to switch and output the signal for outputting the authentication information output signal and the signal for outputting the big hit information by switching the normally open contact and the normally closed contact. It becomes possible to perform output without adding terminals for 133 only.

  In this embodiment, the terminal for transmitting the 15 round big hit information output signal during the game is used as a terminal for outputting the authentication information output signal only when the power is turned on, but this is a simple example. It is. During power-on processing, output terminals other than the 15-round big hit information output signal also do not output signals, so it is possible to select and divert various terminals.

[Settlement machine 4]
FIG. 78 is a block diagram mainly showing each element connected to the settlement machine 4. The settlement machine 4 and the ball information control board 110 are connected so as to enable data communication in both directions. Although not illustrated, 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.

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

[Card 403]
The card 403 used in the embodiment is, 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 configuration stored in the card 403 is shown.

  The card 403 corresponds to the amount of money paid when purchasing 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. Remaining degree storage unit 305 in which the remaining degree number as the valuable value information to be stored is stored, and the number-of-balls holding unit 406 in which the number of balls held by the player as the game result of playing the game (number of gaming machine holding balls) is stored. Is set. When the card 403 is issued, the ID is stored in the ID storage unit 404, and the remaining frequency equivalent to the amount paid when purchasing the card 403 in the remaining frequency storage unit 405 (for example, the paid amount is 5,000 yen) In this case, "5000" is stored as the remaining frequency, but "0" is stored as the initial value of the ball count in the ball count storage unit 406.

  The card processor 402 is conventionally known, and 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, data read from the card 403 Card feeding means for feeding to the writing position and discharging the card 403 to the card insertion slot is provided. When the card processor 402 inserts the card 403 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 hold. The number of balls is read and output to the adjustment machine 4. Further, in accordance with the write command from the settlement machine 4, the ID, the remaining frequency and the ball holding number are written (stored) in the above-mentioned respective storage units.

  The settlement machine 4 stores, in the RAM, the ID read from the card 403 through the card processor 402, the remaining frequency, and the number of balls held.

[Ball rental by card 403]
When the data of the card 403 is read, the settlement machine 4 displays the remaining frequency stored in the RAM on the remaining frequency display unit. When the card 403 can be used, the settlement machine 4 lends a ball according to the operation of the ball lending button. In this ball lending, for example, a ball lending number of 125 (ball unit price is 4 yen) shall be ball lending per one operation of the ball lending button. In addition, in the case of ball lending, when there is the number of holding balls, and the number of holding balls does not reach 125, the ball is lent as the number of holding balls as the number of lent balls. The settlement machine 4 transmits the number of lent balls to the ball information control board 110. Further, the settlement machine 4 obtains the compensation for the ball loan by multiplying the set ball unit price by the number of balls to be rented, and subtracts the obtained compensation (the compensation for the ball loan is the remaining frequency) from the current remaining frequency. In the case where the number of held balls is present and the ball is lent from the number of held balls, the number of held balls is reduced from the current number of held balls. The settlement machine 4 displays the result on the remaining frequency display unit. Further, the remaining frequency is written in the remaining frequency 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 lent balls transmitted from the settlement machine 4, the ball information control MPU 111 adds it to the number of balls possessed by the gaming machine and displays the addition result on the touch panel portion 14. The upper launcher 12 is made shootable and can be played.

[In game]
When the player operates the ball striking handle 10 to activate the ball striking device 29 and the game ball in the ball firing position is hit by the shooting hammer 30 into the game area 8, this is used for the ball detection of the shot ball confirmation switch 36. Based on the detection of the game ball 8 one by one into the game area 8. Then, the ball information control MPU 111 of the ball information control board 110 sequentially sets “1” from the gaming machine holding ball number data stored in the gaming machine holding ball number storage area in response to the detection of hitting each one game ball. And the ball holding number is displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

  On the other hand, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 has a gate switch 92 disposed at a gate (not shown) capable of entering and passing game balls on the game board 5 side, a normal winning opening (not shown) The general winning opening detection switch 93, 94 arranged for the counter, the count switch 98 arranged for the large winning opening (not shown), the starting opening (not shown) as the upper starting opening In addition, based on the detection signal from the lower starting opening detection switch 90, 91, processing concerning the game is done, the command and the signal as the processing result as sphere information control base 110, peripheral control base 130, upper and lower special symbol Display 142, 143, upper, lower special symbol memory indicator 144, 145, normal symbol indicator 146, normal symbol memory indicator 147, starting opening solenoid 96, special winning opening solenoid 97 and the like.

  When the game ball launched by the upper firing device 12 wins in various winning openings (start winning hole, big winning opening, etc.) in the game area 8, the game balls are provided with various winning detection switches provided for each winning opening. (The upper start opening detection switch 90, the lower start opening detection switch 91, the general winning opening detection switch 93, the general winning opening detection switch 94, the count switch 98) are detected.

  The main control MPU 101 responds to detection signals of detection switches (general winning opening detection switches 93 and 94, count switch 98, upper and lower starting opening detection switches 90 and 91) provided for each winning opening. The ball information control board 110 outputs a prize ball command instructing the number of prize balls set in accordance with the winning opening on which the gaming ball has won a prize, as necessary.

  Furthermore, 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. In the gaming state, for example, the starting opening and the starting opening are randomly drawn due to the winning of the starting opening, and the special symbol is variably displayed based on the drawing result to stop the symbol, and the drawing result is hit In the case of the first type of pachinko gaming machine to transition to a special gaming state (big hit gaming state) in the case of normal gaming state (normal probability of winning by lottery is the normal probability, and the time of the variable display of normal symbol is normal) Game state (normal symbol variable display time is shortened than normal time, information output signal during time saving), big hit gaming state (15 round big hit information output signal or 2 round big hit information output signal), high probability game State (a state in which the probability of hitting by lottery is higher than usual, probability fluctuation information output signal), special symbol fluctuation (special symbol display information output signal), hold based on starting opening winning combination There are certain conditions (starting opening winning information output signal) and the like.

  Note that the peripheral control substrate 130 is a liquid crystal display device 1400, a feature decoration substrate (not shown), a panel decoration substrate (not shown), and a frame decoration substrate (figure) based on commands output from the main control substrate 100. By outputting a control signal to the control signal (not shown), the lighting display of various decorative LEDs is controlled, and the sound (sound, sound, sound effect, etc.) output from the speaker (not shown) is controlled. A symbol to be displayed in effect by the device 1400 is controlled.

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

  The game state signal and the winning 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.

  The ball information control MPU 111 receives, in response to receiving such a winning ball command, the value of the number of winning balls set in advance for each type of winning opening in the gaming machine holding ball data stored in the gaming machine ball number storage area. And is displayed on the touch panel unit 14.

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

  The ball information control MPU 111 receives the game end instruction sent from the settlement machine 4 by the settlement machine 4 transmitting the game end instruction to the ball information control MPU 111 in response to the operation of the settlement button, and the ball information control The MPU 111 transmits “end possible” to the checkout machine 4. Next, the ball information control MPU 111 stops the shooting solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 to stop the game. The current gaming machine holding ball count stored in the gaming machine holding ball count storage area is transmitted to the checkout machine 4.

  Then, when the processing of the settlement machine 4 corresponding to the gaming machine holding number transmitted from the ball information control MPU 111 ends, the settlement machine 4 transmits the processing end, so that the ball information control MPU 111 receives the processing end. Then, the gaming machine ball holding number storage area of the RAM is cleared to 0, and the processing is completed.

  On the other hand, since the ball information control MPU 111 transmits the number of gaming machine holding balls to the settlement machine 4 after the settlement machine 4 receives "end possible" as an answer about the termination state to the game termination command, the settlement machine 4 When the number of balls held is received, the received number of balls held in the gaming machine is added to the number of balls held in the settlement machine stored in the RAM when the card is inserted, and the addition result is stored as the number of balls held in the settlement. As a result, all of the number of balls held as the game result in which the player played the game are stored as the number-of-retainers machine-held number. Then, the processing end is transmitted to the ball information control MPU 111, the ball counting number is recorded in the holding number 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 which is added with the gaming machine holding ball count as the game result and rewritten 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 in accordance with the progress of the game in the game machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 79 to 81. FIG. 79 is a flowchart showing the main control side power on process performed by the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100, and FIG. 80 is a flowchart showing the continuation of the main control side power on process of FIG. Is a flowchart showing a main control timer interrupt process executed by the main control MPU 101.

[Main control side power on processing]
When the gaming machine 1 is powered on, the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter referred to simply as the main control MPU) of the main control board 100 performs a main control side power on process, 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, an address stacked on the stack to temporarily store the contents of a storage element (register) in use, or temporarily returns the return address of this routine when the subroutine is ended and the process returns to this routine. It indicates the address 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 stack stacked last to the stack stacked first.

  Subsequent to step S10, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S12), and it is determined whether a power failure advance signal is input (step S14). The voltage does not rise immediately between the time the power is turned on and the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when a power failure or a momentary power interruption (a phenomenon in which the supply of power temporarily stops) occurs, the voltage drops and becomes smaller than the power failure warning voltage, the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110 A signal is output and input to the main control MPU. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure notification voltage during the period from the power-on to the predetermined voltage, a power failure notification signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 of the ball information control board 110.

  Therefore, wait timer process 1 in step S12 is a process for waiting for the voltage to become larger than the power failure notice voltage and become stable after the power is turned on. In this embodiment, 200 milliseconds (wait timer) is used as a waiting time (wait timer). ms) is set. The determination in step S14 is performed based on the power failure notice 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 higher than the power failure notification voltage and becomes stable, the power failure notification 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 the RAM clear switch 105 (FIG. 76) is operated (step S16). This determination is performed based on whether the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and the 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, and 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 value 1 is set to the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG (step S18), and the process proceeds to step S30 while the RAM clear switch 105 is switched on in step S16. If it is determined that the operation is not performed, the value 0 is set to the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG (step S19), and the process proceeds to step S20.

  The RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is stored in the RAM built in the main control MPU 101 (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in RAM"), and it is a game related to games such as probability fluctuation and unpaid prize balls etc. It is a flag indicating whether or not to delete information, and is set to a value of 1 when deleting game information, and a value of 0 when not deleting game information. 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, a combination authentication process is performed to determine whether the combination of the main control MPU 101 and the ball information control MPU 111 is appropriate. The frame maker identification information output from the ball information control board is stored in the frame maker identification information storage unit 4112 of the main control MPU 101, and it is authenticated whether or not the appropriate frame maker identification information is output. If the authentication is properly performed, the process proceeds to step S30, and 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.

  After shifting to step S30, the main control MPU performs wait timer processing 2 (step S30). The wait timer process 2 waits until the system for performing the drawing control of the liquid crystal display device (not shown) by the liquid crystal control unit of the peripheral control substrate 130 starts up (boots). In this embodiment, 2 seconds (s) is set as a time (boot timer) until boot.

  Subsequently to step S30, it is determined whether the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG has a value 0 (step S32). As described above, the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG is set to a value 1 when the game information is deleted and a value 0 when the game information is not deleted. If it is determined in step S32 that the RAM clear notification flag RCL-FLG has a value of 0, that is, if the game information is not deleted, a checksum is calculated (step S34). This checksum is to calculate the total by regarding the game information stored in the main control built-in RAM as a numerical value.

  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 process (after power-off) described later It is determined (step S36). If they match, it is determined whether the backup flag BK-FLG has the value 1 (step S38). The backup flag BK-FLG stores backup information such as game information, checksum value (sum value) and backup flag BK-FLG value in the main control internal RAM in the main control side power-off process described later. It is a flag indicating whether or not it is set to 1 when the main control side power-off process is ended normally and to 0 when the main control side power-off process is not ended normally.

  When the backup flag BK-FLG is 1 at step S38, that is, when the main control side power-off process is ended normally, the work area of the main control built-in RAM is set as the power recovery time (step S40). In this setting, in addition to setting the backup flag BK-FLG to the value 0, the power recovery information is read out from the ROM built in the main control MPU (hereinafter referred to as "main control built-in ROM"). The time information is set in the work area of the main control built-in RAM. Note that “power recovery” refers to the state where power has been turned on after the power has been shut off, as well as the state where power has been restored since a power failure or a momentary power failure, and detection of high frequency irradiation being detected. Also includes the state of recovery after that.

  Following step S40, a power-on command creation process is performed (step S42). In the power-on command creation process, 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 the value 0 (is the value 1), that is, the game information is erased, or the checksum value (sum value) matches in step S36. When the backup flag BK-FLG is determined not to be the value 1 (the value 0) at step S38, that is, when the main control side power-off process is not normally completed, The entire area is cleared (step S44). Specifically, this is performed by writing the value 0 into the main control built-in RAM (note that a predetermined value may be read out from the main control built-in ROM as an initial value and set). The random number for determining the initial value of the jackpot determination random number for use in determining the initial value of the jackpot determination random number is determined when the RAM clear switch 105 is operated to erase the game information, or when the sum values do not match, When the main control side power-off process is not completed normally, the unique ID code stored in advance in the non-volatile RAM of the main control MPU is taken out, and the big hit judgment random number is updated based on the taken out ID code. An initial value derivation process is executed to always derive the same fixed value from the fixed numerical range of the counter, and this fixed value is set as the initial value.

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

  Following step S46, a RAM clear notification and test command creation process is performed (step S48). In this RAM clear notification and test command creation processing, a power on command classified as power on to clear the main control built-in RAM and to notify that initialization has been performed is created, and various types of peripheral control boards 130 are generated. A test command classified into a test relation for inspection is created and stored as transmission information in the transmission information storage area of the main control built-in RAM.

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

  Subsequent to step S50, interrupt permission setting is performed. (Step S52). By this setting, the main control timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed at the interrupt cycle set in step S50, that is, every 4 ms. The process of steps S10 to S52 is referred to as "main control side power on process".

  Following step S52, the value A is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S54). The value A, the value B and the value C are sequentially set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL to clear the watchdog timer.

  Following step S54, it is determined whether or not a power failure advance signal is input (step S56). As described above, when the power of the gaming machine 1 is shut down or a power failure or momentary stop occurs, the power failure notice signal of the power failure notice signal of the ball information control board 110 is notified as a power failure notice when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure notice voltage. Is input from The determination in step S56 is performed based on the power failure advance signal.

  When there is no input of the power failure notice signal in step S56, non-coincidence random number update processing is performed (step S58). In this non-coincidence random number update process, for example, a random number for reach determination, a random number for variation display pattern, a random number for determining a big hit symbol initial value, and a random number for determining a small hit symbol initial value are updated. As described above, in the non-coincidence random number update process, the random number regardless of the collision judgment (big hit judgment) is updated. It should be noted that the random number per normal symbol judgment, the random number per time for the normal symbol judgment initial value determination, the random number for the normal symbol variation display pattern, etc. are also updated by this non-coincidence random number updating process.

  After step S58, the process returns to step S54, sets the value A in the watchdog timer clear register WCL, and determines in step S56 whether or not there is an input of a power failure notification signal. For example, the non-coincidence random number updating process is performed in step S58, and steps S54 to S58 are repeated. The process of steps S54 to S58 is referred to as "main control side main loop process".

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

  Subsequent to step S60, as shown in FIG. 76, starting opening solenoid 96, large winning opening solenoid 97, upper special symbol display 142, lower special symbol display 143, upper special symbol memory display 144, lower special symbol memory display The drive signal output to the container 145, the normal symbol display 146, the normal symbol storage display 147, the game state indicator 148, the round indicator 149, etc. is stopped (step S62).

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

  Following step S64, the backup flag BK-FLG is set to the value 1 (step S66). This completes the storage of backup information.

  Following step S66, the watchdog timer clear setting is performed (step S68). This clear setting is performed by sequentially setting the value A, the value B, and the value C in the watchdog timer clear register WCL as described above.

  Following step S68, a loop process of repeating nothing is performed. Note that the processing of steps S60 to S68 and the loop processing 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 it is momentarily stopped, and the main control side power-on process is performed by the subsequent restoration of power.

  In step S36, it is checked whether the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM is normal or not, and in step S38, whether or not the main control side power-off process has ended normally. I am examining it. As described above, by double-checking the backup information stored in the main control built-in RAM, it is checked whether the backup information is stored by fraudulent acts or not.

[Main control timer interrupt processing]
Next, the main control timer interrupt process will be described. The main control timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed every interrupt cycle (4 ms in the present embodiment) set in the main control power-on process shown in FIGS. 79 and 80.

  When the main control timer interrupt process is started, the main control MPU of the main control board 100 sets the 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 control side main loop process.

  Subsequent to step S70, the interrupt flag is cleared (step S72). By clearing this interrupt flag, the interrupt cycle is initialized, and the next interrupt cycle is clocked from its initial value.

  Following 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, a timer subtraction process is performed (step S76). In this timer subtraction process, for example, a time during which the upper special symbol display 142 and the lower special symbol display 143 are lighted in accordance with the special symbol to be described later and the variable display pattern determined in the special electric character control process, the ordinary symbol to be described later The ball information control board 110 transmits various commands transmitted by the main control board 100 (main control MPU) in addition to the time when the normal symbol display 146 is lighted in accordance with the normal symbol variation display pattern determined in the normal motor combination control process. When it is determined whether or not the sphere information main ACK signal that indicates normal reception has been input, time management such as an ACK signal input determination time set as the determination condition is performed. 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, so the fluctuation time is subtracted by 4 ms each time this timer subtraction processing is performed. When the subtraction result becomes 0, the fluctuation time of the fluctuation display pattern or the normal symbol fluctuation display pattern is accurately measured.

  In the present embodiment, the ACK signal input determination time is set to 100 ms. Each time the timer subtraction processing is performed, the ACK signal input determination time is reduced by 4 ms, and when the subtraction result becomes 0, the ACK signal input determination time is accurately counted. 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 true random number update process is performed (step S78). In this success random number update process, the above-described random number for big hit determination, the random number for big hit symbol, and the random number for small hit symbol are updated. Moreover, in addition to these random numbers, random numbers for jackpot symbol initial value determination updated in the non-falling 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 the initial value decision for small hitting design is renewed. The random number 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 further improved in the main control side main processing and the main control side timer interrupt processing by being updated in 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 involved in the hit determination (big hit determination), each counter is only executed each time this hit random number update processing is performed. Count up. For example, as described above, the counter for updating the jackpot determination random number is an initial value update type counter, and a predetermined fixed numerical range from the minimum value to the maximum value (in the present embodiment, the value is set as the minimum value) The range from the minimum value to the maximum value is incremented by one each time the main control timer interrupt processing is performed, and the range from the minimum value to the maximum value is incremented by one. It counts up from the initial value determination random number for big hit determination to the maximum value (value 32767), and then counts up from the minimum value (value 0) to the random number determination for big hit determination. When the counter for updating the big hit determination random number has counted up 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 this false random number updating process. At this time, as the value to be updated, the main control MPU takes out the ID code from its built-in nonvolatile RAM, and based on this taken out ID code, always the same from the fixed numerical range of the counter for updating the jackpot judging random number. Initial value derivation processing for deriving a fixed value of is executed, and the derived fixed value is set as an initial value. That is, the jackpot determination initial value determination random number is constantly overwritten and updated with the same fixed value derived based on the ID code by execution of the initial value derivation process as the initial value. In addition, the random number per normal symbol determination described above and the random number per normal symbol determination initial value determination random number are also updated by this success random number update processing. The normal symbol determination random number is the same as the above-described method for updating the jackpot determination random number, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  Following step S78, a winning ball control process is performed (step S80). In this prize ball control process, a prize ball command for reading out input information from the above-described input information storage area and transmitting it to the ball information control board 110 based on the input information is prepared, or the main control board 100 and ball information A self check command is created to confirm the connection between the control substrate 110 and the substrate. Then, the created prize ball command and the self check command are transmitted to the sphere information control board 110 as master sphere information serial data. For example, when one game ball enters the big winning 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 the ball information main ACK signal which indicates that the reception is normally completed 110 is not input within a predetermined time, a self check command is generated to confirm the connection between the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110. It is transmitted to the ball information control board 110 or the like.

  Following step S80, frame command reception processing is performed (step S82). The ball information control board 110 transmits various commands of 1 byte (8 bits) divided into status indication. In the frame command reception process of step S82, when the various commands are normally received as the sphere information main serial data, the information to convey the fact to the sphere information control board 110 is stored in the output information storage area of the main control internal RAM as the output information. Remember. Also, the command normally received as the sphere information main serial data is shaped into a 2-byte (16 bit) command, and stored as the transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

  Following step S82, a cheating detection process is performed (step S84). In this fraudulent action detection process, the abnormal state regarding the winning balls 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 gaming state (when the game ball enters the big winning opening), etc. A prize failure display command to be classified as a notification display as an abnormal state is created, and stored as the transmission information in the transmission information storage area described above.

  Subsequent to step S84, a special symbol and special electric combination product control process is performed (step S86). In this special symbol and special motorized product control process, the value of the counter for updating the above-mentioned big hit judgment random number is taken out and it is judged whether it matches with the big hit judgment value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM (big hit Determine whether or not to generate a gaming state (referred to as "special lottery".) Or take out the value of the counter for updating the jackpot symbol random number, and with the probability variation hit determination value stored in advance in the main control built-in ROM It is determined whether or not they match (determination of whether or not to generate a probability change). Here, “probability fluctuation” means that the probability of hitting a jackpot changes to a high probability (probability variation) set higher than that at normal time (low probability). In the present embodiment, values 32668 to 32767 are set as the range (big hit determination range) of the above-described big hit determination values with low probability and are read out from the normal determination table, while the value is 32438 with high probability. A value of 32767 is set and read out from the probability variation judgment table. As described above, in the special symbol and special motorized product control process in step S86, whether or not the value of the counter for updating the jackpot determination random number matches the jackpot determination value stored in advance in the main control internal ROM When determining whether or not the jackpot determination random number is updated, it is determined whether 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 starting opening detection switch 90, various commands related to special figure 1 tuning effect are created, while when the lottery results are based on the lower starting opening detection switch 91, Fig. 2 Create various commands related to tuning effects and store them in the transmission information storage area as transmission information, and turn on the special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 according to the determined variation display pattern of the special symbol. The output of the lighting signal to the upper special symbol display 142 or the lower special symbol display 143 is set, and stored as the output information in the above-described output information storage area.

  In addition, according to the game state to be generated, for example, when it becomes a big hit game state, create various commands classified as big hit association, store it in the transmission information storage area as transmission information, or open and close the opening and closing member Sets the output of the drive signal to the winning opening solenoid 97 and stores it as output information in the output information storage area, or when the number of times the big winning opening is opened from the closed state is two times, the round display The output of the lighting signal to the 2 round display lamp is set to light the 2 round display lamp of the unit 149, and stored in the output information storage area as the output information, or when the round is 15 times Set the output of the lighting signal to the 15 round display lamp so that the 15 round display lamp lights up, 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, a control of normal symbol and normal electric combination is performed (step S88). In this ordinary symbol and ordinary motor combination control process, input information is read out from the above-described input information storage area, and gate winning processing is performed based on the input information. In this gate winning process, it is determined from the input information whether or not the detection signal from the gate switch 92 has been input to the input terminal. Based on the determination result, when the detection signal is input to the input terminal, the value etc. of the counter for updating the above-mentioned random number per symbol for determination is extracted and gate information storage area of the main control internal RAM as gate information Remember to

  Following 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 the output information. For example, when various commands from the ball information control board 110 are normally received from the output terminal of the main control I / O port 102 based on the output information, the main ball information ACK signal is output to the ball information control board 110 When the jackpot gaming state, the drive signal is output to the large winning opening solenoid 97 that performs the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing member of the big winning opening, and the driving signal is output to the starting opening solenoid 96 that performs the opening and closing operation of the movable piece In addition, 15 round big hit information output signal, 2 round big hit information output signal, probability variation in progress information output signal, special symbol display information output signal, normal symbol display information output signal, time short information information output information, starting opening winning information output signal And the like are output to the ball information control board 110 or the like.

  Following step S90, peripheral control board command transmission processing is performed (step S92). In this peripheral control board command transmission process, transmission information is read out from the transmission information storage area described above, and this transmission information is transmitted to the peripheral control board 130 as main cycle serial data. In this transmission information, various commands created in the main control side timer interrupt processing which is this routine, various commands classified in special figure 1 tuning effect related, various commands classified in special figure 2 synchronous effect related, big hit related The various commands that are classified, the various commands that are classified as power on, the various commands that are classified as related to general drawing tuning effect, the various commands that are classified as related to regular electric circuit production, the various commands that are classified as notification display, the status display Various commands to be classified, various commands to be classified as test related, and various commands to be classified as others are stored. In the main cycle serial data, one packet is configured into 3 bytes.

  Specifically, the main cycle serial data has a status indicating the type of command having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), a mode indicating a variation of effects having a storage capacity of 1 byte (8 bits), and a status And a sum value obtained by calculating the sum of the modes as numerical values, and this sum value is created at the time of transmission. Note that the process of step S74 to step S92 is referred to as "game control process".

  Following step S92, the value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL (step S94). The value C is set in the watchdog timer clear register WCL in step S94, whereby 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.

  Following step S94, switching (restoration) of the register is performed (step S96), and this routine is ended. Here, when the main control side timer interrupt process which is this routine is started, the main control MPU loads the contents of the general purpose register on the stack in a hardware manner and saves it. This prevents the destruction of the contents of the general purpose register used in the main control side main processing. At step S96, the contents stored in the stack and read out are read out and written in the original register. The main control MPU sets the interrupt permission after the return in step S96.

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

[Process when the ball information control side is turned on]
When the game machine 1 is powered on, the ball information control MPU 111 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a ball information control MPU) of the ball information control unit 118 in the ball information control board 110 is a ball as shown in FIGS. Performs processing at power-on on the information control side. 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 of interrupts of the ball information control MPU. In the present embodiment, the ball information control unit timer interrupt process described later is set to the highest priority, and when an interrupt of the ball information control unit timer interrupt process occurs, the process is preferentially performed.

  Following step S500, input / output setting (input / output setting for I / O) is performed (step S502). In this I / O I / O setting, I / O port I / O setting and the like of the ball information control MPU are performed.

  Subsequent to step S502, output of the power failure clear signal to the power failure monitoring circuit 117 shown in FIG. 77 is started (step S504). The blackout monitoring circuit 117 is composed of a voltage comparison circuit and a D type flip flop IC. The voltage comparison circuit outputs the comparison result by comparing the voltage of +24 V with the reference voltage or comparing the voltage of +12 V with the reference voltage. The comparison result is that when the power failure or momentary interruption does not occur, the logic becomes HI and is input to the PR terminal which is the preset terminal of the D-type flip flop, while when the interruption or momentary failure occurs The logic becomes LOW and is input to the PR terminal which is a preset terminal of the D type flip flop. In step S504, the output of the power failure clear signal is started to the CLR terminal which is the clear terminal of the D type flip flop. The power failure clear signal is input to the clear terminal through the ball information control I / O port 112 of the ball information control unit 118, with its logic being LOW. Thus, 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. Then, it is possible to output from the 1Q terminal which is an output terminal, and to monitor the signal from the 1Q terminal.

  Following step S504, wait timer processing 1 is performed (step S506), and it is determined whether a power failure advance signal is input (step S508). The voltage does not rise immediately between the time the power is turned on and the predetermined voltage. On the other hand, when a power failure or a momentary power failure occurs (a phenomenon in which the supply of power temporarily stops), the voltage drops and becomes smaller than the power failure warning voltage, the power failure monitoring circuit 117 receives a power failure notification signal as a power failure notification. Similarly, when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure notification voltage during the period from the power-on to the predetermined voltage, a power failure notification signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117. Therefore, wait timer process 1 in step S506 is a process for waiting until the voltage becomes larger than the power failure notice voltage and becomes stable after power on. In the present embodiment, 200 milliseconds (wait timer) is used as a waiting time (wait timer). ms) is set. In the determination of step S508, it is determined whether 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 above-described D-type flip flop as the power failure advance signal.

  Following 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 latch state. The D-type flip flop outputs a power failure notice signal from the 1Q terminal which is an output terminal, when a state where the logic becomes LOW to be input to the PR terminal which is its preset terminal is latched.

  Subsequently to step S510, it is determined whether the RAM clear switch 105 is operated (step S512). This determination is performed based on whether the RAM clear switch 105 of the main control board 100 is operated and the operation signal (detection signal) is input to the ball information control MPU. When the detection signal is input, it is determined that the RAM clear switch 105 is operated, and 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 ball information RAM clear flag is set to the value 1 (step S514), and the process proceeds to step S518 while the RAM clear switch 105 is operated in step S512. If it is determined not, the value 0 is set in the sphere information RAM clear (step S516), and the process proceeds to step S518.

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

  Following step S514 or step S516, a setting for permitting access to the ball information control built-in RAM is performed (step S518). By this setting, the ball information control built-in RAM can be accessed, and for example, writing (storage) or reading of ball information can be performed.

  Following step S518, the stack pointer is set (step S520). The stack pointer indicates, for example, an address stacked on the stack to temporarily store the contents of a storage element (register) in use, or temporarily returns the return address of this routine when the subroutine is ended and the process returns to this routine. It indicates the address 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 stack stacked last to the stack stacked first.

  Following step S520, in step S521, a combination authentication process is executed to determine whether the combination of the ball information control MPU 111 and the main control MPU 101 is appropriate. The game board maker identification information output from the main control board 100 is stored in the game board maker identification information storage unit 4101 of the ball information control MPU 111, and it is authenticated whether or not the appropriate game board maker identification information is output. If the authentication is properly performed, the process proceeds to step S527. 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.

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

  If it is determined in step S527 that the ball information RAM clear flag has a value of 0, that is, if the ball information is not to be erased, a checksum is calculated (step S528). This checksum is to calculate the total by regarding the ball information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM as a numerical value.

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

  If it is determined in step S532 that the ball information backup flag has a value of 1, that is, if the ball information control unit power-off process has ended normally, the working area of the ball information control built-in RAM is set as power recovery (step S534). In this setting, in addition to setting the ball information backup flag to the value 0, the power recovery information is read from a ROM (hereinafter referred to as "ball information control built-in ROM") built in the ball information control MPU. The power recovery information is set in the working area of the ball information control built-in RAM. As a result, the information to be used for various processes is set based on the various flags, the various information stored in the various information storage area, etc., which are the above-mentioned sphere information backup information stored in the sphere information control built-in RAM. . Note that “power recovery” includes the state where power is turned on after the power is shut off, as well as the state where power is restored after a power failure or momentary power failure.

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

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

  Following step S534 or step S538, interrupt initialization is performed (step S540). This setting is to set an interrupt cycle when a ball information control unit timer interrupt process to be 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 ball information control unit timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed at the interrupt cycle set in step S540, that is, every 2 ms.

  Subsequently to step S542, it is determined whether a power failure advance signal is input (step S544). As described above, when the power supply of the gaming machine 1 is shut down or a power failure or a momentary stop occurs, a power failure notification signal is input from the power failure monitoring circuit 117 as a power failure notification when the voltage becomes lower than the power failure notification voltage. The determination in step S540 is performed based on the power failure advance signal.

  If it is determined in step S544 that a power failure advance signal has not been input, it is determined whether the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value 1 (step S546). The 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that counts 2 ms in the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing that is processed every 2 ms, which will be described later. Each is set.

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

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

  Following 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 sphere information control built-in RAM, and various signals are output from the output terminal of the sphere information control I / O port 112 based on the various information.

  In the output information storage area, for example, ball information main ACK information for notifying that the various commands (a prize ball command and a self check command) related to a prize ball from the main control board 100 have been normally received, When various information such as drive information for performing drive control is stored, and 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 the output information The ball information main ACK signal is output to the main control board 100, and a drive signal is output to the firing solenoid 13.

  Following step S552, port input processing is performed (step S554). In this port input processing, various signals input to the input terminal of the ball information control I / O port 112 are read and stored as input information in the input information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM. For example, the door frame open switch 131, the body frame open switch 132, the shot waiting ball detection switches 26, 70, the fired ball confirmation switch 36, the collected ball detection switch 203, the ball path full detection switch 206, the ball proper amount detection switch 207, Lifting inlet switch 156, lifting motor sensor (photo sensor) 157, cassette detection switch 158, release stop switch 86, touch switch 87, BRQ signal from the settlement machine 4, BRDY signal and CR connection signal, command transmission processing described later The main sphere information ACK signal or the like from the main control board 100 which informs 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, a timer update process is performed (step S556). The various determination times are stored in the time management information storage area of the ball information control built-in RAM as time management information. In the timer update process, it is determined whether or not timer values of various timers are set. If the timer value is set, the timer value is decremented by one. For example, when "1000" is set to the timer as a value corresponding to 2 seconds (2000 ms), the timer interrupt cycle is set to 2 ms, so the timer value is 1 each time the timer subtraction process is performed in 2 ms cycles. Time is counted up when the subtraction result is 0 and the time is measured accurately.

  Following step S556, a settlement machine communication process is performed (step S558). In the settlement machine communication process, 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 by reading the input information from the above-described input information storage area Determine Based on various signals from the settlement machine 4, the ball information control MPU exchanges various signals with the settlement machine 4. When the ball information control MPU receives, for example, the number of lent balls transmitted from the checkout machine 4, the ball information control MPU adds the number of lent balls to the number-of-balls holding game data.

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

  Following step S560, command analysis processing is performed (step S562). In this command analysis process, the command received in step S 562 is analyzed, and the analyzed command is stored as reception command information in the reception 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 this main operation setting process, the ball information control MPU performs operation setting of the shooting solenoid 13, ball feeding solenoid 31, ball lifting device 22 (ball lifting motor 150), ball polishing ribbon feeding motor 155 and the like. In addition, the ball information control MPU sequentially receives “1” from the gaming machine holding ball number data stored in the gaming machine holding ball number storage area in response to the detection of hitting one game ball each based on the ball detection of the shooting ball confirmation switch 36. Subtract. Furthermore, when a winning ball command is stored in the reception command information storage area, the number of winning balls corresponding to the winning ball command is added to the gaming machine possession number data stored in the gaming machine possession number storage area.

  Subsequent to step S564, LED display data creation processing is performed (step S566). In this LED display data creation processing, for example, the gaming machine holding number data stored in the gaming machine holding number storage area described above is read out, and display data for displaying the holding number on the touch panel unit 14 is created and LED It stores in the output information storage area mentioned above as display information.

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

  Following step S568, the output of the external WDT clear signal to the external watchdog timer (external WDT) 116 is stopped (turned off, step S570). Thereby, the external WDT 116 is cleared, and the ball information control MPU and the ball information control I / O port 112 are not reset. Also, 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 notification signal is input. If there is no power failure notification signal input, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG has a value 1 in step S546. If the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a value 1, that is, if 2 ms has elapsed, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to a value 0 in step S547, and the external WDT 4120 c is externally set 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 Command reception processing is performed, and command analysis processing is performed in step S562. The main operation setting process is performed in step S564, the LED display data creation process is performed in step S566, the command transmission process is performed in step S568, and the output of the external WDT clear signal to the external WDT 116 is stopped (OFF) in step S570. Steps S544 to S570 are repeated. The process of steps S544 to S570 is referred to as "ball information control main process".

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

  Following 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 through the ball information control I / O port 112 (step S574). Thus, the D-type flip flop can release the latch state by outputting the power failure clear signal.

  After step S574, the output of the drive signal to the emission solenoid 13 is stopped (step S576). Thereby, launch of the game ball is stopped. Subsequently to step S576, the output of the drive signal to the ball feed solenoid 31 is stopped (step S578). As a result, the feed of the game balls to the hit ball launcher 29 is stopped.

  Following step S578, an external WDT clear signal is output to the external WDT 116 to stop the output (turn ON / OFF, step S580). This clears the external WDT 116. Following step S580, a checksum is calculated and the calculated value is stored (step S582). This checksum is calculated by regarding the sphere information of the working 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 Do. Following step S582, the ball information backup flag is set to the value 1 (step S584). This completes the storage of the ball information backup information. Following step S584, the setting for prohibiting access to the ball information control built-in RAM is set (step S586). By this setting, access to the ball information control built-in RAM is inhibited and writing and reading can not be performed, and ball information backup information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM is protected.

  Following step S586, a loop process of repeating nothing is entered. In this loop processing, the external WDT 116 is not turned ON / OFF the clear signal. Therefore, the external WDT 116 outputs a reset signal to the ball information control MPU and the ball information control I / O port 112 to perform reset. After that, the ball information control MPU performs this ball information control side power-on process from the beginning again. The process of steps S572 to S586 and the loop process are referred to as "ball information control power-off process".

  The gaming machine 1 (ball information control MPU) is reset when a power failure occurs or when it momentarily stops, and the ball information control side power-on processing is performed by the subsequent restoration of the power.

  In step S530, it is checked whether the ball information backup information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM is normal or not, and in step S532, the ball information control unit power off process is normally ended. Whether or not it is checked. As described above, by double checking the ball information backup information stored in the ball information control built-in RAM, it is checked whether or not the ball information backup information is stored by cheating.

[Ball information control timer interrupt processing]
Next, the ball information control timer interrupt process will be described. The ball information control timer interrupt process is repeatedly performed every interrupt cycle (2 ms in this embodiment) set in step S540 of the ball information control power-on process shown in FIG.

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

  Following step S590, the 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is set to the value 1 (step S592). The 2 ms elapsed flag HT-FLG is a flag that counts 2 ms every 2 ms when the ball information control unit timer interrupt processing is performed, that is, the value 0 when 1 ms has not elapsed when 2 ms has elapsed. Each is set to Following step S592, switching (restoration) of the register is performed (step S594). This return is switched from the auxiliary register used in the ball information control timer interrupt process to the general-purpose storage element (general-purpose register). By using this general purpose register in the sphere information control side main processing, the value of the auxiliary register is not overwritten. This prevents the destruction of the contents of the auxiliary register used in the ball information control unit timer interrupt process. Subsequently to step S594, interrupt permission is set (step S596), and this routine is ended.

[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 rental ball processing will be described, and then, the ball hitting permission determination processing, the ball number counting processing, the ball feeding and firing drive processing, the launch ball detection processing, and the ball number subtraction processing will be described. In addition, batting ball possibility determination processing, ball number count processing, ball sending / firing drive processing, launch ball detection processing, ball number subtraction processing, lifting drive processing is one of the main operation setting processing of step S 564 It is executed in the following order: bat hit possibility determination processing, ball count count processing, ball feed / discharge drive processing, launch ball detection processing, ball count subtraction processing, lift drive processing.

  When the card 403 is inserted into the card insertion slot by the player, the insertion of the card 403 is detected in the settlement machine 4, and the data stored in the card 403 is read through the card processor 402. That is, the ID stored in the ID storage unit 404 of the card 403 in FIG. 78, the remaining number stored in the remaining frequency storage unit 405, and the number of held balls stored in the number-of-balls storage unit 406 are read Are stored in a predetermined storage area (ID storage area, remaining frequency storage area, number-of-balls storage area).

  Next, the checkout machine 4 determines whether the inserted card 403 is usable or unusable. In this embodiment, when the read remaining frequency is 0 and the read number of balls is 0, the card 403 is determined to be unusable, and the card 403 is ejected from the card insertion slot. Therefore, when it is determined that the card 403 can not be used, the processing for counting the number of held balls, the ball feed / discharge drive processing, and the processing for subtracting the number of held balls described below are not performed.

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

  When the player presses the ball lending button to play a game, an operation signal of the ball lending button is input to the settlement machine 4. In response to the operation signal of the ball lending button, the settlement machine 4 performs a ball lending process, for example, transmits a specified number of lent balls to the ball information control MPU of the ball information control board 110, and then from the ball information control MPU Wait until the ball rental end is sent.

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

  When the ball information control MPU starts the rental ball processing, the ball information control MPU determines whether or not the card availability information transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is received (step S600). If it is determined in step S600 that the card availability information transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is received, the process proceeds to step S601, and the number-of-balls counter (which has a portion of the memory area set in the built-in RAM) The ball number storage area is cleared to 0 (step S601), and the process proceeds to step S602. On the other hand, if the card availability 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 ball holding number counter is set to “0” by the power recovery setting of the RAM work area in step S534.

  When the ball information control MPU proceeds to step S602, it determines whether or not the number of lent balls transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is received (step S602). When the number of lent 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-balls counter (step S603). The end of the lending is sent to the checkout machine 4 (step S604), and the subroutine for the rental ball processing is finished.

  On the other hand, if the number of lent balls transmitted from the checkout machine 4 is not received in step S602, the process does not shift to step S603 and step S604, and directly exits the subroutine of the lent ball processing.

  As described above, the card availability information is transmitted to the ball information control board 110 only when the newly usable card 303 is inserted into the checkout machine 4. In addition, the number of lent balls is transmitted to the ball information control MPU only when the operation signal of the lent-to-ball button is input to the settlement machine 4 after the card availability information is received. Then, when the number of pitched balls is received, the number of pitched balls is added to and stored in the value of the number-of-balls counter.

[Strike ball permission determination processing]
Next, the hitting-non-balladability determination process executed by the ball information control MPU will be described. FIG. 88 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of batting permission determination processing performed by the ball information control MPU. In addition, the hit or not determined processing is executed as one of the main operation setting processing of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main processing.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the hit or ball hit determination processing, 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 number of held balls counter is 0 (step S710). When it is determined in step S710 that the value of the ball holding number counter is not 0, that is, when step S710 is determined as NO, the process proceeds to step S711, and the shooting standby ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10). Is determined to be on, that is, whether or not the ball feeding device 28 has a waiting ball (step S711).

  If it is determined in step S711 that the shot on standby ball detection switch 70 (see FIG. 10) is on, 1 (fireable) is set to the fire enable flag (step S712), and the batted ball permission determination process is performed. Exit the subroutine of On the other hand, when it is determined in step S710 that the value of the ball holding number counter is 0, and when it is determined in step S711 that the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is not on (off), The possible flag is set to 0 (impossible to be fired) (step S 713), and the subroutine of the hit ball determination processing is exited.

  As described above, when the value of the ball holding number counter is not 0 and the ball feeding device 28 has a waiting ball, the firing solenoid 13 and the ball feeding solenoid 31 can be driven, and substantially the game area 8 of the game ball The game is ready to be played. In addition, when the value of the ball holding number counter is 0, or when the ball feeding device 28 does not have a waiting ball, the firing solenoid 13 can not be driven, and the game ball is driven into the game area 8 substantially. Can not play the game impossible state. At the same time, the driving of the ball feed solenoid 31 is also impossible.

[Number of balls count processing]
Next, the number-of-hands-counting processing equivalent to ball information processing in the game will be described on the assumption that the game has become substantially possible. FIG. 89 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of ball holding number counting processing performed by the ball information control MPU. The number-of-hands-of-hands counting process is performed as one of the main operation setting processes of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the ball holding number counting process, it determines whether 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 there is storage of the winning ball command in the received command information storage area. If the award ball command is stored, it is determined that step S720 is present, and the number of award balls according to the award ball command stored in the received command information storage area is added and stored in the value of the number-of-balls counter (step S722) ), Exit the subroutine of the ball counting process. On the other hand, when the award ball command is not stored, it is determined that step S720 is not performed, and the subroutine for counting the number of held balls is ended.

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

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

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

  In the present 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 feed member 32 brings the launch ball into the launch position (rail portion 332). That is, the launch ball is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36. In the present embodiment, when a game ball held in the shooting position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 over a predetermined time (30 ms as the period D), the launch ball is determined to be present. Do.

  As described above, when the game ball held in the shooting position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined specified time, it is determined that the launch ball is present, and therefore, the fire due to noise It is possible to eliminate the ball false count and to increase the certainty in the detection of the launch ball.

  Then, when the firing solenoid 13 is turned on, the gaming ball held in the firing position by the firing hammer 30 is hit onto the game area 8 and the firing ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. Thus, the ball holding number is decremented by one.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the ball feeding / firing drive processing, first, it determines whether or not the firing enable flag is 1 (firing available) (step S730). If it is determined in the batting possibility determination process described above that the firing is possible, the firing enable flag is set to 1 (fireable). If it is determined in step S730 that the projectable flag is not 1 (projectable), that is, if the projectable flag is 0 (unprojectable), the subroutine of ball feed / discharge drive processing is exited. In this case, no substantial ball feed and launch drive processing is performed.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S730 that the shootable flag is 1 (fireable), the process proceeds to step S731, and it is determined whether the process flag is 0 (step S731).

  Here, the processing flag is a flag for identifying whether the ball information control MPU is branched to any one of the processing in the ball feeding and firing drive processing described later, in other words, the control in the ball feeding and firing drive It is a flag to identify the state, and means "0" for the initial setting, and defines the period until the firing solenoid 13 is turned on after the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned on by "1". Yes, defines the period until the ball feeding solenoid 31 is turned off after turning on the shooting solenoid 13 with "2", and turns off the shooting solenoid 13 after turning off the ball feeding solenoid 31 with "3" It prescribes the period of hemorrhoids.

  At the start of the ball feeding / firing drive processing, the value of the processing flag is zero. Therefore, step S731 is determined as YES, the process proceeds to step S732, a timer value corresponding to 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 process flag is set to 1 (step S734), and the subroutine for ball feed / firing drive processing is exited. The timer value set in the timer is decremented by one at a cycle of 2 ms in the timer update process of step S556 in FIG.

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

  Hereinafter, while the timer that sets the period A is up, step S730 is determined as YES based on the value 1 of the processing flag, step S731 is determined as NO, and step S735 is determined as YES. The processing routine that determines S736 as NO is repeated.

  Then, when the timer times out, 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 emission solenoid 13 is turned on (Step S738), 2 is set in the processing flag (Step S739), and the subroutine of ball feed / emission drive processing is exited.

  As a result of setting 2 in the processing flag, in the sphere feed and firing drive processing 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 the value of the processing flag is 2 (step S740). In this case, since 2 is set in the processing flag, step S740 is determined as YES, and the process proceeds to step S741 to determine whether the timer has timed up (step S741). If the timer has not timed up, it is determined that step S741 is NO, and the subroutine of ball feed / firing drive processing is exited.

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

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

  As a result of setting 3 in the processing flag, in the sphere feed and firing drive processing of the next cycle, step S730 is determined as YES, step S731 is determined as NO, step S735 is determined as NO, and step S740 is as NO. It determines and transfers to step S745. In step S745, it is determined whether the timer has timed up (step S745). If the timer has not timed up, it is determined that step S745 is NO, and the subroutine of ball feed / firing drive processing is exited.

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

  Then, when the timer has timed out, step S745 is determined as 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. The process is returned to the initial value (step S 747), and the subroutine for ball feed / firing drive processing is exited.

Launch ball detection processing
Next, the launch ball detection process will be described. FIG. 92 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of launch ball detection processing performed by the sphere information control MPU. The launch ball detection process is performed as one process of the main operation setting process of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  When the ball information control MPU starts the launch ball detection process, it first determines whether the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is on (step S750). As described above, when the ball feed solenoid 31 is turned on, the ball feed member 32 brings the launch ball into the launch position (rail portion 332). That is, the launch ball is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36.

  If it is determined that the launch 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, if it is determined that the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is not on, that is, if the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is off, 0 is set in the clock counter (step S752), and the process proceeds to step S753.

  In step S 753, it is determined whether the value of the clock counter has reached a predetermined time D (in this example, 30 ms) (step S 753). If the value of the time counter has not reached the predetermined specified time D, it is determined that step S753 is NO and the subroutine of the launch ball detection processing is exited.

  Since the launch ball detection process is executed every 2 ms, if the game ball kept in the launch position by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 continues to be detected for a predetermined specified time D, the clock counter is reset every 2 ms. The value is incremented by one, and the value of the clock counter reaches a predetermined time D (in this example, 30 ms, count value 15). In this case, step S753 is determined as YES, and it is considered that a launch ball has been detected, 1 (with detection) is set in the launch ball detection flag (step S754), and the launch ball detection processing subroutine is exited.

  On the other hand, when noise enters the launch ball confirmation switch 36, although the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is turned on momentarily, then the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. Therefore, since the value of the time counter is set to 0 in response to the launch ball confirmation switch 36 being turned off, the specified time D for which the value of the time counter is predetermined (in this example, 30 ms, count value 15) Never reach.

  As described above, when the game ball held in the shooting position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined specified time, it is determined that the launch ball is present, and therefore, the fire due to noise It is possible to eliminate the ball false count and to increase the certainty in the detection of the launch ball.

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

  When the ball information control MPU starts the ball-number-subtraction process, it first determines whether the launch ball detection flag is 1 (detected) (step S760). If it is determined that the launch ball detection flag is not 1 (detection is present), that is, if it is determined that the step S760 is NO, the subroutine for holding number subtraction processing is exited. In this case, the subtraction of the ball holding number is not performed.

  If it is determined in step S760 that the launch ball detection flag is 1 (detected), that is, if step S760 is determined as YES, the process proceeds to step S761 and it is determined whether the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is off It is determined whether or not it is (step S761). If it is determined in step S761 that the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is not off, that is, if it is determined that the step S761 is NO, the subroutine for ball number subtraction processing is exited.

  As described above, when the launch solenoid 13 is turned on, the game ball held in the launch position by the launch hammer 30 is hit into the game area 8 and the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is turned off. Thus, the ball holding number is decremented by one. If it is determined in step S761 that the launch ball confirmation switch 36 is off, that is, if it is determined YES in step S761, the value of the ball holding number counter is decremented by 1 (step S762). 0 (no detection) is set (step S763), and the ball number subtraction processing subroutine is exited.

  As described above, when the game ball held in the shooting position is detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36 for a predetermined specified time, it is determined that the launch ball is present, and the launch ball is determined to be present. On the condition that the game ball is not detected by the launch ball confirmation switch 36, it is determined that the game ball held at the launch position has been fired, and the number of held balls is reduced by one. If noise enters 36, the false ball count of the launch ball due to the noise can be eliminated, and the certainty in detection of the launch ball can be increased.

[Ball lifting drive processing]
Next, the lift driving process will be described. FIG. 94 is a flow chart showing a subroutine of lift driving processing performed by the ball information control MPU. The lift driving process is performed as one process of the main operation setting process of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process.

  The ball information control MPU, when starting the lift drive process, first determines whether the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on (step S 770). If it is determined in step S770 that the shooting standby ball detection switch 26 is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S770, the process proceeds to step S771 to determine whether the lift inlet / outlet switch 156 is on. (Step S771). If it is determined in step S771 that the lift inlet port switch 156 is on, that is, if it is determined YES in step S771, the ball lift motor 150 is driven (step S772), and the lift drive processing subroutine Get out of.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S770 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on, that is, if it is determined YES in step S770, the ball lift motor 150 is stopped (step S773). Exit the subroutine
Also, if it is determined in step S771 that the lift inlet port switch 156 is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S771, the ball lift motor 150 is stopped (step S773). Exit the subroutine

  As described above, when the game ball is not detected by the launch 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 detected by the lift port switch 156. When a game ball in alignment standby state is detected in 275, the ball lift motor is driven on condition that it is determined that the game ball is present, and the ball waiting path detection switch 26 causes the ball supply path member 24 to On the condition that the game balls in alignment standby state are detected, the driving of the ball transportation device 22 is stopped and the game balls are pumped up in the ball supply path member 24 to stop the transportation of the game balls. As a result, clogging of the ball can be suppressed. Thus, the game balls can be fed into the ball supply path member 24 without excess or deficiency because the game balls are pumped up and down.

In addition, compared to the firing cycle of the gaming balls of the bat launching device 29 in the upper firing unit 12 and the ball feeding cycle of the gaming balls of the ball feeding device 28, the game to the ball supply path member 24 by the ball lifting device 22 The delivery cycle of the ball is set short. In the present embodiment, the firing cycle of the gaming ball of the bat launching device 29 and the ball feeding cycle of the gaming ball of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute), the ball feeding path member by the ball lifting device 22 The sending cycle of the game ball to 24 is 384 ms.
As a result, during the game, the operation of the upper firing unit 12 strikes the game ball into the game area by the ball striking device 29 and sends the gaming ball to the firing position by the ball feeding device 28. And since the sending cycle of the game ball to the ball supply path member 24 by the ball feeding device 22 is shorter than the sending cycle of the game ball to the launch position, the game machine stands by before being fed by the feeding port switch 156 In the case where the state where the game ball being played is satisfied is held, the game ball in the ball supply path member 24 is not detected by the launch standby ball detection switch 26 while the game ball is being driven. And, the ball transportation device 22 is driven to start the transportation of the game balls, and the game ball to the ball supply path member 24 is faster than the pace at which the game balls are driven. When the game balls that are in alignment standby in the ball supply path member 24 are detected by the discharge standby ball detection switch 26 during the delivery, the ball lift device 22 is stopped and the game balls are lifted. It is stopped. In other words, during the game, the ball lifting operation of the ball lifting device 22 is performed intermittently, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the ball clogging, and the game balls are efficiently and stably lifted. The balls can be efficiently supplied to the upper launch unit with a stable number of balls.

  In the present embodiment, the firing cycle of the gaming ball of the bat launching device 29 and the ball feeding cycle of the gaming ball of the ball feeding device 28 are 600 ms (100 shots per minute), the ball feeding by the ball lifting device 22 Although the sending cycle of the gaming ball to the path member 24 is set to 384 ms, the method is not limited to this, and the sending cycle of the playing ball and the ball feeding cycle, and the sending cycle of the gaming ball to the ball supply path member 24 Can be selected from each other, for example, with each other as 600 ms.

[Ball clogging 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 jam notification process is executed as one of the main operation setting processes of step S564 executed every 2 ms in the ball information control main process. In addition, the ball jamming notification process is performed after the batting permission determination process shown in FIG. The launch standby ball detection switch 26 corresponds to a first launch standby ball detection means, and the launch standby ball detection switch 70 corresponds to a second launch standby ball detection means.

  When the ball clogging control process is started, the ball information control MPU 111 first determines whether the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on (step S780). If it is determined in step S780 that the launch standby ball detection switch 26 is on, that is, if it is determined YES in step S780, the ball lift motor 150 is stopped (step S782), and the process proceeds to step S786 to wait for launch. It is determined whether the sphere detection switch is on (step S786). If it is determined in step S786 that the launch standby ball detection switch 70 is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S786, the abnormality detection flag is set to 1 (step S788), and the notification means is turned on. At step S 789, the subroutine for ball jam notification processing is exited.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S786 that the shooting standby ball detection switch 70 is on, that is, if it is determined YES in step S786, the process proceeds to step S787 to determine whether the abnormality detection flag is 1 or not Step S787). If the abnormality detection flag is determined to be 1 in step S787, that is, if step S787 is determined to be YES, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0 (step S790), and the abnormality notification means is turned off (step S792). Is turned on (step S 794), and the ball clogging notification processing subroutine is exited.

  If it is determined in step S780 that the shooting standby ball detection switch 26 is off, that is, if it is determined NO in step S780, the ball lift motor 150 is driven (step S784), and the abnormality detection flag is It is determined whether it is 1 or not (step S787). If it is determined in step S787 that the abnormality detection flag is 0, that is, if it is determined that step S787 is NO, the subroutine for ball clogging notification processing is exited.

  Thus, the ball supply path member 24 and the ball feeding device 28 are provided with a sensor for detecting game balls, the gaming balls in the ball supply path member 24 are detected, and the game balls in the ball feeding device 28 are detected. It determines that it is an abnormal state due to the occurrence of ball clogging under the condition that it is not performed, and performs notification by means of abnormality notification means (not shown, for example, the touch panel unit 14 is notified of ball clogging). As a result, it is possible to reliably notify, for example, an attendant at the game hall that a ball jam has occurred.

  In addition, since the upper firing device 12 of the present embodiment can be pivoted by the upper firing device 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 launch device 12 can be grasped immediately, and the clogging of the ball can be easily eliminated. When the ball clogging is eliminated, the abnormality detection flag is cleared to 0 and the abnormality notifying means is stopped. After that, a notification is made by the recovery notification means (for example, the touch panel unit 14 is displayed to an extent that the staff in the game hall can recognize that it has recovered from the ball clogging condition (for example, 5 seconds to 10 seconds)). It can be recognized that the ball clogging has been eliminated.

  In addition, although the arrangement position of the shot standby ball detection switch 70 is attached so as to detect the gaming ball in the vicinity of the shooting position in the path of the ball feeding device 28, it detects the gaming ball passing through the path of the ball feeding device 28 If the arrangement can be made, various arrangement positions can be selected.

[Pachislot Machine Ecosystem]
By the way, in the industrial world, there is growing interest in eco (environmental problems, resource problems, etc.). In the gaming machine industry as well, it is necessary to consider from an eco standpoint the processing of removed gaming machines that occur one after another. For example, if a removal gaming machine containing many reusable parts is disposed of by simply destroying it, it means that reusable resources are wasted.

  Although the tracking of the sold gaming machines is effective when recycling the gaming machines, it is conceivable to use a identification ID or the like for specifying the gaming machines to perform tracking. Even with the game machine removed, for example, the liquid crystal display panel, the proximity switch, etc. can be reused as it is, and the motor, solenoid, etc. can be dissolved and separated in iron, copper, steel and reused as a material. . It is possible to recycle the transparent resin panel and the ABS resin constituting the back box by crushing them into flakes, separating them by type and color, and reusing them as materials for new game machine members. Therefore, as a gaming machine manufacturer, it is preferable to reliably recover and recycle the gaming machine removed from the hall.

  Therefore, in the embodiment described below, it is possible for the gaming machine manufacturer to reliably trade in the gaming machine from the hall (installed store) for recycling, and to what extent the current recycling rate is The present invention relates to a gaming machine ecosystem that prepares an environment where it is possible to know at any time the

[Overview of the game machine ecosystem]
It is assumed that all new game machines shipped from manufacturers will eventually be traded in by the manufacturer after the market is launched. A game board identification ID as a unique ID that enables individual identification of the game board 5 is assigned to the gaming machine to be shipped.

  The game board identification ID is, for example, a first MPU recognition number stored in advance in the first MPU recognition number storage unit 101a of the main control MPU 101 mounted on the main control board 100 disposed on the game board 5 described in FIG. Or, it can be the unique ID code described in FIG. The first MPU identification number corresponds to the first MPU ID registration number described in claim 1. Hereinafter, the first MPU ID registration number will be described as a game board identification ID. Further, a maker management apparatus and a hall management apparatus are connected by a communication network centering on a center management apparatus.

  Each management device includes a computer such as a PC, and includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a database, a device for manual input, and the like. Then, the following processing is performed at the time of shipment of the new base gaming machine and at the time of gaming machine trade-in.

[At the time of shipment of the new game machine]
Shipment information of the gaming machine is input to the maker management device and recorded. The maker management device transmits, to the center management device, the recorded contents regarding the gaming machine of the shipping information input at the time of shipping of the new base gaming machine. The shipping information includes at least a game board identification ID, a hall identification ID of a shipping destination hall, a shipping date, and a maker ID.

  On the other hand, when the new base game machine is installed in the hall, the hole management apparatus that recognizes the installation transmits the installation information on the new base game machine to the center management apparatus. The installation information includes at least a game board identification ID, a hall identification ID, an installation date, a maker ID, and the like. The center management device collates the shipping information transmitted from the maker management device with the installation information transmitted from the hall management device based on the game board identification ID, and records the collation result (new base shipment processing).

  The collation result is a "pair" of shipping information and installation information in which the game board identification IDs coincide, and this pair is recorded in the database. This data is externally accessible using the game board identification ID as a key.

[At the time of trade-in]
When the maker trades in the old gaming machine due to replacement with a new base, etc, the trade-in information of the trade-in gaming machine is input to the maker management device and recorded. The maker management device transmits the input trade-in information to the center management device. The trade-in information includes a game board identification ID, a hall identification ID, a trade-in date, and a maker ID.

  On the other hand, on the hall side, removal information of the gaming machine is transmitted to the center management device through the hole management device as the old gaming machine is removed due to replacement with the new base. The removal information includes a game board identification ID, a hole identification ID, a removal date, a maker ID, and the like.

  The center management device collates the trade-in information transmitted from the manufacturer with the removal information transmitted from the hall management device, and records the collation result (trade-in management processing). The collation result is a "pair" of trade-in information and withdrawal information with which the game board identification ID matches, and this pair is recorded in the database. This data is externally accessible using the game board identification ID as a key.

  As described above, since the gaming machine ecosystem stores the collation result in the database, the current state of the gaming machine having the gaming board identification ID can be known by searching the database using the gaming board identification ID as a key. Can. For example, if the collation result is stopped by the shipping information and the installation information, the gaming machine should be present in the hall having the hall identification ID, and further, the collation result is removed and the trade-in information is added. For example, it means that the gaming machine has already been traded off from the hall having the hall identification ID.

  And since the shipping information and the installation information, the removal information and the trade-in information should be “paired” in the center management device, it is abnormal that the period in which only one of the center management devices exists lasts for a long time, eco-friendly From the point of view, it is also possible to proceed to the scene of investigating the cause.

  Furthermore, when there is shipping information, installation information, removal information or trade-in information in which the verification result is not recorded in the center management device for a certain period due to the game board identification ID mismatch, the manufacturer is identified based on the game board identification ID. The manufacturer is informed that a plurality of or one of the pieces of information can not be collated in the center management device. This makes it possible to confirm at which point the whereabouts of the gaming machine has become unknown. As a result, basically all game machines can be collected and taken up, and useful resources such as liquid crystal display screens, proximity switches, transparent panels, motors, solenoids, and ABS resin can be recycled.

[Overall configuration of the gaming machine ecosystem]
FIG. 103 shows the whole configuration of the gaming machine eco system 1010. In this embodiment, in addition to the center management device 1020, the maker management device 1040, and the hall management device 1050, an eco unit 1060 and a second-hand sales company management device 1070. And a decryption management device 1080, which are respectively connected by a communication network. The communication network uses the Internet 1100 (the communication network may be a dedicated line). The eco unit 1060 is connected only to the hall management device 1050 by an I / O (not shown). Furthermore, the decryption management device 1080 is exclusive to the center management device 1020 from the viewpoint of security, and is connected by a dedicated line.

  The gaming machine eco-system 1010 of this embodiment is based on the center management device 1020, the maker management device 1040, and the hall management device 1050, so the basic configuration will be described first.

  The center management device 1020 is, for example, a device mainly composed of a personal computer, and although not shown, includes a memory such as a CPU, database, ROM, RAM, manual input device, I / O, display, hard disk, etc. Are connected organically by internal computer wiring. In addition, it is connected to the Internet 1100 and the decryption management device 1080 through I / O.

  The maker management device 1040 is, for example, a device mainly composed of a personal computer, etc., and although not shown, comprises memories such as CPU, RAM, ROM, manual input device, I / O, display, hard disk, etc. It is organically connected by internal computer wiring. It is also connected to the Internet 1100 through I / O.

  The hole management device 1050 is, for example, a device mainly composed of a personal computer, etc., although not shown, comprises memories such as CPU, RAM, ROM, manual input device, I / O, eco unit 1060, hard disk, etc. It is organically connected by ordinary computer wiring. Moreover, it is connected to the internet 12 through I / O.

  When a manufacturer ships a new base game machine to a hall, shipment information is manually input to the maker management device 1040, and the shipment information is a center management device using the shipment information line L1 configured on the Internet 1100 (communication network). It is sent to 1020. Installation information is manually input to the hall management apparatus 1050 of the hall where the new base game machine is installed, and the input installation information is input to the center 12 using the installation information line L3 configured in the Internet 12 (communication network). Sent to

  From the viewpoint of security, each piece of information sent out from the hole management apparatus 1050 to the line L3 is encrypted and transmitted including installation information and removal information and non-operation information described later. The center management device 2 collates the shipping information and the installation information transmitted from the maker management device 1040 and the hole management device 1050 based on the game board identification ID, and "pairs" the information for which the game board identification ID matches. And associate this pair as a matching result. The collation result is transmitted to the database 1030 using the collation result line L5 and recorded. This database 1030 can be accessed from the outside.

  When an old game machine is traded in by a manufacturer for replacement of a new machine, etc., removal information is manually input to the hole management device 1050, and removal information is removed through the removal information line L3 formed on the Internet 1100 (communication network). It is transmitted to the center management device 1020.

  The trade-in information is manually input to the maker management device 1040 which is the side that has traded the old gaming machine, and the trade-in information is transmitted to the center management device 1020 through the trade-in information line L4 configured on the Internet 1100 (communication network). . The center management device 1020 collates the trade-in information transmitted from the maker management device 1040 with the removal information transmitted from the hole management device 1050 based on the game board identification ID, and when the game board identification ID matches, The "pair" of these pieces of information is transmitted as a collation result to the database 1030 through the collation result line L5 and recorded.

  Next, in this embodiment, the eco unit 1060, the used sales company management apparatus 1070, and the decryption management apparatus 1080 are attached to the above-described basic configuration. The eco unit 1060 is located between the gaming machine 1 and the hall management device 1050. In FIG. 103, the gaming machine 1 and the eco unit 1060 are connected via the ECO gaming machine interface. The eco unit 1060 plays the role of a relay device for connecting the gaming machine 1 to the hall management device 1050. Therefore, the eco unit 1060 can be used also by the currently known CR unit or the checkout machine 4 shown in FIG. Also, the decryption management device 1080 is dedicated to the center management device 1020 and is connected by a dedicated line.

  When the gaming machine 1 is installed in the hall and the power is turned on, the eco unit 1060 receives the game board identification ID from the installed gaming machine 1 and transmits it to the hall management device 1050. The hall management device 1050 stores a game board identification ID for business management.

  If the operation information does not reach the hole management device 1050 through the eco unit 1060 even though the hole management device 1050 has already acquired the game board identification ID, the hole management device 1050 is not operated after the set predetermined period. Information is automatically transmitted to the center management apparatus 1020 through the non-operation information line L3 configured on the Internet 1100. The non-operation information includes at least a game board identification ID, a hall identification ID, a non-operation day, and a maker ID.

  The second-hand sales company management device 1070 is, for example, a device mainly composed of a personal computer, etc., and although not shown, the memory (not shown) such as CPU, RAM, ROM, manual input device, I / O, display, hard disk etc. These are organically coupled by a conventional in-computer communication network.

  The decryption management device 1080 is composed of a computer and other devices, etc., and although not shown, comprises a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a manual input device, an I / O, a display, etc. It is combined.

  As described above, the installation information, the removal information, and the non-operation information are encrypted when they are transmitted from the hole management apparatus 1050 so as not to leak to the outside. Therefore, the information accepted by the center management device 1020 is decoded so as to be readable by the decryption management device 1080, and is directly transmitted to the center management device 1020 through the line L3 configured on the dedicated line.

  The operation of the embodiment is summarized as follows. As the scene of operation, there are at the time of new base shipment, second hand movement, and the time of trade-in. Further, in the present embodiment, the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 of the gaming machine 1 is provided with a security function. As the security function, for example, the main control MPU 101 has a function of determining whether the built-in ROM is a ROM that has received a proper authentication, and when an access other than a predetermined area is performed, the main control MPU 101 internally The game board identification ID stored in the ROM built in the main control MPU 101, the data stored in the ROM, etc. can be read out from the terminal provided outside the main control MPU 101 from the function of causing the reset to occur. It has functions that can be done.

[At the time of new product shipment]
When the manufacturer ships a new game machine, as described above, a game board identification ID capable of specifying the main control MPU 101 of each game machine is assigned. Then, in FIG. 103, at the time of shipment, the game board identification ID, the hall identification ID of the hall which is the shipping destination, the shipping date (for example, date) are input to the maker management device 1040 from the manual input device.

  The maker management device 1040 records shipping information in a memory (not shown) based on the operation software stored in the ROM. Next, when a command to transmit shipping information to the center management apparatus 1020 from a manual input device (not shown) is input, the maker management apparatus 1040 uses maker identification information (maker ID) in the shipping information stored in the memory. The information is sent to the center management apparatus 1020 via the shipping information line L1 configured on the Internet 1100 as shipping information.

  When shipping information is sent from the manufacturer management device 1040, the center management device 1020 stores and registers this shipping information in the shipping information file set in the database 1030. As described above, each time shipping information is transmitted from the manufacturer management device 1040, shipping information is accumulated and stored in the shipping information file. The shipping information includes a game board identification ID, a hole hall identification ID, a shipping date (for example, a date), and a maker ID.

  On the other hand, in the shipping destination hall, when the installed new base game machine 1 is powered on, the game board specification specific to the game machine incorporated in the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 of the new base game machine 1 is specified. The read ID is read and transmitted to the eco unit 1060 (see FIG. 103).

  The eco unit 1060 automatically recognizes the installation of the new base game machine 1 together with the game board identification ID and transmits the same to the hall management device 1050. When the hall management device 1050 receives the game board identification ID from the eco unit 1060, the hall management device 1050 records this in the memory based on the operation software stored in the ROM (not shown).

  Next, the hall management device 1050 uses the game board identification ID, the hall identification ID for identifying its own hall, the installation date (for example, date), the maker ID, etc. on the Internet 1100 as installation information. It transmits to the center management apparatus 1020 through the installation information line L3 comprised.

  The installation information and the non-operation information (described later) transmitted from the hole management apparatus 1050 are encrypted and transmitted over the Internet, and are decrypted by the decryption management apparatus 1080 and transmitted to the center management apparatus 1020.

  The decryption management device 1080 receives the encrypted installation information from the hall, decrypts the encrypted installation information stored in the RAM (not shown) using decryption software stored in the ROM (not shown), and temporarily decrypts the RAM After storing (not shown), installation information is transmitted to the center management device 1020 through the installation information line L3 configured on the dedicated line.

  When the installation information is transmitted from the hall management device 1050, the center management device 1020 receives the installation information and collates using collation software stored in the ROM (not shown). The shipping information file is searched using the game board identification ID included in the received installation information as a search key. Then, when shipping information including a game board identification ID that matches the gaming board identification ID included in the received installation information is stored and registered in the shipping information file, the hall identification ID included in the received installation information and It is determined whether the hole identification ID of the hole which is the shipping destination included in the matched shipping information matches, and if it matches, the matching is assumed to be established.

  Then, as a collation result, the “pair” of these pieces of information is transmitted to the database 1030 using the collation result line L5 and recorded. If the verification is established, the verification information may be added to the shipping information stored in the shipping information file and stored and registered again. This data is set to be externally accessible (inquiry possible) using the game board identification ID as a key.

  As a result, information from the shipping side (manufacturer) and the installation side (hole) associated with the shipment of the new game machine is recorded as combined (correctly processed) by using the game board identification ID as a key Ru.

  Further, for example, when the installation information is not transmitted from the hall management device 1050, or when the gaming board identification ID of the installation information and the shipping information does not match, the matching result is not recorded, so the matching result corresponding to the shipping information Data is missing. In addition, in the case of the configuration described above, the comparison information is not added to the shipping information stored in the shipping information file.

  Then, when the center management device 1020 can not obtain the verification result for a fixed period (for example, 3 days elapsed from the shipping date) for the shipping information stored in the shipping information file, in this embodiment, the game board identification ID The manufacturer management device 1040 is specified on the Internet 1100 that the center management device 1020 can not match the ID of the game board identification ID with the manufacturer management device 1040 using the key as a key. Notify

  The notification information includes a game board identification ID, a hole hall identification ID, a shipping date (for example, a date), and the fact that collation is not possible. By doing this, it is possible to identify the cause and prevent the emergence of a gaming machine that can not be pre-traded again.

[Matching game board]
By the way, at present, the development and production of the main frame into which the game board is fitted is independently performed by each manufacturer, but from the viewpoint of reduction of development cost, measures against environmental destruction, etc., each manufacturer should use in common It is conceivable to develop a body frame that can

  However, when the main body frame is a common frame not depending on the manufacturer, the structure of the main body frames is the same, so even if the game board of a different combination is inserted in the main body frame, it is wrong in appearance alone There is a possibility that a problem may occur that it is difficult to grasp and manage whether the regular game board is fitted to the main unit frame without judging whether it is a combination or not.

  The embodiment described below is for authenticating whether the game board 5 fitted in the main unit frame 2 is normal. FIG. 104 is a block diagram showing an outline of a gaming machine management system according to an embodiment. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 99 and 104, the gaming machine 1 includes a first MPU (main control MPU 101) which is provided on the gaming board 5 and performs gaming control, and receives the game ball to the winning opening. A first control board (main control board 100) for outputting a prize ball signal based on the second MPU (ball information control MPU 111) provided in the main frame 2 and performing prize ball control based on the prize ball signal And 2 control board (ball information control board 110).

  As described above, when power is supplied to the installed gaming machine (described as a new base, but the same as the later-described second) in the shipping destination hall, the main control board 100 and the ball information control board 110 The game board identification ID is read out from the first MPU recognition number storage unit 101a by two-way communication with this, encrypted by the main encryption communication unit 160, and transmitted to the ball information encryption communication unit 165, and the ball information control MPU 111 The second MPU identification number is encrypted by the sphere information encryption communication unit 165 and transmitted to the main encryption communication unit 160 (see FIG. 99).

  The ball information control MPU 111 decrypts the game board identification ID transmitted from the main control MPU 101 using the ball information encryption communication unit 165 and then stores it in the first MPU recognition number storage unit 166 in the second authentication unit 167. (See Figure 99). Next, the ball information control MPU 111 transmits the game board identification ID stored in the first MPU recognition number storage unit 166 to the eco unit 1060 via the communication unit 1110 (see FIG. 104).

  The eco unit 1060 automatically recognizes the installation of the new base game machine 1 together with the game board identification ID and transmits the same to the hall management device 1050. When the hall management device 1050 receives the game board identification ID from the eco unit 1060, the hall management device 1050 records this in the memory based on the operation software stored in the ROM (not shown).

  Next, the hall management device 1050 uses the game board identification ID, the hall identification ID for identifying its own hall, the installation date (for example, date), the maker ID, etc. on the Internet 1100 as installation information. It transmits to the center management apparatus 1020 through the installation information line comprised.

  The installation information and the non-operation information (described later) transmitted from the hole management apparatus 1050 are encrypted and transmitted over the Internet, and are decrypted by the decryption management apparatus 1080 and transmitted to the center management apparatus 1020.

  The decryption management device 1080 receives the encrypted installation information from the hall, decrypts the encrypted installation information stored in the RAM (not shown) using decryption software stored in the ROM (not shown), and temporarily decrypts the RAM After storing (not shown), installation information is transmitted to the center management apparatus 1020 through an installation information line configured on a dedicated line.

  When the installation information is transmitted from the hall management device 1050, the center management device 1020 receives the installation information and collates using collation software stored in the ROM (not shown). The shipping information file is searched using the game board identification ID included in the received installation information as a search key. Then, when shipping information including the game board identification ID that matches the game board identification ID included in the received installation information is stored and registered in the shipping information file, “match” is managed as a determination result via the Internet 1100 as a hole. Reply to device 1050. Note that the determination result may include a game board identification ID, a hole hall identification ID, and a shipping date (for example, date).

  On the other hand, when shipping information including a game board identification ID corresponding to the game board identification ID included in the received installation information is not stored and registered in the shipping information file, in other words, the game board of the installation information and the shipping information If the identification IDs do not match, “not match” is sent back to the hole management apparatus 1050 through the Internet 1100 as a determination result.

  When the hole management device 1050 receives the determination result, it transmits the received determination result to the eco unit 1060, and the eco unit 1060 transmits the received determination result to the sphere information control MPU 111 of the sphere information control board 110 through the ECO gaming machine interface. Send. When the ball information control MPU 111 receives the determination result transmitted through the communication unit 1110, the ball information control MPU 111 executes the award ball control when the determination result is "match", and the prize when the determination result is "not match". Do not execute sphere control.

  Therefore, it becomes possible to authenticate whether the game board fitted in the main body frame is a proper one without connecting the collation machine from the outside of the substrate box and inspecting the MPU individually, and the main body frame and the game board It is possible to determine whether the combination of the In addition, it is possible to prevent the game from being performed on a game board that is not normal by preventing the prize ball control from being performed when the determination result of the authentication process is "do not match", and in addition, the MPU forged chips It is possible to effectively deter fraudulent acts such as being replaced.

[When moving used]
When a second-hand sales company moves a second-hand game machine to the hall, it is used together with a game board identification ID (which does not change from the time of new-card shipment) of the second-hand game machine to be moved from the manual input device (not shown) to the second-hand sales company management device 1070. The movement information (installation information) including the hall identification ID of the movement destination, the movement date (for example, the date), and the maker identification information (maker ID) is input. These data are temporarily stored in the memory, and when a transmission command is input from a manual input device (not shown), center management is performed through second-hand movement line L2 in which movement information is configured from second-hand dealer management device 1070 on Internet 1100. It is sent to the device 2. The second-hand sales company acquires the gaming machine 1 by purchasing the gaming machine 1 removed from the hall.

  When movement information is transmitted from second-hand sales company management device 1070, center management device 1020 stores the movement information in the memory. The center management device 1020 searches the shipping information file using the game board identification ID included in the movement information as a search key, and collates the movement information with the shipment information registered in the shipping information file set in the database 1030. It may be configured to

  In this case, when shipping information including a game board identification ID that matches the game board identification ID included in the received movement information is stored and registered in the shipping information file, the collation is assumed to be established.

  In this way, by comparing the shipping date and the moving date, the center management device 1020 can recognize how long the used gaming machine related to the movement has passed since the shipping date. Then, for example, in the case where the saleable period has been determined from the shipping, it becomes possible to grasp that the saleable period has passed, by means of this system with the present system. It will be possible, and will be able to urge the hall as appropriateness instruction information.

  In the destination hall of the second-hand gaming machine, the same processing as the installation of the new-base gaming machine described above is performed. When the moved and installed gaming machine is powered on, the eco unit 1060 recognizes the gaming board identification ID of the gaming machine 1 and transmits the gaming board identification ID to the hall management device 1050.

  After recording the game board identification ID in the memory, the hall management device 1050 determines that the gaming machine 1 having the game board identification ID is installed based on the software stored in the ROM (not shown), and installs the game board identification ID. The encrypted installation information is transmitted as encrypted information and transmitted via the decryption management device 1080 to the center management device 1020 through the installation information line L3 configured on the Internet 1100. The decryption management device 1080 decrypts the encrypted installation information, and transmits the decrypted installation information to the center management device 1020 through the installation information line L3 configured on the dedicated line.

  Then, in the center management device 1020, the installation information and the movement information from the second-hand sales company management device 1070 are collated, and when both game board identification IDs coincide, the “pair” of these information is collated as a collation result, It transmits to the database 1030 through the collation result line L5 and records it. The recorded result of the collation can be externally referred to using the game board identification ID as a key. This makes it possible to grasp that the gaming machine has been moved from the used sales company to the hall.

  If the game board identification IDs of the information to be paired do not match and the information on the other party to be paired does not reach after the set period, the maker from the center management device 1020 with the elapse of the set period The collation impossible information is automatically transmitted to the management device 1040 through the notification line L6.

  In the collation impossible information, the game board identification ID of movement information (does not change from the time of shipment to new base), the hall identification ID of movement destination, movement date (for example, date), maker ID, purport not to be collated include. This makes it possible to prevent the gaming machine from becoming unknown.

  As described above, the hall management device 1050 determines a non-operating gaming machine based on the gaming machine operating information received from the eco unit 1060, and identifies non-operating information regarding the gaming machine as the game board specification. The ID is automatically transmitted to the center management apparatus 1020 via the decryption management apparatus 1080 via the Internet 1100 using the non-operation information line L3. This transmission is encrypted in the hole management device 1050, decrypted in the decryption management device 1080, transmitted to the center management device 1020 through a dedicated line, and stored in the RAM (not shown) of the center management device 1020. This non-operation information is timer-managed in the center management device 1020 and associated with the next trade-in information.

[At the time of trade-in]
When the gaming machine is traded off from the hall due to replacement with a new stand gaming machine or the like, the power of the gaming machine 1 is first turned off, so the eco unit 1060 does not recognize the operation of the gaming machine 1. The eco unit 1060 transmits the fact that it can not recognize this operation to the hall management device 1050, and as described above, the hall management device 1050 uses this as the non-operation information, ID for specifying the game board of the non-operation gaming machine, the hole The identification ID, the non-operation day, the maker ID, and the non-operation is transmitted to the center management device 1020 through the non-operation information line L3 configured on the Internet 1100. Since the transmission of this information is encrypted, it is decrypted by the decryption management device 1080, and the non-operation information is sent to the center management device 1020 through the non-operation information line L3 configured on the dedicated line.

  When the non-operation information is transmitted from the hole management device 1050, the center management device 1020 stores the non-operation information in the memory. The center management device 1020 searches the shipping information file using the game board identification ID included in the non-operating information as a search key, and the non-operating information and the shipping information registered in the shipping information file set in the database 1030 It is good also as composition which collates.

  In this case, when shipping information including a game board identification ID that matches the gaming board identification ID included in the received non-operation information is stored and registered in the shipping information file, the collation is assumed to be established.

  When the removal information is input for the gaming machine removed for trade-in from the manual input device (not shown), the hall management device 1050 transmits the information together with the game board identification ID to the center management device 1020 on the Internet 1100. It transmits via the removal information line L3 comprised. The removal information includes a game board identification ID, a hole hall identification ID, a removal date (for example, a date), and a maker ID.

  When the center management device 1020 receives the removal information from the hole management device 1050, the center management device 1020 stores the removal information in the memory. The center management device 1020 searches the shipping information file using the game board identification ID included in the removal information as a search key, and collates the removal information with the shipping information registered in the shipping information file set in the database 1030. It may be configured to

  In this case, when shipping information including a game board identification ID that matches the game board identification ID included in the received removal information is stored and registered in the shipping information file, the collation is assumed to be established.

  On the other hand, when the maker trades in the gaming machine 1, the maker management device 1040 trades in the trade-in information about the traded-up gaming machine 1 to the center management device 1020 along with the gaming board identification ID on the Internet 1100. Transmit via the information line L4. The trade-in information includes a game board identification ID, a hole hall identification ID, a trade-in date (for example, a date), and a maker ID.

  When the trade-in information is transmitted from the maker management device 1040, the center management device 1020 stores the trade-in information in the memory. The center management device 1020 searches the shipping information file using the game board identification ID included in the trade-in information as a search key, and collates the trade-in information with the shipping information registered in the shipping information file set in the database 1030. It may be configured to

  In this case, if shipping information including a game board identification ID that matches the gaming board identification ID included in the received trade-in information is stored and registered in the shipping information file, the collation is assumed to be established.

  The center management device 1020 collates the non-operation information with the withdrawal information and the trade-in information, and when these game board identification IDs match, these information are “paired” in the database 1030 using the collation result line L5. Record as That is, the non-operation information and the removal information are recorded as those generated by the gaming machine trade-in.

  However, since non-operation information may occur other than these causes, if the period is set as described above and other information to be paired does not reach the center management device 1020 within that period, It is designed to draw attention to the manufacturer who is the trade-in side as something abnormal. According to this, it can be grasped that the gaming machine has been correctly traded-in by the agreement of the removal information and the trade-in information.

  In addition, after storing the non-operation information, if the state in which the removal information is not transmitted continues for a long time after storing the non-operation information, the center management device 1020 determines that it is abnormal and notifies the manufacturer management device 1040 of the abnormal information. The abnormality information includes a game board identification ID, a hall identification ID, a non-operation day (for example, a date), a maker ID, and a non-operation abnormality. This makes it possible to cope with an abnormal situation before the trade-in becomes impossible.

  In addition, when removal information is transmitted from the hall management device 1050 to the center management device 1020, the center management device 1020 can make trade-in possible information to the maker management device 1040 (game board identification ID, hall identification ID, removal date, trade-in It may be configured to notify via "informing line L6". By doing this, the manufacturer can trade in the gaming machine which has been removed from the hall.

[Notification line]
By the way, it is tested whether the gaming machines meet the prescribed conditions by the Security Communication Association, which is a designated testing agency of the National Public Safety Commission, and then the certification of the public safety commissions of each prefecture (hereinafter referred to as verification agency) It can only be installed in the hall after receiving it.

  The validity period of the test is 3 years, and the game machine after the expiration date can not be installed in the hall. If you want to continue operating the game machine in the future, if it is installed in the game hall before the expiration of three years, which is the valid period, the police station in charge of the game hall (see below , Accredited institutions), and can be extended for three years from the date of accreditation.

  In other words, if three years, which is the valid inspection period, have passed without being certified, you will not be able to receive certification after that, so even if you want to continue operating the gaming machine from the future, from the game hall You will have to remove it.

  In order to solve this problem, when the deadline is approaching (for example, six months ago), a due date alarm is transmitted from the center management device 1020 to the hole management device 1050 through the notification line L6, and the grace period of the validity period of the verification is later Report what is. As a result, it is possible to prevent installation of a gaming machine that is out of verification, and to prevent a situation in which it is not possible to receive certification by a certification organization. The details will be described below.

  The configuration for notifying the hall management device 1050 of the notification alarm about the verification date from the center management device 1020 through the notification line L6 is the verification date information (including the game board identification ID about the gaming machine 1 that has been verified by the verification organization) Is input using a manual input device (not shown) and stored in the center management device 1020.

  After that, when the tested gaming machine is installed in the gaming hall and the power is turned on, the game board identification ID unique to the gaming machine built in the main control MPU 101 of the main control board 100 of the gaming machine is read out And sent to the eco unit 1060 (see FIG. 103).

  The eco unit 1060 automatically recognizes the installation of the gaming machine 1 together with the gaming board identification ID and transmits the same to the hall management device 1050. When the hall management device 1050 receives the game board identification ID from the eco unit 1060, the hall management device 1050 records this in the memory. Next, the hall management device 1050 encrypts the above-mentioned game board identification ID, the hall identification ID for identifying its own hall, the installation date (for example, date), and the maker ID as installation information. Then, it transmits to the decryption management device 1080 through the installation information line L3 configured on the Internet 1100.

  The decryption management device 1080 receives the encrypted installation information from the game hall, decrypts it using decryption software, temporarily stores it in the RAM (not shown), and then installs it via the installation information line L3 configured on the dedicated line. The decrypted installation information is transmitted to the center management apparatus 1020.

  When the installation information is transmitted from the hall management device 1050, the center management device 1020 receives the installation information and collates using collation software stored in the ROM (not shown). The shipment information file stored at the time of shipping to a new base is searched using the gaming board identification ID included in the received installation information as a search key.

  Then, when shipping information including a game board identification ID that matches the gaming board identification ID included in the received installation information is stored and registered in the shipping information file, the hall identification ID included in the received installation information and It is determined whether the hole identification ID of the hole which is the shipping destination included in the matched shipping information matches, and if it matches, the matching is assumed to be established.

  Next, if the center management device 1020 is in an installed state without being removed by second-hand sales or trade-in, the center management device 1020 will reach 3 years, which is the valid verification period (for example, , 6 months ago), the verification date information stored at the time of shipping of new base is compared with the current date and installation information, and the date stored in the verification date information is compared with the current date information If the difference between the verification date and the current date information has reached a preset number of days (for example, six months), a due date alarm is sent to the hole management apparatus 5 through the notification line L6.

  As a result, it becomes possible to notify that effect before three years when it is possible to operate the gaming machine in the gaming hall. It is possible to know the machine immediately and prevent the situation where the gaming machine has run out of verification and can not be recognized.

  The embodiment has been described above. According to this, the maker can grasp the whereabouts and the state (new or old) from shipment of the gaming machine to trade-in. If the recycling rate is low, various databases are searched. By identifying the cause by notifying the manufacturer management device 1040 from the center management device 1020 through the notification line L6, it is possible to increase the recycling rate of the gaming machine 1 and lead to eco-activity.

  Further, since the center management device 1020 can also manage location information of the gaming machine 1, the maker can grasp the present location of each gaming machine in the past based on the gaming board identification ID. As a result, when the recycling rate is stagnant, specific tracking is possible, which leads to suppression of illegal dumping, for example.

  In the above embodiment, the Internet 1100 is used for communication between the center management device 1020 and the manufacturer management device 1040 and the used sales company management device 1070. However, they may be communication lines using dedicated telephone lines or the like. In this case, it is not necessary to encrypt the information transmitted from the hole management device 1050 through the line L3. Also, along with this, the decryption management device 1080 is not necessary.

  Although it is assumed that all information transmitted from the hall management device 1050 to the center management device 1020 is encrypted, the encryption is limited to information important for management, and the other information may be transmitted without encryption. Conceivable.

1 game machine 1a outer frame 2 main frame 3 door frame 4 settlement machine 5 game board 6 decoration cover 7 hinge 8 game area 9 game window 10 hitting handle 11 transparent board 12 top launch device (upper launch unit)
13 firing solenoid 14 touch panel portion 15 fitting frame 16 peripheral wall portion 17 accommodation opening 18 overhang wall 19 deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit storage portion 20 deformed ball / magnetic ball discharge unit 21 ball assembly portion 22 ball pumping device 23 ball Delivery ball 24 ball feed path member 25 screw 25a screw shaft 25b small pitch ridge member 25bL half body 25bR half body 25c large pitch ridge member 25cL half body 25cR half body 25d spiral ridge 25e cylindrical part 25g recess 25h Convex part 25i Upper edge 25j Upper edge recess 25k Lower edge 25m Lower edge convex part 26 Launch ball waiting switch 28 Ball feed device 29 Hit ball launch device 30 Launch hammer (member for launch)
301 fixing portion 302 flange portion 303 stopper abutting portion 31 ball feeding solenoid 32 ball feeding member 33 rail member 331 mounting plate portion 332 rail portion 333 left rail plate 334 right rail plate 335 through hole 34 firing stopper 35 returning stopper 36 firing Ball confirmation switch 361 Photo bracket 37 Hinge for upper launcher 38 Launch port 39 Base plate 39a Contact portion 40 Launch area 41 Winning port 42 Out port 43 Panel holder 44 Transparent panel board 45 Front component 46 Game ball running surface 47 Notch 48 Protrusion part 49 fixing tool 50 screw receiving member 51 ball entry preventing wall 52 tension spring 53 spring locking part 54 ball guide projection 55 front guiding surface 56 stopper piece 57 arrangement space 58 ball outlet 60 rotation drive shaft 61 tip 62 stopper Cover 63 ball supply 64 launcher decorative member 65 lift communication communicator 66 ball inlet 67 ball feed unit base 68 ball feed unit cover 69 ball feed guide rod 70 shot standby ball detection switch 71 ball feed plate 72 actuating rod portion 73 sheet metal accommodating portion 74 ball feed portion 75 shaft hole 76 ball feed shaft 77 arm portion 78 sheet metal locking claw 79 hooking projection 80 ball feed guiding surface 81 ball holding surface 82 hanging piece 83 return ball blocking portion 84 ball locking portion 85 hitting ball passing port 86 launch stop switch 87 touch Switch 90 Upper starting opening detection switch 91 Lower starting opening detection switch 92 Gate switch 93 General winning opening detection switch 94 General winning opening detection switch 96 Starting opening solenoid 97 Large winning opening solenoid 98 Count switch 100 Main control board 101 Main control MPU
101a first MPU identification 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 batteries 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 I / O Circuit 116 External WDT
117 blackout monitoring circuit 118 ball information control section 119 ball polishing ribbon feed motor drive circuit 120 firing 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 open switch 132 main frame open Switch 133 External terminal board 140 Panel relay terminal board 141 Function display board 142 Upper special symbol display 143 Lower special symbol display 144 Upper special symbol memory display 145 Lower special symbol memory display 146 Normal symbol display 147 Normal symbol memory display Device 148 Game status indicator 149 Round indicator 150 Ball lifting motor 155 Ball polishing ribbon feed motor 156 Lifting inlet switch 157 Lifting motor sensor 158 Cassette detection switch 160 Main encryption communication section 161 Second MPU recognition Number storage unit 162 first authentication unit 165 ball information encryption communication unit 166 first MPU identification number storage unit 167 second authentication unit 201 ball receiving base 202 collection port 203 collection ball detection switch 204 deformed ball discharge unit 205 magnetic ball discharge unit 206 Ball path full detection switch 207 Ball proper amount detection switch 208 Variant ball discharge base 209 Variant ball separation shaft 210 Variant ball separation shaft 212 Variant ball discharge base attachment portion 213 Upstream side 214 Downstream side 215 Variant ball discharge path 216 Variant ball Discharge port 217 Modified ball discharge path forming member 218 Connecting path 219 Circulation path 220 Slope surface 221 Drop 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 port Cover 229 Magnet 230 Magnet Containment space 231 Magnetic force adjustment unit 232 Magnetic ball 233 Regular game ball 234 Ejected ball receiving box 251 Ball polished cartridge 252 Left side cover 253 Right side cover 253a Right outer side cover 253b Right inner side cover 254 Hinge receiving part 255 Hinge 258 Second Drive gear case 259 Take-up roller 260 Followed roller 261 1st gear shaft 262 2nd gear shaft 263 ball polishing cloth 264 ball polishing cloth pressing spring 265 flat spring 266 spring pressing 267 tensioner 268 gaming ball contact mark 270 ball polishing cartridge mounted Part 271 Ball Polishing Cartridge Fixing Lever 272 Ball Polishing Cartridge Fixing Stop 273 Ball Polishing Cartridge Mounting Port 275 Ball Feeding Passage 275a Ball Inlet 275b Ball Feeding Port 281 Opening 282 Lifting Guide Rail 2 Reference Signs List 0 drive shaft 291 mounting sensor 292 button 350 ball feed rotating body 350a ball engagement concave portion 351 ball feed inclined portion 351a inclined surface 351b top inclined surface 352 spiral base cover 353 lift portion cover 354 lift slope member 355 ball extraction member 356 upper portion Gearbox 357 Lower gearbox 358 Ball lifter motor gear 359 Idle gear 360 Upper lifter gear 362 Lower lifter gear 363 Ball feed rotary gear 363a Gear shaft 365 Guide block 365a Ball guide surface 365b Stopper surface 366 Fitting member 366a Mating Recess 367 Support member 368 Cover member 402 Card processor 403 Card 404 ID storage unit 405 Remaining power storage unit 406 Ball holding number storage unit 407 Mounting member 408 Hanging wall 410 Sphere exit opening / closing unit 411 Shutter S2 412 Opening and closing shutter 413 Opening and closing crank 414 Opening and closing spring 415 Slide groove 416 Opening 417 Crank support 418 Spring retaining portion 419 Shutter main body 420 Drive hole 421 Shaft portion 422 Drive rod 423 Drive pin 424 Contact portion 425 Spring retaining portion 426 opening / closing operation piece 427 game ball introduction member 450 positioning guide member 500 tracking member 1010 game machine ecosystem 1020 center management device 1030 database 1040 manufacturer management device 1050 hall management device 1060 eco unit 1070 second-hand sales company management device 1080 decryption management device 1100 Internet 1110 Communication unit 1400 Liquid crystal display device 4101 Game board maker identification information storage 4112 Frame maker identification information storage C1 Pulse width change circuit S1 Off Control signal

Claims (1)

An enclosed ball type game machine which makes a game by circulating a predetermined number of gaming balls in a closed manner;
A management device communicably connected to the enclosed ball game machine;
The enclosed ball type game machine is
A game board provided with a plurality of winning openings on which a game area is formed, and game balls rolling down the game area are allowed to enter;
A main unit frame in which the game board is inserted and stored;
A door frame having a game window in which the gaming area of the gaming board faces the player when the front side of the main body frame is supported so as to be openable and closable;
A hit firing device disposed in the main frame and firing a game ball toward the game area in accordance with a player's operation;
A first control board provided with the gaming board and having a first MPU that performs game control, and outputting a prize ball signal based on acceptance of the gaming ball to the winning opening;
And a second control board provided with a second MPU that is provided in the main body frame and performs award ball control based on the award ball signal.
The first MPU stores a first MPU ID registration number for recognizing itself.
An ID registration number for identifying at least each gaming machine is registered in advance in the management device,
The first MPU transmits the first MPU ID registration number to the management device through the second control board,
The management apparatus determines whether the transmitted first MPU ID registration number matches the ID registration number registered in advance, and transmits a determination result to the second MPU.
The second MPU executes the prize ball control when the transmitted determination result is a match, but does not execute the prize ball control when the determination result does not match.
A gaming machine management system characterized by

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